How To Balance The Effects Of Fall

We are all affected by the cycles of nature. When the winds start blowing, the days grow shorter and cooler, and fall is among us, we often feel its effects.

Fall starts out warm and gets increasing cooler and drier. It’s also mobile (windy), erratic, light, and airy. Much like the leaves fluttering in the wind, we often become spacey, anxious, fluttery, and have a hard time slowing down.

At the beginning of fall we may feel the lingering affects of summer which is typically a build up of heat. This often manifests as acid reflux, indigestion, loose stools, pimples, rashes, swelling, irritability, and headaches.

As the season progresses, we may begin to feel the airiness and movement qualities of fall as gas, bloating, and insomnia. The increasing dryness can lead to constipation, dry skin, dandruff, and itchy or burning rashes, especially as we get later into fall.

While this is pretty typical of fall, it should be noted that the qualities of the seasons vary based on where you live so make adjustments to these recommendations as it’s relevant to your environment.

It should also be noted that not all of us are affected equally by the same seasons. This often has to do with what imbalances we are prone to and currently dealing with, and in Ayurveda this is linked with your dosha (if you are the vata dosha you will likely feel the effects of fall a lot more).

So What Are Some Things You Can Do To Restore/Maintain Balance?

The main overarching goal here is to balance the qualities of fall by bringing more of the opposite qualities into our daily lives. Those qualities are: warmth (in late fall), heavy, moist, oily, smooth, stable, cloudy/dense, deep nourishment, a sense of stability, rhythm/routine, and grounding. We can do this by doing the following things:

1) Cleansing

The transition between summer and fall is an excellent time for cleansing. You can remove any built up heat from the summer as well as any built up toxins. This will help decrease any burdens on your health and immune system, preparing you to better fight off the common colds and flus in the months to come.

Cleansing is also extremely helpful for correcting imbalances and preventing disease. During this time of year, I recommend placing and extra emphasis on colon cleansing as the fall can have a bigger impact on the lower portion of our digestive track. So doing things like enemas, taking bowel moving herbal supplements (for a limited time, not long term!), eating light easy to digest foods, getting plenty of magnesium, and staying hydrated can be very helpful.

For more information on how to do a cleanse, check out my In Depth Guide On How To Detox And Cleanse Your Body.

2) Slow Down And Rest More

As the days get longer it’s a sign to our bodies that we need more sleep and rest. To combat the mobile (windy), erratic, light, and airiness of fall, we want to do things that slow us down, ground us, and bring stability.

Some suggestions for this are going on walks, reading, meditating, soaking in a warm bath or hot spring, and going to bed 30 minutes earlier.

3) Adhering To A Routine

If you don’t already have a daily routine, now’s a great time to create one. A daily routine can help bring a sense of stability and be very grounding. It can help you get your day off on the right foot, stay focused on your priorities, efficiently get the things you need to do done, and minimize distractions. Be sure to leave plenty of time to rest and slow down and don’t over schedule your day.

4) Oil Massages

Oiling your body can help lock the moisture into your skin and prevent dryness. If you add in a massage, you get extra relaxing benefits too! Be sure to use a very high quality oil, no vegetable oils! Remember, if you wouldn’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin! I like to use a homemade salve made of extra virgin coconut and extra virgin olive oil, but plain extra virgin coconut oil is great too!

If you really want to work on some tight tissue, you can try using a gua sha in your massage too!

5) Eat Seasonal, Hearty, Oily, Nourishing Foods

Fall calls for seasonal, hearty, oily, nourishing foods to ground us and combat the dryness we are likely experiencing. Foods like fatty cuts of meat, slow cooked and braised meats, squash, root vegetables, stews, and soups will nourish our bodies and ground our minds. 

Prioritize warm cooked foods and the flavors spicy, sweet, and sour. While minimizing cold, raw, or dry foods; as well as very astringent or bitter foods.

It can also be helpful to see what produce is in season near you. Foods that grow in the fall typically have the qualities that balance the affects of fall. Below are some common examples of fall foods and if you want some fall recipes click here!

Ideal Fall Foods:

Animal Products:

Fruits:

Vegetables:

Spices:

Other Foods:

Works Cited

1. O’Donnell, Kate. “The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook.” Colorado: Shambhala Publishing. 2015. Print

2. Seasonal Food Guide. Accessed 26 June 2019. https://www.seasonalfoodguide.org/

3. Mischke, Melody. “Fall Guide Find Soothing Stability This Fall.” Accessed 20 September 2021. https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/ayurvedic-living/living-ayurveda/seasonal-guides/autumn-guide/

4. O’Brien, Doug (PA and Ayurvedic Practitioner). Personal interview. 19 September 2021.