Transitioning to Fall: holistic tips to feel your best this season
Cue 'You've Got Mail.'
The other day, I was telling my neighbor that I had recently introduced my daughter to Meg Ryan and You’ve Got Mail. She responded: “Oh every October I watch that movie and it’s my signal to transition to fall.”
Cue all the quintessential fall vibes. 🍂🌲🍁 I love that. I feel like another You’ve Got Mail + a decaf cappuccino cozy afternoon is in our future.
The boots and scarves have come out. Sunday baking has transitioned to all things cinnamon and spice. Orange squashes of all hues for pumpkin soup has been bought, although finding the time is a different matter. Candles light our evenings with a soft, calming glow. Mornings are now filled with crisp walks that energize my heart and body. Nights are softer and cozier.
There is something magical in the air this time of year.
As a holistic nutritionist, here’s how I transition to fall…
As seasons shift, so do our nutritional and lifestyle needs.
Pause and reflect.
Approach a new season with these intentional questions. These are also great questions to ask a friend or loved one.
What’s working or not working in your life right now?
What are you creating space for this season?
How can I grow through this current season?
Who am I becoming though the joys and difficulty?
What do I want to release?
*This summer I had a friend ask me, “What do you want to release this season.” I quickly responded: HURRY. That moment is something I think about daily and sparked a positive mental and physical shift in my life, all because someone asked me a question.
Use this seasonal shift to reorient your pace of life.
With the buzz of summer activities coming to a close and the hustle of the holiday season approaching, we have this beautiful pocket of time in the fall to quiet the pace of life.
Rhythms to spark rest…
Unplug with a good book: Currently on my nightstand to encourage AND this one I can’t put down.
Prioritize earlier dinner and bed time: this is easy to do with the sun setting earlier, embrace what this natural seasonal rhythm has to offer you.
Guard your calendar—a full calendar brings hurry into your life. Hurry is the opposite of rest. Hurry = stress. Instead of saying yes to another activity, say yes to margin.
How can you carve out space for rest?
Enjoy warming drinks, spices and foods.
Pumpkin, spice and everything nice! Yes, there is a reason for that beyond the marketing of Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves (aka pumpkin spice) are all warming spices which bring up the body’s energy levels and boost digestion. When it’s cold, your body has to work harder to stay warm, so warming fluids and spices can take a load off your energy burden.
Warming follows the traditional Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine practices, it’s also a key practice postpartum in these traditional cultures. Cold foods, cold drinks and cold air require more energy to digest and assimilate thus subtracting energy from the healing process. Warm spices, liquids and foods on the other hand bring up the body’s energy, prompting balancing and healing.
Warming drinks
hot coffee
peppermint tea
chamomile tea
chai tea
hot chocolate
Warming spices
cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves
ginger, turmeric
paprika, chili, cumin
curry
black pepper
rosemary
Warming foods
Sourdough naan (my kids love this warm from the pan, it’s such a cozy dinner addition)
Miso soup
chicken noodle soup
tomato soup with sourdough naan or grilled cheese
egg scrambled with all the greens and veggies
roasted root veggies (get my roasted veggie weekly flow)
My favorite hack here is instead of doing cold salads in the fall and winter, think of it like a warm salad—sauté your veggies then top with your favorite toppings like pine nuts, seeds or feta and some dressing.
Get my fall + winter meal plan (that’s easy, fun and actually works)!
Take a proactive approach to sickness.
The best immune support is truly just being prepared. We can’t think of coughs or congestion as a unique moment in time, but rather a 365 days a year approach. What you do today matters when you get sick later on down the road.
To proactively boost your immune system, stock up on these essentials:
Manuka Immune Elixir: Your daily baseline. Turkey Tail is a powerful functional mushroom that helps boost the actual immune cells, making them more effective against invaders. *I keep this in my car so I remember to take it!
Rapid Rescue: Spring into action at first symptoms, this is one to always keep on hand. What you do in the first 24 hours of sickness paves the way for how your body handles that sickness.
