The Autumnal Equinox welcomes in the Fall. The dominant energy in Nature during this time is the AIR element. We call it the VATA season in Ayurveda.
The Summer harvest has reached full peak and Mother Earth now offers us her more hearty bounty filled with grounding roots and vegetables that help us prepare for the cooler, longer nights, and to counteract the dry, light and scattered qualities dominate at this time. Fall is Nature's cue to start drawing inward and focus more on deeply nourishing ourselves.
In our modern culture, Fall kicks off a time where we have a significant holiday each month that takes us into busier social schedules, but Nature is asking us to slow down, to rest more, and start reflecting on the past few months. Celebrate all the seeds you have sown, creations you've brought to fruition, and accomplishments you've made, while at the same time, start cutting back what no longer serves you. Now is the time to 'weed your garden of life'.
Air is a very sensitive element that is easily affected by the surrounding environment. Air is electrical energy and this makes our NERVOUS SYSTEM most vulnerable at this time. Just like air, the qualities dry, light, cold, mobile, changeable, and ungrounded will manifest more in our body and mind during the Fall. What presents in Nature presents in us.
Some ways this could present in you: dry skin and scalp, anxiety, restless sleep, inability to focus, constipation. Our medicine for this season will be to adjust and attune our diet and lifestyle to accommodate for this energetic and physical shift in our environment by bringing in more of the opposing qualities of air which are moist, oily, heavy, warm/hot, stillness and routine.
Some key ways to find balance in Fall:
Eat cooked, warm, moist, spiced foods
Warm oil massages to nourish dry skin and to protect nerves
Mental hygiene is critical. Meditate, walks in Nature, yoga, conscious breathing
Strengthen your daily routine - get into a rhythm
Consistent bed & meal times
Regular breaks from technology
Slow down
Nature guides us to cultivate balance in ourselves as the seasons turn, you just need to pay attention and flow with her rhythms and cycles. Remember, we are Nature, too.