Living WOW and Honoring the Seasons

Today in the northern hemisphere it is the first day of summer and season change is something that is foundational in living WOW. Living WOW is a lifestyle of intention and choice and part of that is honoring the seasons.

I was first introduced to season change back when I was doing Ama Bodywork and Chinese Medicine. She introduced me to a book called Staying Healthy with the Seasons by Elson M Haas MD. Each season change I pull out the book and flip to the chapter about the season that’s coming up.

Even though, at this point, I have a seasonal rhythm and I’m in tune to the change that’s happening, I love to go back and look at what are the elements associated with this season? How does this season manifest in the organ function? I find it fascinating and I’m not yet a master of that so I still like to go back and review and learn more.

The Importance of Recognizing and Respecting Season Change

We have listeners all over the world and those in the southern hemisphere are going into winter so I’ll address all of the seasons as I introduce why honoring the seasons is foundational to Living WOW.

First, I want to point out to you why it matters. In our culture of SAD, the Standard American Diet and Lifestyle, we have forgotten about season change. Depending on where you live, if you live in a more temperate climate, you may not have a true four seasons with your climate so it looks different.

Regardless of the temperatures, and they certainly do affect our activity, in our SAD life…it doesn’t. We just turn on the air conditioner in the summer and turn on the furnace in the winter. We don’t recognize, we don’t acknowledge and respect the season changes the way our ancestors did. The way historically our bodies are created to do.

I found this pattern early on in my transformation. This was key when I realized, every single fall between September and October I would get bronchitis and then it would linger on through the entire year. I would then have a deep bronchial cough that I couldn’t shake.

I started to recognize that my body needs something different in the fall, in the winter, in the spring, and in the summer. Our rhythm is different. The foods we eat are different. The days are longer or shorter. Ignoring that and just working day in and day out and not even giving a nod to the fact that we’ve changed seasons is part of why I had the kind of breakdown I would have.

I’m a spring birthday. I think there’s a real reason that I feel like I’m dying in the winter and then in the spring I feel like I’m waking up and coming alive. Summer is full throttle and I like to run at full throttle. Summer is my time and then I forget to put the brakes on in the fall and change my rhythm. So, I crash.

My body would shut itself down historically because I didn’t catch the messages. I wasn’t listening to nature. I wasn’t following the cues.

Now it’s become a critical part of thriving with autoimmune diseases. It’s relevant whether you have autoimmune diseases or not!

My autoimmune diseases are what cracked the case for me and helped me to understand the importance of the seasons, but it’s relevant to everyone.

I don’t care who you are, seasons matter. If you can learn to embrace them and celebrate them, instead of ignore or bemoan them it matters.

Regardless of where you are, I hope that you come away from this episode today with A: an awareness, B: an appreciation, and C: maybe some action plans of ways that you can optimize this season change.

It’s either the 20th, 21st, or 22nd and as I get closer to it, I look it up and start planning. I usually start about a week ahead of the season change in preparation and getting ready. Then the week of season change I usually will have some sort of cleanse.

This season change I did a 24 hour fast, then a three-day juice cleanse, to get things lighter and ready for more fresh and lighter foods. Then I’ll go into my Supercharge, which I usually do the 1st to the 10th of the month, but at season change I scooch it back and do it around the season change.

With Supercharge I cut out dairy, gluten, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. It’s just really clean light foods so that my body can get ready and be optimal thriving in the summer season. It’s not too much of a change from my normal routine, but it’s enough to give a nod to the fact that we go from warmer transition foods like casseroles and soups to lighter, fresher, cooler foods which for me tends to be lots of smoothies, salads with fresh fruits and vegetables being the majority of my diet.

If you are in the southern hemisphere, you’re doing the opposite going into root vegetables, warmer foods, more meat, more dairy, more grains, because you’re warming your body.

I tend to have a much more dramatic season change between summer and fall and winter and spring because we are going from lots of energy and huge growth to taking it in and slowing down. I tend to do a more extreme cleanse like a 3 or 5 day fast and then go into a more dramatic elimination diet or inventory checking in to see where my sensitivities and tolerances are. Then I can go to work on my microbiome of fixing and repairing so that my body is assimilating and managing it properly and not thinking that the food is actually poison and triggering a flare.

I’ve talked about this a lot in season one and it doesn’t matter what season it is, processed food is poison. Whole foods are good for you and you can build up a tolerance and an ability to eat them when your body is healed.

Season change is a good time to do some of those inventories. If you have a functional medicine doctor, a nutritionist, or someone who can help you with that to dial it in for your body, that’s really helpful. Remember that you are the expert in your body!

If there is nothing else you come aways from this podcast knowing, I hope that you’re empowered to be the expert in your body and know what you can do on your own and when to seek professional help and know that you’re an active partner in your health.

It’s rooted in the seasons, so that’s why we’re starting with the seasons today. I hope you’re getting the idea of why it matters. The days change, the length of light changes, the elements, how it impacts our body changes. In nature, the growth and the rest. We miss that in the constant state of SAD where we aren’t changing and flowing with the seasons.

