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September 16, 2025 20 mins

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Fall invites us to embrace seasonal living by slowing down, grounding ourselves, and nourishing our bodies with warming foods as nature transitions. The changing season offers a perfect opportunity to reflect on what serves us well and let go of what doesn't as we prepare for the busier holiday months ahead.

• Walking barefoot in nature reconnects our feet as sensory organs to the earth
• Spending time outdoors observing seasonal changes significantly reduces stress
• Creating small rituals like mindful tea breaks or candle lighting helps cultivate presence
• Eating seasonal root vegetables and warming foods supports nervous system health
• Honoring natural sleep rhythms by aligning with shorter daylight hours
• Moving through gentler activities like walking and stretching rather than intense exercise
• Recognizing that midlife represents our personal "fall season" requiring more nourishment

Join our FormFit community for more everyday tips on seasonal living and grounding practices. For those interested in seasonal living and cozy experiences, check out my other podcast "Novel and Nosh" where books and food come together.


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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to Moving Through Midlife.
Today, I want to talk aboutfall.
If we think of health andwellness and how we want to move
through this next phase of life, I truly feel like seasonal
living is the way we must go.
When we think of fall, we thinkof letting go of things that

(00:36):
aren't serving us and groundingdown, making sure that we're
eating nourishing foods.
Making sure that we're eatingnourishing foods All of these
things help us to find ourrhythm this fall.
This is a time to slow down andreflect on how summer was, or

(01:00):
even how the first half of theyear was, and what served you
well and what would you like tocontinue over the next few
months, as life begins to getbusier and get rid of the things
that no longer serve you.
And it's important tounderstand that as we move

(01:20):
towards the holidays, life isgoing to get busier and more
hectic, yet our body is designed, through seasonal living, to
start slowing down, so makingsure that we are creating space
for that in our life on thedaily, to ensure that we don't

(01:43):
get overrun and burnt out.
This is a time for you toexplore, experiment and discover
what nourishes you.
Don't think about it as rulesor programs.
Fall is a season of transition,a chance to slow down, to
notice how your body and mindfeel and to reconnect with

(02:08):
simple pleasures that bring calmand joy.
This month, we're exploringways to ground ourselves,
nourish our bodies and find ourrhythm as the days get cooler
and the world slows down.
Cooler and the world slows down.
If you want to join us, makesure to head over to our FormFit
community.

(02:29):
I believe it's Move Better,feel Better.
I will have a link in the shownotes.
This is where you're going toget more everyday type
information about grounding down, and today is more about things

(02:50):
that you can do this season tohelp.
When we think of grounding, manyof us are going to think of
similar things.
The first thing is getting ourfeet on the ground, and I have
had many episodes where I talkabout the feet.
The feet are a sensory organ.
They tell your body where it isin space.

(03:11):
They tell your body how to movethrough different areas, and
because we wear shoes, we havecreated a disconnect for our
body, so our body does not knowhow it should move over
different surfaces If you wereto get barefoot and any of you

(03:34):
who do, especially those of uswho have had children, young
boys, with Legos, you're goingto understand the sensory
element that your feet provide.
So one thing that you can do ispractice walking barefoot a
little bit, and I would preferyou do this out in nature, just

(03:59):
because our tile floors are veryhard on our feet.
So when we talk about barefootmoving, we have to understand
that a lot of the textures andflooring in our house are not

(04:20):
natural, so it creates a strainfor our feet.
So if you are going to do that,if you're new to this
experience of walking aroundbarefoot, just make sure you do
it for a very limited period oftime in the beginning.
Getting outside and walkingaround a little bit barefoot is

(04:40):
a great sensory experience foryou in your body and helps you
to ground to the earth.
Obviously, make sure thatyou're doing it in a safe way
and you know.
Just notice how you feel whenyou do that.
And it is so simple to do.
You can just go out there firstthing in the morning or

(05:01):
mid-afternoon or in the evening,it doesn't matter.
When you practice this, it'sjust making sure that you go out
, you allow your feet to be inthe sand, the soil, anything
like that, so you can feel thatsensation.
The other thing that you can dofor grounding is spend time in

(05:23):
nature and observe the seasonalchanges.
If you are here locally to me,or if you happen to be in
another tropical area, there arevery little changes that occur,
so you have to really start tolook for them.
It was beautiful this morningIf you are around me, you know

(05:44):
this.
It was like 77 degrees here.
I'm sure all of you that liveup north you get to experience a
beautiful fall and you knowthese are things that we need to
really enjoy and savor.
The other thing that spendingtime in nature does is it

(06:05):
decreases stress.
So, making sure that you aretaking a few minutes to go out
into the environment that youenjoy and take deep, calming
breaths.
Find also ways that you can takewhat you love from wherever you

(06:25):
are in nature and how can youbring it into your household.
You know, maybe it's a few dryleaves that you bring into your
house, maybe it's a seashell ifyou live by the ocean, or a rock
.
Maybe those little things canprovide you that sensory

(06:48):
experience that you're lookingfor.
You can even mimic some ofthese nature things.
I will let you know that.
Obviously, getting out in natureis the best thing you can do,
but then you can also mimicnature at home with maybe some
of the music you listen to.

