Fall Season at Equinox, and a Waxing Moon

We know that equinox, having so much to do with the energies of light and heat, plays an important part in the cycle of natural rhythms.

And in a few days the full moon will add its energy of reflected light. There’s a lot going on in seasonal change.

Right now we have clear blue skies with leaf colors ranging from green to green-gold, and the crickets still sing in daylight. Yet, there’s a characteristic rush towards the stillness, or is it anticipation? of the next move, like a river as it slows before descending over a ledge on its way to the sea.

The Season of Culmination and…

Characterizing this brand new season is the phrase, “the season of culmination and letting go”. Isn’t “letting go” a hard thing to do! But if we lean into the resilience available in the moment, we can survive even such insults and the nasty bits of cold season and Winter, in advance of their arrival.

Air and Space = Mobility or Vata

The science of life, Ayurveda, predicts that this season will be characterized by air and space in the body. Not exactly a weather prediction—what a relief. Referring to air and space, the word Vata represents the energy of anything that flows. It’s the “anything” part that gave rise to Ayurveda’s names for 7 types of Vata. That’s a lot of energy and part of the mystery of why the body works so well under beneficial conditions, sometimes adverse ones as well.

I think the notion of mobility is a precise way to refer to the energy we sense in the Fall. With mobility as a concept, we might associate it with movement, motivation, thought and initiative. Vata is another name for mobility of light, ideas, and vitality.

“Vata brings the positive mobile qualitites of inspiration, creativity, spontaneity, initiation… “

Author Shiva Rea goes on to describe the opposite of the positive qualities. She says, “when Vata is disturbed these positive qualities turn into insecure, anxious, worried, fearful, and overwhelmed—all qualities that can become exacerbated under stress.” p. 262

If Vata can increase so easily, its qualities can become intolerable. As human beings, we were designed to make use of each element: some air, some fire, some earth. If the balance is tipped towards an excess of one, then our stability gets thrown off and we become miserable.

Reasons to Aim for Balance

While it may be a struggle to be perfect every day, there’s reason to aim for balance. I was so amazed as I watched a Tai Chi instructor online explain that doing just 70% every day, rather than your ideal 100% once in a while, is closer to perfection than you might guess. I think he was saying to give it a good try, but go easy on yourself. The 70% allows your efforts to shine. And you might get addicted to this behavior because with its daily input, you feel so good.

We could say that the movement of air and space in the body is subjected to disruption from outside influences, as well as the personal emotional shifts that cause them.

That would be a fancy way of saying you can get a sore throat or cold from your bare neck being exposed to a draft, or the wind out of doors. Keeping warm and hydrated are sensible notions, it’s true. But closer to the objectives of Aurveda is that avoiding imbalance as much as possible really hits the target for well-being.

Aligning with an Astrological Cycle

In Fall season, the stillness can overwhelms us. Yet, the season of less and less sunlight until Winter Solstice is offset by our celebrations. It’s that river of plenty gathering and consolidating before the descent into cold season.

Fall does impress me as a mild season, yet I sense that the seasonal effects of gathering, consolidating and then letting go can be rough on the emotions. We feel as though we’re losing something. Seasonal change is a raw deal, right? Especially if the waning season was our favorite. We cannot imagine how we will fare once Winter season is in full force, tending to forget that warmth will return.

Alleviate dryness or bloating, painful joints, constipation, insomnia

I’m neither a doctor nor a nutritionist. Therefore, all of my comments come from the essence of a philosophy called Ayurveda. In part, Ayurveda says that if we acquire more of a season’s qualities than we can accomodate, we become really uncomfortable, suffering in our bodies, and also emotionally.

Advocates of an Ayurvedic lifestyle say that balancing seasonal influences is the best way to achieve flow—that emotional and physical stability and strength needed to face even climatic detractors of sanity. Even those aspects which you detest the most, like the deep freeze of Winter, will fall into the flow, and lose their potency to trip you up. Not a bad resource to turn to now.

One of the causes of too much motility, dryness, or excess Vata such as gas and bloating is excessive cold, heavy, and greasy food. Excess Vata contributes to dry skin and painful joints, digestive imbalances like constipation, and restiveness at night*.

For balance at this time of year, ensure that your diet does not rely on nourishment from deep-fried foods, very spicy or cold foods, or cold drinks.

Teas that may help you to keep hydrated include warming spices such as ginger, and flavors of other spices such as cardamom, coriander and fennel. Cinnamon is a mild spice that can flavor a warm smoothie, coffee, or tea. It’s an important kitchen spice, native to South Asia and loved in the West.

Essential Oils for Excess Mobility

Shiva Rea mentions essential oils to use during the season of air and space. In order not to get carried away by movement and motility, smelling aromas such as Ginger can be grounding. The scent of Lavender is a beautiful oil to experience and calm you or wind down from the day. Geranium, Orange and Ylang-ylang as a blend could create a sweetness you might be missing now.

Build Resistance & Resilience

If you know that in this season a negative emotion or feeling is likely to overwhelm you, adopting practices at the beginning or end of your day can keep you grounded. The point is to remove whatever burden from your heart that you can.

One of the practices to build resistance and resilience is to smell essential oils or blends. On purpose, and often. How to do this? You’ll intentionally chose a blend and inhale its aroma once or twice in a day. Practice for one week and note how you feel. Journal your response to the aromas, how they made you feel, being sure to include blend name, the date, and perhaps time of day.

If you chose to repeat this experience, follow the same routine with them. Then compare notes.

My journal entry for Rosemary-Black Spruce and Geranium:

Experiencing a lot of digestive upset during seasonal shift. 10/5/22 Smelling Blend of Rosem-BlkSpruce-Geranium twice a day for 3 days, 10-6 to 10-9-22. Big improvement in cramping and intestinal distress!

References:

Tending the Heart Fire: Living in the Flow with the Pulse of Life by Shiva Rea, 2014. Published by Sounds True, Boulder, CO

This post is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice.