There’s a word in Tibetan Buddhism: bardo. It means the in-between, a liminal space, a transition. Most traditionally, it refers to the state between death and rebirth, but bardos are everywhere.

We pass through them every day:
The space between inhale and exhale.
Between night and morning.
Between one version of ourselves and the next.
Between seasons.

Right now, we’re in one of those spaces, a quiet, golden in-between where late summer hasn’t fully ended, and autumn hasn’t fully begun. It’s not the heat of summer or the clarity of fall, but a slow shift as subtle as the light. It’s a threshold asking us to listen.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine

This in-between time is governed by the Earth element — associated with the spleen and stomach meridians. These meridians rule digestion, nourishment, and the integration of what we take in, not just food, but also experiences, transitions, emotions, conversations, and dreams.

You can think of the Earth element as your inner soil:

• What are you feeding yourself right now?
• What needs composting?
• What wants to be rooted?

When Earth is balanced, we feel centered, nourished, and supported.
When it’s depleted, which often happens during seasonal transitions, it might show up as:

• Overthinking or worry
• Digestive upset or fatigue
• Feeling scattered or ungrounded

This is the body’s way of saying: slow down. Process what’s already here. Come back to rhythm.

Bardo & Nervous System Rhythms

In nervous system work, we also honor the in-between. The space between inhale and exhale is where the body often learns the most. The pause after a breath can feel like a reset, a settling. It’s where integration happens, not in the doing, but in the being.

When you’re constantly rushing from one season to the next, or one to-do list to another, your system doesn’t have time to digest. Just like the stomach needs time to metabolize food, your nervous system needs time to process experience. So if you’ve been feeling like you’re hovering, not quite ready to leap forward, not quite finished with where you’ve been, you’re not alone (it’s the season).

You’re just in a bardo.

A Few Ways to Ground in This Season

You don’t need to do more, but you might benefit from a slow and grounded rhythm.

Here are three simple ways to care for your nervous system during this seasonal in-between:

1. Warm, grounding nourishment
   Late summer is the season of soup, tea, and warm breakfasts. Your digestive fire can be sensitive this time of year. Try supporting it with slow, nourishing meals and plenty of hydration.
2. Steady breath
   Try breath practices that emphasize gentle rhythm, like humming breath or coherence breathing (inhale 5, exhale 5). These signal safety to the nervous system, support digestion, and regulate emotional energy.
3. Return to simple routines
   Instead of creating new goals, notice what’s already working and gently tend to it.
   Stretching after coffee. A pause before email. Stepping outside to feel your feet on the earth.
   This is where regulation begins, in the micro-moments.

A Practice for You

I created a short, grounding Humming Breath audio practice (4 minutes) that you can listen to anytime you need to come back to center.
This simple practice helps:

• Regulate the nervous system
• Improve vagal tone
• Boost nitric oxide (for calm + clarity)
• Ground your awareness in the body

[Click here to access breathwork practice]

You Are Exactly Where You Need to Be

We don’t need to rush out of the in-between.
This space is fertile. This moment is enough.
In the quiet before fall sharpens the air, there’s stillness. There’s steadiness. There’s space to ask:

What am I digesting?
What do I want to carry forward?
What can I root more deeply into?

Let the breath guide you back. Let the earth support you.

This is the rhythm we return to.