This season marks the transition between the blossoming of summer and the retreat of winter. In traditional Chinese medicine, the element Metal is associated with this season.
It's back to school time, and with it the poetry of autumn. Like the trees shedding their leaves, this season invites us to sort through everything we may have stored up over the summer. We need to get rid of the superfluous, to lighten up before winter. So this is the season of purification.
The associated organs are called "emunctories" because they enable this purification to take place. These are the lungs and the large intestine. Autumn is therefore the ideal time to carry out a drainage cure to help the whole body purge these toxins.
Metal is the element associated with autumn. Sadness is a "metal" emotion that disturbs the lungs. This season is partly associated with the melancholy of shorter days and cooler, wetter weather. It symbolises the need to return to oneself, to go inward and sort things out. Autumn prepares us for the cold of winter and encourages us to slow down and economise.
Economy, interiorisation yes, but without cutting ourselves off from the world and turning in on ourselves!
This could cause an energy imbalance in the lungs and large intestine (Metal), leading to respiratory problems (colds, breathlessness, sore throats, etc.) or intestinal problems (constipation, diarrhoea, colitis, etc.). To prevent the discomforts associated with a cold, it's advisable to stimulate the lungs and large intestine by eating a fresh, pungent diet, and to practise breathing exercises to learn how to relax.
Here are a few practical tips!
- Put your feet up a bit, and think about saving your energy before winter!
- Go to bed slightly earlier (30 minutes earlier) to gradually increase your sleep time.
- Do some breathing exercises to stimulate and tone your lungs, and take the opportunity to go for a walk in the countryside!
- Use organic essential oils such as Eucalyptus Globulus and Eucalyptus Radiata, Scots Pine, Peppermint, Tea Tree and Ravintsara to protect your airways from the discomfort of the first cold spells.
- Eat white vegetables (white being the colour associated with the Metal of autumn): cauliflower, white cabbage, etc. and root vegetables: celery, turnip, garlic, onion, leek to stimulate the Lung.
- Eat "white" seasonal fruit: white grapes, apples, pears and "white" nuts and oilseeds: white mulberries, walnuts, peanuts, almonds, etc. As well as white fish (hake, cod, etc.) and seafood, not forgetting "white" pulses: lentils, broad beans, beans, soya beans, chickpeas and "white" cereals: quinoa, barley, millet, oats, etc.
- Eat fresh foods:
- Vegetables: seaweed, asparagus, aubergine, avocado, chard, celery, raw carrot, button mushroom, Chinese cabbage, cucumber, watercress, endive, spinach, turnip, black olive, radish (all raw).
- Pulses: amaranth, tofu, bean sprouts, chickpeas, green soya, etc.
- Cereals: wheat, millet, barley, buckwheat
- Fruit: lemon, strawberry, tangerine, mango, orange, pear, apple, plum, tomato
- Animal products: frog, oyster, octopus, duck, rabbit, cheese (goat, cow), cane egg.
- Miscellaneous: sesame oil, mint, lard, tamarind, green tea, etc.
- Eat foods with a pungent flavour:
- Garlic, ginger, onion, radish, kumquat, angelica (root), cinnamon, coriander, cumin, ginger, mustard, nutmeg, chilli, pepper...
- Slightly increase the salt in your dishes to recharge the Kidney (winter's emperor organ) in preparation for the cold season (season of salty flavours). Spices stimulate the Lung and the Large Intestine and help to evacuate toxins by making the skin sweat and breathe.
- Autumn is the ideal season for depurative cures to cleanse the kidneys and strengthen the immune system before the cold winter weather sets in. Take birch juice, herbal teas or plant extracts (dandelion, milk thistle, artichoke, lime blossom, etc.), grapes, black radish, etc. for a cleansing cure at this time of year
- Take care of your large intestine with a course of probiotics, black charcoal, spirulina, chlorella or chlorophyll to detoxify this organ.
- Dryness (wind) is characteristic of the autumn season and can easily create an imbalance in the Lung or Large Intestine (Metal): dry, tight and reddened skin, as well as brittle, dry and dull hair. So remember to moisturise your skin and hair with organic plant oils: jojoba, argan, coconut, sweet almond, macadamia, castor, etc.
- Take time to think about yourself, let go and take stock of yourself and your situation. Take part in gentle, relaxing activities such as meditation, Qi Gong or yoga.
To find out where you stand with your energy in autumn, remember that balanced Metal energy manifests itself in optimism, spontaneity, lightness and self-confidence. On the other hand, a lack of Metal energy is a sign of a lack of willpower, anxiety or even fear and excessive stress, which prevent you from achieving your goals or embarking on new projects or bringing existing ones to fruition. On the other hand, excessive Metal energy makes you very authoritarian and you impose your ideas without listening to others, while being reckless and rushing ahead without thinking of the consequences.
With these few points in mind, you're all set to get through the autumn calmly and face the winter in the best possible conditions!