Turning Inwards: Autumn in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Turning Inwards: Autumn in Traditional Chinese Medicine
It’s hard to believe it’s already this time of year again. The trees, lush with an abundance of summer leaves, are turning their vibrant shades of reds and golds. The morning air holds a crisp, pleasant chill. The occasional call of geese flying southbound echoes overhead, and the birdsong that filled our ears this summer is slowly quieting down. The world around us is changing, as the autumn season always brings about.
For many of us, the start of Fall kicks off a season of hustle and bustle, and the season can pass us by quickly. But if we can spare the time, Traditional Chinese Medicine calls for something a little slower.
The Meaning of Autumn in Traditional Chinese Medicine
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yin and Yang are a fundamental concept of two dynamic energetic forces. They are opposing, and complimentary, and both are essential to creating and supporting the whole. Yin and yang both represent a broad spectrum of ideas and energies. For example, yin is often considered to represent darkness, femininity, the cold, and stillness or introspection. Yang is considered to represent lightness, masculinity, the heat, and movement or outward expression of energy.
Spring and Summer are considered seasons of Yang - abundant growth, light, and warmth. As we move into Fall, we enter our first Yin season of the year - consisting of slowing growth, darker and cooler days, and a turn towards inner energy and life. The Autumn Equinox, this year on September 22nd, is a moment in time where yin and yang are in equal measure, just before we move into the months ahead consisting of greater yin energy. The growth in our gardens is slowing as the growing season comes to a close. The trees are losing their leaves, and directing their energy inwards to survive winter. Animals are quietly nesting, stocking up food. Our bodies, too, are affected by this natural flow of seasonal energy.
In TCM, Fall is also associated with the lungs and the large intestine. Both organs take in vital resources for the human body (air and nutrients), extract what is needed, and let go of the rest. This act of refinement, of determining what is important and letting go of what isn’t, is energetically aligned with the autumn season, the shedding of what is no longer needed, and the turn inwards to what is needed most.
Steps to Embrace the Season
As the outside world commences this great shift all around us, we can remember that we are also a part of this natural shift, and can benefit from embracing the energetic shifts in our own lives. Here are a couple of simple ways you could choose to embrace this season:
Keep yourself warm and your immune system supported
The sudden jump to colder, windier weather can shock the system at a time of year where seasonal sickness abounds! Warming foods such as soups and stews, and warming spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon and cloves can help keep the body warm and nourished as the air starts to get cooler, and immune supporting foods such as ginger and garlic are great as colds and flus start to crop up.
Reflect and Plan
It’s hard not to fall into the fantastic swings of energy that the summertime brings. As it cools down, we can let go of the abundance and excess energies of summer. Like a tree sheds its leaves, we can take some time to reflect on the year thus far, prioritize what truly matters to us, and let go of what doesn’t. In doing so, as the squirrels build their burrows, we are creating a warm, cozy internal environment to comfort our mind, body and spirit for the chillier months ahead.
