Easy Ways to Stay Healthy This Fall
“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”
Photo: Taren Maroun
Although it seems like Southern California is grasping onto summer with everything she has, the crisp autumn days are faintly knocking on the door. This is definitely the time of year I feel most nostalgic for the dramatic beauty of the East Coast color palette, big cozy sweaters, and pumpkin lattes with my mum. As we move from the playful lightness of summer to the more introspective and cooling energies of fall, we are reminded to shift our focus from outer to inner reflections so that we may nourish our internal worlds. The days and our time with the sun are shorter, nature starts to slow, and in turn so do we.
Here are three quick ways to help ease your transition and stay healthy this fall.
Diet
To balance the dryness of the season, foods that are cooked and warming are best this time of year. Check out your local farmer’s market to see what’s in season, and use the ingredients for soups, baked veggies, and fresh casseroles. Try this Never Get Sick Soup recipe to get you started.
Start the morning by drinking warm water with lemon. Squeezing half a lemon into warm water will help stimulate good bowel health by washing the GI tract and flushing out the kidneys. You can also add a touch of cayenne or 1/2 teaspoon of ginger root to assist with digestion.
Yoga
To balance the cooling principles of fall, create internal heat by moving more. In my yoga classes, I’ve been teaching a fluid practice that focuses more on grounding energy, which invites us to explore the depths within. If summer lends itself to jumping up into handstands, fall lends itself to balancing postures and longer holds to help feel supported by the earth.
Oil Massage
Treat yourself to a daily at-home ayurvedic self-massage with an organic sesame oil. Sesame oil helps prevent dryness and dehydration of the skin, and is nourishing and warming for the body. It also has anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. Massage the oil into your skin, let it sit for 10-20 minutes, and then take a hot shower—the heat of the shower will open the pores, allowing the skin to absorb the oil.
Want help obtaining your best health this fall? Schedule a free initial health history consultation with me to discuss your wellness goals.
Much love and happy fall!