Autumn - the season of Letting go
Autumn is my favourite time of year.
The Autumn colour fills my heart with joy — deep burgundies, bright reds, iridescent oranges, golden yellows, and the soft browns that form the backdrop to the vibrant autumn blooms. Nature is doing what it always does, presenting a gift, showing us where we are at if we are willing to look.
You can hear it too. The gentle rustle underfoot as you walk through the dry, fallen leaf litter of the Melbourne Plane trees, Maples, Elms, Ash trees and Oaks. As the days shorten and it begins to cool, the air becomes crisp vibrating a deeper silence. There’s that moment in the stillness when you hear the soft twink as the leaf detaches from its branch and finally lets go. Not forced. Just… releasing.
There’s a downward, dry, inward quality to this season. After the outward energy of Summer, everything begins to draw back. This is the Metal element — contraction, refinement, clarity, letting go of what’s no longer needed.
Before a leaf falls, the tree draws its nutrients back in. Nothing wasted. Just a quiet return to centre. Then the leaf softens into the earth, slowly returning its nutrients to the soil, feeding the life it once grew from, becoming a natural mulch — protecting, insulating, and nourishing what lies below.
We can do the same. Like the tree, we draw in what we need, and when the time comes, we let go of what we no longer need to carry — what remains are the quiet lessons, returned inward, shaping who we become.
In the body, this shows up through the breath and through the tissues — especially the fascia. If you’ve been feeling tight, restricted, or holding on, through the practice of yoga we can find release. Slow flow and yin support this process beautifully. We move with less force, giving the body — and the fascia — time to soften, release, and reorganise, rather than push. Longer holds, softer edges, allowing the fascia to respond and unwind. Let the exhale lengthen. Let things drop.
The end of Summer saw us moving through a strong Aries phase — a surge of fire, momentum, and forward energy, with so much concentrated in that space. It’s been about action, movement, and initiation. But as some of these planetary energies begin to shift — with Uranus moving into Gemini — there’s a change in quality. Gemini, symbolised by the twins, brings awareness, thought, and reflection — a kind of mirroring of self.
And this is where Autumn meets us perfectly. As the pace softens and things draw inward, we’re given the space to pause, to observe, and to see ourselves more clearly.
We’ve also just moved through the Scorpio full moon on the 1st May, carrying that deeper energy of birth, life, death, and rebirth — a reminder that nothing is static, everything is part of a cycle. You can feel this in the body, in the breath, in the natural rhythm of letting go and beginning again.
Reflecting on the chakras, the base chakra asks us to ground — like the fallen leaves returning to the earth, luring us back to our foundations, to feel supported, and tend to the soil. The heart chakra softens what we’ve been holding, especially as the colours of Autumn land so deeply when we take them in. The throat chakra gives space for expression and release — what’s ready to be said, or simply exhaled. And as things begin to clear, the third eye chakra brings a quiet clarity — a deeper seeing that comes not from doing more, but from doing less, from letting go.
Nature provides what we need to nourish our physical bodies and we often find ourselves naturally drawn to what’s in season. Like the colours of the autumn leaves — pumpkin, sweet potato, beets, carrots, apples, pears, and citrus — these foods offer moistening, nourishing, and grounding qualities. Warm, cooked meals — soups, broths, roasted vegetables gently support this transition. They feel regulating and nurturing, like your body remembering something it didn’t know it had forgotten.
Enjoy long walks taking in the colour show, go barefoot on the grass, soak up the autumn sun. Meet your body and nervous system where they are each day — with earlier nights, softer rhythms, and a natural slowing down.
Autumn isn’t about loss, it’s about clarity, contraction and transformation. It’s about letting things fall away so what remains is real, simple, and true.
Namaste Yogis
By Georgia Karstens,
Yogi & lightworker
