Feeling ANXIOUS in autumn?
I LOVE fall! Like.....love, love, love fall! It's my favorite season. I delight in the beautiful colors, cozy sweaters, "pumpkin everything," root vegetable recipes, backyard campfires and crispness in the air.
As much as I adore this season of transition, I do notice a higher level of anxiety and restlessness in myself. Fall is a season where we witness the rapid passing of time. If you live in an area where you experience the changing seasons as well, you know what I'm talking about. Everyday you go outside, you see the change happening right in front of you. Unlike the consistent summer months, the changes of fall are more obvious and dramatic. Fall is the season that teaches us to let go and reminds us of impermanence. The leaves change and fall....and time falls away too.
According to Ayurveda, this transition into fall is also the transition into VATA season, which is fall and most of winter. There is naturally more ether (space) and air in the environment. A perfect example of this is when the leaves start to fall off the trees...there is more space. You might also notice more wind and movement in the environment. I always have to take my wind chimes down when the harsh winds of winter kick up. The characteristics of dry, cool, light and mobile are heightened, and you may notice more imbalances showing up such as:
- anxiety
- insomnia
- feeling restless or ungrounded
- feeling cold
- dehydration
- dry skin
- constipation or dry/hard stools
Ayurveda teaches us that whatever is happening outside, is also happening INSIDE OF YOU. Your environment has a big impact on you.
Let's go back to feeling anxious and see what qualities it possesses. Anxiety happens in the mind and nervous system. It's an elevated energy, opposite to feeling grounded, and is very mobile (think of how your mind goes from one worry to the next!). Insomnia is similar and has a light and restless energy.
If you are feeling anxious and very mobile in the mind, GROUNDING is the remedy. Here are a few suggestions to pacify VATA and the restlessness that comes with the season.
- Avoid raw, cold and frozen food, and focus on bringing in more warm, cooked, moist and well spiced food
- Eat more root vegetables (they contain grounding energy because they came from the ground!)
- Create more consistency and rhythm in your day (which is the opposite of restlessness)
- Focus on slow, gentle, strengthening forms of exercise. Vata is very easily aggravated by fast, mobile activities
- Massage yourself with warm oil, leave it on your skin for up to 30 mins, then rinse off in the shower. This is a very grounding and nervous system regulating practice called Abhyanga, which I will talk more about at the Yoga & Ayurveda Fall Retreat on Oct. 26th!
These simple suggestions will not only help reduce anxiety symptoms, but also support all of the other imbalances mentioned above. Ayurveda focuses on bringing in the opposite quality of whatever imbalance you are experiencing.
And if it's the passing of time that is making you feel anxious, take a deep breath, feel your feet on the ground, and remember that this moment is the only moment that truly exists. Instead of fearing the passing of time, be present to the beautiful show that nature is putting on for us! Enjoy it!
Happy Fall y'all!
Be well,
Shannon