September 19, 2025 • 29 mins
The Autumn Equinox invites us to pause, reflect, and realign with nature’s quiet shift. In this episode, Bronwyn Ayla shares ancient wisdom from the Tong Shu, guiding you to let go of what no longer serves, nourish your qi, and prepare for winter’s inward turn.
Discover slow foods, seasonal rituals, and simple practices to ground your energy and protect your vitality. Whether you're navigating change or simply need to slow down, this is your invitation to harmonize with the deep yin of the season.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
This is Bronwyn Isla and it is the autumn equinox and
I'm going to speak about how toattune to this time of the year
, how to allow the autumnequinox to be influencing,
(00:59):
influencing our conduct.
So part of the cycle of being ahuman being is allowing nature
to influence us and to be inharmony with what's happening in
the outside world and in theinside world.
(01:21):
As the earth is spinning aroundthe sun and the moon around the
earth and all of the waves thatwe are cycling through space,
through time, it makes sensethat we would want to also
(01:48):
harmonize and be included inthese massive rotations.
Autumn is a time to have theout-breath, the letting go and
the allowing of the slowing down, and autumn equinox is the
middle of autumn.
It's not the beginning ofautumn.
(02:08):
If you think about it, it'sright between summer solstice,
which is the longest, brightestday, and winter solstice, which
is the darkest time of the year.
So autumn equinox is right inbetween, and it's the middle of
autumn, and we will have thebeginning of winter um around
the first or second week ofnovember, and all of the cycles
(02:32):
of the year are are divided intotwo nodes, of which are all two
week periods, and we areentering now into the qi node of
autumn equinox, which is whenyin and yang have equality and
(02:53):
metal flourishes.
Metal is the long element, andwhen we say equality for yin and
yang, we don't mean in quantitybut more in quality.
It doesn't take a lot of yangto balance out yin, because yang
is so spicy in that way.
(03:24):
So it's important to think ofautumn equinox as the middle of
autumn, because if we're latentand turning our energy inward,
it can cause different dis-easesin the system and then we
become out of balance with ourenvironment.
And not living in harmony withour environment is a big source
of not only dis-ease in oursystems but also an
(03:47):
unfulfillment of the nourishmentof our destiny.
Because we're not actuallycycling and harmonizing and
having phases of completion anddoing and ambition and letting
go, we can fail to fulfill ourdestiny.
That what it is that we camehere for.
(04:08):
Because we're not honoringthese cycles which can govern
our, our beingness in the world.
And during autumn ourenvironment becomes more and
more yin, more and more quiet,and this is also the time of
(04:29):
year when I often have peoplecoming to me in my clinic saying
that they are feeling moreintroverted and sometimes sad
and a lot of grief is coming upand my first course of action is
to assure them that that ishealthy.
(04:50):
It's healthy to have times inour lives where we grieve and
where we remember loss and wherewe want to be less social and
more on an inner journey.
In allopathic medicine it'scalled seasonal affective
disorder, as if it's a disorderthat actually is healthy to have
(05:15):
times of slowing down and beingquiet.
Of course, there can beextremes of that that need to be
helped along, but tipping ourtoe into feelings of loss is a
healthy part of life.
If we are only wanting thesummer beach days or the hot
(05:41):
holiday vacation moments, thenwe're not living in the full
spectrum of humanness, of humanbeingness, so that yin energy
that's quietly calling us to letgo and turn in.
(06:08):
So if we've been cultivatingautumn well in the last six
weeks since the beginning ofautumn and around August 1st or
2nd and run August 1st or 2ndno-transcript, and allowing
(06:33):
ourselves to let go of theambition of summer and starting
to organize our lives to preparefor this quiet stillness that
winter brings, so this includescleaning up all the cupboards
and the house and really doing adeep purge of anything extra
(06:55):
that's not needed and allowingour spaciousness and a time to
not do so.
If we have a home that's fullof extra things, it's harder to
really sink into stillness.
It is still there.
It's the time when we'veharvested, cut the fruits from
(07:21):
off the stem, off the vines,we've harvested the vegetables
or are finishing up that harvest, and so when we cut those fruit
from the vine, they're notgrowing anymore.
And same with our projects.
We're not adding more steam tothe projects Now.
