Return to CAB Home Return to CAB Home
about acupuncture
about CAB
seasonal care
faq
news
winter
spring
summer
harvest

CYCLES: AUTUMN

Imitate the trees. Learn to lose in order to recover,
and remember that nothing stays the same for long,
not even pain.  Sit it out.  Let it all pass.   Let it go.

May Sarton, Journal of a Solitude (1973)

According to the ancient Chinese, it is by observing the seasons that we learn how to flow with the circumstances of life. The natural happenings in the world outside our windows also occur in our bodies, our lives, and in everything we do: spring. summer, harvest, autumn, and winter. In Asian thought, Yin and Yang interact to create the seasons. Autumn follows the Yang of Summer and the abundance of Late Summer/Harvest. It leads us to Winter, maximum Yin, a time of inwardness and potential energy.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, each season represents a particular quality of change. The movement of Autumn is related to shedding what is not essential. Leaves drop and we can see the structure of the tree. When we let go, we have less, but what we have is clearer and more precious. The associated element is Metal, the product of refinement from crystals to pure ore. Organs related to Autumn/Metal are Lung and Large Intestine, both responsible for extracting what is of use and eliminating what is not. Skin, with its pores, is also related to Autumn/Metal. Positive emotions related to Autumn include acknowledgment of what is valuable and relief like we feel after cleaning out the attic, getting rid of what is unneeded. Grief is the emotion that arises when we are unable to let go.

Ways to maintain well-being in Autumn

  • Notice your breathing. The Chinese character for Qi can be translated both as breath and as energy. Shallow breathing can be understood as a way of holding back and not fully participating in life. Deep breathing is a way of being fully present.
  • Try this exercise: Take a deep breath in, as deep as you can, then pull in a half-breath more and hold it. Hold it until you are unable to keep holding, then let all the air out- and push out a half-breath more. Repeat three times, noticing how good it feels to be empty, then how good it feels to be full. This joy is always available, a gift of Autumn.
  • Be like the deciduous trees in autumn; practice letting go. Ask yourself: what possessions do I no longer need? Find them a home where they can once again be useful.
  • Prune your habits and activities as well. Autumn provides an opportunity to stop doing what no longer nourishes you, to prepare a space for the quiet of Winter. 

Adapted from Elsie Hancock, “Cycles of our Lives,” Meridians Special Issue 1999 and“Seasons of our Lives: Autumn,” Meridians Autumn 2000; and Sandra Hill, Reclaiming the Wisdom of the Body: A Personal Guide to Chinese Medicine  (London: Constable,1997).


Community Acupuncture Berea
122 Main Street
Berea, Kentucky 40403
859-986-0098 (answering machine)
419-710-9738 (fax)
CAB@CABerea.com