Harmonizing your Yin and Yang Connection!

Living in balance begins with the comprehension of the seasonal cycles of nature. Diving deep within our inner landscape moving through the transitions within the body and on Earth. Reflections begin to surface when taking time to slow down. Equinoxes and solstices are also included which also help balance the Pranic flow, (life force). Not living in balance with natures cycles can cause an imbalance within the body and on Mother Terra.

Turning away from this energetic connection that is lives within us and surrounds us, can turn us away from the expression of the environment. During Autumn the environment becomes more yin, meaning that it is the time of harvesting, the air element is dry and the wind is cooling. The lungs and the body need warmth a moment of warming up to a cozy fire, taking the time to relax and to let go.

1. Tuning inwards: Working on our inner landscape permits a moment of self reflection and time to listen to the body. Listening to taking it slowly, such as resting when needed, not over working or any over consumption. Slowing down with the fast pace of life. A perfect moment in arranging your home and stocking up for the cooler season. This also means eating foods that are more warming, more sour that help the body feel more at ease. Examples are: Foods preserved in vinegar, leeks, onions, sauerkraut, pickles, hawthorn berries, olives, grapefruits. Using food for fermenting and storing for the winter season. Warm teas such as Rose hip, cinnamon are instrumental for keeping the body warm.
2. Practice: Getting started with an early practice around 6 am with meditation, yoga, any form of activity that can be performed inside your home. Later in the evening it is advisable after 6pm to practice a slow form of yoga or meditation to help your body soothe before sleep. It is important to build on and work with the energetic Pranic flow so it does not become stored excessively in the body during these seasons.
3. Healthy Nourishment: Encouraging healthy food selections that will help with your Yin energy to flow. Great foods are squash, nuts, warm soups, root vegetables, pumpkins, bean soup that can also be cooked in a crockpot, roasted or in an oven with a low heat. Cook with less water and at a lower heat for a longer period of time, this helps preserve more nutrients in the food. These foods are also easier to digest which is important for the digestive system, the body assimilates food properly when not eating denser foods that take many hours to digest. Cooking in high heats can deplete the food entirely from its nutrients, and create more difficulty in the body to assimilate. The body should digest food slowly with time.
4. The importance of warmth: When the weather starts to dampen and cool, it is the time of the common cold, the flu and other externally contracted infections that affect the lungs. It is important to keep your feet, ankles, hands, wrists and neck covered up to retain inner warmth from leaking externally. In Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda this is referred to as “QI”. The body needs to remain warm to be able to function effectively through the cooling seasons, preserving internal heat is very important not only for keeping the body warm but also for the internal organs.
5. Sacred Space Creating an altar where you can take time to practice. Decorating a special space in your home where you can feel comfortable and at ease to practice your ritual. You can use crystals, books, figurines, candles, blankets, have some bolsters, a yoga mat, yoga seat, whatever is your fancy to create this your own space. Here is where you can set your intentions for slowing down, writing in your journal about your dreams, your reflections, a place where you can stop and let your ideas flow and connect with your breathwork and meditation practice. Create your own magic to release your internal chaos.
6. Autumn Air: The season feels dry with the falling leaves, the dry grass, and the cool air. This dryness can affect the lungs through thirst, itchiness, dry skin, and an itchy throat. Dryness can be helped with consuming more foods that hold onto more moisture. Examples are: apples, pears, spinach, lettuce, seaweed, persimmons, pomegranates, pumpkins, almonds. Oils that are also important are olive oils, hemp, borage, flax seed and coconut are great for the internal body. This helps with uplifting the Yin energy flow.
7. Self Care: Use these enriching oils such as coconut, hemp, olive, jojoba, that are great for creating moisturizers for your skin. Soothing oils for a bath and for the skin are Rose, geranium rose, jasmine, rose hip helps with nourishing the yin balance. An oil diffuser can also be used. It is great for inhalations and deep exhalations of oils that help with moistening the air and the lungs by dispelling the dryness. Use geranium, fennel, jasmine, rose, cypress, eucalyptus, and pine.

Remember to let go! Autumn is about letting go what no longer serves us, harvesting what was manifested in the summer season. Helping guide our inner energies, to help move these energies so they do not become excessively stored in the body. It is the time of abundance, of gratitude and the time of the passing. It is not the season for holding onto repressed emotions, nor storing energy deep within. It is the time to let go, the time to flow, to not repress. The lungs are inspiration that allow us to breathe, to take on life fully, to function effectively, to focus on moving forward and to not remain stuck.

For more individualized consultations on to harmonize your body book a Nutritional Consultation or one one yoga sessions with Elizabeth

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