We're completing, tying up,crossing the T's, dotting the
(07:44):
I's and looking for ways tocomplete all of the activity for
these last few weeks.
So we have six more weeks untilthe two-time.
These last few weeks.
So we have six more weeks untilwintertime.
(08:04):
As we turn inward in autumn,it's a time to gather our chi
into ourselves on all this level.
This means saying no toovercommitting your time and
energy.
That would be really taxing onthe adrenals and the kidneys at
this time to be overdoing toomany things.
It means avoiding any kind offinal pushes or one last
(08:29):
all-nighter or whatever thatcould look like in our own lives
and really slowing down andreally taking the time to
contemplate what that actuallymeans.
And sometimes, if we didn'tquite.
You know, if we planned ourautumn during the summer months,
then the autumn can look a lotbusier than is actually
(08:54):
appropriate, because in thesummer we're like, oh, we're
gonna just do, it's gonna befine, I'm gonna have that much
energy in the autumn, but butit's not the same amount of
energy in the autumn.
So sometimes it takes slowingdown and and hauling, like
taking out the things in theautumn that need it, maybe
(09:14):
already are too much.
So if you've alreadyovercommitted your autumn, go
through your calendar and seewhat you can take out as being
too much.
So we want to organize thesemore scattered, spontaneous
patterns of the summer monthsinto a more calm, quiet time for
reflection, and it's importantto really put in the calendar if
(09:37):
you're living in the West andhave a more life of that kind
the times for rest andreflection and really noting.
Okay, this day and this evening, this is the time where I'm
going to actually stop and haveunstructured time to be doing
nothing.
(09:57):
Eating foods that are sour andastringent can encourage this
process of pulling ourselvesinward toward ourselves and our
internal sphere.
The sour, if you think ofeating a lemon, the shake that
one's mouth makes, that kind ofpuckering in.
That's what you want to do now.
You want to start to draw inour energy, pull it in towards
(10:19):
our centers.
So sour foods can help us, forexample, vinegars, sour plums,
sauerkraut, pickles, alfamburi,rosehip tea, leeks, yogurt,
olives and grapefruit.
This is a season to pickle,ferment and store our harvests
for the winter.
It's also a great time if youhaven't yet put away anything
(10:46):
from the summer months, any kindof financial savings or
investments, which is also thetime to really put away
abundance financial abundancefor the winter years of our
lives, to take extra money andput it away for saving for when
(11:06):
we're older.
So the timing for your practiceis optimal at 6 pm in the
evening, and the counsel is forthese practices whether they're
yoga, dance, meditation, chico,whatever to be done indoors
morning and evening in shortsessions rather than long,
(11:28):
sweaty sessions.
We want to be careful to useour chi to prepare us for the
winter months, to replenish,restore and tonify our blood and
our kidneys and our lungs.
We want to use all of that chito tonify ourselves rather than
overly exert our energy bysquandering our chi through too
(11:52):
much exercise.
As far as food goes, this is thetime to nourish with slow food
or a tea or too much exercise.
As far as food goes, this isthe time to nourish with slow
food.
As Yin is taking charge, it'sbest to eat nourishing foods
with a high concentration ofJing.
Jing is our prenatal essence.
It's the essence that we weregiven at the time of our
(12:15):
parents' conception and partlyalso in utero, and this thing is
very hard to replenish when wesquander it through
over-exercise, too much sex oroverwork or staying up all night
and not taking care ofourselves and not living in
(12:37):
harmony with the seasons.
So you want to eat things thathave a high concentration of
jing and qi.
So we can't really eat jing.
Some people would say you can'treally eat jing, you can only
inherit it.
But we can do things that helpsustain the thing that we have
left in our bodies.
(12:58):
Roasted fall vegetables likecorn, hearty squash, soups,
roots and other hearty foodshelp us prepare for winter.
Generally, you want to becooking with less water, at a
lower heat for longer periods oftime.
This is a great time to pullout your crock pot or roasting
(13:23):
in the oven with a low heat on aflame, so that these deeper
nutrients can start to emergefrom our foods.
If we cook foods quickly, itcreates more rajas or more speed
or heat, and encourages a kindof a busyness in our minds and
our bodies.
