Are you feeling stagnant, lethargic, a little bit miserable, with a permanent runny nose?
In autumn the Metal element is strongest , so to stimulate the Qi flow of the lungs and large intestine meridians, bring balance and help us release things not serving us in order to make space for new growth.
With the changing of the season from dry and warm to humid, cooler and wet, it is important to prepare your body and your energies for the approaching winter.
The Metal Element reminds us that nothing is permanent , the best summer always comes to the end , the leaves start to fall and the temperature starts to lower. Is the season of letting go, physically and emotionally.
It is the right time to boost your immune system
Cook with:
ginger, garlic, onions, root vegetables, like daikon, radish, turnips, use pumpkins and carrots.
Mushrooms (especially Shiitake), warming spices like black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves.
Essential oils that are useful this time of the year:
tea tree, thyme, oregano, eucalyptus and clary sage.
Use fennel tea for bloating and chamomile tea for calming.
In my website go to Honey with a twist https://the-art-of-epic-aging.com/eat-well/a-fantastic-honey-concoction-to-fight-cold-and-flu/
And the Immunity boosting broth:
https://the-art-of-epic-aging.com/eat-well/immunity-boosting-broth/
Fall vegetable stew with fennel seeds:
https://the-art-of-epic-aging.com/eat-well/epic-aging-fall-vegetable-stew/
The Metal Element is like our body armor...
Deciding what to take in and what to keep out , is the key to help us decide what to let go and what to retain, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Our lungs are on the front line of our immune system. Please take care of them!
The lungs and the large intestine are both organs of release.
The lungs are taking in what they need and letting go of what they can’t use and the large intestine is absorbing the last of the nutrients sent from the small intestine and moving all the waste out of our body.
Notice as some time to control emotions we hold the breath, tighten the throat, grit the teeth and tense the belly. These are all defense measures that involve the muscle related to the lungs and large intestine!
Pranayama practices can help consciously control the breath. Breathing is the link used by yogis to control the mind, and to keep mind and body in harmony.
Full chest breathing stimulate the sympathetic nervous system/autonomic nervous system or the involuntary system tha regulates heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, sexual arousal, sweating, pupil dilation and so on. Reacting without thinking!
Fight or flight, all the body unconscious actions.
Deep slow abdominal breathing on the contrary, stimulate the para- sympathetic nervous system, rest and digest, or feed and breed, activity happening when your body is at rest, after eating, after sex, salivation, tears and digestion of emotions as well!
The Metal in the body is represented by the bones, the hardest part of us , the last to dissolve when we die.
The large intestine is also related to the letting go process, in fact people who live in the past often suffer from constipation!
The proper flow of energy through the Metal Element meridian will help us with the process of purging negativity, and protecting us from whatever is draining and stifling our inspirations, our life force and vitality.
The most precious commodity we have is time and the capacity to use it properly!
Impermanence is a fact that invites you to be present with the beauty of life and to appreciate what you have before is gone!
Grief is the main emotion of imbalance. Never restrict yourself from expressing natural feelings, learn to let go of things that don’t serve you , unhealthy relationships, jobs that are not good for your qualities, lovers, let people go….
Shavasana is the symbolic asana of letting go completely.
And I want to finish with these few words:
On days where your mind is in the future or maybe your heart is in the past , Ujjayi breathing can help you ground in the present.