Immune Bloom Jellies: My husband and kids take these (very similar to the elixir but this delivery means works better for them) and WOW I have noticed such a difference in how they have handled sickness and coughs—everyone is still doing life fully despite some symptoms. In awe of this product! $10 off >
Embrace the energizing benefits of the cold.
Anyone else feel fully alive after a walk or run in the crisp, cool air of autumn? The other day I was chatting with my husband remarking how I woke up just feeling tired and foggy, but after 30 minutes outside in the cold, yes wearing a jacket, I felt fully alive and focused.
Dr Casey Means in her book Good Energy calls this concept “thermoneutrality” —the idea that much of modern life is spent inside in consistent temperatures, typically hovering about 70 degrees. As she explains, thermoneutrality keeps are cells stagnant, but temperature changes excite and energize our cellular function.
Temperature swings are actually great for cellular and mitochondrial function. Exposure to either cold or warm stimulates the body to product more ATP, the body’s main energy source.
Intentional, acute exposure to cold (cold plunging, walking outside in winter, facial ice baths) and exposure to heat therapy (saunas, infrared lights) is so beneficial for the brain, cellular health and metabolism.
*I know, I know this next point can seen contradictory—but it’s really the difference between acute intentional moments and prolonged exposure.
Keep your neck and feet warm—layer on the cozy.
In my grandma chic era with my sweater always dropped over my shoulders.
I am sorta a stickler for this with my kids, but hey they are thriving so I’ll take it. When it’s cold, we dress appropriately. I truly am shocked by how many people dress in practically nothing when it’s 50 degrees outside.
Remember, the body requires MORE energy to maintain a regulated temperature when it’s cold outside. If you don’t wear warm clothes, it’s like your body is working overtime simply trying to stay warm. This decreases energy that could (and should) go to rational thought, memory, focus, patience, digestion, hormone balance, repair and detox.
In particular, both traditional Chinese medicine and homeopathic medicine say that sickness and coughs can arise after exposure to a cold wind or a wind around the neck.
It can be as simple as adding a simple scarf, wearing thicker socks, getting house slippers or wrapping your sweater around you. This preserves energy so that you can have the energy to do what your body needs (and wants) to do most.
When your body is in a state of overflowing energy, it can handle the incoming stressors and pathogens with more ease.
My favorite, timeless cozy knits >
Embrace the nostalgia of the season to boost dopamine.
There’s a reason we all live for pumpkin spice, warm cinnamon rolls, cozy blankets, movie nights and a crackling fire.
Dopamine.
Dopamine is one of the feel good hormones which gives our brain and body a sense of pleasure. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that impacts our behavior, mood, energy, emotions, human interactions and cognitive function.
Embracing the nostalgia of this season sparks JOY.
When joy goes up, it boosts dopamine and our feel good honorees (oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins). When dopamine goes up (in a natural way, not a endless-scroll-of-social-media-artificial way), cortisol naturally has to come down. When cortisol goes down, you relax more, inflammation decreases, anxious thoughts melt away, energy goes up, metabolism functions more efficiently.
Meg Ryan knew how to do it with her warm coffee, cozy bedroom, bringing plants into her bookshop, sitting in a cafe with a good book vibes—all natural boosts of dopamine.
Bring nature inside the home.
A seasonal shift to cooler temperatures, brings a beautiful opportunity to bring nature inside your home.
Late summer nights become popcorn movies nights gathered around a crackling fire. Sunset BBQs become bowls of tomato soup and sourdough grilled cheese.
Just because you are inside more, doesn't mean that nature can’t follow you.
Bring nature inside with…
a bunch of eucalyptus or fresh flowers on the kitchen counter (yes another version of a daily dopamine hit!)
beeswax candles to purify the often stagnant indoor air
all natural candles with scents of peppermint and evergreen trees
Manuka honey, brimming with active properties from Mother Nature, to sweeten your hot tea or favorite fall baked good
adding green plants to your home to boost joy and a calm mental outlook
Use this rhythmic ode to turn inward as an opportunity to intentionally nourish your body, heart and home this season!
Beautiful!
Loved this issue, Caroline!