Supporting the Body Through the Seasons: Autumn, Letting Go and Coming Inward
Have you felt that little internal tug recently, like a child pulling at your coat sleeve, as autumn quietly announces its arrival? Perhaps you’ve noticed a desire to slow down, spend a little more time alone, or an inexplicable urge to clear out clutter, bravely venturing into dark, dusty cupboards and forgotten corners of the house!
As autumn approaches, we welcome the vibrant colours of the leaves, the crispness of the air and the clarity of the changing light. When I lived in the Middle East, autumn was the season I missed most. It was only when I returned home that I rediscovered my love for this beautiful, fleeting season, not only for its colour and vibrancy, but for the sense of introspection it awakens.
Autumn is a season of transformation: a time of paring back, gathering in and letting go of what is no longer needed. We see this everywhere in nature, as the leaves change colour and fall, the light shifts and the air becomes cooler and clearer.
But transitions can be uncomfortable. We may not be quite ready to let go of those long summer evenings and the warmth on our skin. We may resist packing away the summer clothes or banishing the camping equipment to the garage for another year! Yet nature doesn't resist the change, it adapts.
The survival of a tree through winter, and its ability to burst into new growth again in spring, depends upon this process of letting go and drawing inward. Leaves are shed, while the tree's precious resources are withdrawn towards its roots, conserving energy for the months ahead. Perhaps there is something for us to learn here too.
Just as falling leaves reveal the structure of a tree, autumn can bring to the surface emotions that have been covered over or silenced during the busier, more outward-facing months of summer. It's rather like dust in a shaft of sunlight: once the light falls across it, it's suddenly impossible not to see.
Autumn and Chinese Medicine
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, autumn is associated with the Metal element, the Lung and Large Intestine systems, and the qualities of letting go, refinement and discernment.
It is also traditionally associated with grief and melancholy. As nature retreats and returns its energy to the earth, we may find ourselves naturally becoming more reflective and aware of what — and who — we have lost.
Rather than pushing these feelings away, allowing ourselves to acknowledge and process them can be an important part of moving through the season. There is wisdom in making space for what needs to be felt and released.
Autumn therefore invites us to ask:
What am I ready to let go of?
What is worth carrying forward?
And where might I benefit from drawing my energy back towards myself?
Our yoga practice, too, can reflect this seasonal shift.
1. Draw inspiration from autumn
Autumn offers plenty of inspiration for our yoga practice. The cooler, clearer air can encourage us to breathe more deeply and fully.
Breathing practices combined with gentle movement can help open the chest, invigorate the body and create a greater sense of spaciousness.
And there is something wonderfully grounding about practising outdoors amongst the changing colours of the season.
2. Refine your practice
Metal is associated with refinement, and this can be reflected in the way we practise.
Rather than focusing solely on the outer shape of an asana, bring your attention inward. Notice the movement of the breath, the sensation along the spine, the muscles responding to gravity, or the subtle movement of the diaphragm.
The more finely we listen, the less we need to force.
3. There can be no expansion without contraction
As nature begins to gather its energy inward, we can explore this same quality in our practice.
On the exhalation, allow your awareness to return towards your centre and lower body. Some postures naturally encourage this inward movement, such a Tadasana, Tree pose, Child's pose and forward bends, for example.
Contraction isn't the opposite of expansion, it is part of the same cycle. Before a tree can burst into new growth, it must first gather its resources.
4. Find stillness within movement
As we move towards a quieter, more yin time of year, we can cultivate softness and relaxation within effort, and stillness within movement.
This is beautifully expressed in the wisdom of the Daodejing:
Yield and overcome.
Bend and be straight.
Empty and be full.
Sometimes doing less creates the space for something deeper to emerge.
5. Navigating tricky transitions
Someone said to me recently that perhaps the in-betweens are the hardest part because we know what to expect in summer and winter, but the transition between them can feel uncertain.
Change can be unsettling. The ground beneath us can seem to shift, leaving us feeling unsteady, anxious or tempted to cling to what is familiar.
Steadying and strengthening postures such as Warrior and Tree can offer a calming and empowering counterbalance.
As you practise, imagine drawing your attention down through your feet and into your roots. Rather than trying to control the uncertainty, allow yourself to feel supported within it.
6. Stay present
Transitions ask us to stay close to the present moment.
Just as a challenging yoga balance requires our attention, trust and sometimes a little courage, periods of change invite us to become more attentive to what is happening within us.
If we can move through the resistance rather than immediately trying to escape it, we may discover feelings and vulnerabilities that have been waiting for our attention.
And in recognising them, we may find greater understanding, strength, or simply a sense of release.
7. Eat for the season
Our diet can also reflect autumn's deeper, more grounding qualities.
In Chinese Medicine, foods such as potatoes, parsnips, turnips, cauliflower, carrots, onions and ginger fit beautifully with the season.
Think warming, nourishing and comforting.
In other words, don't waste any time….get those root vegetables roasting!
Citrus fruits can also provide a welcome burst of freshness and vitamin C as we move towards winter.
Perhaps autumn's invitation is simply to let go a little.
To shed what we no longer need, draw our energy inward, and make space. And, like the trees around us, to trust that there is wisdom in resting, gathering and becoming a little quieter before the next season of growth arrives
