Honoring the Threshold of Fall: Burnout, Rest & Renewal
Ayurveda teaches that the space between seasons is a tender doorway — a time to release what has built up from the last season and prepare body and mind for what’s ahead.
In Ayurveda this doorway is called ṛtucharyā — the practice of living in rhythm with the seasons. The seasons don’t switch all at once; they overlap and shift gradually. It’s in these in-between times, when one season is loosening its grip and the next hasn’t fully arrived, that we are most vulnerable to imbalance. By softening into these thresholds and adjusting how we eat, move, and care for ourselves, we can create steadiness in the midst of change.
I’ve been noticing the signs of this shift in my own body: a belly that feels a little unsettled, skin that drinks up oil more quickly, and a deep craving for rest I can’t ignore. For me, these are also the early whispers of burnout.
Like so many of us, I move through seasons of overextension. Right now, I’m seeing over 150 clients a week, facilitating 20 yoga therapy groups, and doing increasingly more bodywork and in-person sessions. I love this work deeply, but I also know what it costs when I don’t pause to replenish. To hold space in all these ways, I’ve had to step up my own self-care — tending to my body and mind so I can meet others from a place of grounded clarity. Burnout isn’t just exhaustion — it’s disconnection from joy, creativity, and the ability to feel nourished by life.
This is why Ayurveda places such care on seasonal transitions. As summer’s fire (pitta) gives way to fall’s cool, dry winds (vāta), we may feel restless yet depleted, overheated yet ungrounded. Anxiety, digestive changes, irritability, and fatigue often rise in this time — not as personal flaws, but as reflections of the natural world moving through us.
Each fall, I honor this shift with an at-home panchakarma, a gentle Ayurvedic cleanse guided by my practitioner. It’s a way to clear out the excess of summer, steady my digestion, and prepare my mind and body for the months ahead.
Alongside this deeper reset, I lean on simple, nourishing rituals:
🥣 Warm, cooked meals I can easily make in my Instant Pot.
💆 Oil massage (abhyanga) with seasonal herbal oils to calm my nervous system.
🌿 Herbal teas that ground and soothe.
🚶 Walks outside and movement that feels nourishing instead of depleting.
🌙 Yoga Nidra to soften into rest at the end of the day.
Some days I still resist slowing down — it’s far from perfect. But I’m learning to listen, to make space for the rhythms that help me feel steady and alive. These practices aren’t luxuries; they’re relationships. They remind me that my body is part of the same rhythm as the trees, the wind, and the turning of the seasons.
This is also one of the most supportive times of year to receive care: Ayurvedic bodywork, seasonal consultations, and community workshops all help us cross this threshold with steadiness.
🌙 Reflection for the Season
What signs of burnout or imbalance have you been noticing in your own body?
What would it feel like to honor your own threshold into fall?
What rhythms or rituals might support you in showing up nourished this season?
✨ Seasonal Support
If you’re craving steadiness in this transition, I’d love to support you:
1:1 Ayurvedic consultations for personalized seasonal care.
Ayurvedic bodywork at Soulage with seasonal herbal oils.
A Fall Ayurveda Workshop on October 18th — learn and practice in community.
Let’s honor this transition — and our need for rest — not rush it. 🌙