How to Align Your Routine With the Fall Season
Before electricity, refrigeration, and global supply chains, daily routines were determined by nature and changed with the seasons. Early peoples developed healing systems around these cycles, with the belief that their bodies, minds, and spirits were deeply influenced by nature, not separate from it.
The transition points between seasons, especially summer to fall, were considered delicate times. In the summer, days are long, energy flows outwardly, and cooling, hydrating foods that are best enjoyed raw are abundant. Fall shifts to shorter days, more time spent indoors, and foods that require cooking to bring in warmth and moisture.
Resisting the transition to a new season by keeping your routine the same can invite imbalance into your life, which may show up as fatigue, weakened immunity, or a general “off” feeling.
Here is some ancient wisdom from Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and indigenous seasonal practices to help you align your actions with the changing seasons.
Ayurveda Recommendations
In Ayurveda, each season carries certain elemental qualities.
- Summer is ruled by pitta (fire + water): hot and active.
- Fall brings in vata (air + ether): dry and cool.
When vata dominates, it can lead to dry skin, restless sleep, irregular digestion, or scattered thoughts. Warmth, moisture, and stability are the antidotes.
Seasonal guidance from Ayurveda:
- Food: Shift from raw, cooling produce to cooked grains, soups, and root vegetables.
- Self-care: Daily oil massage with sesame or almond oil to nourish and moisturize the skin while soothing the nervous system.
- Movement: Choose grounding practices, like walking, yoga, and pilates, over high-intensity workouts.
- Routine: Go to bed earlier, and eat meals around the same time each day to keep the body steady as days begin to feel shorter.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Recommendations
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, fall is linked with the metal element, which governs the lungs and large intestine. These organs represent our ability to take in (breath, inspiration) and let go (waste, grief, old patterns).
Seasonal guidance from TCM:
- Food: Eat moisture-rich seasonal foods to counter dryness, like pears, apples, honey, sesame, daikon radish, and warm broths.
- Breath: Practice deep breathing to strengthen the lungs.
- Emotion: Acknowledge and release grief or heaviness. Just as trees shed leaves, you are invited to let go of what no longer serves you.
Indigenous Seasonal Practices
For indigenous cultures, fall was the harvest season; a time to gather, give thanks, and prepare for winter’s scarcity. Beyond survival, this season carried deep spiritual practices, including honoring the cycle of life, death, and renewal.
Seasonal guidance from indigenous traditions:
- Food: Preserve and store harvest foods through fermenting, drying, or canning.
- Community: Share meals, gather with friends and family, and practice gratitude rituals.
- Spirit: Recognize the need to slow down, conserve energy, and reflect. Many autumn celebrations echo these ancient themes of thanks and remembrance.
Bring Ancient Wisdom to Modern Life
The transition from summer to fall is an invitation to slow down, nourish, and realign with nature’s cycles. Prioritize warm, hydrating, seasonal foods. Moisturize inside and out with broths, herbal teas, and body oils. Practice slower, grounding exercises. Adjust your daily routine to match the shorter daylight hours.
By honoring this seasonal wisdom, you support your body’s resilience, calm your mind, and create space for gratitude and reflection.
Explore Global Healing products—made with ancient healing wisdom and modern scientific breakthroughs—to support your mind, body, and spirit through the seasonal shifts.
Posted in: Nutrition > Foods,
Dr. Edward Group, DC
FOUNDER | HEALER | ADVOCATEDr. Group, DC is a healer and alternative health advocate, and an industry leader and innovator in the field of natural health who is dedicated to helping others. He is a registered doctor of chiropractic (DC), a naturopathic practitioner (NP), and proud alum of Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management. Dr. Group, DC is the founder of Global Healing – a mission and vision he has shared through best-selling books and frequent media appearances. He aims to spread his message of positivity, hope, and wellness throughout the world.
