Right now, Nature is quickly growing, assertively pushing boundaries. You likely feel momentum all around you, calling you forward. As such, if you don’t have energy, you will notice it. Lethargy, sleepiness, joylessness and disinterest in doing anything are key signs your adrenals are fatigued.

Forward-looking Aries holds bodily dominion over your adrenals, which regulates how you respond to stress. This astrological first sign rules all things stressful, and fast-moving, in life, so if you don’t have the energy to match life’s demands, you’ll feel it now – during Aries season.

Good adrenal health is like having a nice fluffy feather mattress to land on during stress. When your adrenals are nourished, you experience some stress and you have a cushion. The thing is, long-term stress uses that cushion up…and, because they are so busy protecting you, generously giving you that cushion, you may not notice the cushion is actually being USED UP. Until you start developing symptoms of depletion, and then every little stress feels like landing on a hard floor …because… no more cushion left.

The good news is, astrology follows a law of correspondence, which says: To everything, a season. This means, during Aries season, we get extra healing mojo when we nourish the vital organs Aries rules.

NOTE: Adrenal health is ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR WOMEN. Few of us think about our hormones, till they start to diminish. Then, the stress we’d thought we’d been “managing” – through activity, coffee, exercise, and our “active lifestyle”- turns into symptoms like fatigue, hot flashes, and early aging. Ugh. Here’s why this happens:

As we age, cortisol, produced by the adrenals, takes over for diminishing estrogen production in our bodies. For women, this means the ways we holistically manage our health …can actually affect how SOON we enter premenopausal and menopause, and how SEVERE our symptoms. If the adrenals are compromised through low level long-term stress (of even a high-powered lifestyle), it eventually impacts how much cortisol is available to compensate for that natural estrogen loss. Then, we can head into premature aging, and a host of uncomfortable peri- and menopause symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats. Double ugh.

((This post falls under the category of: things they never taught in Nutrition school. I have a health coaching degree, and the textbook never mentioned menopause. Not once. It has become glaring to me that women and aging is a much overlooked topic.)) But another topic, for another time. For now, let’s focus on Aries season as the perfect time to attend to your adrenal health.

TOP WAYS TO RE-NOURISH YOUR ADRENALS:

–Eat good fats. What is the building block of hormones, like cortisol? Healthy fats like coconut oil, butter, olive oil…(not poly fats) and animal fats are hormone building. You want enough cortisol to have a cushion for big and little stressors? Eat more healthy fats to help with that depleted feeling. Generally, if you’re feeling stressed, make double sure you are eating healthy fats.

–Eat the right foods, more frequently. I notice I am hungry more often when my adrenals are depleted (other symptoms are: feelings of fatigue, depletion, irregular heartbeat, not feeling totally rested even after sleep, craving salt, craving coffee and sugar, and peri-menopause hormonal symptoms). I eat more during these times because I know I’m feeding my adrenals and hormone production. It’s tempting to reach for quick fixes, ie, snack food. Instead I have homemade fatty whole food snacks on hand, like deviled eggs, roasted nuts, or nourishing leftovers. Sea salt, plenty of it, also helps to keep aldosterone levels steady.

-Gentle exercise, in the right time. Exercise is essential, in many ways; it is anti-aging, it WILL prevent future aging type mobility issues- so important, and yet it’s all about the timing. Cortisol is higher in the morning typically, and lower in evening. This means if you are exercising at low cortisol times, and you have some depletion, you will get an energy boost but you will also still feel draggy. This is NOT ideal. Exercise increases cortisol production…but if you don’t have enough, it’s like spending from an overdrawn bank account. You tap it, it delivers, but with consequences. So: Gentle exercise, in the right time, and not manically/not too much.

-Prioritize pleasure. Having consistent and ongoing pockets of joy and relaxation in life is the number 1 doable thing I can consistently do to keep my adrenals healthy. Joy, pleasure and relaxation fill up your feather bed mattress, or your bank account (depending on your metaphor). Don’t underestimate the healing and health-giving impact of slowing down and enjoying yourself, and your life. People just don’t prioritize it, but prioritizing joy and pleasure has healed me from many maladies.

-Get back to basics. We forget to do even the most basic, health-promoting, things sometimes. Here are some more tips: eat plenty of greens…have good sleep hygiene…get your anger and stress out with things like: EFT, trauma shaking and primal screams… Explore adaptogens like: licorice, ashwaganda, ginseng, maca. If you are in perimenopause or menopause, and are experiencing night sweats and hot flashes, I’ve had success with hesperidin – which is not commonly in supplements. And, of course, sometimes the best way to manage your stress is practical: remove the stressful thing, or figure out how to mollify its effect.

Finally, you can look to your Mars (Aries’ ruler) to understand whether it’s a “hot spot” for you, health-wise, in your birth chart. Start with the element: Fire sign Mars is grace under pressure but when they burn too hot, too long, they burn out. Earth Mars has great endurance till they hit a wall, they are done, and it takes a lot of time to build back up again. Air sign Mars has a tendency to dissipate their energies with too much activity, motion, and wonder why they are exhausted all the time. Water sign Mars can underestimate their own healing resources, including the practical wisdom of prioritizing excellent self-care.

…Anything you can do for your adrenal health, over the next few weeks, will be amplified by the astrological magic of Divine Timing.