Dear Yogis,
This week we are back to our regular class schedule!! The following week I will be away……learning
and growing.
Nothing like frigid temperatures to slow life’s pace to a
crawl. Have you noticed? The colder it has gotten, the less there
seems to be to “do”.
Winter is our time to take stock, rest and look inward. A time to slow down in order to rediscover
where it is that we are….physically, emotionally, in our careers, in our
interests and in those areas where we may have become a bit stuck.
During mild winters this natural and necessary phase of life occasionally
gets skipped. Not this month!!
Even my body is telling me to slow down. Small aches, stiff joints and creakiness seem
to be visiting me – asking me to move in a more mindful way. Knocking a little more loudly on the door
when I don’t take notice. Feeling the
need to approach postures with respect and breathe my way in. A tub filled with bath salts and rose petals
calls my name. Winter is a time to soak.
After a yoga class this weekend I overheard some women
discussing the importance of weighing yourself daily to be sure you notice if a
pound or two has snuck in unnoticed. But
they do and they should. Just like the
rabbit, our nature is to thicken our coat and become more curvy in winter, to
protect and warm us. This is no time for
a diet of salads and fruit, but to feed the body’s longing for homemade soups, hearty
stews and a hot cup of tea in the late afternoon. Winter is a time to nourish in preparation for
the bust of energy needed in spring. And
like the snow, the pounds will melt away as the seasons and we shift.
This weekend we “de-Christmas -ed” the house, which always
leads to clearing out the old to make room for the new. Furniture moved, drawers cleaned, and closets
picked through once again with an eye toward letting go of that which no longer
serves. Creating space with the
intention of not allowing it to become cluttered again (check back with me in
April on that). Winter is a time of
releasing. Letting go of attachments.
So the house is cleaned, the soup is made, bills are paid….but
there are still hours left in the day. I
find myself wandering around looking for something to do. But it is unnecessary. Winter
is a time of the freedom to simply be.
Wrapped in a blanket with a good book.
Snuggled under the duvet in bed at only 9:00 because it has been dark
for hours. Hibernating. Dreaming.
Last year I started an annual tradition of doing a 1000
piece puzzle beginning the first week of January. Today I broke open the box, separating the
pieces one by one to find the edges.
Beginning by forming the frame in which I will spend much of the next
month (or two……this is a HARD one). And
as I looked for the final 3 edge pieces that somehow I had missed, I had an
insight. I needed to stop “looking” for
them, and instead simply soften my gaze toward the table and “see” them……and
there they each were, as if they were glowing.
Winter is still and clear.
The skies at night are infinite.
The animals make their nightly trek through my yard, leaving only their
prints in the snow as evidence. Winter
is quiet. Winter asks us to see….not
with our eyes, as the earth has drawn back its vibrant colors so as not to
distract us……..but with the light of our inner vision.
See where you are…. without judgment. See what you want…..without limitations. And take these next couple of months to let
it all settle into your bones. Planting
the seeds for growth.
Dreaming,
SARAH
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