Rhythms, Seasons, & Cycles

As autumn chills the air, all of nature instinctively begins to draw inward for the harvest. If you’re anything like us Central Oregon denizens, you’ve been playing outdoors all summer on some kind of adventure. All of life welcomes cooler autumn days that invite us to slow down, throw on a sweater, and harvest all of the good you’ve planted in spring and nourished all summer. Frosty mornings bring back delicious memories of hot drinks in deep mugs. Warm sunny afternoons make the work of harvesting a joy.

When the wind blows, the leaves fall, and trees grow bare, autumn is in season. As your body prepares for the colder winter months, you may find that even your diet is affected and shifts to include heavier hotter meals. Personally, I love practicing Baptiste yoga in the fall since the studio is heated to ninety degrees at eighty percent humidity. The tapah I generate through this power vinyasa flow keeps me warm from the inside out.

Fall is a time for rejoicing as well as a time for soul searching. Since the only predictable constant here is change, this season provides an opportunity to reflect upon your life and take stock of what’s working and what isn’t. Your brain uses circadian rhythms and lengths of day to keep track of and synchronize with the seasons. Circadian clock machinery in your brain encodes seasonal changes based on the amount of daylight hours. The master of the circadian clock is the suprachiasmatic nucleus. In response to signals from this nucleus of neurons, the pineal gland secretes the hormone melatonin. The secretion of melatonin peaks at night and wanes during the day, driving your sleep and wake cycle.

Circadian rhythms are the result of natural biological factors, but they are primarily driven by light exposure. You are an integral part of the natural harmony of life and your body is designed specifically to help you interact intelligently with your environment through sensory ecology. The relationship between you and your environment, including the way you respond to the seasons, is designed on purpose by nature. So let your rhythms change, let yourself draw inward, and enjoy the harvest.

By Zia Estrella; All Rights Reserved @2019