From everyday rituals and TCM knowledge to cozy reads and little things making life sweeter this season.
I am a true summer woman. Which is very fitting considering I am writing this at the end of October from a cafe in Siesta Key Beach as I try to soak in every last warm, sunny day as possible. On that note, can I just say that I think Florida fall is incredibly underrated? But although I have said goodbye to my favorite summer season, as a TCM practitioner, I know the importance of living and honoring each season. And there is so much to love about fall.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we are taught to embrace each season and live fully within it. Each season correlates with a specific organ system, emotion, color, flavor and sense organ. This provides us a guide on what may arise or what may need extra support during each season.
Fall—
Element: Metal
Organs: Lung/Large Intestine
Flavor: Pungent
Color: White
Emotion: Grief
Sense Organ: Nose
Tissue: Skin
The lungs are the organ that receive breath, oxygen and energy from the outside world. During fall, the lungs are especially vulnerable to dryness, coughs, asthma, and what we call “wind invasion,” which is another name for a cold. The large intestine releases waste, toxins and what the body no longer needs. These paired organs symbolize the importance of taking in what serves you and letting go of what is not serving you during this season.
The emotion is grief. Working with clients, I always find it fascinating to witness the patterns of similar emotions that surface each season. It’s totally one of those, “Wow TCM really knows what it’s talking about!” moments. Grief can show up physically as an unresolved sadness that is being felt in your body, causing shortness of breath, asthma, or not being able to take a deep breath. But grief is not necessarily bad. Sometimes grief coexists with an understanding that new beginnings are happenings. You may experience the grief of a change, like maybe letting go of a relationship AND also the recognition that it is creating space for new beginnings.
The last characteristic I will note on is dryness. Fall brings the dominate climate of dryness. Just as leaves from the trees turn brittle, our bodies can experience more dryness during this time as well, especially in the lungs, skin, throat and intestines. This dryness can contribute to breathing challenges, constipation and skin rashes. That is why it is so important to focus a little extra on consuming moistening ingredients and using effective skincare (more on that below).
My Fall Favorites!
*Disclaimer : I will specify if any of these are affiliate links, but I will never ever recommend something that I actually do not use and support.
#1 Breathwork & breathing exercises
I try to incorporate breathwork consistently, but I do always find it easier to bring into my routine in the fall. Maybe it’s the fact that it is still dark outside in the mornings when I wake up, make my latte, and sit on the couch to read and journal. That darkness signaling stillness and quietude. Or maybe it’s the natural support that my body is asking for during this season as someone who used to struggle with asthma. Either way, I always go back to Evolve By Erika or find a video on Youtube that I like.
#2 Skincare that is moistening & does not cause acne
Acne prone AND dry skin girl here!! Over the years of testing skincare, sooo many products that targeted acne would irritate or dry my skin out tremendously. And if they were moistening and hydrating, they would cause breakouts and have clogging ingredients. When fall and winter would come around, I would always be struggling with patchy dry skin and then acne breakouts. My non-negotiable skincare now is Clearstem. I have been using their products for yearsssss and swear by them! For the dry seasons, I especially love the Hydraberry Overnight Mask.
#3 Eating lots of Soup
Soup season is upon us and my TCM practitioner self could not be happier. I fight "(not literally) with clients all year long to stop it with the cold salads and smoothies and raw foods all day long and actually eat something warming. Eating warm, cooked, broth-filled foods are extremely beneficial for our woman bodies, digestion, hormones and womb. My three favorite soup recipes to make:
Caribbean- Inspired Beef Soup- gluten free, simple, high protein and delicious
Roasted Carrot Tomato Soup- full of immune supportive ingredients
Italian Minestrone soup- Jovial has some of my favorite recipes and their Einkorn flour is the flour I use always
#4 Pears
I still remember very clearly my Chinese professor (who had to be in her late 70s but had the vitality of a 35 year old) in school lecturing me about how I needed to eat baked pears with honey. Backstory, I developed asthma in my early twenties during the time that I was studying TCM. Talk about a perfect environment to get free treatment and healing. Along with cupping, acupuncture and herbs, I started making baked pears each week. The reason? Pears are moistening according to TCM. They nourish yin, or in other words, fluids within the body. They also target the lungs specifically, moistening where there is dryness.
