Autumn Qi Chats | Week 1
When the season changes, so do you
This week we discuss why we train with the seasons and learn what Autumn has to teach us.
Aging Well Requires Adaptation
One of the foundational ideas of Yang Sheng 養生, aka “nourishing life,” is that we should adjust how we live as our environment changes. The Su Wen and earlier texts such as the Yin Shu didn't limit this to Qigong. Movement, breathing, food, sleep, daily routines, and environmental exposure were all considered part of nourishing life.
Now this is cool because modern science gives us another reason to pay attention to seasonal shifts. Our biology changes across the year in response to daylight, temperature, sleep, activity, and other environmental signals. As we age, maintaining our ability to respond and recover from these changing demands becomes increasingly important.
This is why I love that Bamboo Bodies approaches Age Training holistically. We need routines, yes. But we also need to be able to adapt those routines and practices in order to age resiliently.
I might even go out on a limb and say that Winter is our most important season.
In Chinese medicine, Winter is the season of storage. And metaphorically, our own “Winter season of life” reflects much of what came before it. What we practice today influences the physical and mental resources we carry with us tomorrow.
But here's the important part: we don't wait for Winter to prepare for Winter.
And you ready for this? Traditional Chinese calendar considers Autumn to begin while our Western calendar still calls it Summer. Yup, Autumn technically started by in August 7th this year. The weather may still be hot, but the days are already shortening. Yang is declining, Yin is growing, and nature has begun its movement toward contraction.
In modern training language, we could call this anticipatory adaptation: notice change, prepare for it, and give yourself opportunities to adapt before the demands become greater.
Or, as the old Chinese proverb reminds us: 臨渴掘井 Don't wait until you're thirsty to dig the well.
That's what we're going to practice this Autumn.
AUTUMN CLEANING
It’s time for your Autumn harvesting, which can look a lot like your ‘spring cleaning’. We’ve got it all backawards. Now is the time to start picking through what you've grown and deciding what is worth keeping. Some things get stored. Some get used. Some get finished. And some simply aren't worth carrying into the next season.
That's shōu 收 in action: gathering, collecting, harvesting. Even in early Autumn nature has begun moving toward Yin and contraction. We can use that same seasonal shift as a prompt to look at our own lives.
So sometime this Autumn, dedicate a weekend to harvesting your life. I think of it as ‘editing’.
Clean out the closet you've been avoiding.
Finish the project that's been sitting half-done.
Clear the garage.
Simplify your calendar.
Donate the things you're keeping out of guilt.
Look at the habits, chores, relationships with your time, and even expectations of yourself that continue to consume energy.
Lastly, ask yourself: What do I want to carry forward, and what am I ready to put down?
This is where Autumn becomes Age Training. We're not simplifying our lives simply to have cleaner closets. We're becoming more selective about where our physical, mental, and emotional resources go.
Autumn teaches us that resilience isn't always about adding more. Sometimes it's knowing what is worth carrying into Winter.
Neuro-Qi Tip o’the day!
TIME TO EDIT
Choose one area of your home that has accumulated “stuff” and edit it.
Look at your calendar, routines, unfinished projects, and obligations. What deserves your energy going forward, and what are you maintaining simply out of habit?
*Video posts every Friday by 11:30am MDT
