Colour Yourself Autumn
Ayurvedic therapist Thania Tympanari explores ways we can live more in rhythm with the change in season and improve our wellbeing this autumn.
The time of the year to start saying goodbye to sandals and shorts is closing in. Autumn is a wonderful and glorious celebration of green, red and yellow colours, but it is also known to bring more winds and rains. I know in London, we are accustomed to cold and blustery weather but the dropping of the temperature and the increase in clothing layers is an indication that some of our choices must change alongside the changings season.
I always ask people what they do when they witness this change in Nature. The obvious answer is that you wear thicker coats. Well here I am asking you to tell me the non-obvious answer!
Altering our wardrobe is one thing, and changing diet and lifestyle are the others. Eating seasonally was very easy and organic 50 years ago but it’s not the case today. We have a plethora of produce, fruits and vegetables that magically grow any moment of the year, but that doesn’t mean that eating peaches in November is a good eating habit, even if fruits are good for you!
Qualities of Autumn are cold, dry cause of the wind, unpredictable and darker than summer. In America another name for autumn is Fall, the falling of leaves, the transition, the cleansing, the change.
So let us change so as to obtain health and happiness. Adjust your diet to seasonal and warm cooked food. Salads are great but avoiding cold food and favouring hot meals is like giving a fluffy cosy blanket for your internal organs. You want your digestion to stay active and not become dull, slow or even non-existent.
Our hobbies and our everyday activities need to alter as well. We need to stay warm but still grounded, air balloon travelling is a trick for summer days.
Depending on your body and mind constitution doing an excessive cardio exercise might cause imbalance. If you consider yourself to be a bit restless, you always do and think, arrange-rearrange and constantly change your mind about everything, then take this opportunity to slow down. Favour slow pace activities that help you become more stable and practical.
Let’s put this simple information into a challenge. Start making a food and activity diary for 6 days. On the 7th day sit down with yourself and reflect on the information you have gathered. How was the past week? How were you mentally, physically? Do you think that something you do is of no benefit to you? Maybe it’s causing more harm than good? Can you change it?
Now that sounds like a nice place to start the transition.
If you want to know more, join the next Ayurvedic Workshop on the 13th of October or drop for a 60min Consultation on a Sunday evening, that is after all the 7th day of the week!