Rewilding Ourselves - 16

In this episode, we explore the importance of reconnecting with nature and remembering that we are not separate from it — we are nature. As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, many of us feel that tug-of-war between our ambition and our body’s natural need to slow down. Together, we’ll talk about what it means to honor that seasonal shift rather than fight against it.

We’ll explore how fall invites us to shed what no longer serves us, reflect on our personal harvest, and create space for new growth in the seasons ahead. Along the way, we’ll dive into the science behind grounding, circadian rhythms, and how spending time in nature — or even touching the earth — can improve our sleep, reduce stress, and rebalance our energy.

We’ll also look at the quiet influence of the moon and the deep connection between our bodies and the natural world. This is an invitation to align our lives more intentionally with the cycles of the Earth, to remember that slowing down is not failure — it’s wisdom.

And if you’re feeling called to explore this more deeply, I’m opening The Seasonal Journey — a six-week small-group experience designed to help us reconnect with nature, our inner rhythm, and our sense of purpose. We’ll use meditation, Reiki, sound healing, and reflection to realign with the wisdom of the seasons.

Together, we’ll rewild ourselves — gently, intentionally, and in rhythm with the Earth.

Welcome to Lady(ish)—the podcast where real talk meets whole-self transformation. Hosted by coach, healer, and wellness guide Autumn Noble O’Hanlon, this unfiltered space is for women who want more out of life—but on their own terms.

Each week, we dive into the messy, beautiful, and often contradictory layers of wellness, covering everything from career shifts and body image to energy healing, intuitive living, fitness, burnout recovery, and creating change that actually sticks.

Whether you're chasing a new chapter, healing old wounds, or just trying to reconnect with yourself in a loud, overwhelming world—Lady(ish) is here to support your evolution. Expect honest conversations, coaching wisdom, holistic tools, spiritual insights, and permission to be a little bit of everything (and nothing you're not).

Because wellness isn’t one-size-fits-all—and neither are you.

AutumnNoble.com

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Autumn@theuncomfortabledream.com

For moon rituals, sabbats, and nature practices, subscribe to my YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@ALifeCollective

Let's meet! Schedule a call/session: AutumnNoble.as.me

Transcript

Autumn Noble (00:00)

Hey everyone, welcome back to the podcast, Lady-ish, where we are dishing out wellness, unfiltered, a little woo-woo, and sometimes maybe even weird.

I am Autumn and today we are digging into something that is really alive for me lately and it's the importance of reconnecting with nature and remembering that we are nature.

Stay with me here. Every fall when it starts to get dark really early and the sun rises really late, I start to notice this tug of war between my body and my ambition.

As the days get darker and shorter, I start slowing down. I crave more sleep. I want to sleep longer. I'm much more interested in stillness and much less interested in peopling and doing activities. But I still expect myself to operate at the same summer pace. Really early mornings, full schedules and constant movement.

For a long time, I saw this as a weakness or a lack of motivation or disinterest in whatever I was filling my plate with. But over time, I've realized that it's not weakness or something that needs to be fixed. It's our own innate wisdom. My body was just responding to the rhythms of the earth.

We live in a world that is designed for endless productivity. In my background as an attorney, the people that got the most accolades and the most respect were the ones that showed up first and left last. They were the ones in the office when it was dark at the front and the back end. They were there before everyone else and put in the most amount of FaceTime. Whether they were productive, I don't know, but it became a badge of honor to those people.

to show how productive they were and what a big contribution they were making to the firm. The days were filled with bright lights and coffee-fueled mornings, evenings, and afternoons, screens that kept us awake long after sunset.

and everything around us really encouraging us to override any of those natural cycles or inclinations.

But what I want to talk about today is how that is so out of alignment with how we are actually built, how our bodies are deeply connected to the planet's rhythms and nature, how we are wired to ebb and flow, light and dark, act and rest. And ignoring those rhythms, it doesn't make us stronger, it just makes us burn out more quickly.

In my background in religious studies, I started digging into nature-based traditions and it's become a real passion of mine in this chapter and season of my life. I have dug into paganism and Celtic spirituality and other earth-centered practices and I just started to realize how far we've drifted from a lot of ancient wisdom that still holds true and has a lot of value to offer

even in today's modern society.

