InSense #3 - Autumn 2022
October 2022, Autumn
Theme: Nourish
If Summer is the inhale, Autumn is the exhale.
The balance. The Yin. The return to our bodies.
A release into the slower state of being. There is an ‘absence of’ to the energy of Autumn, and it’s a feeling I so appreciate after the juicy fullness of Summer’s heat and spark. This season feels like a soft landing for our spirit. Like the cool side of the pillow. A place to fill our nearly depleted cups with decadent rest and turning inward. It’s also a time that holds struggle for some. When the slow down and lessened light can make for a weight we haven’t felt the sensation of in quite a few months. Whether you instantly thrive or take some time to find your flow in this transition, I hope the love letters to your senses in this edition of InSense arrive right when you need them most.
Pour a cup of your favorite tea, and enjoy these loving suggestions.
Below are ideas of ‘presencing’ practice, both outward and inward. Two energetic directions, equal in importance in this seasonal shift. Some are intimate, with the intention of self love in mindful moments. Others are creative sparks for the senses. I hope they will bring something to your experience of Autumn, and aid in feeling the awe and delight in every moment of this season.
sight
INWARD
This is quite a simple meditation that felt deeply nourishing for my wife and I to share recently. I invite you to take a crisp Autumn walk alone or in quiet with another. I find the quiet will allow you to slow down and really admire the gorgeous Autumn leaves you’re crunching over. A sea of crimson, mustard, rusts and deep greens. Give yourself time to savor the colors of this fleeting moment, and select one or two that call out to your heart the most. Once you are back inside and cozy, focus your attention on your chosen leaves and pretend your eye is a microscope. Explore all the teeny tiny textures and patterns of your leaves like you may have when you were younger. Sit with the awe of how the spine of some leaves reflects our own or how the patterns within the leaves are so similar to the patterns in our own palms and fingerprints. What is it that drew you to this particular leaf? What makes this leaf beautiful? What does this chosen leaf say about you/how does this leaf represent you? Take some slow breaths and enjoy this feeling of connectedness to all that is around us.
OUTWARD
Vibrant colors mark the Autumn transition in our corner of the Earth, and aren’t we lucky. Each day there are new shades, shapes, and textures to behold and each tree is an entirely new art piece to be admired. Currently, Portland’s Japanese Garden is a great place to find all of these artful colors on display alongside a famous sculptors greatest works. Garden of Resonance: The Art of Jun Kaneko is the latest exhibit to nestle into Portland’s beloved landmark in the west hills. As they put it, Jun Kaneko’s large scale sculpture exhibit is “exploring relationships between art, nature, and people.”- that’s our kinda art, y’all. I highly recommend getting bundled and heading over to feast your eyes on the exquisite art, nature and people of Portland in Autumn.
smell
inward
What do you smell like? What is “your smell”? If a friend asked to borrow your favorite sweatshirt and commented that it “smelled like you,” what would they mean? If all of the colognes, detergents and added aromas that we adorn ourselves with were lifted, what are three things you can identify in your personal, natural smell. To bring your mindful attention to this I recommend sitting in as quiet and un-fragranced of a space as you can find, and gently tucking your nose and chin into the shirt or sweater you’re currently wearing. Take a few meditative, slow, deep breaths and see if your nose can identify something that is distinctly, naturally you. If this practice proves challenging, feel free to use your imagination and think instead of what you wish your natural scent to be. What recipe of aromas would you like to be your personal signature?
*Soon I will write in greater length about this idea in it’s own journal entry and send it out into the world for all of you who may feel aligned with using our sense of smell to connect to ourselves and those around us, or who may desire support in eliminating some of the overused aromatic noise we tend to live with.
outward
For those of you who haven’t experienced the immense pleasure of reading Diane Ackerman, I suggest beginning now. In this season, and possibly even this week. Here is a favorite excerpt from my most treasured book of hers, A Natural History of the Senses, in which each individual section is devoted to one sense. This is from the Smell chapter..
“Some researchers conclude that a large part of our joy in kissing is really a joy in smelling each other’s face, where one’s personal scent glows. Among far-flung tribes in a number of countries - Borneo, on the Gambia River in West Africa, in Burma, in Siberia, in India - the word for “kiss” means “smell”; a kiss is really a prolonged smelling of one’s beloved, relative, or friend.”
