Autumn is officially upon us since September 21, but in the Chinese Calendar it is already mid Autumn…And my body thinks that it is just Indian summer…or is it my mind ?
Well, good new… now is the time to start to slow down, tonight is the Harvest full moon 
so today and the days that follow we aim to follow the energy of the Universe that goes back down do the earth and inward and observe the same thing around us and within us. We look back at the year, coming to the end of a full cycle and reflect at what it has been, with gratitude, and the knowledge that what we haven’t accomplished yet we can plan for a new cycle to start soon…
Tree leaves change colours and start falling, days are already shorter and man harvests the fruits of the earth to prepare for winter. In Chinese cosmology they say that Heaven and Earth start separating, autumn means end of yang (saturated heat of the Sun) and beginning of yin (setting sun brings ocre, gold and brown colours). Figuratively we harvest what we planted and autumn is the time to evaluate what the year has been for us. Noticing change in nature and in our body sensations sometimes brings sadness and rememberance that life comes to an end. But autumn also brings strong opportunities for celebration with harvest festivals often accompanied with music and dance ! Time to be in gratitude and celebrate life and love !
Autumn is the Metal element (white colour on the chart) and the associated organs are Lung (yin) and Large Intestine (yang), both associated with exchange with the Universe, , how do I interact with rest of the world ? Both lung and large intestine help us take in new and let go of un-necessary.
Breathing which is automatic in our day to day life is such an important and powerful tool and working with the breath is fun and sooo beneficial…
A great exercise that can lead to meditation is to
simply sit on a chair with feet flat on the floor, hands on our lap, spine upright and chin tucked in, eyes closed and just observe the breath coming in through the nose and out through the mouth and slow down with no particular effort ; just check in, arrive in one’s body, notice the fabric of our clothing when we breathe in and out, notice the sounds around us and let them come and go, and gently direct our attention inward to sit with ourself and be present. When our attention goes back to our head we just notice it and come back to observe our breath. If we can do this five minutes a day and notice how it makes us feel, we may be amazed and want to do more…we may reconnect to ourselves…and find that we have all we need…
The skin, which is our visible body envelope and the largest organ in the body is directly in synch with Autumn and the metal energy, with the pores opening and closing. opening to take in, closing to let go like lungs and large 
intestine. When they work in harmony our defensive energy (wei chi in Chinese) is strong and protects us from external invasion. Skin health is important to good health, pores opening and closing well, sweat being produced when needed, blood circulating well. If the skin is dry, itchy or has acne it can be because of a lung or blood deficiency or heat. It is possible to tonify and strengthen lung energy to treat skin conditions with acupuncture and massage, and autumn is a perfect time to start getting treatment, especially since an imbalance in the metal element can lead to sadness and depression, the sense of touch stimulated in massage will help disperse this feeling or condition.
Best of time for a massage to stimulate defensive energy, autumn is often the time when we get a cold, sinus infection or bronchitis. Prevention with receiving a massage or self massage regularly, every day if posible with vigorous two hands massage on the whole body, ask your shiatsu practitioner to show you simple chi gong exercises.
Autumn is also a good time to join the local choir to avoid feeling isolated and depressed and to stimulate the lung energy as the throat is also called the gate to the lungs or the vocal chords palace. Our voice can be strengthened. A healthy lung energy will go down and around the body and when one is weak their energy tends to go upwards and make us cough or weak. Singing will strengthen the voice and the vibration will communicate to the whole body and promote well being and happiness !
Autumn food : Metal colour is white and associated taste is pungent so earthy foods white and with a strong taste are beneficial to the lung energy (radish, onions, garlic, leeks, ginger, mustard, fennel, oat, coriander, cinamon…pungent flavour will allow lung energy to circulate and moisten. We eat less raw food and start cooking lightly…and slow…
So to summarize a few hints for a happy autumn : Time to slow down and observe what is happening inside : with simple breathing exercises (chi gong, yoga, meditation), have a massage preferably a shiatsu massage which will both stimulate your immune system and help relax you, sing alone or along and practise gratitude !
Example of mantras to practise gratitude : ”I accept abundant love, happiness and positive energy into my life” or
”I am an infinite being, capable of extraordinary things” and remember : Every day is a new beginning !
Thank you for reading, your comments welcome below…
(photos Marie Geller, except for the moon and charts found on the internet)
