Do you live in sync with your circadian rhythm? Recently while reading about Ayurveda and choosing the right wellness habits for my own body/mind, I revisited the idea of living in tune with nature’s “clock”. The concept of syncing your body with the Earth’s natural processes is an ancient one, and is more respected in Eastern cultures than Western (no surprise there).
Ayurveda goes a step further to say that not only should we sync our bodies with nature on a daily basis, as we are in fact natural beings (hard to believe as it is at times), but a seasonal one. (Here’s a brief overview of the concept.) Further, we must respect the different ways in which our schedules affect our bodies as we journey to better health, because it affects everything from our energy flow to quality of sleep to digestion and more.
On an emotional level, I’ve always felt strongly connected to the seasons. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, each is marked by vast changes and cues—you know the ones: short, dark days in winter, spring flowers with lots of rain, dry summers and long days, followed by a crisp, colorful fall and shortening of days. Now that I know more about my sensitivity, I realize that this attunement goes beyond emotions, as they are not separate from processes in my body.
It seems our society has done everything it can to forget about these seasons (or eliminate them altogether, with our actions on a global scale). But I can’t shake the fresh start I feel in fall, the longing that comes in winter, the hope of spring, or the freedom of summer. These aren’t just feelings, but ways in which my mind and body change alongside the changes outside.
Think about it—how much something as simple as how much sunlight you see in a day affects you. Think about how it feels to go from spending much of the day outside to cozying up to a fireplace and hiding from the rain, for weeks at a time. Everything in nature has its seasons, and we do too.
The more I learn about how my internal clock is affected by the world outside of me—more often than not a battle between nature’s process and my modern schedule—I realize that I want deeply to align my lifestyle with the cadence of the seasons, rather than fight what’s natural (albeit buried) within me.
Things like using fall as a time to reflect on changes and plan for the future… taking advantage of bright mornings in the fall when I know it’s all the sun I’ll get that day… working hard as I transition from winter to spring, knowing that the motivation I feel will propel me into a season of abundance… spending summers drenched in activity, celebrating life all around and within me…knowing I’ll slow down again in fall and so on.
I’ve been learning all I can and trying to put actions in motions that put me (back) into my natural rhythm for a couple of months. I’m excited to keep learning, and empower myself to honor those changes throughout the year. The flowers and trees aren’t the only things to depend on change—we need to remember that it’s essential for us too.