When I first read this years ago, and then again recently, this paragraph made me think of my proximity to my dear clients during a facial session. While caressing your skin and taking in your “personal scent” from where it “glows” and how that no doubt contributes to the fondness I have for all of you. Thank you for letting me in that close and allowing me to share in the joys of that connection for all these years.
sound
inward
Find a quiet spot to curl up in. Somewhere you’ll have the ability to focus on yourself for a time. When you feel settled and comfortable in your body, I invite you to rest your eyes closed and gently cup your palms over your ears. Listen to the texture of your breath as you slowly inhale, and exhale. Maybe notice if either the inhale or exhale feels easier in this moment, or which you feel you can linger in a bit longer. After some time, I want you to find the rhythm of your heartbeat. Maybe notice the beautiful combination of your heart and your breath as they weave in and out of each other. Stay here, centering, grounding, and experiencing the marvelous sounds of your body for as long as feels nourishing. My hope is you feel more connected to yourself now than you did a moment ago. With a renewed sense of wonder of your inner landscape, and an easy new sound meditation tool available anytime you need it.
outward
Here are some songs that felt warming, cozy and soulful in my body while listening. They’ll get you moving just enough, but can also be enjoyed from under your softest blanket.
taste
inward
There is a moment in this seasonal shift when our bodies no longer crave the smoothies and juicy melons, and begin to call out for warm teas and spices to support our cooling systems. Can you feel when that moment arrives? If so, does it coincide with the weather? The shift in sunlight you’re receiving? Or maybe as you begin to use your body and energy differently? If I presented you with your favorite, vibrant greens smoothie in one glass and grounding tulsi tea in another, how would you know for certain which your body wanted and needed?
Let’s slow down and turn this into a moment of connection with your body’s wisdom. I invite you to sit in comfortable stillness for a moment. Maybe with a gentle hand on your belly and a gentle hand on your heart. Take a few slow deep breaths and begin to sense the rhythms beneath your palms. While here, maybe speak a few whispers to thank your body for the support it offers. If it feels right, try asking your body what it is in need of and simply listen. You may receive a very clear response of an herb, a taste, a beverage, a meal or maybe your body has nothing to note at the moment. Either way, you’ve honored your body and it’s needs with this loving moment and can return to this practice when making choices in the future. Thank you for loving yourself.
outward
Please enjoy this Lentil Dal recipe on a cool evening when your belly needs nourishment. I might try adding a little bit of ginger the next time I make it because that is the warmth and taste my body craves in the Autumn.
Also, I must include the recipe my household and friends have been requesting over and over again lately, the Chocolate Banana Bread. It’s not too sweet and it bakes beautifully with our gluten free replacements - not all things do! Enjoy, my friends.
touch
inward
Tender, warming self-massage is such a gift to your senses and your body or face. Even setting a patient hand still on your stomach or over your heart will bring ease and warmth to that area, and a special connectivity that our beings crave. Dry-brushing, hydrotherapy, and warm, herbal teas are all lovely for you this time of year, but making time to lovingly massage yourself is the most healing treat for solo moments of wellness.
I invite you to bring a closed glass jar of a warming oil into the shower with you. While you bathe, the oil will gently warm from the environment of your shower. After your shower, find a comfortable place to sit and apply a bit of the warming oil to your abdomen. Begin softly and slowly massaging in a clockwise direction. Noticed how loving this act feels. How your abdomen softens and perhaps starts to make some noise as circulation increases from the warmth and movement. If this delicate touch and offering feels like enough for today, listen to that intuition. Or you can bring the warming oil to the rest of your body. Perhaps you add a little bit faster and more rhythmic massage touch to arms and legs to aid lymphatic flow. With this practice, in whatever form it needed to take for you today, you’ve increased your wellness and created a beautiful bonding experience with yourself.
outward
This is a perfect warming and movement supporting oil to treat your body to, and it’s available at the FHH studio.
And the soon to be available LomiLomi Massage Session (available to schedule beginning November 1st) is the most ideal for bringing dynamic flow to our systems, softening of tension, nourishment to the nervous system, and can be very warming if that’s what your body is in need of. After months of studying and practicing this blissful, and at times invigorating modality, I cannot wait to bring it to our sessions together. Email me here if you’d like to experience this care before it’s available to book online.