Welcome to the Autumn Lung Season of Breathing Deeply

Yesterday, I ended a class with breathwork. Afterwards, a student commented that she feels much more emotionally stable after we do breathwork. "Yes," I responded, "When we regulate our breath, we regulate our emotions."

This is a common phrase I learned from my teacher. And it couldn't be more timely, as we're entering the metal element of autumn.

The 'metal element' time of year is when our lungs are energetically at their peak. Our lungs are our best resource for soothing our nervous system and helping us transition from upset to reset quickly.

Autumn is the time when growth ends and contraction begins. Plants stop expanding outward and start drawing their energy inward, storing essence in their roots and seeds.

This reflects the condensing, contracting, refining nature of metal—a hard, dense, purified substance formed from earth.

Just as autumn is about letting go (trees shedding leaves), the metal element governs the ability to release and preserve what is essential.

The metal energy (chi/qi) resonates with the Lungs and Large Intestine Chi:

• Lungs take in what is pure (breath/qi) and release what is not.

• Large Intestine eliminates waste, letting go of what the body no longer needs.

Both reflect the autumnal process of distillation—keeping what nourishes, letting go of what doesn’t.

The emotional qualities of the lungs carry sadness, grief, and lamenting over the past. Nature expresses grief over what once was by letting go of leaves and plants, which return to the earth. It's a natural time of year to experience sadness and feel the weight of grief, as we are a part of nature.

I appreciate this time of year, which allows me to acknowledge that sadness and grief are part of the collective consciousness of life around me. I can feel sad, and it's ok, in fact, it's natural.

Hope to breathe with you soon.

From my heart to yours~

Namaste,

Maggie