Insights Into Autumn ~ Embracing Metal

Insights Into Autumn:

With each year that passes new perspectives develop, new relations arise,  new ideas come forth, and new wisdoms are cultivated.  Along with this change and evolution, each year I recognize more deeply a strong constant in my life.  The Fall season remains my absolute favorite time of year, along with my most challenging.  It’s difficult to put into words what makes me love Autumn so much.  Maybe it’s the cool, crisp, sharp air that brings awareness to my breath.  Or possibly the dramatic shift of color in the leaves that brings forth a new shade of warmth with each fleeting day.  Of course, it being the time of bountiful harvest plays a role, as its the expression of reward for a years worth of work.  Nevertheless, there is always something entangled in this exceptional time of beauty that never fails to bring forth a few darker shadows. Things that I’ve ignored during the months or years prior, habits or addictions not wanting to face, insecurities, doubts, unhealthy relations or communication.  Every Autumn I notice that all of my garbage is brought to the surface and I am forced to face that which is keeping me from being me.  The perplexity of my love-hate relationship with Autumn baffled me until I began my studies of Eastern Medicine.  The understanding of the significance of Fall is becoming more and more rooted with age.

Now that we are deep within the thickness of Fall I want to share some insights into Autumn from both Chinese Medical theory and my own personal perspectives.  This time of gratitude for the fall harvest offers many lessons to be learned from observing nature’s cyclical transitions.  Chinese Medicine is strongly based on the natural rhythms, expressions, and phases of nature.  Each season is viewed as possessing and expressing its own unique energy which directly influences all aspects of life, health, and balanced well being.  These seasonal characteristics are described by the Five Phase theory of Chinese Medicine. This theory correlates an element with each season:  Wood(Spring), Fire (Summer), Earth(Late Season), Metal(Fall), Water(Winter).  The theory of the Five Phases can be dated back to the Zhou Dynasty (roughly 1000-700BC).  The evolution of this theory marked a monumental shift in the medicine.  This shift was one from an esoteric view of disease as being caused by evil spirits to the first leap towards a more naturalistic/scientific understanding of how lifestyle choices and the natural world around us directly influence our health and well being.

Just as each season comes full circle every year, each Phase (also known as ‘Element’) is present at varying degrees in every individual.  More importantly, how well each Element is functioning within us influences our health and our ability to smoothly transition and build upon the next Phase.  It is easy to see how imperative these Phases are when we look at nature.  For instance, a seed must be planted during a specific time of year in order for it to germinate and push through the ground.  It must continue to grow and flourish in order to blossom, bear fruit, ripen, and drop its own seeds to disperse.  It is then crucial for the plant to pull its energy inward towards its roots and store up its vitality in order for it to have the energy to push back up in the spring and begin the cycle again.  Each phase is necessary and vital to the process.  The same holds true for us humans.  Each one of us is moving through these Phases, right along side nature, whether we realize it or not.  As with nature, if one of the Phases in the cycle becomes stagnant, deficient, or excessive within a person, the whole process will be effected.

Embracing Metal:

Classical Chinese Medicine assigns the Fall season with the Metal Element.  As we all know, Autumn is the time when trees begin to let go of their leaves and allow them to reunite and recycle into the earth.  Fall’s Metal energy also allows us to let go of what is not necessary, ridding ourselves of the stale toxic waste in our lives, leaving us purified and renewed.  Fall marks the end of the growing season, a falling away of outward directed energy, and a shift toward turning inward.  After the abundant harvest of the late summer, the grounds are left bare for our viewing and we are capable of learning more about ourselves than in any other Element.  Fall’s cool crisp air and Metals sharp pure vitality bring a time of refinement, acknowledgement of self value, gratitude for the process, and a returning to our true authentic essence.

On a physical level, each Element has a strong influence on specific organ systems and their respective acupuncture meridians.  The Metal element is correlated with the Lungs and Large Intestine.  The Lungs and lung meridian are said to govern the Qi and respiration, disperse the pure Qi throughout the body, and diffuse Qi to the space between skin and muscles (where it forms Defensive Qi, also known as Wei Qi).  From a Biomedical perspective, the Lungs act as a mechanical respiratory organ with its function of inhaling air, providing a gas exchange between alveoli and capillaries, oxygenating the blood for tissue utilization, and exhaling CO2 enriched waste from the entire body. The “Wei Qi” described in Classical Chinese Medicine corresponds to our immune system in Biomedicine.  The lung meridian, lung organ, and skin have a direct connection with the external world outside our bodies.  They are our first line of defense against pathogens.  It is an important time of year to work with the Metal energy, strengthen your lungs, and tonify your immune system to prepare for the colder months ahead.

