The Fall Equinox is Upon Us: Here’s Why That’s Important
What’s your favorite season?
Are you the first one to cover up with layers in the Fall, or are you still wearing shorts in November?
Are there certain foods that you can tolerate in the summer that you can’t in the colder months?
I ask my clients questions like these during health consultations for two reasons:
As I’m formulating your herbal remedies, your answers to these questions help me determine your constitution (physical makeup, according to energetic herbalism): are you cold or hot natured, do you tend towards dampness or dryness? Knowing your constitution helps me choose herbs that are specific to your needs. The warming nature of ginger root, for instance, is welcomed by some and poorly tolerated by others.
In addition to formulating based on your individual constitution, I take into account the energy of the season when I’m developing your protocol. The change of seasons impacts all life on earth. You can see this clearly in nature: leaves change color, buds turn into flowers and then into berries. The change of seasons impacts your body just as much as the plants. Your diet, lifestyle, and herbs need to match the energy of the current season.
What is the energy of autumn, you ask?
The wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) provides a great framework for what we can expect and what we should pay attention to during each season.
TCM is an elemental medical philosophy. It recognizes 5 elements – water, wood, fire, earth, and metal – that imbue themselves in various facets of life. Each element is associated with a different season, organ system, emotions, etc.
Spring and Summer bring more activity and outward, upward expression; while Fall and Winter are when life slows down and goes inward and downward. If your routine mirrored what happens in nature in the Fall, you would begin to decrease your activity in preparation for the introspective, dream time that is winter. In our society however, Fall can be a really busy, stressful time of year with school starting and the holidays right around the corner.
Don’t be afraid to say “no” to things or take time for self-care, even if it’s just 5 minutes a day. It’s also a good idea to cut back on cold, raw foods in favor of warm, cooked, easily-to-digest foods that sustain us during the winter months.
Lungs and Large Intestine
The organ pair associated with the metal element is the lungs and the large intestine. If you tend towards asthma and allergies this time of year, herbs that are spicy and pungent – the flavor associated with this element – clear mucous from both the lungs and the digestive system.
On the other hand, if the dry Fall air is contributing to dry coughs or constipation with dry stools, then warming, moistening herbs are indicated.
As someone who is prone to dryness, I love drinking astragalus tea in the Fall. It’s a moistening, warming adaptogen that helps improve lung function and strengthens the immune system.
Grief + Letting Go
The lungs are associated with grief in TCM. We need to be able to process grief and sadness in order to remain emotionally AND physically healthy. If you’re are not able to fully acknowledge, feel, and move through your grief (ritual helps a lot with this, btw), than over time, imbalances in the spiritual/emotional realms can manifest on the physical level. This can show up as an imbalance in the lungs.
Ever since learning the emotions related to each season in TCM, I have adopted the practice of taking some time each season to revisit my relationship with that season’s emotion. In Fall, I take some time to think about what I have lost, both recently and not so recently. Even things that I am happy to have lost – negative habits, toxic relationships – still need to be grieved sometimes. Plants can help immensely with this process to open and protect the heart.
Your ability to let go and release what no longer serves you is also worth examining this Fall. Are you holding onto a grudge? Are you still holding anger towards someone because you simply can’t “let it go?” Do you have a stash of 50 restaurant to-go containers when you probably only need like, 5? Are you struggling with constipation (on a physical level, not being able to let go)? If this sounds familiar, do yourself and your lower GI tract a favor and give yourself some space and time to sort out these emotions. You might try cayenne flower essence to move stagnant energy or yellow dock root as a gentle laxative.
Detox
We live in a highly toxic world, so I am a firm believer that detox should be a lifestyle. However, Spring and Fall are great times to implement a more intense detox of some kind. This could be a broth fast or a specific diet that you implement for a predetermined time period.
The Autumnal Equinox is the start of Libra season, and Libra loves balance, harmony, and refinement. The more you live in accordance with the seasons, the more in alignment you’ll be.
If you feel like you could benefit from a personalized wellness plan and custom herbal formula to help get you through this Fall, you can book a health consultation here.
Stay well this Autumn, my loves.