Ahhh Autumn...my favourite time of the year! Tis the season of snuggly jumpers, pumpkin spiced lattes, cosy socks, crunchy leaves, crisp walks in the countryside and the beginning of slowing things down as we head in to winter. It's also a time of year that we can be susceptible to colds and flus and generally feeling under the weather so I wanted to share with you my self care rituals as we shift in to this season. First of all let's talk about shifting into this season mentally before we look at the physical. If we compare the seasons to the four main phases of the moon, you can think of summer as being like the full moon phase - a time of high energy and light. Autumn is like the waning moon - the energy and light begins to dissipate as we make our way into new/dark moon time when the moon doesn't appear at all and there is little by way of light and energy. New moon time represents winter, that complete retreat inwards and the spring is represented by the waxing moon and then the cycle starts all over again. In these busy modern times we have become so disconnected to these rhythms and cycles of nature that we have shifted in to an almost permanent state of yang which just isn't sustainable. Staying in this yang energy for too long means we don't give ourselves time to re-charge and in most cases results in burn out where we're forced to stay in a yin energy whilst our body (and spirit for that matter) repairs itself. We have to work hard these days to keep this sacred connection to mother earth with so much influence from the outside world to stay the same all year round and to wear our busyness like a badge of honour. We're constantly stimulated by artificial light which disconnects us from the ebbs and flows of the moon and the seasons. Before electricity we would have naturally shifted in to this slower pace in Autumn because quite simply the decrease in daylight each day would have shortened the working day. Autumn Equinox takes place this weekend which signifies the end of summer and the descent in to winter. If you have some time over the next few days here's a little Autumn Equinox meditation practice for you to do: AUTUMN EQUINOX MEDITATION Find somewhere to sit quietly where you won't be disturbed and find a comfortable position for your body, feel free to do this lying down if that's more comfortable for you. Spend the first few moments just sitting with your eyes closed focusing on your breath as it moves in and out. Begin to bring to mind these four phases of the moon. You can visualise the moon in the night sky and focus on this journey from dark moon to full moon and back to dark moon. See if you can start to sync this with your breath, on no breath picture an empty sky then take a breath in and visualise the moon appearing and growing in size, hold your breath for a moment and picture the full moon in all it's glory and then breathe out and focus on the moon waning and decreasing in size, when you run out of breath once again picture the empty sky. Do a few rounds of breath this way. Start to really tune in to this ebb and flow, this rise and fall of your breath and of the cycles of nature. Begin to turn your attention now to the seasons of the year and think about their similarity to these moon phases - dark moon = winter, waxing moon = spring, full moon = summer and the waning moon = autumn. Then bring your focus to this moment in time. Start to think about the change in weather, the change in light throughout the day and the beautiful colours that are appearing as the leaves are beginning to die. See if you can tune in to this sense of waning energy, of things beginning to slow down. Turn your focus to the trees and how they are getting ready to let go of all that no longer serves them in order to make way for new things to grow and then bloom again in the spring. Can you start to picture yourself as a tree, visualising yourself covered in these autumn coloured leaves. Start to focus on the leaves and imagine now that each leaf on your tree represents something that you want to release and let go of. Bring your focus back to you breath and begin to deepen your breath once again. As you do this, imagine that with each exhalation these leaves begin to fall from your branches and float to the ground. Breathe in deeply, exhale deeply and imagine these leaves falling to the earth. Each time you do this feel yourself getting lighter and lighter as you release all that no longer serves you. Then spend some time focusing on this feeling of relief and lightness. Start to draw your mind inwards again and feel your awareness resting at your heart centre. Begin to turn your thoughts to the new things that you want to cultivate and give your attention to developing during the quiet, reflective winter months and see if you can visualise those as seeds of possibility and potential. These aren't things that we would necessary act on as now is a resting time but things might be the seeds of ideas or