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    Autumnal Changes

    Writer's picture: Christi the AcupuncturistChristi the Acupuncturist

    Autumn - it's here! Can you feel the difference? In acupuncture and Chinese medicine we believe that each season has a different feel, a different energy, and maybe most importanly, a different purpose in our lives.


    As the weather cools we all look forward to standard autumnal sign posts like

    • warmer foods like soups, cinnamon anything, sweet potatoes, hearty stews

    • cool weather activities like woodsy hikes, apple picking, hot cider by the bonfire

    • digging out all our cozy sweaters, corduroys and comfy boots


    Just like the trees stop production of chlorophyll in order to store nitrogen for the upcoming winter before dropping their leaves, autumn ought to be a season of letting go for us too.


    mountain road covered in fallen autumn leaves, surrounding trees filled with colorful leaves
    Take your cue from the deciduous trees in autumn and let go of what you no longer need.

    The letting go is, at the same time, an embracing; embracing your needs and prioritizing them... to conserve your energy for the shorter days and colder weather that winter will bring, and finally, to deliver you to the springtime with your energetic reserves intact.

    Autumn brings a more contemplative, inward directed energy. We should use this time to take stock of what in our lives makes us feel nourished and energized. Fill our hearts with the gratitude these things/people bring; the literal meaning of Thanksgiving. Then do the harder work to discover our habits &/or relationships that aren’t working for us or simply aren’t working for us anymore.


    The letting go may be small things that feel easy to abandon or they may feel overwhelming. But the purpose of all this letting go is to conserve your energy for the shorter days and colder weather that winter will bring, and finally, to deliver you to the springtime with energetic reserves intact.


    This letting go is, at the same time, an embracing; embracing your true needs and prioritizing them.


    Letting go of your summertime smoothie that’s causing digestive discomfort now can be replaced with roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts and an egg for breakfast (batch cooking and using supper leftovers for breakfast is key). Letting go of late night Netflix binging that leaves you dragging in the morning and embracing an extra hour of sleep can feel absolutely life-changing in a few days. And letting go of toxic relationships can be literal or it can be a shift in perspective. If you can’t or don’t want to cut ties with the toxic people in your life, you can work on better boundaries i.e. I don’t feel open to having a conversation about what you think I should be doing for a living/why I don’t have kids/politics, etc.


    But sadly, our most toxic relationship is often with ourselves. We can also use autumn’s inward directed energy to pay attention to our self-talk. As we actually listen, we become more aware of the frequency with which we say things to ourselves that we would never say to another person. Be kind, and each time you hear the negative comments, take a deep breath and try to let it go with your exhale. This is easier if you have a ready-made response that praises you - it’s especially helpful if you pick a statement that, at least part of you, currently believes. Mine is “I am open to the vastness of the universe" this is shorthand for my belief that most of my difficulty and discomfort comes from me, not from outside myself. Just saying this in my head makes me smile, and makes me feel almost instantly calmer. Score one for letting go ;)


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