Allowing things to cook moreslowly encourages us to focus
(13:46):
more internally, slow down andreceive the deep nourishment
from foods which is simple andeasy to assimilate.
So we want to avoid morecomplicated meals Simple, slow,
cooked, easy to assimilate,quiet food.
(14:06):
The more cooked a food is, theless our own bodies need to cook
it and so we need less energyto assimilate it.
So spleens that are responsiblefor for cooking the food that
we take in.
So it can be hard on the spleento have a lot of raw food this
time of year, and that becomesmore and more the case until we
(14:29):
have the spring sprouts thatcome up.
Then we can start to add inmore of that freshness.
And it's important to jostlewarmly, as Lu Ming, my teacher
in this way, would frequentlyremind us.
The weather report is not thetree report.
(14:49):
So even if the weather is warm,we are still vulnerable to
common colds and otherexternally contracted infections
.
The easiest way for these wethink of a papillomigy or wind
to come in is through our wrists, ankles and neck.
(15:09):
So if you are hot.
Even you can still wear socksor like something around your
ankles, wrists and throat.
You can even just cut off apair of socks and put them
around your wrists to keep thechi in those areas.
Another idea especially ifyou're on your bike or exposed
(15:32):
to a lot of wind, there's a footcut involved in your ears.
That can prevent a lot of themore common colds and flus that
can start to come in startingaround this time.
It's important to observe all ofthe dryness this time of year.
(15:55):
We can see that in thecrackling leaves, the dry
grasses and the crisp air, andpart of the susceptibility in
autumn is through the lungs andthe dryness.
This dryness primarily affectsthe lungs, but it can also
affect other parts of the body.
Sometimes this dryness cominginto our systems can be an
(16:19):
itchiness, a thirst, dry skin, athroat, and people who are thin
or more vata are often moresusceptible to this dryness.
Vata means like a windy type,and there's ways to mitigate a
vulnerability to the dryness byincreasing more moistening foods
(16:41):
, foods which have more oil inthem olive oil, avocados,
evening primrose oil, differentkinds of oils inside the system,
and also some of the foods thatare more moistening, such as
spinach, pears, apples,persimmons, loquats and
(17:04):
different seaweeds.
It's wonderful.
All of these foods just soperfectly come into ripeness
right at the right time.
So many of the foods that arein season at this time have this
function Almonds, pomegranates,pumpkins and so we can mitigate
(17:27):
the onset of the indifferenceby nourishing dryness at this
time.
Mitigate the onset of theindifficiency by nourishing
dryness at this time.
It's also a really nice time ofyear to have an oil diffuser
going in your home or officewhich helps moisten the air and
displace the dryness.
I like to especially use thistime of year fennel, geranium,
(17:50):
jasmine and oak moss, which allhelp nourish the yin and they
assist with pulling in rampantsummer energy.
You can also use astringentoils like cypress and geranium
and mimosa For treating andpreventing lung ailments.
You can go to eucalyptus pinesand firs.
(18:10):
You don't need to necessarilyuse essential oils.
You can also just go out andsee your garden or somewhere
(19:14):
where there's eucalyptus trees,pull some of those fresh leaves
off, put them in a pot and haveit simmering on your stove all
day, add some cloves and orangetails and just keep this kind of
autumn brew as a backdrop going.
It can just be a really lovelyway to keep your house moist.
(19:37):
It's nice in the wintertime too, to have a pot going in the
background.
You can add cinnamon thingslike that.
You can add cinnamon thingslike that.
Another lovely way to keep themoisture happening is oil
massages.
We say abhyanga in Ayurvedicmedicine.
It is a self-massage Afterbathing, rubbing your body with
(20:03):
nourishing oils like sesame,jojoba, but even olive oil.
I like to make a blend everyfew months.
My daughter and I have aseparate blend but we use a base
of almond oil, semolina, sesame, jojoba, that kind of thing,
and then we add in there somered, rosemary seed, blueberry
(20:28):
seed, these kinds of reallydeeply nourishing oils into that
base with whatever is ourfavorite oils, essential oils in
that moment that we're feelingcalled to, and then you can also
add to this a couple ofdifferent flower essences or
plant essences and we like toput in our intentions into this
(20:53):
oil mix for that time that wemake it.
Just usually it lasts us aboutsix weeks, so we make it,
replenishing it.