The other organ associated with Metal is the Large Intestine.  Just as the Lungs are bringing in the pure air to vitalize all body tissues and expel carbon waste,  the Large Intestine is working to ferment food into bowels, reclaim needed salts and fluid, and rid the body of waste.  The Large Intestine Metal energy influences our capacity for “letting go”, allowing the release of the old and toxic in our lives, creating space for the pure and new, and granting us a clearer vision of our true self.  Chinese Medicine views these two organ systems as a team and their respective meridians are paired and help keep each other in balance.

During the Fall season it is common to see the Metal organ systems out of balance.  This disharmony in the Element can create both physical and emotional symptoms.  Grief is the emotion of Metal and stored in the Lungs.  Grief is a natural and necessary process of life.  When Metal becomes blocked, however, grief can become excessive, ongoing, inappropriate, or even completely absent. Chronic sadness and grief can not only become mentally debilitating, but negatively impact the health of your lungs and immune system.  Common ailments seen in the time of year (or when Metal is out of balance any time of year) include:

Physical:
~asthma, chronic bronchitis, COPD, lung disorders
~sinus problem, allergies, skin disorders
~intestinal problems, constipation, IBS, colitis, diverticulitis
~lowered immune function

Emotional:
~grief, sadness, depression, unresolved loss
~negativity, low self esteem, isolation
~issues with letting go, holding onto the past
~loss of personal boundaries
~perfectionist, OCD, rigidity in habits and ideals
~self-righteous
~problems with authority
~problems with intimacy
~lack of spiritual belief (different from religious beliefs)

The Metal Element and Autumn are more than just a time of “letting go”.  The letting go is what is necessary to create space for the new.  Fall is a special time of year to breathe in pure inspiration, take in the things that are precious from our experiences, embrace change and refinement, and feel the value in ourselves and recognize it in others.

Maintaining Balance Within Metal:

Slow Down.
Accept that it is no longer summer.  The Fire element that summer expresses is a time of outward expression, abundant activity, going out into the world with a focus on relations and deepening connections with others.  Autumn is a time to slow down and re-connect with yourself.  Gather all of the information you have learned during the earlier months and assimilate them.  Decide what no longer serves you, what needs to be let go, and that which should be held onto, stored for the winter, and cultivated.

Practice Letting Go.
Autumn is the time to de-clutter our lives and unburden ourselves with the hurts and heaviness that life can bring. Practicing letting go encompasses a vast spectrum which everyone resonates with on varying levels.  This can mean anything from cleaning, organizing, and getting rid of unnecessary crap in the home, to facing addictions (smoking, alcohol, sugar, toxic relationships, etc), all the way to working towards releasing deep seeded emotional traumas.  Just like a sharp sword, the Metal energy has its way of cutting to the point and bringing crystal clear clarity as to what needs to be done.  It is your choice whether to pay attention and act upon it, or allow the burdens to compound and weigh heavier into the next Phase.  The remarkable Metal Element can help us navigate though the changes in our lives.

Breathe.
Autumn brings with it a purity and crispness to the air.  Breathe it in deeply and fully.  Imagine your lungs pulling in pure white Metal energy provided by the fall air and breathing out any negative, toxic, heaviness that you are holding. Integrating energetic body-breathe practices such as QiGong, TaiChi, and YinYoga can be very beneficial during the Metal Phase of the year as well.

Nourish With Fall Foods.
Eating with the seasons is the best way to adjust to the changing climate and maintain balance.  As the fall months bring dryer climates, it is important to eat foods that combat dryness and nourish yin fluids.  To accomplish this add more root vegetables and squashes to your diet, along with cooking food longer and eating warmer more nutrient dense nourishing meals.  Think large dishes of beautiful roasted fall vegetables!  Enjoy soups, wild and brown rice, squash, ginger, garlic, pumpkin, root vegetables, beans, leeks, kale, sweet potatoes, onions, yams, cauliflower, collards, brussel sprouts, winter squash, apples, pears, figs, pomegranate,  and mushrooms.  Here is a link to my favorite Immune Boosting Soup Recipe!  It is also a perfect time to start brewing your Winter Tonic Fire Cider so it will be ready for consumption once winter hits!

Acupuncture & Medicinal Herbs
Receiving Acupuncture is a great way to enhance the integration of Metal energies, strengthen your body’s immune system, and keep your body and mind in tune with the seasons.  Acupuncture, along with medicinal herbal formulas and clinical nutrients, form a complete medical system.  Treatments from a qualified Acupuncturist and Herbalist can greatly benefit common conditions seen in the Fall including the cold, flu, skin disorders, asthma, allergies, sinus problems, digestion and elimination issues, and lowered immune function.  Don’t suffer from any of these?  Acupuncture can still be beneficial.  Seasonal “tune-up” treatments can be an important piece of preventative medicine.

Metal in balance is a beautiful thing. Gifts offered by the Metal element include courage, non-attachment, openness, acceptance, ability to grieve, integrity, receptivity, letting come and letting go.  I hope you take this time of year to be still, become inspired, and realize your self-worth.

~ Brianna Brownfield, LAc ~