intentions. Rest both hands over your heart space and take some deep breaths here. Slowly start to bring yourself out of this meditation. Go to your journal and write down your experience from this meditation, what did it bring up for you? What did you want to release and what did you want to cultivate? You can look back on these musings in months to come and check back in with your intentions. BOOSTING YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM As mentioned before, this is a time of year when it's really common to get run down and to pick up colds and flus. It's a good time to start introducing natural remedies to help boost and support your immune system. Neal's Yard Remedies have some amazing tips, tricks and products to help you stay well during this shift in seasons. I am a huge fan of the Eucalyptus salve, at the slightest hint of feeling run down I will slather myself in this, add it to my bath and do steam inhalations with it. Elderberry syrup is another fantastic way to boost your immunity, you can drink this as is or add it to a herbal tea or make it in to a hot toddy. I also try and get back in to the habit of taking supplements again at this time of year, I really like the NYR joint supplement as it helps with both my arthritis and my immunity and I also love the antioxidant boost supplements. TURMERIC Turmeric is fantastic for protecting the body against illness, it has high levels of antioxidants and is also highly anti inflammatory so again good for arthritis. My favourite way to take turmeric is to make it in to a latte: TURMERIC LATTE RECIPE 1 tsp of organic Turmeric powder Coconut milk 1 tbs of coconut oil 1 tsp of maple syrup to sweeten Cinnamon for sprinkling Add your turmeric powder to a mug and add a tiny amount of boiling water to it so that you can mix it in to a paste, leave to one side. Heat the coconut milk on the stove (don't bring to the boil) and then add your turmeric paste in to the milk. Once you've gotten the milk up to the temperature that you want either pour directly in to your mug or if you want to make it frothy pop it in a blender for a few seconds. Stir in the tsp of maple syrup and you can also add a sprinkling of cinnamon to the top. WARNING - turmeric powder stains things bright yellow and it's hard to get out of things so be careful HYGGE For me, one of the best things about Autumn is getting my cosy on! Now is the time to stock up on candles with scents that warm and delight, I'm in love with the Vanilla and White Pumpkin coconut wax candles by D.W.Naturals (I got mine from TKMAXX) or you could get crafty and have a go at making your own candles. A big part of my Autumn self care routine is coming home from work and lighting candles, turning on the fairy lights and turning off the main lights to tune in to the darkening of the days. Beautifying the home at this time of year is a really grounding experience, especially as we know we're about to spend a lot more time indoors. Why not have a go at making an Autumn wreath or garland with leaves, acorns and pine cones that you find out on your walks. LOUNGEWEAR One of the things I loved about living in Australia was their love of posh PJs and loungewear, lounging is a real art in Australia and it's something I've kept with me. After a long day at work it was common practice in Sydney to immediately change in to your Uggs (which are slippers by the way) and your decadent lounge wear and then enter chill mode. I remember the first time I saw my friend do this, I'd popped round for a cuppa and was taken aback by her head to toe in silk PJs and I remember asking if she was sick :) It's no surprise then that one of my favourite brands is an Australian company that specialise in eco friendly loungewear. Let me introduce you to wearethought.com THE GREAT OUTDOORS It's important to balance our indoor cosyness with plenty of time outdoors soaking up as much natural light as we can and breathing in the fresh air. The countryside at this time of year is just absolutely stunning, go exploring and try leaving your phone at home. Ok dear ones, I hope you've enjoyed this article. As some of you know I am working on my first book!! It will be a compilation of self care recipes and rituals and I can't wait to share it with you. For now I'll be posting snippets on here and continuing to share my recipes and rituals with you on social media. The book will start out as an Ebook with the view to getting it printed at some point too. As always, thank you for your continuing support and kindness. Much love, Chelle x
1 Comment
Jo Tinkabell
9/23/2018 09:58:30 pm
Spot on chelle. I’m planning to listen to my body n soul this year as I ease into autumn - not still try to be my summer self! Reflect and chill 👌🏼
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Urban PriestessWelcome to my Urban Priestess blog, here I share my tips and tricks for seasonal and lunar living. Archives
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