I also make a separate blendfor the massages I do in the
clinic for clients.
It's nice to have these on hand,the different blends for sore
(21:15):
muscles and things like that,using a lot of oil into the body
.
It's preferably you can warmthe oil before you use it.
We keep it in a little pot thatwe can just put it on and serve
and warm it each time and youcan medicate it based on your
individual constitution.
(21:35):
But in general this time ofyear geranium, rose and jasmine
spiced oils help nourish you andcalm the spirit.
It is especially useful tobring an aggravated vata or air
element back into balance andmitigate the drying effects of
the autumn environment and itreally helps slowing down the
(21:57):
mind so that vata drains some ofall the things that need to get
done.
These oils can really help justbring in that calm nourishment
to remembering of the recall ofthe quieter time and with this
it's important to rememberritual as we tune into our
out-breath.
(22:19):
Eight times a year I completelyundo and redo our altars and we
clear off everything off thealtar, really dust it, polish it
, clean it and rethink of all ofour intentions, flow, important
pieces and prayers for the nextsix weeks and harmonizing those
(22:41):
prayers with the seasonal tea'simportant so that the prayers
become less ambitious and morequiet this time of year.
This ritual helps us slow down,make meaning, listen to our
dreams and follow the omens sowe act from a deeper self.
(23:02):
We can run around all day longwith a to-do list, a going, the
(23:32):
emergency, putting out fires, orwe can stop, clarify and use
magic to find our way throughthe chaos.
Really call in your innerceremonial space and I recommend
clearing off the altar sittingand ask the oracle whichever
oracle you work with, whetherit's rings or eating or a tarot
card Ask for some clarity, forsome forward moving places in
(23:55):
yourself.
Put your altar back togetherwith those intentions and
clarity in mind, and make surethat you go on a, on a
ceremonial hike this time ofyear as well.
So moving, the way we walk when,uh, when, you're out on a
walkabout, is the way that weoften move in our lives.
So take the time to make thisyour autumn equinox nature walk.
(24:17):
Go out, look at the, the leaves, the quietness, see what's
happening in the nature and andlet there be some messages that
come from the animals youencounter, the birds that you
see, the bugs, the quiet, thetrees, the plants.
Let them also have theirmessages and ways of speaking to
(24:40):
you about, about correctconduct in your life right now,
how to really be in harmony with, with what's happening.
There are so many.
There's so much support for usand our paths when we actually
drop in and listen and as soonas we tune in to the light and
(25:03):
really take the time to tuneinto our higher selves, to God,
to the light, to the nature.
However you want to talk aboutthat process of the tuning in,
there's a whole host of supportthat comes in to help guide us.
They're just waiting for us tolisten.
(25:26):
It's just waiting quietly,calmly, waiting for us to tune
in.
And so when we tune in, it'sremarkable how much support we
actually have to be guided inour lives.
So that's all we have to do, istune in.
That's all we have to do withtweeting, with this tweeting in
(25:49):
if there comes that noticing ofthe emptiness, the what's been
lost, the what's no longer here,and then we have Dia de los
Muertos.
We have these traditions,halloween, which really honor
(26:11):
that time of listening into whatpast that's no longer here.
So she's at time to reallyallow herself to let that go.
And it'll become even more soin about six weeks when we start
the beginning of winter.
But allowing for thespaciousness now will then allow
that process in six weeks tohave more gravity, more weight,
(26:33):
more ability to actually tuneinto the wintertime and allow it
to really transform us.
That's the idea with tuninginto these cycles we're finding
the cycles allowing us totransform, allowing them to have
(26:55):
their way with us so they canactually rock us and move us and
allow us to transform into thenext version of us, version of
us, and so that requiresupdating the habits, all the
(27:15):
ways that we are doing our livesor being in our lives, as we
evolve to higher levels ofconsciousness.
It is important that we updateour lives to make sure that
they're a reflection of ourinner safe, and the update that
we make to our outer life also,then, will help us evolve to
these higher levels ofconsciousness that go hand in
(27:36):
hand.
So blessings in your processand all of the transformations
that are available for all of usin this time.
May you take the time to honorand be in this process of
transformation.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
(27:56):
My name is Bronwyn Isla and Iwill be posting on social media
via my Facebook page andInstagram, bronwyn Isla,
different updates as we movethrough the season.