(07:10):
There are some great apps outthere and, honestly, youtube has
a lot of stuff as well that'sfree, where you can watch the
waves rolling in from the ocean.
You know, like there aredifferent I can't think of the
word you know like there aredifferent uh, can't think of the
word right now but there aredifferent atmospheric ASMR
that's the word I've been tryingor the thing that I have been

(07:33):
trying to think of ASMR videosthat you can watch and listen to
.
That will help you feel likeyou are in nature and that there
also has been studies thatconfirm that if you just look at
a picture of nature, it cansignificantly improve your mood,

(07:55):
reduce stress and restoreattention.
So even doing something likeputting up a beautiful picture
of nature in your home to helpmimic that, like I said before,
one of the best things you cando is get out in nature, but if
you are in an area where naturemay not like a more of an urban

(08:17):
area, there are stillopportunities that you can do to
create nature in your home.
The other thing that will helpground you is creating short
little rituals like mindful tea,taking a moment to breathe,
taking deep cleansing breaths,journaling or even just lighting

(08:41):
a candle.
All of these little things thatwe do can create a moment of
being present, can create amoment of being present and this
is something so many of usstruggle with in the world we
live in today, because it is sofast paced and we are doing or
listening to a lot of things atonce.

(09:02):
So you might be like right nowlistening to a podcast while
you're doing something else.
So it takes away the moment ofpresence and it is imperative
that we get back to presencewithin ourselves to help ground
us.
And, on a side note, justbecause this is kind of where

(09:26):
I'm moving in my seasonal, iskind of where I'm moving in my
seasonal, in my moving throughmidlife, so to speak, is I'm
learning that I am ready to moveinto a different aspect of
myself.
So if you are really into theseasonal living and you like
where I talk about the ritualsof mindfulness, journaling,

(09:47):
candlelight, those types ofthings, I want to let you know
on a side note, that I do haveanother podcast, it's called
Novel and Nosh.
I will put a link in the shownotes.
Yes, it is where books and foodcome together, but it's more
than that.
It is seasonal living and cozyexperiences and it will always

(10:10):
hearken back, because I myselfhave created this.
It will always hearken back tomovement and health and wellness
as well, just because it is apart of me.
But if you're interested, youcan listen to that as well.
Okay, so back to seasonalliving and grounding down.
The other thing that I mentionedwith fall is nourishment.

(10:32):
Right, we want to make surethat we are eating foods for our
health and if you think aboutfall, what are the foods?
You want to look at the foodsthat become seasonal, seasonal.

(10:55):
So your, your squashes, yourheartier foods, your potatoes,
all your like foods that are inthe ground.
I mean, what's more groundingthan pulling the foods from the
ground?
The potatoes, the carrots, thebeets, the onions, all of these
things are in the ground.
And then your squashes and youracorn squashes, all of the
squashes, butternut, all of them, pumpkin, all of those things

(11:16):
are great for nourishment.
One thing that I am doing to addin one cozy aspects, calming
aspects, is drinking tea.
I got a, I don't even know it'slike a harvest tea.
I can't think of what it is,but there's all different
flavors in them, you know, likea pumpkin spice, a pumpkin chile

(11:41):
, an apple cider, all of thesethings that kind of helped
nourish me in the way ofhydration rather than just
drinking plain water.
I'm drinking nice warming teas,all of these things, along with
warming foods.
The foods that you eat are morenourishing, heartier, to get

(12:03):
you ready for fall, making surethat you know, while you're
nourishing yourself.
You've heard me say this ifyou've listened to any of my
other podcasts, episodes wherereally savoring meals, sitting
down, do not worry about the youknow the gruels or don't feel

(12:25):
guilt for what you are eating.
Sit down, enjoy the moment,savor the food, because if you
deal with guilt around the foodthat you eat, your body absorbs
that guilt and it's been shownthat you end up having effects

(12:46):
that can decrease yourmetabolism and increase the
caloric intake because of thatnegative feeling that you have
around the food you are eating.
And it's important to connectto our food for comfort, warmth
and nervous system support.
I am definitely leaning moreinto supporting your nervous

