What are you grateful for? Just pause for a moment, close your eyes, bring your hands to your heart and consider what’s working well in your life. We spend so much time focusing on what’s wrong, rather than what’s right in our abundant lives. As author John Kabat-Zinn reminds us, “There is so much more right in our lives than there is wrong." Focusing on what we appreciate uplifts our spirits and brightens the mind. Especially the things that we take for granted - because without them our lives would be turned upside down.

When I sit to meditate one of the best spine openers is a qigong set called Crane and Tortoise. It’s arching and rounding of the spine with the breath, and a side-to-side spinal bend that releases the tension held in the sides of the spine which often carries a lot of stress. This relieves the tension held in the front, back, and sides of the spine so then I can sit with stillness and ease.

In the autumn sadness and grief can weigh heavy on our chests. In Chinese medicine, the emotion of grief resides in our lungs. The lungs and large intestine are energetically running the strongest in the autumn and their main function is to let go. The emotions of sadness and grief are part of the seasonal energy in the fall.

When we regulate our breathe We regulate our emotions. When our mind is stuck in negative patterns our breath is often being held or it's very shallow and there's no awareness of it. This is when we have repressed emotions of resentment, guilt, fear, or loss of control.

As the natural world is turning inward, releasing leaves from the trees, and plants returning to the earth, there is a palpable feeling that nature, which we are part of, is letting go and grieving.

For most of us, being still and clearing the mind is nearly impossible. We quit trying to meditate, thinking we're no good at it because our thoughts get in the way. Welcome to the human condition!

Each season the energy of the natural world corresponds to the frequency and vibration of different organs and emotions, according to traditional Chinese medicine and what we focus on in the Meridian Flow. We can use this to our advantage by strengthening the virtue that's easiest to access in the specific season.

Anxiety, depression, and auto-immune issues are rising, especially as the days get darker and the holidays closer. The constant overstimulation of social media and technology is exhausting and creates an anxious mindset.

According to traditional Chinese Medicine's seasonal wisdom, that is overlaid in the Meridian Flow pracitces, the element associated with Autumn energy is metal. Metal's energetic qualities have strong integrity. To have integrity means to have the discipline to do what we say we are going to do.