Autumn has arrived, a season characterized by qualities such as dryness, roughness, windiness, variability, unpredictability, and coolness…

As the external environment changes during this season, your internal environment can experience similar shifts: dry skin, crackly joints, unsettled digestion, a cold body or cold extremities, constantly shifting thoughts, …

By applying the Ayurvedic principle that opposite actions create balance, you can maintain equilibrium during autumn by focusing on lifestyle and food choices that are grounding, stabilizing, warming, moisturizing, and softening.

 

Here are 7 tips to concretely apply this ‘autumn balance’ principle in your daily life:

 

1. Follow a regular routine: Sticking to a consistent daily routine is very helpful for reducing mental overactivity, especially in autumn.

In addition to work and the ‘must-do’s’, see if you can schedule time for self-care, nourishing meals, and enough sleep. Perhaps you can review your schedule for the upcoming week during the weekend. Consider what is truly necessary and what you might be able to skip, or replace with an activity that truly nurtures you. Ask yourself: What will help balance what ‘must’ be done and what you ‘need’ to maintain equilibrium? Schedule it in as an equally important activity, just like a work meeting.

 

2. Adapt your diet: Eat seasonal foods that are warm, moist, lubricated, sweet, and soft.

Focus on warm meals, savory soups, and stews; cooked (but not overcooked) vegetables, proteins, and fruits, as well as sweet grains like oatmeal for a warm breakfast. Add healthy fats to your diet and use more oil when preparing meals. Incorporate warming and grounding herbs and spices such as fresh ginger, cardamom, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, curry powder, … Avoid cold and dry foods like toast, yogurt, and raw foods.

 

3. Eat mindfully: Be mindful while eating, eat slowly and consciously, in a peaceful environment or in silence. Take or make time for your meals.

 

4. Stay warm: Drink plenty of warm beverages throughout the day: herbal teas and water with fresh ginger to boost digestion and immunity.

Reduce your coffee intake, as it promotes dryness, mental activity, and exhaustion. Avoid cold and fizzy drinks. Wear soft and warm clothing. Make sure to keep your head, neck, and feet warm. Try to avoid air conditioning or wind on your upper body.

 

5. Seek silence: Schedule moments of silence, either alone or by joining a meditation, yoga, tai chi, or mindfulness group or activity.

Mind-body practices like yoga and tai chi generate more energy than they consume, and help you reconnect with your body.

 

6. Go outside: Spend quiet time in nature, go for a walk in the forest, by the sea, or just around the block.

Try a “sensory walk”: mindfully take in the beautiful autumn colors, the scents of the season, the sound of leaves beneath your feet, gentle rain on your face, the wind in your hair, … Allow yourself to truly enjoy and appreciate the things you notice.

 

7. Practice daily self-massage: Warm some sesame oil and gently massage your feet before going to bed. This helps calm mental activity and promotes sleep.

Or, go for regular full-body massages to release emotional, mental, and/or physical tension.

Wishing you a healthy and nourishing autumn!

Katrien