We are now officially in Autumn. The air is getting drier, the days are getting shorter, and leaves are beginning to fall.
In the Five Element Theory of Chinese Medicine, autumn is also a time for us to shed what is not absolutely necessary in preparation for winter, just like the trees. As the air we breath gets drier, it’s important to make sure our lungs don’t suffer from that crispness. How do we do that? By getting back to basics through eating simply and gently nourishing.
This may look like a bowl of soup for dinner, or baked chicken and vegetables for lunch. The flavor of Autumn is pungent. Working a curry dish into your autumnal repertoire is an easy way to get that flavor!
Our lungs are the organ closest to the exterior world; they interact most directly with our atmosphere through inhalation and exhalation. Because of this, they are also the organ to be most effected by external changes. Although we want to dial back the sweets of summer, honey has superb moisterizing qualities for the lungs. Lungs feeling dry and tight? Try warm tea with honey. Hemp seeds also have excellent moisterizing capabilities.
As we par down in what we eat, we can also look at parring down what we do in a day. Instead of packing in all of the summertime fun we can, perhaps look to enjoying a leisurely walk or a quiet conversation with a friend. While summer is the peak of outward, energy on full-blast, autumn is the season that begins an inward time to nourish and “de-clutter” oneself.
Enjoy this quiet time, and the beauty of the fall leaf colors.
