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Autumn, like Spring, is a hinge joint, or a pivot season, according to Chinese Medicine. Winter is full yin (contraction, dark, cold) and Summer is full yang (light, heat, endless expansion). Autumn and Spring represent a passing through or an in-between.
While Autumn is the season of loss and letting go in most systems of Chinese Medicine theory, there are other systems in which this time of year is associated with the Springtime Wood element: the grand gesture of new possibilities and the fresh renewal of Spring.
Transitions are powerful because they have potential. Sometimes we feel the need to move on even when we aren’t sure what exactly we need to move towards. That feeling can be straight-up scary. We know we need to move without even knowing where we will end up.
Transitions can also be tiring. Change takes a lot of effort. I think of this a lot when sequencing my Beginner’s Yoga class. If I transition the students down to the ground I try to do a series of seated poses for a while so that they have the chance to find some stability. Standing back up again after just getting down to the ground can be annoying or even unsettling.
The transitions allow us to link the portions of our lives that don’t always make sense from a linear perspective. I transitioned from English Major to Acupuncturist, having had very little interest in science but a lot of experience in metaphor and communication and connection, and I now use the beauty of the acupuncture point names (originally memorized sequentially as a poem rather than just assigning numbers to the points) to communicate my intent.
The transitions allow us to pivot, to experience growth, to find the edge of our comfort and to exhale more space into our innate potential.
The tagline that came to me for my acupuncture practice in 2014 was “Nourishing Your Potential.” Nourishing Your Potential is on the back of my business cards and the top of my brand new site.
It’s not that your potential needs anything extra (ever, at all!), but it does need your acknowledgement and awareness so that you can act in alignment with your own deepest wish. How you regard yourself has so much impact on what you are able to accomplish and move through.
I recently heard a beautiful podcast by Camille Cortina that reminded me just how much potential all of us hold. If you’re interested in connecting with Camille or hearing her podcast “Wild and Empowered” you can subscribe in Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or click here.