If we’re not flowing, then we’re getting stagnant and we’re getting blocks and we’re getting dis-ease. Before we know it, we’re suffering and we’re surviving and we’re in pain and we’re blaming it on aging.

Season Change Assessment

I want to wrap up with an assessment. It is not only season change but it’s also mid-year and the end of second quarter. It’s a time to check in and see where we’re at. Am I on track with my goals or have I drifted? Do I need to retool? Do I need to reset? Remember, I’m going into summer so this is my time of growth and opportunity. I want to make sure as I’m in full throttle that I’m full throttling the right direction.

I always take the last half of June, just like I do the last half of December. As I’m going into that winter change, I do the same thing where the focus is more on my mind and my lifestyle. How am I doing?

I actually have gone through and updated my planner. Gearing up for 3rd quarter. I spent some time this week making sure that I had July ready to go, updating my goals and then had my weeks all set so that I can put in those big rocks because if the big rocks aren’t in there they won’t happen. Then I have my playbook pages so that I can do a daily journal to keep all of my summer growth on track.

I have a tendency to get of course if I don’t have that structure. So, it’s time for inventory and check in. How are you doing?

We are going to take an inventory together right now. This will help you identify what you need to focus on this second half of the year.

If you are listening to this podcast and it’s not either winter or summer season change, it’s okay. You can do this at any time and it’s still going to benefit you.

Grab a piece of paper and let’s go!

We’re going to go over seven of the systems of the Living WOW framework and I want you to rate from 0-10. Zero being, you have either no awareness of it or it’s something you really struggle with. Ten being that you have total awareness and have mastered it. You totally have it. You are thriving.

1)      Energy- Critical in the summer! Do you have enough energy to be able to run full out? To be able to grow? To be able to do what you want to do? Rate 0-10

2)      Food and water- Food and water are your fuel and that changes in summer. Are you dialed into those differences of nature? What’s the season where you live? That’s the first place to start. What is in season? What is available at the farmer’s market? Take your cues from nature. Rate 0-10

3)      Self-care and movement- Are you taking time for yourself? Are you moving your body? Are you out in nature? Are you getting out, taking it in, and filling your soul? Rate 0-10

4)      Supplements- This should change seasonally also. You should not be taking the same supplements day in and day out. That’s not what a supplement is. A supplement is to support areas that need more nutrients. Are you adjusting your supplements based on the changes in your systems with the seasons or doing the same regimen every day? Rate 0-10

5)      Mind and intelligence- This is your learning. This is your belief system. Are you open to growth? Are you planning? Are you excited? Do you spend your spring cultivating ideas and opportunities and now in the summer you’re ready to take them on and receive them or are you no different today than yesterday, tomorrow doesn’t matter. Limiting beliefs? Lots of fear and scarcity? Been there. That’s where my autoimmune diseases were born, was living in that mindset. What is the tape you have playing in your head? What is your mind telling you that it can or cannot accomplish? What environment are you allowing yourself to be in that is supporting or defeating you? Rate 0-10

6)      Spirit- Your spirit is that voice of truth. Who were you born to be? Who are you really? Are you slowing down and listening? Do you trust that voice of truth inside of you? Do you feel doubt or broken so you don’t trust your spirit? Maybe so busy you’re distracted or disconnected? Maybe you have a personal connection with your creator and your faith is strong. Rate 0-10

7)      Autoimmune (AI) condition- In the Living WOW framework for thriving your AI conditions are the outward manifestation of what is happening on the inside. Are you listening to your AI conditions, your symptoms? For me, it’s fatigue, it’s my skin, it’s my organs, it’s pain. With my cocktail of conditions those are the areas that tend to give me the most indicator. What do your symptoms tell you? Are you in a flare? Are you in crisis? Are you hurting? Are you exhausted? Do you have energy? Are your conditions in remission or submission? Rate 0-10

I’m not saying this to be proud or boastful at all. I’m saying it because I want you to know you can get there because I’ve been at zeros at all seven of these systems throughout my life. When I’m in that 5 and under, it shows. That’s where I end up in disease. And when I can be 6-10, I’m on the upside and I’m making progress. I can feel it. Sometimes it’ll slide back down and then I have to course correct.

What I want you to do now is look at what are the 3 lowest scores. What 3 systems do you have the lowest score in? That’s where I want you to spend your time. Do a deep dive and figure out. If you’re in the southern hemisphere, it ‘s a great time to deep dive and really work on those 3 areas. If you’re in the northern hemisphere and it’s summer, its action!

Do something about it, not just think about it and plan about it, but do something about it. If you’re not happy with where your self-care and your movement is, get outside, get moving.

Don’t feel defeated. Don’t feel like you can’t do this. You can, I promise you, because it feels so good to be thriving with autoimmune diseases. It feels so good to be thriving with life in general and just living in spite of these autoimmune diseases.

Step out of SAD. Step into WOW. Embrace the season change. Listen to your body. Follow nature. Come and join us with living WOW.

Until next time,

Shine on!

For more information or resources check out https://callyrae.com/