I post regular updates andreminders and ways to tune in
more.
Thank you for listening.
(28:16):
You can also find out more onmy blog at bronwynislacom slash
blog.
This is Bronwyn Isla and it is the autumn equinox and
I'm going to speak about how toattune to this time of the year
, how to allow the autumnequinox to be influencing,
(00:59):
influencing our conduct.
So part of the cycle of being ahuman being is allowing nature
to influence us and to be inharmony with what's happening in
the outside world and in theinside world.
(01:21):
As the earth is spinning aroundthe sun and the moon around the
earth and all of the waves thatwe are cycling through space,
through time, it makes sensethat we would want to also
(01:48):
harmonize and be included inthese massive rotations.
Autumn is a time to have theout-breath, the letting go and
the allowing of the slowing down, and autumn equinox is the
middle of autumn.
It's not the beginning ofautumn.
(02:08):
If you think about it, it'sright between summer solstice,
which is the longest, brightestday, and winter solstice, which
is the darkest time of the year.
So autumn equinox is right inbetween, and it's the middle of
autumn, and we will have thebeginning of winter um around
the first or second week ofnovember, and all of the cycles
(02:32):
of the year are are divided intotwo nodes, of which are all two
week periods, and we areentering now into the qi node of
autumn equinox, which is whenyin and yang have equality and
(02:53):
metal flourishes.
Metal is the long element, andwhen we say equality for yin and
yang, we don't mean in quantitybut more in quality.
It doesn't take a lot of yangto balance out yin, because yang
is so spicy in that way.
(03:24):
So it's important to think ofautumn equinox as the middle of
autumn, because if we're latentand turning our energy inward,
it can cause different dis-easesin the system and then we
become out of balance with ourenvironment.
And not living in harmony withour environment is a big source
of not only dis-ease in oursystems but also an
(03:47):
unfulfillment of the nourishmentof our destiny.
Because we're not actuallycycling and harmonizing and
having phases of completion anddoing and ambition and letting
go, we can fail to fulfill ourdestiny.
That what it is that we camehere for.
(04:08):
Because we're not honoringthese cycles which can govern
our, our beingness in the world.
And during autumn ourenvironment becomes more and
more yin, more and more quiet,and this is also the time of
(04:29):
year when I often have peoplecoming to me in my clinic saying
that they are feeling moreintroverted and sometimes sad
and a lot of grief is coming upand my first course of action is
to assure them that that ishealthy.
(04:50):
It's healthy to have times inour lives where we grieve and
where we remember loss and wherewe want to be less social and
more on an inner journey.
In allopathic medicine it'scalled seasonal affective
disorder, as if it's a disorderthat actually is healthy to have
(05:15):
times of slowing down and beingquiet.
Of course, there can beextremes of that that need to be
helped along, but tipping ourtoe into feelings of loss is a
healthy part of life.
If we are only wanting thesummer beach days or the hot
(05:41):
holiday vacation moments, thenwe're not living in the full
spectrum of humanness, of humanbeingness, so that yin energy
that's quietly calling us to letgo and turn in.
(06:08):
So if we've been cultivatingautumn well in the last six
weeks since the beginning ofautumn and around August 1st or
2nd and run August 1st or 2ndno-transcript, and allowing
(06:33):
ourselves to let go of theambition of summer and starting
to organize our lives to preparefor this quiet stillness that
winter brings, so this includescleaning up all the cupboards
and the house and really doing adeep purge of anything extra
(06:55):
that's not needed and allowingour spaciousness and a time to
not do so.
If we have a home that's fullof extra things, it's harder to
really sink into stillness.
It is still there.
It's the time when we'veharvested, cut the fruits from
(07:21):
off the stem, off the vines,we've harvested the vegetables
or are finishing up that harvest, and so when we cut those fruit
from the vine, they're notgrowing anymore.
And same with our projects.
We're not adding more steam tothe projects Now.
We're completing, tying up,crossing the T's, dotting the
(07:44):
I's and looking for ways tocomplete all of the activity for
these last few weeks.
So we have six more weeks untilthe two-time.
These last few weeks.
So we have six more weeks untilwintertime.
