Why Acupuncture is Great for Fall: Exploring the Basics

“Go to rest early and rise

early. Get up together with

the chicken. Let the mind

be peaceful and tranquil”.

-Huang Di Nei Jing (a very old acupuncture book)

Quick recap: Each season has an element, organ & emotion connected with it. Fall is associated with Metal and the Lung/Large Intestine Meridians, as well as sadness, grief and letting go.

These are some pretty big topics but the important thing to know is that the Lungs governs Qi, and is the most external organ in our body. This means that our Lungs are our first line of defense in fighting off infections. Taking extra care of our health in the fall therefore sets us up for a healthier winter, as our fighting force (basically our immune system) will be rested and ready.

So how do we do this? Well the simplest (and free) way is to follow the advice of The Huang Di Nei Jing and go to bed earlier and get enough sleep.

Why? Well if you look outside this time of year you’ll notice the animals scrambling to stockpile enough supplies to survive the winter. For us, it’s less dramatic because we can just go to the supermarket to replenish our food cache, but our energetic supplies come from rest. And you can’t buy that at the grocery store. We’ll need that extra oomph that rest provides to get through the winter without tapping into our reserves.

Another quick and easy way to stay healthy this fall is to keep the back of the neck covered, particularly on windy days. This is because wind invades our defensive energy via the back of the neck. Wind may also lead to stiffness and pain in the upper back, and nobody wants that.

And lastly, get acupuncture. Fall is one of the two big transition seasons (second to Spring) and a good time for a tune up so that things run smoothly all winter.