The Metal Element

Autumn is ruled by the Chinese Five Element of Metal. Metal is the element of pure blue skies and clean air; of revealing the bright, pure nature of things. The lungs bringing in Qi or “purity of breath” and the large intestine expelling what is not needed. This is Metal energy in action.

Metal governs old age – a time of reflection; questioning and refining core beliefs and of purifying and eliminating anything that is no longer useful, whether stale air, waste material, ideas, beliefs or emotions. It focuses on sadness and grief; personal and metaphysical boundaries, the lungs and the large intestine.

Lung Support

Using my breathing exercise when you wake up is a good way to encourage slow, deep breathing by relaxing the diaphragm every morning.

Exercising outside – particularly in native woods, by the sea, or in organic pastureland helps to clear stale air from the lungs.

I use a Himalayan salt inhaler most days to support my lungs as I am prone to asthma. You can find out more information here.

Using non-toxic household cleaners drastically reduces the toxic chemicals that we breathe in on a daily basis.

Chinese medicine practitioners consider the skin to be part of the lung system. You can help to both maintain skin health and support the immune system with dry skin body brushing  and by using non-toxic self care products.

Seasonal Eating

As the outside temperature begins to drop off, this is a time to start including more warming foods to your diet. Stews and soups, slow cooked meats, overnight soaked porridge, and gluten free pies should start to replace salads and raw foods. Have a look at my ideas for preparing autumnal fruits and vegetables too.

A Herbal Tea for Autumn

Try this lovely recipe for Helen Carmichael’s Supportive Clearing Tea, specially designed for the Autumn.

Other Autumn Lifestyle Suggestions.

As the Metal element is also about “letting go” this is a great time for taking stock of what you actually need in life and liberating what you don’t. This could be as simple as donating a stack of clothes to charity, cleaning up unused files on your computer or getting rid of items in your food cupboard that are out of date or that don’t benefit your health.

Further Reading

Florence Neville: Seasonal Living in Autumn (Blog post for State of Liberty)

Florence Neville: What to Eat in Autumn (Blog post for State of Liberty)

Florence Neville: How to Sleep Well in Autumn (Blog for State of Liberty)