(08:04):
As we turn inward in autumn,it's a time to gather our chi
into ourselves on all this level.
This means saying no toovercommitting your time and
energy.
That would be really taxing onthe adrenals and the kidneys at
this time to be overdoing toomany things.
It means avoiding any kind offinal pushes or one last
(08:29):
all-nighter or whatever thatcould look like in our own lives
and really slowing down andreally taking the time to
contemplate what that actuallymeans.
And sometimes, if we didn'tquite.
You know, if we planned ourautumn during the summer months,
then the autumn can look a lotbusier than is actually
(08:54):
appropriate, because in thesummer we're like, oh, we're
gonna just do, it's gonna befine, I'm gonna have that much
energy in the autumn, but butit's not the same amount of
energy in the autumn.
So sometimes it takes slowingdown and and hauling, like
taking out the things in theautumn that need it, maybe
(09:14):
already are too much.
So if you've alreadyovercommitted your autumn, go
through your calendar and seewhat you can take out as being
too much.
So we want to organize thesemore scattered, spontaneous
patterns of the summer monthsinto a more calm, quiet time for
reflection, and it's importantto really put in the calendar if
(09:37):
you're living in the West andhave a more life of that kind
the times for rest andreflection and really noting.
Okay, this day and this evening, this is the time where I'm
going to actually stop and haveunstructured time to be doing
nothing.
(09:57):
Eating foods that are sour andastringent can encourage this
process of pulling ourselvesinward toward ourselves and our
internal sphere.
The sour, if you think ofeating a lemon, the shake that
one's mouth makes, that kind ofpuckering in.
That's what you want to do now.
You want to start to draw inour energy, pull it in towards
(10:19):
our centers.
So sour foods can help us, forexample, vinegars, sour plums,
sauerkraut, pickles, alfamburi,rosehip tea, leeks, yogurt,
olives and grapefruit.
This is a season to pickle,ferment and store our harvests
for the winter.
It's also a great time if youhaven't yet put away anything
(10:46):
from the summer months, any kindof financial savings or
investments, which is also thetime to really put away
abundance financial abundancefor the winter years of our
lives, to take extra money andput it away for saving for when
(11:06):
we're older.
So the timing for your practiceis optimal at 6 pm in the
evening, and the counsel is forthese practices whether they're
yoga, dance, meditation, chico,whatever to be done indoors
morning and evening in shortsessions rather than long,
(11:28):
sweaty sessions.
We want to be careful to useour chi to prepare us for the
winter months, to replenish,restore and tonify our blood and
our kidneys and our lungs.
We want to use all of that chito tonify ourselves rather than
overly exert our energy bysquandering our chi through too
(11:52):
much exercise.
As far as food goes, this is thetime to nourish with slow food
or a tea or too much exercise.
As far as food goes, this isthe time to nourish with slow
food.
As Yin is taking charge, it'sbest to eat nourishing foods
with a high concentration ofJing.
Jing is our prenatal essence.
It's the essence that we weregiven at the time of our
(12:15):
parents' conception and partlyalso in utero, and this thing is
very hard to replenish when wesquander it through
over-exercise, too much sex oroverwork or staying up all night
and not taking care ofourselves and not living in
(12:37):
harmony with the seasons.
So you want to eat things thathave a high concentration of
jing and qi.
So we can't really eat jing.
Some people would say you can'treally eat jing, you can only
inherit it.
But we can do things that helpsustain the thing that we have
left in our bodies.
(12:58):
Roasted fall vegetables likecorn, hearty squash, soups,
roots and other hearty foodshelp us prepare for winter.
Generally, you want to becooking with less water, at a
lower heat for longer periods oftime.
This is a great time to pullout your crock pot or roasting
(13:23):
in the oven with a low heat on aflame, so that these deeper
nutrients can start to emergefrom our foods.
If we cook foods quickly, itcreates more rajas or more speed
or heat, and encourages a kindof a busyness in our minds and
our bodies.
Allowing things to cook moreslowly encourages us to focus
(13:46):
more internally, slow down andreceive the deep nourishment
from foods which is simple andeasy to assimilate.
So we want to avoid morecomplicated meals Simple, slow,
cooked, easy to assimilate,quiet food.
