Everything in its season...

Here we are in the midst of spring & everything is just bursting with life! The blossoms are blossoming. The greens of grass & tree are lush. The "weeds" are already taking over my garden. ;) There's an energy that feels full & dynamic, especially in this season of spring, nearing summer! It's like all that energy that was stored up in the period of winter hibernation is ready to awaken in full-force...happy to be alive.

Outdoor Yoga Season

Outdoor yoga classes start next week, and I'm sooo excited. There's nothing like coming from the cold of winter into spring & summer to really appreciate nature's beauty. To me, practicing outdoors helps me feel how I'm a part of nature & its rhythms. Feet in grass. Canopy of sun & sky overhead. Fresh air. I feel outdoor yoga classes are a wonderful tool for offering time for solitude, even within the context of community. During a class, we seem to move from our own experience to noticing what's happening around us, back to our own experience, and on & on. It's a beautiful play on the balance of life itself (inner & outer, microcosm & macrocosm, expansion & contraction, inhale & exhale).

Life Moving Through You

I recently listened to a podcast that described meditation simply as the breath. Of course there are philosophical debates to be had from differing lineage traditions about what meditation is, but for now, go with it and see what comes up. What if meditation is as simple as the breath? You don't have to stop what you're doing to meditate. You just have to recognize that your breath and life is moving through you; that breath & life is moving through each person you meet. The world around you is alive with those same movements I mentioned above...ebb & flow, expansion & contraction, give & take...and it all feels like there is a beautiful balance there once we peel off the layers that obscure us from seeing things as they really are.

The guest on the podcast, Lorin Roche, said:

"Meditation texts fulfill their purpose when they remind us of something we know & have forgotten. They want to remind you of the current of prana/shakti that's right here in your heart, keeping you alive. It's vibrating. Exciting. Happy to be you. You're free to partake."

Savasana

When the weather allows, it can be a really wonderful & grounding practice to take your savasana outside. I've been calling it "savasana sky" for years, but it could also be called "savasana earth"! I'm very lucky to have a big patch of land behind my in-laws' house where I can take walks, watch the wildlife & insects, soak in the sun & the fresh air. And some days, I stretch myself out as wide as possible in the long grass & lie down in the sun. To me, there's nothing like really letting my body be held by the earth in this way. It's calming & enlivening at the same time. It brings me back to presence & also to noticing how easily it can slip away in the busy-ness of everyday life. But you know what? It can just as easily flow back in (there is that ebb & flow again!). Like so much in life, it matters what we practice in our daily lives & relationships with others & ourselves. It will all echo back to us. So, I'll leave you with this small suggestion for a possible way to practice lying down & letting go. I hope you have a little patch of space to try it out & I'd love to hear how it goes!

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. In each of these posts, I'll try to share one practical offering & a way for you to check out someone else who's inspiring me lately. If you get a chance to listen to this episode of J. Brown Yoga Talks with Indu Arora, I'm sure it won't disappoint. So many of J's podcasts have been inspiring lately; full of rich conversations, ideas, ideals, & inquiry into the big questions. This one circles us back to using nature as our teacher. Please enjoy & I hope to see you soon...