As our days become shorter, there is a coolness in the morning. At last. It has been a hot summer in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Even by our standards as a high desert city.
The smell of green chile roasting permeates the air at chile stands and grocery store. Pungent, sharp and wonderful to a point. It is a bit overwhelming to the untrained nose to smell the fifty-pound of chile roasting in an open metal container. Spun by hand or with a turn of a motor, the green chile peppers are roasted just enough. The task of taking off the skin remains for a gloved and brave person as the spicy heat of the pepper can burn the skin!
Tuning into Nature
As the seasons change, the plant and animal world adjust to the shorter days, cooler nights. The plants no longer produce flowers, the animals may seek or build shelter for the dark, cold nights ahead.
We, as humans, once were tuned into nature as nature’s cues would create similar needs for us. With modern conveniences, we no longer are tuning into nature in the same way, if at all. The electricity lights our space late into the night. The shelter we build is more permanent. The food we once needed to grow and hunt then preserve for winter is now available in grocery stores.
Prevention awareness in your Daily Life Choices
Yet, if your heart is seeking prevention tools for improving the quality of your life, following the seasons is a good place to start as they create a predictable rhythm to establish life affirming habits. These habits increase resilience with your emotions and your health.
Most of us notice the days are getting shorter and nights are cooler. Perhaps, the leaves on the trees are turning where you live. I did grow some tomatoes and squash but they no longer producing vegetables now. The tomatoes remain green. I will bring them in before the first frost.
How might these changes impact the body and brain? The growing darkness can create a low mood for those who may have mood issues during the winter months. The cool nights and soon, the cool days may create a desire to have warmer foods and less raw food which is harder for the body to digest in general. Notice what your body might want as the season changes. Making a simple vegetable soup gives warmth, cooked vegetables and love to yourself and your family. This warm bowl of soup strengthens our immune system.
Small Daily Steps Increase our Resilience
This is a form of tuning into the fall. This awareness can be cultivated with each season. Western medical research and Ayurveda, a prevention focused medicine, both have shared that a strong immune system supports our well-being and creates resilience when faced with challenges in our daily lives. The reverse is true as well. The more balanced and aware we are in our mind and body, the stronger our immune system becomes.
Ayurveda, this prevention focused medicine, can guide us towards this inward tuning in. Awareness of the elements, air and ether, in the fall can help us to better support our changing needs. Fall season has qualities of dryer air, clarity in the atmosphere, a lightness, and movement (wind) and in later fall, cold. These are the qualities or attributes make for dry skin, creaky joints, slower bowels, and increased anxiety or restless mind.
To soothe the mind and body, three small steps can be to choose foods that increasing moisture in the body, taking a twenty-minute walk outdoors or going to bed early enough so to feel rested the next day.
My book, Cleanse Your Body, Reveal Your Soul, https://a.co/d/dGYqfu9, can support you on your health journey.
What small step can you take today?