(14:06):
The more cooked a food is, theless our own bodies need to cook
it and so we need less energyto assimilate it.
So spleens that are responsiblefor for cooking the food that
we take in.
So it can be hard on the spleento have a lot of raw food this
time of year, and that becomesmore and more the case until we
(14:29):
have the spring sprouts thatcome up.
Then we can start to add inmore of that freshness.
And it's important to jostlewarmly, as Lu Ming, my teacher
in this way, would frequentlyremind us.
The weather report is not thetree report.
(14:49):
So even if the weather is warm,we are still vulnerable to
common colds and otherexternally contracted infections
.
The easiest way for these wethink of a papillomigy or wind
to come in is through our wrists, ankles and neck.
(15:09):
So if you are hot.
Even you can still wear socksor like something around your
ankles, wrists and throat.
You can even just cut off apair of socks and put them
around your wrists to keep thechi in those areas.
Another idea especially ifyou're on your bike or exposed
(15:32):
to a lot of wind, there's a footcut involved in your ears.
That can prevent a lot of themore common colds and flus that
can start to come in startingaround this time.
It's important to observe all ofthe dryness this time of year.
(15:55):
We can see that in thecrackling leaves, the dry
grasses and the crisp air, andpart of the susceptibility in
autumn is through the lungs andthe dryness.
This dryness primarily affectsthe lungs, but it can also
affect other parts of the body.
Sometimes this dryness cominginto our systems can be an
(16:19):
itchiness, a thirst, dry skin, athroat, and people who are thin
or more vata are often moresusceptible to this dryness.
Vata means like a windy type,and there's ways to mitigate a
vulnerability to the dryness byincreasing more moistening foods
(16:41):
, foods which have more oil inthem olive oil, avocados,
evening primrose oil, differentkinds of oils inside the system,
and also some of the foods thatare more moistening, such as
spinach, pears, apples,persimmons, loquats and
(17:04):
different seaweeds.
It's wonderful.
All of these foods just soperfectly come into ripeness
right at the right time.
So many of the foods that arein season at this time have this
function Almonds, pomegranates,pumpkins and so we can mitigate
(17:27):
the onset of the indifferenceby nourishing dryness at this
time.
Mitigate the onset of theindifficiency by nourishing
dryness at this time.
It's also a really nice time ofyear to have an oil diffuser
going in your home or officewhich helps moisten the air and
displace the dryness.
I like to especially use thistime of year fennel, geranium,
(17:50):
jasmine and oak moss, which allhelp nourish the yin and they
assist with pulling in rampantsummer energy.
You can also use astringentoils like cypress and geranium
and mimosa For treating andpreventing lung ailments.
You can go to eucalyptus pinesand firs.
(18:10):
You don't need to necessarilyuse essential oils.
You can also just go out andsee your garden or somewhere
(19:14):
where there's eucalyptus trees,pull some of those fresh leaves
off, put them in a pot and haveit simmering on your stove all
day, add some cloves and orangetails and just keep this kind of
autumn brew as a backdrop going.
It can just be a really lovelyway to keep your house moist.
(19:37):
It's nice in the wintertime too, to have a pot going in the
background.
You can add cinnamon thingslike that.
You can add cinnamon thingslike that.
Another lovely way to keep themoisture happening is oil
massages.
We say abhyanga in Ayurvedicmedicine.
It is a self-massage Afterbathing, rubbing your body with
(20:03):
nourishing oils like sesame,jojoba, but even olive oil.
I like to make a blend everyfew months.
My daughter and I have aseparate blend but we use a base
of almond oil, semolina, sesame, jojoba, that kind of thing,
and then we add in there somered, rosemary seed, blueberry
(20:28):
seed, these kinds of reallydeeply nourishing oils into that
base with whatever is ourfavorite oils, essential oils in
that moment that we're feelingcalled to, and then you can also
add to this a couple ofdifferent flower essences or
plant essences and we like toput in our intentions into this
(20:53):
oil mix for that time that wemake it.
Just usually it lasts us aboutsix weeks, so we make it,
replenishing it.
I also make a separate blendfor the massages I do in the
clinic for clients.
It's nice to have these on hand,the different blends for sore
(21:15):
muscles and things like that,using a lot of oil into the body
.
It's preferably you can warmthe oil before you use it.
