Winds of Change-Fall Season Defined by Chinese Medicine

by Danica Thornberry, L.Ac.
October 21, 2008

The fall season reflects tremendous transition. It's a time when we find ourselves vacillating between cool morning stillness and fiery, harsh dryness. These fluctuating patterns keep us constantly changing. We are forced to let go of summer ease and allow cool winds to blow in.

As the Indian Summer fires are quelled, we naturally start switching gears, moving inward and slowing down our life's pace. The cool days of autumn put an end to summer barbeques. Instead we emphasize more intimate moments, time for reflection and moments of stillness. Fall is usually the time we start assessing our year's abundance/harvest.

Windy outdoor conditions warrant changes in diet and lifestyle, but the energy of wind insists upon changes in our thought patterns as well. We all know to switch from shorts and sandals to sweaters and scarves. But can we switch our thoughts just as easily? It's never a breeze to just "go with the flow" letting life's changes happen as they will. However, that is what life asks of us, especially during this season so focused on transitioning.

Chinese medicine says our lungs process grief and associates the lung system with the fall season. With its wind gusts, hot and dry patterns that quickly change to cool and moist, this relationship is easy to understand. Our relationship with grieving losses needs to be strengthened and reviewed periodically in order to prevent becoming ill. Hanging too tightly to old wounds will eventually create weakness in the lung system.

During these autumn months look to golden colored vegetables, baked fruits, warm soups and spicy herbs to disperse accumulations (like old wounds) from the lungs. Meanwhile, having regular acupuncture sessions allows pent-up emotions to vent and helps life changes to be integrated with more ease.