In Chinese medicine, the time of Fall (or Autumn) is a time where we go from the relaxed and carefree attitudes of Summer to the more serious and introspective energies associated with Autumn. In Autumn, we move more into an internal focus, cultivating body and mind and becoming more introspective. The organs associated with the Fall are the lungs (yin) and large intestine (yang). The energy of the lungs is “letting go,” so autumn is a good time to be mindful to let go of anything we may be holding on to so we can make room for new experiences that will help us learn and grow. The large intestine is responsible for letting go of the waste. It is the last stage of digestion, and it takes everything the body doesn’t need, releases it, only keeping what is vital and important for us to function. To keep these two in balance, here are some strategies:
1) Breathe Deeply – it sounds trite, but truly this is where we get the energy to maintain our qi, or life force. Most of us do not breath deeply at all and this affects things such as memory, energy level, and immune system. The best things to do is to go for a walk outside and fill your lungs with that good qi.
2) Let go of Negativity in your life – We can often feel like many of the negative things in our lives are beyond our control, but if we become aware of negative things, we can make small changes to avoid them as much as possible. Negativity can become extremely destructive both physically and psychologically.
3) Reorganize, clean, and donate – Autumn is the perfect time to take stock of things in your life. This is both true for your physical world, as well as your emotional world.
4) Eat foods that align with this season – sweet potato, garlic, cabbage, pears, walnuts, navy beans, asparagus, broccoli, sauerkraut, apples, cheese, olives, grapes, plums… just to name a few. Consider starting to make warming foods such as stews and soups also to support the immune system.
Living in alignment with nature and its cycles only helps support our life balance and our life-force balance (qi energy). Understanding more about how Chinese medicine views human health and wellness is a wonderful approach to learn about and try out this fall.