We keep it in a little pot thatwe can just put it on and serve
and warm it each time and youcan medicate it based on your
individual constitution.
(21:35):
But in general this time ofyear geranium, rose and jasmine
spiced oils help nourish you andcalm the spirit.
It is especially useful tobring an aggravated vata or air
element back into balance andmitigate the drying effects of
the autumn environment and itreally helps slowing down the
(21:57):
mind so that vata drains some ofall the things that need to get
done.
These oils can really help justbring in that calm nourishment
to remembering of the recall ofthe quieter time and with this
it's important to rememberritual as we tune into our
out-breath.
(22:19):
Eight times a year I completelyundo and redo our altars and we
clear off everything off thealtar, really dust it, polish it
, clean it and rethink of all ofour intentions, flow, important
pieces and prayers for the nextsix weeks and harmonizing those
(22:41):
prayers with the seasonal tea'simportant so that the prayers
become less ambitious and morequiet this time of year.
This ritual helps us slow down,make meaning, listen to our
dreams and follow the omens sowe act from a deeper self.
(23:02):
We can run around all day longwith a to-do list, a going, the
(23:32):
emergency, putting out fires, orwe can stop, clarify and use
magic to find our way throughthe chaos.
Really call in your innerceremonial space and I recommend
clearing off the altar sittingand ask the oracle whichever
oracle you work with, whetherit's rings or eating or a tarot
card Ask for some clarity, forsome forward moving places in
(23:55):
yourself.
Put your altar back togetherwith those intentions and
clarity in mind, and make surethat you go on a, on a
ceremonial hike this time ofyear as well.
So moving, the way we walk when,uh, when, you're out on a
walkabout, is the way that weoften move in our lives.
So take the time to make thisyour autumn equinox nature walk.
(24:17):
Go out, look at the, the leaves, the quietness, see what's
happening in the nature and andlet there be some messages that
come from the animals youencounter, the birds that you
see, the bugs, the quiet, thetrees, the plants.
Let them also have theirmessages and ways of speaking to
(24:40):
you about, about correctconduct in your life right now,
how to really be in harmony with, with what's happening.
There are so many.
There's so much support for usand our paths when we actually
drop in and listen and as soonas we tune in to the light and
(25:03):
really take the time to tuneinto our higher selves, to God,
to the light, to the nature.
However you want to talk aboutthat process of the tuning in,
there's a whole host of supportthat comes in to help guide us.
They're just waiting for us tolisten.
(25:26):
It's just waiting quietly,calmly, waiting for us to tune
in.
And so when we tune in, it'sremarkable how much support we
actually have to be guided inour lives.
So that's all we have to do, istune in.
That's all we have to do withtweeting, with this tweeting in
(25:49):
if there comes that noticing ofthe emptiness, the what's been
lost, the what's no longer here,and then we have Dia de los
Muertos.
We have these traditions,halloween, which really honor
(26:11):
that time of listening into whatpast that's no longer here.
So she's at time to reallyallow herself to let that go.
And it'll become even more soin about six weeks when we start
the beginning of winter.
But allowing for thespaciousness now will then allow
that process in six weeks tohave more gravity, more weight,
(26:33):
more ability to actually tuneinto the wintertime and allow it
to really transform us.
That's the idea with tuninginto these cycles we're finding
the cycles allowing us totransform, allowing them to have
(26:55):
their way with us so they canactually rock us and move us and
allow us to transform into thenext version of us, version of
us, and so that requiresupdating the habits, all the
(27:15):
ways that we are doing our livesor being in our lives, as we
evolve to higher levels ofconsciousness.
It is important that we updateour lives to make sure that
they're a reflection of ourinner safe, and the update that
we make to our outer life also,then, will help us evolve to
these higher levels ofconsciousness that go hand in
(27:36):
hand.
So blessings in your processand all of the transformations
that are available for all of usin this time.
May you take the time to honorand be in this process of
transformation.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
(27:56):
My name is Bronwyn Isla and Iwill be posting on social media
via my Facebook page andInstagram, bronwyn Isla,
different updates as we movethrough the season.
I post regular updates andreminders and ways to tune in
more.
Thank you for listening.
(28:16):
You can also find out more onmy blog at bronwynislacom slash
blog.
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