Today I’m sharing self-care practices for fall, for a smooth transition into these darker months and to support your mood and immunity.
Now, perhaps you love fall. My eldest daughter relishes everything about fall. Me? Fall is not the easiest season for me. I love the warmth of summer, and find fall a tough transition. It’s also a time of dark memories for me, and perhaps both are why I feel a heightened uneasiness this time of year. (I prefer to use the word uneasiness to anxiety, because that word is very charged.)
Where do you land? Do you love this season or find it difficult?
Wherever you are, there are measures we can implement to feel more like ourselves in autumn and through the winter.
Self-Care Practices for Fall
1. Dietary Shifts: warm, pungent, moistening and “white” foods
This time of year, we want to enjoy more cooked foods. I used to resist autumn with my diet. I’d continue to eat raw salads and colder foods. By mid-October my energy was lagging and I felt low.
Now I understand that our bodies don’t respond well to eating cold foods in the fall. If we continue to eat raw, cold foods during the cooler fall and winter months, we can experience digestive problems like bloating, gas and constipation, and even painful joints.
Autumn is the season of the Metal Element in Chinese Medicine. Metal attributes include integrity, quality, structure and strength. However, when the metal element is out of balance, we may feel overly rigid/controlling, disconnected, and set in our ways. Metal benefits from warming up. So in fall, turn to foods that warm you and ground you, such as stews, soups and root vegetables.
We can choose more seasonal items, and also foods that are “white” or have white centres (the color of the metal element is white). Examples include cauliflower, apples, pears, garlic, onions, ginger, turnips, cabbage, white peppercorns. The taste of the metal element is “pungent”, sometimes called spicy or acrid. Spicy foods help to clear mucus, improve breathing and stimulate the large intestine.
For even more dietary tips and recipes that feature Metal Element foods, pick up my new guide: Vegan Metal Element (see photo and discount code below). 👇
2. Lifestyle Tips: Practice “Letting Go”
Practice “letting go”. In autumn, nature is letting go. We see leaves fall to the ground and there is a decay in the plants and foliage. We can echo this in our lives by reviewing what is in our lives that we no longer need, both tangible and energetic.
When we release what we don’t need, we retain what is precious (as metal is precious) and make space for the new. What we usually refer to as “spring cleaning” or decluttering is even more suitable for this season. Try some simple activities, like cleaning cupboards or your closet, or deleting unneeded photos from your phone.
3. Grounding
This one thing is simple – and costs nothing. Find time each day to ground with the earth and benefit from the earth’s healing energy. When we connect to the earth’s DC energy, our bodies are instantly synced, as we also run on DC energy. Just as you recharge your phone, think of recharging your body. Furthermore, as explained in this video by my grounding guru, Dr. Koniver, it is especially beneficial to ground during seasonal transitions such as solstices and equinoxes – we adapt to seasonal changes more naturally.
When the weather becomes too cold to ground outside, consider indoor grounding tools (you can find many on Dr. Koniver’s site). I use this organic grounding mat from her site. 👇
4. Immune Support
Vitamin D: Many of us are woefully low in Vitamin D. Even after summer, we may not have optimal levels. Not only is Vitamin D critical for our immune system, it may also help regulate mood and can be beneficial for sleep. Consider a direct vitamin D supplement (here are some vegan sources on amazon.com and amazon.ca) or use Complement which provides the “essential” vegan nutrients formulated in one capsule.
Chaga: In addition to vitamin D supplementation, I highly recommend making chaga tea. I make it daily, and I know I benefitted from drinking it last year. When other family members were sick, I kept up with my chaga tea plus my fascia flo work (thymus roll-downs for the win!) and I fended off multiple viruses. 👊 Get your chaga nuggets here as well as freeze-dried sea moss (with 92 of our 102 essential nutrients)! Use code DREENA10 for 10% off. Tea video below and more about CHAGA, sea moss, and lion’s mane here.
5. Outdoor Walks
Another practice that is simple and free – enjoying autumn walks. We spend so much time indoors during the fall, it’s so nourishing to go out for walk in the crisp autumn air. For many of us, walking outside this time of year is more enjoyable than in the summer. Make it more connected by not plugging into your phone and simply be with the with the sensations of the season – the colors and smells. Focus on your breath while you walk. The lungs are the yin organ of autumn, and so focus on the inhales and exhales as you enjoy your walk.
One note: Be sure you keep your neck and chest warm on your fall walks. The lungs are more vulnerable during the fall, and our grandmothers had it right when they told us to wear a scarf! There is much more information about how to protect and nourish the lungs in fall in my Metal Element Guide, find it here.
6. Light Therapy
Two years ago I invested in the Aurora LightPad Mini. Again, I received the recommendation from Dr. Koniver and decided it would be helpful. I’m very happy with this light, It is also one of the most popular and trusted brands on the market.
This light is the most compact, brightest LED on the market, and does not emit high-frequency radiation like some other lightboxes can. This bright light therapy box has been medically proven to help with fibromyalgia, libido, depression, insomnia, and circadian rhythms. Read more on their site to see if it’s right for you.
7. EMF exposure
As we spend more time indoors through fall and winter, we have more exposure to EMFs. This is not just from our phones & wifi. EMF exposure also includes electricity (and electric cars). I have just learned about EMF rocks. Their hand-mined crystal rocks repel EMFs to ground and recharge you. Their rocks are housed in attractive bags that can be placed at your desk, your bed, or anywhere in your home.
If you drive an electric car, please read more to protect yourself from high levels of EMFs while driving by placing ground bags in your car.
I hope these insights and product recommendations give you some ideas to include in your self-care practices for fall.
Be sure to browse my soups and stews to find some inspiration for warming meals. I have more recipes that are beneficial for fall in my Metal Element Guide. You can get yours here, use code METAL for 30% for the first 50 who purchase!