Those traditions teach us that every season has its purpose. And as we enter the fall, nature is urging us and teaching us to let go in the same way that the leaves shed from the trees. Nature is inviting us to sort of evaluate this past season of our life and answer that question. What do we need to let go of in order to move forward and begin again?

lighter.

During this season in the Midwest, we can look all around us and often in our house if you have dogs, they're bringing in the leaves, they're everywhere. The trees very gracefully, gently and without resistance, let their leaves go. And they trust that when spring comes, they will begin anew, stronger than before.

And it's not only the trees, it's the animals. They start to slow down. The air starts to feel quieter and calmer out there in the mornings. If you get up early like I do and you go outside, there's a stillness. That is not the same vibrancy that we feel in the mornings during the summer months. The earth itself is really beginning to turn inward in those parts of the earth that are experiencing fall right now.

I love this time of year so much because it's not necessarily about endings and death. We're approaching Halloween and a lot of people kind of love the Halloween spirit and it can feel kind of spooky and death centric. But that's really not what fall or Samhain and those Celtic traditions are really about. It's about new beginnings and preparing for that new beginning. It's about

clearing space for what's next and allowing yourself to intentionally reflect on what went well, what didn't go well so that you can make more informed plans for the next season.

This also harkens back to a lot of those earth-based traditions where this time of year, it's a harvest season. And in growing up on a farm in Iowa, this is the time of year where all of that previous work over the spring and the summer really comes to fruition and we gather the fruits of our labors, literally, but also metaphorically.

It's our time and opportunity to ask, what have I cultivated this year? What am I proud of? What have I outgrown and maybe need to release?

It's an opportunity for gratitude and reflection and making peace with what was and allowing space for what's coming next.

But in our culture and our society, many of us are sort of driven or pushed or expected to resist that natural slowing down. But when you try and maintain the same high energy productivity of summer, it does create some internal friction. And I can say for myself that I really felt that tug every fall when things were slowing down. It was really hard for me to kind of pull forward and continue to operate at that same

kind of crazed level

Because I think somewhere within us, our bodies know that it's time to rest. Even though our mind and everything around us continues to sprint, I think it's our body's reflection of, you you can't sprint the whole time. There's a season for everything. And if we sprinted all summer long, maybe it's time to take a break, take a water break, take stock and honor the fact that we cannot sprint.

every day, all day, all year round.

And that is what fall is inviting us to see, notice, and honor.

But as per usual, I want to address the skeptics out there, myself included. As a lawyer, I have a very high degree of skepticism for all things. And so I want to respect that in all of my listeners and make sure that I include the science that backs up some of this ancient wisdom that long predates the science behind it.

Let's start at the very basic level in those circadian rhythms.

These are those internal clocks that we all have that regulate our sleep, our hormones, and our energy levels.

As our days shorten and get darker, the body naturally begins to produce more melatonin, that hormone that signals rest and allows our body to prepare for sleep.

This was an insight that I found particularly helpful for me. It wasn't that I was feeling lazy or run down in the fall. It was really biology's way of saying, Hey, it's time for you to slow down and get some more sleep.

Additionally, many of you know that exposure to natural light can impact our serotonin levels.

serotonin is that neurotransmitter that is linked to our mood and our ability to focus.

So as the days grow shorter and our access to natural light wanes, it can also impact our ability to maintain a high mood, a high vibe and focus as easily as we used to. On this note, I will throw out there that 15 to 20 minutes a day outside in the sunlight, in the natural light can help regulate that cycle. can improve your mood, but also your energy.

I always say that exercise is one of the world's easiest and simplest medicines. Nature is right up there with it. Just getting some time outdoors can literally change the hormones within your body.

And then last but not least, there is grounding or earthing.

Research from institutions like the University of California or the Journal of Environmental and Public Health tells us that physically connecting with the earth, walking barefoot, gardening, or just sitting in the grass can help balance our body's electrical charge. It can help reduce inflammation, improve sleep, and even support our immune function.

In my energy work and sound healing studies, they talked about how everything around us has a natural vibration. And when you bring dissonant frequencies together, the lower frequency will rise up and match the higher frequency. It's a term called entrainment. So when you touch the earth, you are literally sinking your body's electrical field and vibrational field with that of the planet.

It's kind of like plugging into a natural battery that helps regulate your nervous system. With that contact, your brain will entrain and match that vibration, kind of pulling you out of whatever vibration you were in.

