Autumn is a Time to Ground
“Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky, we fell them down and turn them into paper,
That we may record our emptiness.” ― Kahlil Gibran
I always loved walking in the woods, particularly when I was a kid visiting northern Michigan from Ohio. The feeling of pine needles crunching under my feet under an enormous canopy of different shades of green leaves will always be etched in my mind as a favorite memory. And recently I have been thinking about the correlation between spending time in nature and the practice of grounding in Ayurveda to help counter the impact our fast-paced life on our nervous systems—which is especially important in the season of autumn.
And there are interesting practices and studies on the impact of grounding, also known as earthing. For example, in 1982, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries created the term shinrin-yoku, which translates to “forest bathing” or “absorbing the forest atmosphere.” The practice encourages people to simply spend time in nature with the goal of living in the present moment while immersing your senses in the sights and sounds of a natural setting. Research has found that grounding appears to improve sleep, normalize the day–night cortisol rhythm, reduce pain, reduce stress, shift the autonomic nervous system from sympathetic toward parasympathetic activation, speed wound healing, and more.
As we transition into the fall season, there are usually more demands placed on us after the summer to be on the move, leaving us with little opportunity to center, let alone ground ourselves. The effects of being ungrounded can give us a racing mind, make us feel anxious, or even dizzy which can cause mental, emotional, or physical ailments. In Ayurveda, autumn is associated vata dosha or the wind/ether energy and because like attracts like in Ayurveda, we too can feel more dry, rough, windy, erratic, and cool.
Ayurveda considers having a seasonal routine as an important cornerstone of maintaining wellness and good health year-round. The truth is that many of us adopt seasonally appropriate habits intuitively already—without even being conscious of doing so. For example, in the summertime we often enjoy salads, watermelon, and cucumbers which are all perfect anecdotes to the heat and intensity of the summer. But when November comes, we are often enjoying grounding and nourishing soups and breads—foods that often soothe the dry, rough, erratic airy season.
By making diet and lifestyle choices that counter the effects of each season, Ayurveda believes we can maintain your internal sense of equilibrium throughout the year. If we consider the Ayurvedic principle that opposites provide more balance, vata season will be less aggravating if we fill it with warmth, oiliness, deep nourishment, loving relationships, and a sense of stability, routine, and groundedness. Three tips for this autumn season:
Foods: You’ll want to favor the sweet, sour, and salty tastes. In general, eat mushy, soft foods and garnish them generously with ghee and oil, if you can. Breakfasts of cooked grains—like oatmeal, cream of rice, and cream of wheat—are perfect at this time of year, as are apples cooked in ghee with cinnamon. Lunches and dinners that include steamed vegetables like sweet potatoes, hearty grains, soups, and stews are grounding and moisturizing. Try to avoid any raw veggies, frozen foods as well as bitter or astringent tastes.
Self-massage: Abhyanga is very grounding and can help calm your nervous system, and awaken your tissues by massaging your skin with warm organic sesame or sunflower oil. Follow this practice with a warm, relaxing shower, leaving a coat of oil on the skin to absorb throughout the day. Steam baths and humidifiers can help with moisture as well.
Meditation: Some gentle yoga, and 10–15 minutes of meditation (try this Empty Bowl practice) will further your sense of stability and wellness.
And get outside each day if you can, put your feet on the ground, look up at the trees and admire the natural beauty around you. With their deep roots, trees carry significant grounding energy that we all can benefit from. We naturally feel peace and serenity when walking in the shade of trees or on a forest trail and it produces intriguing effects on our physiology and health.