As we move into fall, we also move into cold and flu season.  I, unfortunately, got my first fall cold this week which has reminded me how important it is this time of year to intentionally focus on our immune systems.

Fall is a time of transition. We move away from the external and vibrant energy of summer and move towards the return of the darkness and the cold. Let's talk about how we can adapt our wellness routines for better health and well-being this fall!

Choosing foods that balance the heat of the summer with cooling energy can be helpful for feeling our best.

“integrative medicine is healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person, including all aspects of lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship between the practitioner and the patient, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapies.”

Noticing that you’re dysregulated is the first step in being able to change what’s happening. Your body is in some version of the fight or flight response. Your brain senses a threat and your body is being flooded with stress hormones. While those hormones are helpful in certain settings, we don’t want them flooding our bodies all the time (that leads to all sorts of health issues in addition to just not feeling that good). So, once you notice the fight or flight response, you can actively take steps to re-regulate your nervous system and activate the parasympathetic nervous system.

Plants can offer healing in so many ways…For me, the intentionality of choosing my herbs, of consciously cultivating a relationship with the medicine of the plants, choosing oils to help me in a certain way, all of these are so powerful, especially when we repeat them over and over.

In addition to the ways that we feed our body and move our body, a key component of a healthy body is our relationship with it. In the same way we have been taught or can learn to emotionally attune to ourselves, we can also learn to attune to our physical body.

“Healing is a return to wholeness and a process of transformation”

Winter invites us to change how we live and how we care for ourselves…

I’m feeling some tension between this very active process of setting goals and “starting the year off strong” with the call of the winter to go inward and rest deeply. Shorter days and colder weather are an invitation to mirror the processes of nature and slow down. Going inward and really connecting to our truth and to ourselves is actually vital to the process of visioning and dreaming into what is possible in our lives.

Many people are not quite sure what those different specialties are or may be unclear if or how they fit together. I’m going to start with official definitions and then I’ll explain how I think of them and how they fit together for me.