And in doing so, it can help regulate that nervous system. And here's another thing that really fascinates me. When you think about our bodies and how much of our bodies are comprised of water, over 60%, and then you think about the moon.

and how the moon has the ability to change the tides of entire oceans. It really begs the question, how could that force not have some impact on us as well?

To this end, studies have shown that the lunar cycle can influence our sleep patterns, our menstrual cycles, and emotional regulation.

This is all to say that we are quite literally rhythmic beings, electrical, energetic and fluid just like the earth, the moon and the tides.

Why would we ignore that essential component of ourselves by locking ourselves away from nature and living out of alignment with that rhythm and not connecting from it as an essential part of our own well-being and overall health?

Most of us really give in to that modern disconnect from nature and our own innate kind of components and connection to nature. We live in environments that separate us from all of those rhythms.

I used to think about the amount of time I spent outdoors when I was in corporate America, working as in house counsel for a Fortune 300 company. And I had a parking spot underground and I would walk from that parking spot right into the building, into my office and then go back home at the end of the day. I'd park in my connected covered garage and walk into my house. So theoretically, I could spend an entire day.

going to work, coming home from work and not be outside at all. And it's not a judgment whatsoever. Oftentimes that is just what our world and our life demands. But for me, it was a pretty shocking realization that I was spending so little time being outside at all. Nevermind trying to ground or connect with nature or reflect on my life. I just wasn't making time to even be outside and breathe fresh air.

And I was shocked when I started thinking about how little time I spent outside of the confines of four walls.

During those days when I was outside, I was walking on concrete and not soil and I was probably rushing from one place to the next looking at my phone while I was doing it. During those days, I measured my productivity by output rather than alignment and how I actually felt inside. Some of those days I was so exhausted at the end, but I felt good about it because I felt like my output was there even though internally

I was so out of balance and so out of whack and just sort of aching for more.

And it wasn't just that internal ache and disalignment. I was missing out on what nature can actually provide us on a physiological science-backed way. When we connect with nature in even little ways, it can lower cortisol, that main stress hormones that makes our life very difficult sometimes. It can boost our creativity and problem-solving abilities, which is pretty essential

when you're in the middle of that corporate sprint. Lastly, it can improve our focus and our mental clarity, which we all need in order to be as efficient as possible in that world of productivity.

One of the things I loved about my religious studies background in college was exposure to alternative religious traditions throughout the world. I really fell in love with Eastern religious traditions. an example of that that I think is really relevant here in Japan, there's this idea of forest bathing. And it's a practice of just immersing yourself in a natural setting.

not for exercise, not for hiking, not for photography, but just to be in nature and breathe it in and allow that natural reset.

Doing so, research tells us that it strengthens the immune system. It increases natural killer cell activity and it promotes emotional wellbeing. Nature truly is medicine, ancient, accessible and free.

So as we move through fall, I invite you to follow nature's lead and ask yourself some really important questions. What am I ready to shed?

Where am I still forcing growth when I could be allowing rest?

What am I harvesting from this past season of my life?

Your answers to these questions could call you to clean out a physical space, empty your calendar a little bit and say no to a few more things or letting go of habits that no longer serve you.

invitation to yourself to spend some time with an inward focus and exploration, perhaps through journaling, meditating, or simply walking outside and noticing the changes around you.

Let your ambition rest for a while. Growth isn't just about expansion. It's about contraction and stillness and reflection. Just as nature never apologizes for her cycles, neither should we. We deserve time to rest and reflect and regroup as well.

If this message resonates with you and you're craving a slower, more grounded way of living and working, I invite you into something new that I'm creating this season.

It's called the seasonal journey. It's a six week small group experience designed for women who are ready to align their lives with the wisdom of nature.

Together we will reset, reflect and reconnect using meditation, Reiki, sound healing, mindfulness, journaling and gentle movement.

It's part holistic rest and part spiritual homecoming. And a way to remember that success doesn't always mean speed.

I will be sharing more details soon, but if you want to reserve your spot early, just email me and I will add you to the list. So my friends, as the leaves fall and the air cools, I hope that you give yourself some permission to do the same, to release, rest and root into what truly matters to you.

Step outside, breathe deeply, feel the earth beneath your feet and remember.

You don't have to chase nature to find it. You already are it.

Thanks for listening to Ladyish today. will see you all again next week.