Let’s Get Cozy!
Do you get a little thrill from turning the heat on for the first time, digging your boots out of the back of the closet, reuniting with your favorite outerwear? I do!
Fall is a beloved time of year. Energetically, the blasted-out fiery dynamic of summer is reversing and you probably feel yourself turning back inside your home and yourself. It’s a wonderful time to start reflecting on your year and to appreciate the growth and opportunities you’ve had. It’s also a time when you might grieve what you’ve lost. This is the natural inhalation and exhalation of life, in the time of the year ruled by the Lung organ/meridian system.
So, take time to be in nature, be with yourself, write in your journal, take it all in and let it all go.
** Five Tips To Feel Fabulous This Fall
1. Journal. Take some time to get to know yourself. Reflect on your day before bed. Or, you could try writing the Morning Pages from Julia Cameron’s well-known book, The Artist’s Way. Simply free-style write whatever comes to mind, filling up three pages each and every morning. I’m not a morning person, and it’s been a surprisingly wonderful way to clear my head before I start my day.
2. Add immune support supplements. There are so many options, and it’s best to get recommendations from a professional, but taking your B’s and C’s (B-complex plus a buffered vitamin C with bioflavonoids) is a great place to start. Other good options this time of year might be probiotics, vitamin D, zinc, Host Defense mushrooms, and evening primrose or borage oil for dry skin. If you’d like a personalized approach, please come and see me and we can discuss.
3. Roast some root vegetables. As the weather draws you back inside, it’s helpful to support your inner Earth. Nourishing foods that grow close to the ground and ripen in autumn are the perfect foods to help you feel grounded and centered. Baked sweet potatoes, butternut squash soup, and roasted acorn squash are all delicious, family friendly options
4. Make a big pot of soup once a week. Sunday tends to be an ideal day for making a big pot of soup, stew, or chili to eat all week. A hearty bowl with some avocado on top makes a filling, convenient, and nutritious lunch.
I like to get all my major veggie groups in there, and choose one or two from each group:
-onions/garlic
-cruciferous (cauliflower, broccoli, kale)
-greens (kale, spinach, chard, parsley, cilantro)
-other low starch (zucchini, celery, mushrooms, tomatoes)
-starchy (beans, lentils, carrots, potatoes)
-for more protein you can start your soup by cooking something like ground turkey or beef, or chicken thighs with the onions, and then add the rest of the vegetables and simmer in a flavorful stock.
5. Stay warm inside and out. Eat warm foods, drink warm drinks. Wear socks, and house slippers. Bundle up as needed.