Your Practice Has Seasons

The driving rain today on the heels of yesterday’s warmer weather and the bitter cold that preceded it reminds me that nature is always changing. Here in New England, we are coming to the end of one of our beautiful transitional seasons, autumn. Of course, the autumn season is different for each of us, but, for me, it is a favorite. In a typical autumn, our household would be moving from the long, slow days of summer to new school and after-school routines, and our days would be filled with a rush of activity. Free moments would be spent on some of our favorite autumnal excursions: apple picking, corn mazes, harvest fairs, walks in the woods. But always around this point in the year, there also exists a draw to go inward, pull out the warm blankets and fuzzy socks and read, snuggle, craft, bake, and rest. 

This has not been a typical autumn, though, has it? For us, it has been a long and largely indoor time as we follow pandemic protocols. The children have all been doing remote school, until recently, and my spouse can work from home. We have all been in the house, mostly, for months and months and months. Seasons have come and gone without our traditional markers of those transitions. There’s been nowhere, really, to go and no one, really, to see. And so I find my body often feels slow and weary. Yet, there’s also the news, and the election, continued systemic injustice, the pandemic, and what feel like huge decisions about the health and safety of the family. My mind nearly always feels anxious. 

In this state, I’ll admit that, on many days, I have dropped my healthy practices. It often feels like I’m just trying to survive, distract, and get through. But the loss of the practices, rituals, and observations needs to be addressed for my well-being and for that of my family and, ultimately, for the interconnected web of all beings. For me, someone who believes that we are all the sensory organs of the cosmos, this self care is spiritually important. For me, someone who has chronic health issues, this self care is physically and mentally vital as well. 

So I turn to my observations of the seasons. Like the natural world, our bodies have seasons. If your life has slowed down since the outbreak, you might have noticed these more readily. You might feel more sluggish in the mornings or maybe, like me, you are more sluggish in the afternoon. You might feel more energy now as compared to when you were a twenty-something or maybe you feel less. Just as our bodies have seasons, our practice does, too. If you have been practicing for a long time, you know this already. Poses that were a breeze when you began may be more difficult now and vice versa. That’s the practice changing over the span of a lifetime, but the practice also adapts in the moment to changing situations. So one day, twelve sun salutes followed by some breathing exercises and a rest might feel like a lovely practice, just what I needed, while on another day, I’m doing great if I can be still in savasana for the length of a favorite song. 

Since the pandemic, I try to tailor my practice to my needs, my inner seasons. Though it is largely instinctive now, after years and years, here’s how I learned to do this, step by step, so that you can do it, too. 

		YES	NO
1	I want to practice!	Go to step 2	Do something else.
2	Do I have time?	Go to step 3	Do some sun salutes, dance to a favorite song, go for a walk, get outside, etc.
3	Do I feel like I can sit still to begin?	Go to step 4	Do some sun salutes, dance to a favorite song, go for a walk, get outside, etc.
4	Rest comfortably for a few minutes. Can I be still and aware with some ease?	Go to step 5	Do some sun salutes, dance to a favorite song, go for a walk, get outside, etc.
5	Does the body feel sluggish?	Do some sun salutes, dance to a favorite song, go for a walk, get outside, etc.	Go to step 6
6	Does the mind feel wired/agitated?	Do some sun salutes, dance to a favorite song, go for a walk, get outside, etc.	Go to step 7
7	Would it feel good at this moment to do a vigorous practice?	Take a scheduled/recorded vigorous class or do some sun salutes, dance to a favorite song, go for a walk, get outside, etc.	Go to step 8
8	Would it feel good to do a gentle posture-based practice?	Go to step 9	Listen to a recorded yoga nidra or meditation class or rest in savasana, etc.
9	Do I want to guide myself?	Read the next installment for some how-to's or just go for it. I promise you cannot do it wrong.	Take a scheduled/recorded gentle class.

This kind of dialogue with the self can help you to figure out if today is a day to take that rigorous yoga class or go for a run and then do restorative or listen to a yoga nidra and take a nap or go for a walk in the woods and make that your practice. Maybe your practice today is being fully present with your child for a book at bedtime or paying attention to how the cold winter light glints off of a puddle. Following this chart is a nice way to figure out if you want to practice asana or meditation, and, if so, what poses or techniques you want to practice. And all of this is a nice way to start working on figuring out how to develop a personal yoga practice or to refine the one that you already have. 

Look for the next article for more information on building a personal at-home practice to bolster the yoga classes that you enjoy. I compare my home practice to a delicious home-cooked meal  while the classes I take at a studio are my restaurant fare. They are all scrumptious and delectable, and how wonderful to have all of these choices on the menu!

Be well, take rest when you can, and look for peace. Love and gratitude to you for hanging in there.