The recipe:
2 pears, cut in half and cored
2 tablespoons of honey
3 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons of water
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Slice the pears in half lengthwise and scoop out the cores. Arrange them cut-side up in a small baking dish.
Drizzle the pears with honey, sprinkle with cinnamon, and add the freshly grated ginger.
Pour the water into the bottom of the dish to help keep the pears moist as they bake.
Bake for 25–35 minutes, depending on the size and ripeness of your pears, until soft and easily pierced with a fork. Spoon the warm honey-spice juices over the pears before serving.
*If you are struggling with dryness symptoms, I recommend eating 1 pear, 1 time per day for 7 days
#5 Poetry
I have had a chronic issue with always needing to feel like I am doing something productive. I think part of that is being a business owner and committed to continuous learning for the better of the clients that I work with. I also love the feeling of learning something new and not getting complacent. With that said, I used to struggle with reading for “fun.” I first got into fiction reading with ACOTAR and that sparked my love again for reading just for the sake of enjoying it. So now, instead of reading non-fiction in the morning in the form of another self-help book, I read poetry. It’s a lovely addition to my slow morning coffee and journaling. I find that reading poetry has also helped with fostering my own creativity, especially in a world that values AI over the human voice (yes, this means that everything that I put out into the world is written by me!). I reread Rupi Kaur’s books and fell in love all over again with poetry.
#6 My Sauna
I wrote a whole article about my sauna and why I love her. A lot of why I am adamant about my sauna use is for skin health. I would always breakout in the fall and winter when I wasn’t sweating as much and the sauna helped so much with that. In addition, we just overall are not getting outside as much and our bodies are not getting warmed up as much. A. cold body (womb for women) can lead to an increase in menstrual pain so the sauna continues to help with blood flow and circulation during this season. The sauna I use is: Relax Saunas (affiliate link). It is portable, easy to put away when you don’t need it and is far-infrared. For real, one of my favorite purchases!
#7 A yummy non-toxic fragrance
Something about fall makes me want everything to smell divine! As someone who tries to really limit endocrine harming ingredients, I stopped wearing perfume for years. This made me sad because I loveeee walking by someone who smells delicious and has a signature scent to them. I wanted to be that person! I tried so many sprays and “non-toxic” options, but they never lasted and honestly, just smelled like the body sprays I wore in middle school (Bath & Body Works, anyone?!). But then I found Henry Rose. They are EWG verified and have 100% ingredient transparency. I started with the sample pack to find my signature and they are honestly all SO good! The perfect addition to this time of year as holiday parties and social time increases.
#8 Journaling
This one kind of goes along with the poetry and breathwork that I do in the mornings, so I guess I have a theme right now. I know everyone says to journal, but I honestly was never super into it. My mind has been changed though!! It has been one of the most supportive habits I have incorporated recently. I do anything from a brain dump and just writing what is one my mind, to affirmations, prayers, gratitude, writing my own poems, or just writing what I am feeling. The goal is to not have a structure and just let is flow. Like I mentioned in the intro, fall is all about letting go and evaluating what is and is not serving you. Journaling is a wonderful tool to get clear about that vision. Here are three prompts to spark your writing:
1. What am I holding onto that no longer feels aligned with the woman I am becoming? What would it look like to release it with grace?
2. Where in my life am I being called to slow down, turn inward, and give myself more nourishment? What do I need more of in this season?
3. As I reflect on the past season, what am I ready to leave behind, and what wisdom do I want to carry forward?
In a world of hearing everyone’s voice on the internet, journaling allows you to hear yours.
I hope you feel encouraged to explore how you can deepen your relationship with each season. If you are seeking support with hormones, gut challenges, or other symptoms that are holding you back from living your best life, I offer 1:1 coaching for women focused around traditional wisdom mixed with modern lab testing.