Autumn Equinox: A time for nurturing and nourishing
In Chinese Medicine late Summer, encompassing the Autumn Equinox, is associated with the Earth element and the stomach/spleen organs, two of the primary digestive organs of the body. That's right, the spleen is a digestive organ in Chinese medicine. It serves to transform and transport the food and drink in the body into energy and usable matter and it plays a key role in our immune system (like the biomedical spleen function), the condition of our digestion, the strength and tone of our muscles or the fleshy substance of our body and our general energy as well. When the Earth element is out of balance we get sick easily, can have loose stools, gas and bloating, low muscle tone and definition and fatigue.
Mentally-emotionally, when earth is out of balance, instead of digesting our thoughts (mental-emotional food) and moving forward, we tend to ruminate and worry.
Doing things to nurture our body and be gentle with our digestion can be hugely important to nourishing our Earth energy. In Chinese medicine it is thought that cooking or fermenting our foods - particularly vegetables and fruit - makes them more digestible and less harsh on our digestion. Bland foods are also in harmony - think of the root vegetables that will be time to harvest and eat now. We can also take this metaphor into the mental realms where instead of responding in the moment to raw emotional/mental information, we get a little more intellectual about it and gather data and breathing room to process the information. Then the thoughts will also be more digestible and more transformable into something usable by our emotional body.
There are several ways I can support you through this late summer season full of change.
Acupuncture: a space for you to slow down and rest and digest.
Herbs: There are several herb formulas that can apply to your particular pattern of digestive distress (it isn’t a one size fits all) or to nourish your earth element.
Essential Oil Blends: Perennial favorite, Autumn equinox blend brings warmth and balance to our digestion and is excellent for belly rubs. I also love Divine Presence to bring mental emotional ease to any situation - great on the belly, wrists and the foot arch to help relieve abdominal discomfort (including for cramps) and food cravings.
Movement and Qi Gong Exercises: depending on what’s happening for you I can recommend different exercises to support your digestion. Sometimes it’s as simple as a self massage or a yoga pose. One of my favorites is a supported restorative yoga pose Supta Baddha Konasana (AKA supine bound angle pose).
