October is here aaaaand here’s your little reminder that we are humans - not machines! Seasons are a’changin and so are WE!
“Living seasonally, eh?” - it’s not a new thing, in fact, it’s pretty old, and we all do it to a certain extent - or at least, we might try, or could do with trying.
It’s no secret that the ‘wellness/self care’ industry has boomed in the last few years and there are now endless sources of material we can buy into to support our ‘health’ journeys. I’m not saying this is good or bad… but I find it pretty overwhelming 😂 In my humble opinion, there’s something quite special sat on the shoulder of us all that we often forget - good ol nature. Without wanting to sound too ‘hippy - dippy’ I think there is something pretty satisfying in bringing it back to basics - it’s pretty easy too. We are seasonal beings living in seasonal environments - there’s a lot to say for this. Using the seasons as a reflection of how we could be living is a brilliant place to start. Noticing and honouring changes, living with the seasons, instead of against them, acknowledging energy levels and feeling into this with our bodies, it might sound complicated and like anything, yes, there are layers to it, but at the crux of it - it’s pretty simple. It’s not uncommon to find changes in our bodies show up at the cusp of the seasonal changes, sniffles, coughs, aches, pains, changes in our emotional lives - I like to look at these changes as nice little reminders to adjust; nature is keeping us on our toes, if you fight against it, the harder things can become.
Autumn is upon us, leaves are falling, temperatures are dropping, nature is preparing for its winter slumber. And we are doing the same, are we not? There’s still vibrancy in colours, and the birth of a whole new colour pallet - golds, reds, oranges, purples - is upon us too. We are harvesting the last of the fruits to take into the winter, celebrating summer, and grasping onto the lasts of the charged summer energy before we head inward. Beautiful ey?
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Autumn is the season of dryness, contraction and moving inward, it's a pivotal point between the outward ‘yang’ energy of summer, and the introverted ‘Yin’ energy of winter. It correlates to the lung and large intestine - both organs associated with ‘letting go’ and the element of metal which governs organisation, order, communication, the mind, setting limits, and protecting boundaries. Emotionally the season is associated with sadness and grief and as we shift into the dark and leave summer behind we might find ourselves feeling these feelings more readily and forcefully.
Seeing the pattern? 😉
Naturally we as humans are usually feeling the pull this time of year to begin the process of preparing for winter, this might include finishing projects from the summer, preparing slower projects for the winter, clearing our homes and creating new, clearer-feeling spaces to take us into the darker months, changing our diets, waning our time in social, busy environments, the list goes on - and its all ‘normal’.
When working with clients, I often discuss their relationships with the seasons, what each season represents for them. There’s a lot to say for this and as always, bringing it back to the body is key for my work. Keeping things simple and working with what we have got - our bodies and nature - is a fab place to start, and is not over complicated.
So, “what is ‘seasonal living’ and how can it help me?”, I hear you ask.
3 main things you can do to live in harmony with our environments is to focus on what you eat, how you feel and how you can nourish your body through receiving physical support, i.e massage, acupuncture, body movement.
Eating seasonally to support your lung health and immunity is a brilliant place to start. Shifting the attention from cold/cooling foods most enjoyed in the summer, to warming, easy to digest, seasonal foods to carry you into the autumn is recommended. Also, drinking warm water and tea with your meals and throughout the day helps to warm your body and nourish your Yin.
Acknowledging how you feel might seem a bit irrelevant in physically helping yourself move into the change of the seasons, however it’s not new news that our emotional health has a massive impact on our every day lives, and our overall physical health. As autumn has a main focus on letting go and moving inward, and also being associated with themes of grief, emotions of this sort can show up as a result of this. It’s natural. Feeling your feelings is the most beneficial thing you can do as these times. Allowing feelings to surface will create awareness around them and eventually allow you to release them from your body - preventing stagnation and blockages which can lead on to dis-ease. Journalling, moving your body, singing, dancing, spending time alone outside and chatting are all ways you can encourage feelings to come to the surface.
Supporting your body is important all year round but as already mentioned, honing in on extra support at the cusp of the seasons is a fab time to action this. Based on what I have already mentioned, supporting the body with what you are eating and allowing feelings to surface are extremely helpful and can be relatively easy to achieve alone. Seeking physical support for your body from someone else is the icing on the cake - put the work into someone else’s hands for a while and help deepen your own support experience. Receiving bodywork is a brilliant way to release any ‘trapped’ feelings and to achieve an overall sense of relaxation - I mean, who wouldn’t want that? Receiving regular treatments can seriously help ease body aches and pains that may arise due to colder temperatures, improve circulation and thus improving flow of lymph = helping immunity. In addition to all of the physical benefits of bodywork, having someone to guide your body through processing of emotions is a massive deal - it’s half of ‘it’. I think it is a common misconception that people need to be in agony or be ultra stressed to warrant receiving a treatment - however if you have a body, you have a reason, and a 60 min massage every so often, along with eating seasonally and feeling your feelings is a massive ‘thank you’ back to your body which works so hard for you all of the time. Makes sense really, doesn’t it?
If you are interested in how you can support your body as we shift seasons, drop me a message - I’d love to chat!
Email me on info@beccarose.earth ♥️
Now, I’m off to do continue my “autumnal clean”, paint some walls and follow up some emails - how very ‘Autumnal’ of me 😉
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