Meditation Session – Tuning Into Fall

I’m very pleased to team up with the brilliant Heidi Hancock, healing practitioner based in SE Portland. She’s providing us with great meditation themes and mindful seasonal messages. Find yourself a peaceful place in your house or at the park, and watch the great video we prepared for you. Happy fall! To contact her and have more informations about her work feel free to contact her here.

With the equinox behind us, we find ourselves in the midst of the changing seasons. We are moving from the busy, expansive, yang energy of summer to the slower, internal, yin energy of fall. For some this may be a welcome time; a letting go of all the doing, and a gentle welcoming in of simply being. Yet for others this may be a challenging time. We are so conditioned to be going, producing, focusing on everyone and everything outside ourselves that reflection can be hard work. Sometimes we don’t want to see what lurks in the silence, the dust under the couch, the things left unattended. Slowing down can cause us to witness the ways we are living that may not be in alignment with our dreams and goals. But with focused intention, we can move mindfully through the season and do some really beautiful work towards creating the life we want, not just the one we dream about. By allowing space, we allow opportunity for change; a way to sync our internal desires with our external expressions. Fall is the perfect time to engage in this work. The leaves, the light, the temperature; everything outside is supporting this shift in our internal landscape.

Here are some tips to simplify and come into balance with the season.

Creating space — As the leaves begin to change color and let go, so too must we let go of what not longer serves us. Cleaning and clearing our environment creates the space that the fall asks for. It’s time to get back to the basics. Take inventory of your space. What is necessary and what is just extra? Take a look around your home, work space and even your car to see what needs to go. Donate clothes or housewares. Feel the freedom of letting go.

Grounding — As the sun begins to fade and change is on the horizon, grounding can be a helpful practice. Grounding includes anything that requires us to slow down. Talking walks, noticing our breath, soaking in a delicious salt bath, cooking nourishing meals, setting an earlier bed time, having slow and deliberate conversations with our loved ones, pausing to be grateful. Fall even gives us an excuse to slow down. Take advantage of it.

Tuning In — Shorter days encourage us to be inward, both physically and emotionally. It’s a time of reflection, checking in, asking ourselves what is really happening in there? Fierce self care is the best way to manage this. Yoga, meditation, acupuncture, massage, energy work and journaling are great ways to get in touch. Anything that brings us inside with an inquisitive mind and heart.

But most of all, be gentle with yourself. We are all in process. There is no end goal, no place to finally reach, no finish line. Let fall support your process, and love yourself right where you are.