Upgrade your Autumn Rituals & Fall Rhythms

By Cate Stillman

Anne Taintor, Inc.

Seasonal junctures create opportunities for getting out of whack. Some get anxious… some get allergies. The basic reason is that in seasonal junctures our agni, (digestive fire) lightens up. If we don’t eat 1/3 less than normal, our lymph system (rasa dhatu) gets clogged. When that happens, we might get snot, dryness, or acidity moving through our channels. Itchiness, allergies, snot….blech.

You can hear the 75 minute lecture/ Q&A session.

As the northern hemisphere spins into Autumn, you probably notice yourself getting into organization and discipline mode. Summer is for slackers… but fall is about getting your act together. The dryness of Autumn creates an astringent tightening effect on all of the tissues (dhatus) of your body. Your mind also shifts from celebration into tightening up a bit. Your mojo gets humming into organizing, creating routines and looking at what is next. Ever wonder why school still starts in the fall? (No kid works the family farm anymore, but we still start in the fall.)

Ayurveda uses the term ritucharya for seasonal rhythms. Live by seasonal rhythms and you get energized. Forget seasonal rhythms… and you get out of whack. Simple. Watch this video with John Friend on rhythm and resonance.

Alleviate Seasonal Allergy Symptoms

the back 40 going into fall…

Autumn is all about dry. Autumn’s qualities are dry, rough, subtle, mobile, and expansive. The outer ecosystem becomes your inner ecosystem. The drying out in autumn combines with the build up internal heat from summer.

dry + heat = irritated mucus membranes

Irritated mucus membranes increase the likelihood of allergies.

Listen to the call and here how I too protracted mucus, and what I did about it. As yogis, we learn from seeing the situation from the largest context. Then, we look for the basic relationship between cause and effect. This is the law of karma. Understand the gunas that are overly expressive in you… and you get the gateway to alleviating those gunas (qualities). In this way, snot doesn’t turn into a sinus infection.

Routines or rituals?

Routines are mindless. That is a good thing. You don’t need to be mindful when you’re brushing your teeth. Enjoy your complexity… you’re a self-reflective human for graces sake. But, if you don’t have ritual you’re neglecting your higher potential.

Ritual is a sequence of actions that create a state change in consciousness. The main states are waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and beyond the 3. Turiya is beyond the 3 – the non-dual state you are capable of… if you meditate and use ritual.

Rituals is easiest to anchor at dawn/dusk.

Why? Because our consciousness is hard-wired to be open to more subtle currents then. Pay attention – you’ll get it.

Listen to the help you design meaningful Autumn rituals for yourself. As you synchronize into ritucharya, you understand cause and effect at the next level of depth. The inner and outer ecosystem reveal and you learn how to age in a vibrantly healthy way.

Listen to the call and you’ll also get a glimpse into: