......don't go!

Yogis,

I have a Lenten Rose out front. She is known as being one of the earliest flowering plants, sending out her buds to welcome the Lenten season. A sure sign that spring is starting to knock at the door.

A few days ago, a whisper in the air told me to brush the leaves off the plant, get down on my hands and knees and look below. Lo and behold there they were. Several swollen buds with their heads bowed down beneath the green. I took a picture and sent it to my sister Amy with a note stating that according to Ms. Rose, spring is on her way.

As you all know I am only a neophyte in the ‘I love winter’ department, where my sister has always been all in on the joys of winter. Her response to my note lacked a spring like enthusiasm as you can imagine.

At that moment I realized that I too was not ready for spring. I texted back. Where is winter?

If any of you live in the Midwest you probably won’t agree with what I am about to say, but here in the Mid Atlantic winter never held us in her grip this year. Yes, we had a few cold weeks. Yes, the polar vortex made its way through, lasting a mere two days. We did indeed have several inches of snow this week, but more like a March storm, the very next day the great melt began.

All of my telltale signs of the severity of the winter season are pointing low on the scale. The number of times I have made soup. The number of days I wore a wool scarf around my neck in the house. How often I had to scrape my windshield. The amount of firewood used. In fact, I haven’t even started my annual 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, which is a winter staple for me!

I haven’t had a gas bill that caused my jaw to drop. My sage still has some green leaves on it and having to watch my step on the ice hasn’t happened. Instead of soil that is hard as a rock, there is mud caked to my boots and tracked on the kitchen floor. My umbrella seems to have replaced the snow shovel as the must have item. No, I am not ready.

A forsythia tree down the street has bloomed, which most years makes my heart sing, but this year I whispered oh no. A walk along the river yesterday revealed Bluebells pushing their heads through the soil and I found myself wishing they would retreat.

Winter is the season for quiet. Alone time. Self-care and nourishment. The months to do the inner work to prepare for the outward forward movement of spring. Winter is time for me, and I haven’t had enough. I am not yet empty to be able to take in the fullness spring and summer offer.

So, don’t hate me, but I am hoping for a cold March.

‘There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you…. In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself’
                              ~Ruth Stout

Doing the inner work,
SARAH

......I heart you

Yogis,

It all began very innocently. A text message waiting on my phone as I woke Thursday morning. A wish for a happy valentine’s day. I quickly began to type my response but stopped myself. Words suddenly didn’t feel like enough.

I headed into my ‘room’ – if you’ve spent time here you know my room and all you have to do is walk in there and you will know me – grabbed my bolster, dropped to the floor and draped my back over it. Now we’re talking! Now my heart has some space. Now I can tune into the vibration of love………

What is love? I love dark chocolate. I love being down by the river. I love dancing. I love my family. Are these all the same? What if all of them were suddenly gone. Would I still love? Could I?

There is this illusion we fall into that the people, places and things that surround us are the cause of that delicious stirring inside. But you may hate dark chocolate so that bar I keep in my pantry clearly isn’t love. There may be someone I avoid at all costs, yet you may feel you would drown without them. No, there isn’t anything on the outside that is the source of that inner glow. They only act as a reminder.

Love is a vibration. A high note that exists within each of us. An energy that acts as the glue to keep us all together. Its power can chase away fear and lift us to a higher state. We only have to tune to its frequency and be it.

For the next half hour, I lay there with an open and vulnerable heart. I imagined turning on a light in the center of my chest. With each inhale that flowed into that space I visualized the light becoming brighter and brighter, until I was radiating. Then one by one I brought images of people into that light and shined on them. Family, friends, students, neighbors and even some who make it a challenge to love.

The lighthouse shines for all boats. It matters not what a boat has done or where it has travelled. None are refused the light. Love is meant to shine that same way. All beings receiving the same heart energy. All.

I am love, so by darkening even one ray, I lessen myself.

Did you feel me?
SARAH

......her name was Irma

Yogis,

She went by the name Irma and she was mighty. As the strongest landfalling hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin she swept through the Virgin Islands with her 185 mph sustained winds and gusts upward of 220mph. On September 6, 2017 Irma flexed her muscles and showed just how powerful nature can be. Life became marked by ‘before’ and ‘after’.

