Fall in New England: Letting go and Diving Within
HIGHLIGHTS:
Time to cleanse and purge your body and physical home! I recommend Standard Process 21 day purification program. Box up those items you routinely pick up and put down again and haven’t used in two years. Energetically cleanse your home using incense, copal, and sage sticks which you can purchase in the clinic.
Time to shift to warm foods like stir fry’s, casseroles, stews. Good bye to salads.
Time to take time for yourself to prepare for hibernation: writing, meditation, breathing, sitting and being with the various cycles of the moon.
The spirit of summer has left, the light shifts in the sky and we say good bye through the last of the beautiful summer sunsets. In New England, we release the ease of summer and welcome the coolness of the air at night and in the mornings when we add an extra layer. Light summer salads have shifted into the heavier thicker greens of Kale, Chard, leafy spinach and root vegetables. We stir fry it, eating the warmth of summer instead of feeling it on our skin. We join the trees and as they begin moving the sap toward their roots. We begin our preparation for our blood and energies to descend deeper into our organ system for protection during the winter hibernation. We need to fuel our bodies within as the outside air begins to cool.
In Chinese medicine, Fall is the season of the element of metal which is related to the lung and large intestine organs. What does this mean? The day to day functions are the lung takes in oxygen and the large intestine extracts nutrients from our food and moves the rest out of the body. The larger cycle is that our bodies are preparing its final purge before the system turns again into hibernation, or at least in our culture, beginning to slow down to prepare for winter.
Metal is also the element of organization. Have you felt like doing a cleanse after the summer or have you felt like cleaning and purging your house lately? That is the effect of Metal. In the clinic I prescribe the 21 day purification cleanse by Standard Process. It cleans all the lobes of the liver using a combination of supplementation and cutting out certain foods. If you are interested please schedule a consultation to go over your plan and your goals. For the house, an energetic cleanse using smoke, resins, herbs and plants are available in the clinic. Copal has been used for centuries in Mexico for cleansing along with Palo Santo from Peru and White Sage from California. All have been sustainably harvested and they are fair trade.
Metal is strong, it is found within in the earth. In nature it takes strength and energy to move nutrients and water toward the roots for protection during the winter months. During the summer we have been busy traveling, socializing, for some of us, growing food and harvesting. It was a busy season! As in ancient times it is our final push for the preparations in the coming months, to amass fuel, to store food, to gather clothing for warmth and to retreat to the interior for the winter. We let go of the people we have met, the adventures that we had and we bring the stories with us. We may not do this physically anymore, but we do it energetically. We take the energy we gathered over the summer to move within.
Think about the things you want to let go of. Any unfinished projects from the summer, places you wanted to see, friends you wanted to connect with, a way of being that you may not have fully been able to embrace. Now let that go. There will be plenty of time in the next few months to begin the germination process. Spend some time alone, sitting, breathing, placing your palms on the earth and letting go of everything.
To increase and sustain your energy in this season, nourish your earth element. In Chinese Medicine Earth is related to the spleen and stomach. These organs like to be dry and warm. It is time to refrain from eating raw foods such as light salads and dairy. Embrace the vegetables and fruits now being harvested and sold at our local farmers markets such as beets, potatoes, carrots, squashes, thick leafed kale, onions, apples, black berries and raspberries. These veggies and fruits have spent the summer accumulating nutrients and condensing the energies of summer and all its warmth into their bodies and skins. Eating these foods will bring the warmth into your belly and signal to the rest of your being that’s it’s time to go inward.
Another cyclical timing to help you let go: The Full Moon Saturday September 14 is a time to celebrate the things that came to fruition in this last moon cycle and the opportunity to let anything go that did not manifest. You can celebrate by giving thanks to the moon by literally going out and looking at her and recounting those things and then writing down the dreams that did not manifest and burn them in a small bowl or lay your hand flat on the earth and release these, asking the earth to take them. The energies of the full moon last three days. So, if it is cloudy on any of those days you can still have your ritual on another night.
As city people we are often disconnected with the natural seasons and energies of nature. As you are reading this you may have already been planning your winter getaway, focusing on getting back to school either yourself or your kids, getting ready for the upcoming holiday season. Whatever your distraction is, please slow down and think about where we are in the seasonal cycle and give your body the love and attention it deserves. To increase your energy and assist the process of letting go and deepen your experience with the season or just to feel amazing, please schedule some time on the table. Make an appointment at Kim Foster Acupuncture. I am in the clinic Monday thru Thursdays and every other Friday and Sunday.
Peace