LIVING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SEASONS (FALL EDITION)

'Autumn - the Season of Metal'

You already know it! The bread & butter of health is lifestyle. Lifestyle is the total collection of how we fill our day. How we fill it in terms of movements, emotions, behaviours, internal demands, as well as the demands & stresses that our external environment creates.

We as human beings are a counterpart in an extremely large system and so the influence of our external environment plays a huge role. The Daoist adepts did not feel they had the authority to determine the objective distinction of things. Therefore the human being is as much the cosmos as the electrons are that makes up our body.

'cycles within cycles'

We are a counterpart of these celestial cycles, this means the days, months, years, processions, big years, great years and other planetary relations. This ever-permeating spiritual ether that we call "qi" regulates, communicates and expresses itself through the natural cycles. It gives rise to day & night, gravitational fluctuations, the 4 seasons, behavioural changes in animals and humans, and so on.

Qi is the conceptual blanket which unites all the pieces into the coherent whole. These patterns in the qi express themselves fractally in every infinite piece. Including us! Well, partly...

As humans we have the free will and volition to depart from natural action. This reality sits as the root to many of our most common diseases and dysfunctions. Having the knowledge and foresight to understand the grand movement of qi in nature can help us to align our unnatural lifestyles in more natural ways. When we do this we find nature on our side, working WITH us to become better, healthier, happier, stronger humans.

All things follow a yin-yang ebb and flow. They have to or else they wouldn't be great, sustainable and everlasting. When nature expresses rest we use that as a metaphorical slope to accelerate our resting. The summer can be likened to the day, the winter to the night and the equinoxes to dawn and dusk respectively. We use the momentum of nature to increase our body's resilience and ability to heal itself.

'yin-yang ebb & flow'

Summer and day time are Yang in expression. This is because they're loud, bright, active, expressive, emotional, colourful, hot, and outgoing. Winter and night time are Yin in expression. They're quiet, dormant, calm, dark, reserved, depressed, cold, and ingoing.

One could say that in the summer/day the qi spreads outwards which is why flowers bloom and open, fruits grow and animals play. One could also say that in the winter/night the qi retracts and sinks inwards, which is why plants and animals return to the earth for recharge.

If we don't do a good job matching nature's rhythm then it is said we will lose balance and we will experience the repercussions in the following aspect of the cycle. A poorly managed day gives rise to a poor sleep, and an unhealthy winter gives rise to sickness in spring, and so on.

So!

Now we're in the heart of the Fall season, and so how can I do a better job being more Fall-y in my life?

'nature letting go'

In the Fall portion of the cycle, qi begins to contract inward while the fruits of our summer mature and ripen for stowaway. This is the season of harvesting and moderate indulging. Plant qi returns to its underground roots, and the fruits first ripen before they drop, being set free and gifted to the rest of the ecosystem to do with them as it may. It's a time of open giving & sharing.

Nothing goes to waste. The energy feeds the food chain and re-nourishes the soil. The seeds spread in their own interesting ways to pre-gestate and many animals take in their bountiful surplus.

For us it means just the same! Fall is about eating and breathing well. Breathe deeply, breathe quality air and build a buffer of nutritional storage. It's about eating more of the nutrition-rich, brightly coloured foods that are in season like squash, seeds, nuts and fruits. Also include more warming herbs and spices, and eat less cold & raw food. In fall we consolidate all the goodness that the summer’s activity has yielded (e.g. yang things like: exercise, late nights of increased activity & joy, vitamin D, social outleting, warmth, sweating, open pores, etc.) in turn establishing a Yang buffer to get us through the winter.

'drawing in, consolidating, ripening, astringing'

Now we must prepare our yang qi to move and consolidate inward so to mimic the natural flow. We do this by covering up with more clothing. Aim to wear a little bit more than you would need. Long sleeves, scarves and hoodies are nice. Fall is about protecting the skin from dryness, cold and wind. It’s also a good time to practice good skin care in the form of nourishing yin with moisturizers and other therapeutic topicals.

On a professional level it’s a good time to finish projects that you began in the spring and summer, or in other words “harvesting the bounty of your hard work”. It’s also a time for organization and re-ordering. Socially it’s a time to shift a bit more inward and become more introspective. And psychologically it’s a time for letting go so to allow for good rest and to make room for new things to come - just as the plants let go of their precious fruit.

'Taiji in movement'

On a movement level we now begin to shift more attention towards the internal aspects, or the insubstantial opposites that bring balance to our visible and substantial movement. In other words developing sensitivity for rising in sinking movements, retreating in advancing movements, contracting in expanding movements, etc. This is an expression of Taiji aka the Yin-Yang relationship representing how one extreme will also contain an insubstantial expression of it’s counter-extreme. Taijiquan or Tai Chi is a great movement practice that works to develop these internal aspects of movement and increase oxygen and fluids in the body.

It’s an interesting thing to try and comprehend the idea of how letting go is used as a means to cultivate and consolidate. This is again an expression of Taiji. When we actively give and let go, we also become more open to borrowing from nature’s immense power. This works in the same way that finding things becoming more easy when we stop looking so hard, or how brilliant ideas arise when we let go of ruminating and overthinking, or the all to popular saying “if you love something then set it free” - not many people enjoy being in a relationship that is too clingy, or trying too hard to impress. Gaining is best achieved through letting go. Nature is like water; it doesn’t go where we actively push it, it flows where we create space. This is the expression of Taiji and it is natural expression of the Dao or "natural way".

'keeping the pendulum circling'

Remember these principles and apply them as best as you can this Fall. We don’t need to be extreme about it but we do want to gently give the right push that will keep our pendulum swinging in alignment with the natural cycle. Especially if we’re already relatively healthy or “in a good swing” then it doesn't take much action to keep the swing going. So long as the rhythm remains gently there we will exercise each respective aspects of the natural cycle in a balanced way.

Failing to exercise the contracting, consolidating, ripening, or ordering aspects of the Fall can lead to more excessive Yang tendencies, like hyperactivity, increased wear & tear, nutritional deficiencies or inability to properly absorb nutrition, weakened immune system, and symptoms of dryness.

On a final note, Fall is the mother that gives birth to winter. Winter is the season of utmost Yin and corresponds with the Water network in classical Chinese medicine. The Water network includes, the kidneys, adrenals, bladder, and reproductive organs, glands and also governs particular aspects of our physiology that include inhalation, basal metabolic rate, blood pressure, and brain function. If your Water network shows signs of being deficient, taking extra care of the Metal element in the Fall is a clever place to start!

'Five Movements: Generating Cycle'

Happy living everyone!