The British Virgin Islands (BVIs) captured my heart back in the early 90s and I return every couple of years to soak in their sun, float in the waters and set my rhythm to island time. Last week was my first trip back since Irma paid her visit. Almost a year and a half later her name is still on the tip of everyone’s tongue.

I was hesitant at first to ask the locals about her as I didn’t want to open wounds, but quickly saw that they want to share their stories. To let us know how life changing that day was to each of them individually, to their community and to life as they knew it. Each story unique yet similar. 

First a concern for property. Standing in hallways straining to hold the bulging walls from caving in or leaning body weight on doors to keep them from flying off their hinges, until that instant when it became clear she couldn’t be contained and all that mattered was living through her stay. Running to inner rooms, jumping into bathtubs or tying themselves to steel beams, often losing tracks of others in the chaos, and waiting in terror for the next five hours.

This was only the beginning. Once Irma packed up and moved on the island was left with no running water, no working toilets, and no electricity…….for months. All personal generators and fuel confiscated by the government. Curfews and night noises. Not one leaf on the trees. Here if our internet or power is down for even a few hours we demand answers. We feel inconvenienced by no A/C in the short time we wait for the repair man. My life’s complaints felt trivial.

Yet I heard no bitterness. Instead the word that kept coming to me was resilience. I heard not once but several times that the island isn’t now better or worse….simply different. Some faring better then others where they could rebuild even a little bigger and stronger, but others still living in tents along the road. Buildings with fresh coats of paint across the street from boats lying face down in the brush. Yet all with an energy of moving forward.

In some cases, a sense that perhaps some needed changes had been forced.  Irma had transformed their home and it was now their responsibility to make a life in it.

Standing next to a concrete slab which used to house the jeep rental company, paperwork was handled under a tree with a tarp instead. The sun shone down on us all. 

Misha, a young woman from Tortola who I had become friends with when she was only a teenager came over one gorgeous morning so we could do yoga together.  On the patio overlooking the turquoise sea and serenaded by the roosters we breathed and took time to notice. The breeze, warmth, connections, friendships, life.

Everywhere we went we were thanked. Waiters, taxi drivers, shop owners all expressing gratitude that we had returned and were supporting their economy. And as I was leaving a brief summer storm painted a rainbow across the sky…….reminding me that I loved this place and the people’s spirit both ‘before’ and ‘after’.  Not better or worse. Simply different.

I will be back,
SARAH

.....bring the outside in

Yogis,

When you hear the word medicine what comes to mind?  Do you imagine taking a pill or measuring out a teaspoon of liquid? In the world of earth medicine, that isn’t always the case. Earth medicine works with the qualities of plants, minerals and animals to bring holistic wellness to the body, mind and spirit. A different type of prescription.

Yes, you can use herbs in cooking or make tinctures and powders from plants for internal consumption and there are times for all of these. Herbed oils for the skin and herbal vinegars for the immune system. Other times though, we don’t even need to go that far.

Simply being with the plants and minerals can serve as our medicine. And with the cold dreary days of winter and all the indoor time the season brings, this can still be easy! 

Look outside and spot the green. Holly trees with their red berries. Evergreen bushes, bamboo and pine trees. All make beautiful cuttings to place in bud vases throughout the house, bringing in both joy and aroma. Bedside tables, kitchen islands and bathroom shelves all provide a fresh perspective when something live returns your gaze.

A pinecone sitting at the kitchen sink warms the soul. The rock that caught your eye on your walk (they do sometimes wave) placed next to the computer will be more than happy to help ground you when things become chaotic. Knobby sticks can be a piece of art in your centerpiece. Be creative. Everything in nature offers beauty when you look closely.

When Valentine's Day rolls around be sure to cut off the spent blooms from any flowers you receive. Lay them out somewhere that they can breathe while drying. Rose petals in your bath water moisten the skin and set a tone for self-love. Much needed in this cold dry air.  

And one of my very favorite prescriptions in February is to cut some twigs from the forsythia bushes and put them in a mason jar with water. In two weeks, their smiling yellow blossoms will be lighting up the room and your mood. A cure for the winter blues and a reminder that spring is not far behind. 

So when you can’t be out…….bring the outside in! She will heal you.

And did I mention she’s free?
SARAH