Incoming – new season alert
The August New Moon (which happened on Saturday 27 August) sees the start of the season of late summer. While this is not strictly a season we adhere to here in Scotland. However, Traditional Chinese Medicine sees this as an important ‘interim’ season, acting as a buffer between the height of yang/summer and the coolness of yin/metal.
Late summer only lasts about 4-weeks, up until the Autumnal Equinox, when we welcome in the metal element and enter into the more yin half of the year. If you think about it, having a buffer between the seasons is quite nice, it’s as if we are slowly acclimatising ourselves and preparing for the next part of the year – which should be a little quieter, a little more introverted and a lot slower.
Late summer is associated with the earth element, which is all about grounding. During summer and the fire element, we’ve been (hopefully) out enjoying ourselves, spending time with family and friends and making sure that we’re outdoors a lot to take in the nice weather. My mum always said that getting out in the sunshine during summer helps to see you through the winter, and she wasn’t far off the mark!
The height of summer takes our energies to a peak, but this is unsustainable, and the universe creates balance by encouraging us to slowly draw inwards and settle back down. This is late summer.
This season and the earth element is all about nurturing and supporting us as we move from the yang seasons into the more yin ones. It’s important to take some time here to pause, and notice what you need, so that you can head forwards with the rest of the year in a state of balance. This is the essence of the earth element and should be where our efforts are placed at this time of year – creating balance and grounding down.
A few suggestions on how to embrace the earth element:
- Try meditating – this is an ideal time to get some perspective. Here’s a short video to get you started.
- It’s time to put the salads away and move towards eating foods which will not add coolness into the body.
- Make time for YOU – self-care isn’t just a buzz word.
- Consider how you can allow yourself to be more supported by others? (This is a great topic for journaling about!)
- Join my Savasana Challenge starting next week.
Yoga by Gillian 