Welcome Autumn! Simple Strategies to Embrace the Season!

It’s autumn! It’s fall! My favorite time of year! Leaves are falling, (the Latin autumnus means the passing of the year; “fall” from the falling of the leaves), air is cooling (at least in the northern hemisphere!) and we are soon entering into lung and large intestine time, according to the five seasons of Traditional Chinese medicine (Fall Equinox was just yesterday, Monday, September 22!). Your body is aware of entering this new season, which we often experience with “colds”, “coughs” and “congestion” that can come with this change of season. This is a great time to incorporate some simple strategies into your routine, to support your body and soul!

Incorporate warmth

Drinking hot beverages can help keep things moving in the lungs and in the digestive system. Hot herbal teas are best. Grate some fresh ginger root into a mug of hot water. (Ginger is what is known as a “pro-kinetic”, so it can really get things moving in the digestive system. Great to drink throughout the day, or with meals.) Steep fresh garlic with a squeeze of lemon, for yummy Garlic Lemonade. Garlic supports the respiratory system and so much more – heart, liver, etc. Other herbs support the lungs- thyme, mullein, anise, eucalyptus.

Eat hot food! Nourishing soups and stews are perfect for this time of year. Put a pastured chicken in a pot with some pure water, vegetables and good salt, and you are on your way! (See meat stock article)

Cook with spices! Another way to “add warmth” is by adding warming spices to your food. Ginger, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, curry spices, cayenne, etc. Splash a dash or two of hot sauce on your eggs or in your soup! Try this one, a fermented hot sauce from Dr. Cowan’s Garden that is fabulous.

Eat kimchi! Kimchi (from Korea) is a spicy twist on a cabbage ferment. Pick up a jar at your favorite food store or better yet, make your own! Inexpensive, easy, and packet full of potent probiotics!

“Recharge your batteries” by sitting outside in the sun for 10-15 minutes, no matter the weather. Turn your face to the sun and breathe a “box breath” (count 4, 5 or 6 breathing in, hold for the same count, breath out to the same count, hold for the same count) to help bring your autonomic nervous system back to balance.

Encourage Movement

Movement is the opposite of stagnation. Move your body, move your energy, move your breath, move your bowels. When we are stagnant, when we get stuck, when things get heavy and slow down…we don’t feel so good. Put on your sneakers and sweatshirt and go outside every day. Walking 15-20 minutes at a good pace is a wonderful way to keep things moving—your energy, your lymph, your breath, your heart.

Make sure you are moving your bowels every day! Constipation may be the ultimate “stagnation”. Toxins that are supposed to move out of your body get recycled back through. No wonder you feel bad! Having regular bowel movements, at least once every day, can keep headaches, brain fog, and bloating (and other symptoms) at bay. Drinking ginger tea (above), can help. You can also add some beets to your diet! Beet kvass, roasted beets, beet soup, pickled beets, fermented beets and/or beet greens! Beets help to thin bile, (no stagnant bile, please!), which in turn can help your bowels move. Wearing a castor oil pack on your liver every night may also help to decongest your liver and get things moving. If you haven’t tried a castor oil pack because it sounds complicated and you don’t want the mess, try one from Queen of the Thrones which was designed to keep the castor oil off your sheets and pjs! (No more excuses! 😉 )

Blessings of the season of autumn to you and yours!