(13:10):
system and during this time ofyear, the things that nourish
our nervous system are warmingsoups, more comforting foods
that is all going to help.
More comforting foods that isall going to help.
So I would encourage you to trysome simple fall recipes or tea
ritual and notice how it makesyou feel and feel free to share

(13:32):
in our community as well.
Over the next few weeks, you'regoing to see me posting, and my
goal is always to build acommunity first, so please don't
be afraid to share yourthoughts and ideas surrounding
some of these things and sharingwhat you're doing.
I think we all can learn fromone another and be a part of

(13:56):
each other's journey to help usmove through midlife better.
In regards to the daily ritualsand rhythms that we should be
practicing in the fall is, youknow, notice the light.
We have less long days, so itis going to probably mean that

(14:17):
you will start to sleep longer.
This is a nature thing, sodon't feel like you're getting
lazy.
I have noticed people I talk to.
They're like oh my gosh, Iwasn't able to get out of bed
this morning.
I'm feeling so tired.
No, this is your body's naturalway of trying to get you to
sleep a little bit longer duringthis time of year, so lean into

(14:42):
that.
It may mean that, yes, if youhave a specific time you have to
get up in the morning becauseyou have either children that
have to get to school or youhave to get to a job, then maybe
what it's going to mean is yougo to bed a little bit earlier
in the evening.
Our bodies are designed to workwith the sun and the moon, and

(15:03):
when the moon comes out we aredesigned to go to sleep, so this
may mean that we don't runourselves quite as late in the
evening in the fall and winter.
And, as always, if you'restruggling with sleep, making
sure that as soon as you wake upin the morning, you get outside

(15:23):
to get that morning lightexposure Over time you are going
to notice how this helps youget a better night's sleep and
it will make you more tiredbecause it gets that circadian
rhythm going so that yourmelatonin naturally starts to
come up.
That's a hormone starts to comeup.
That's a hormone Starts to comeup as the evening starts to

(15:47):
progress.
All of these things will helpyou to really start to feel
better about yourself throughthis phase of life.
You know our body.
If you think of the woman,cyclically we are.
If you are in midlife.

(16:08):
You are in the fall phase ofyour life as well, so it is time
to nourish your body morerather than beat it up.
We are no longer in thosesummer years.
We need to be way more kindthan what we have been in the
past, and this is where I wouldrecommend for your movement

(16:32):
stretching, walking, spending alot more time outdoors, not
structured exercise.
You can still do structuredexercise if you want, but if you
don't enjoy that, do not feelpressured to do that.
Do things a little bitdifferent.
It doesn't mean getting rid ofit altogether.

(16:55):
It means finding different waysto move, and that is one thing
that I will continue to say.
Movement is not exercise.
There are things you need to do.
Yes, you do need to strengthenyour body.
Yes, you do need to get yourheart rate up, but it does not
mean that we need to be doing itday in and day out.

(17:16):
We can find small, smallnourishing movements each and
every day that will help us livea healthy, happy life.
So I ask that you join me.
Think about the things that Italked about, test a few things
out, reach out to me if you havequestions.

(17:37):
Head to movingthroughmidlifecom.
You can jump on the newsletter.
Like I have mentioned before,our world is a very noisy place
and I am no longer creatingweekly podcasts just to create a
weekly podcast for thealgorithm.

(17:59):
I am living in a morenourishing design for myself and
honoring what I feel for myself, for you all and you know.
Obviously, as a person who'smoving more into seasonal living
, I feel like I want tocommunicate to you all this

(18:23):
episode because I do want you tostart slowing down and not
being so hard on yourself, andpart of that is not constantly
having something on the outsidetelling you what to do, so more
you trying things out and movingwithin that.
So ultimately, what I'm tryingto say is you won't get weekly

(18:47):
podcasts from me all the time.
Sometimes I might be in asituation where I want to do
that and you will, but if youwant to stay in communication
with me, two ways to do it is tojump on my email list, because
I am still sending out prettymuch weekly or bi-weekly emails,
and jump in the Facebook group,because I do post there.

(19:10):
You will see my natural rhythms, because I think last week I
was on there like four times inone week, like just constantly
doing little quick videos foryou.
And then the weight of the worldgot too heavy in the past
couple of days and I've been offcompletely and that's just kind

(19:31):
of you know, for me personally.
That's what I'm leaning intoand I would encourage you to do
the same Lean into what feelsright for you.
Right now.
Fall is a season to notice,experiment and reconnect.
There is no perfect way, justyour way.
It's time for us to movethrough it with curiosity, joy

(19:55):
and grounding in the littlethings that make life feel
richer.
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