SEASONAL SELF-CARE BLOG

Spring Yin Pose

Posted on April 27th, 2015

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Spring Yin Pose: Baddha Konasana (Leigh Evans)

As the gorgeous green sprouts push their way up out of the ground, the Spring young yang energy catapults us out of our hibernation. Hold on because though exciting and beautiful, Spring can be a bumpy ride. Do you feel irritable, angry, stressed out or restless? Are your shoulders and neck tight? Do you have headaches, eczema or other skin issues? Are your eyes strained more than usual? You may be experiencing signs that your Spring organ network, liver and gall bladder organs, are overloaded with toxins and need some purification and loving attention. It is a great time to do a cleanse, but we can also use our seasonal yoga practice to help smooth out the bumpy ride.

Seasonal asanas helps us harmonize our inner rhythms with the energetic movements of each season, enhancing our interconnectedness with the environment. With skillful practice of asanas that target our Spring organ network,  we can help our body and mind stay balanced during the jolting ascending energy of the wood element this Spring. Practiced with deep awareness, Spring asanas can help release congestion and awaken prana in the liver and gall bladder meridians.

If you’re feeling over stimulated and agitated this Spring, try the beautiful yin pose, Baddha Konasana folding forward to stimulate both the inner leg lines of the liver meridian and outer hips of the gallbladder meridian. This deeply calming pose will help smooth out the emotional roller coaster that comes with an aggravated liver network. Be sure to rest your forehead on a pillow or bolster to help release the agitation in the mind. Pay particular attention to softening and relaxing the eyes which are are associated with these organs. Allow your exhalations to lengthen and deepen as you rest in the pose.

 

 

 

Fall Tune in Tips

Posted on December 3rd, 2014

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house-Luang Prabang

detail Wat Xieng Thong, Laos, 2014

Fall is my favorite season. In Chinese Medicine, Fall is the season of the Metal element. It offers us the opportunity to lighten up and let go, open the door to clarity, and distill and refine our beings to their essence.I particularly love the the light which seems to be more exquisitely clear and magical than any other time of year. When I look into the clear blue sky through the almost now bare and beautifully sculptural trees, the vastness above inspires my inner being to expand and wonder and delight spreads through me.

There is a particular type of clarity that emerges through witnessing this Fall light through the trees’ shedding of their leaves. As the sap of the tree draws into the interior of the tree and sinks back to the roots, we also begin to slow down, retracting, and draw back to the interior root aspect of our beings. There is a refinement that comes from letting go, releasing that which is no longer beneficial and nourishing that which is essential.Fall is Harvest time, the time to distinguish between what is nutritional and should be kept and what can be released and left for compost. This environmental distillation is mirrored in our bodies, minds, and lives. Fall is the time to release that which is not needed or desired, as we prepare for our inward journey into the deep interior yin of Winter stillness.

HOME HARVEST
ORGANIZE the chaos in you houseSYSTEMATIZE areas of congestion

Pick one of these areas in your home to clear out and organize this week
filing cabinet, closet, computer, desk, bookshelves, music library, kitchen

By releasing the excess and organizing our living space, we acknowledge what we want, recognize who we are, and invite space into our homes and minds.