Spring is in the air, yogis! Springtime in Texas, allergies aside, is truly incredible. It feels like a brief, in-between gray area of the seasons here in Texas. The bone-chilling cold days suddenly disappear, yet we aren’t running from air-conditioned room to air-conditioned room yet. And it seems to happen so fast that if you aren’t paying attention, you could miss it. But isn’t it funny, that spring can bring us so much joy in its lack of extremes? If spring is simultaneously beautiful, while being a pit stop between our more extreme seasons, what does that say about our personal “in-between” seasons of life? You know what I’m talking about – those in-between seasons where we don’t feel like we’re in our flow. Times where we aren’t clear about our purpose or have some extra bumps in the road. When those times arise, can we slow down enough to see the unique beauty of the present moment? Must we always be chasing the next extreme, 100 degrees or icy cold, the new career or next big ticket item, when we have beauty right in front of us? What’s the risk in finding contentment exactly where we are? Because once summer comes, my friends, once this season of life passes, you may just be wishing you’d paid attention to spring.
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali outlines the eight-limbed path of yoga. The eight limbs outlines steps towards enlightenment, or union with your highest self. One of the Niyamas (personal practices) he speaks of is the concept of Santosha, meaning contentment. Actively cultivating contentment with your current state can help you find more ease and enjoyment in daily life. Patanjali also speaks of Saucha, meaning cleanliness or purity. As you grow more content, you may begin to notice where there’s excess, things and attitudes you’ve been holding onto that are no longer serving you. Or maybe you’ve been on a Marie Kondo kick and are literally inspired to tackle spring cleaning. Either way, as you practice being content in the spring of things, actively living in gratitude, find some cleansing practices that help you pare down to only what serves you. Breathe in, breathe out.
For more springtime inspo, check out the following links:
https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/detoxifying-holistic-yoga-flow-spring
https://kripalu.org/resources/practices-season-blossoming-yoga-and-ayurveda-springtime
https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/food-diet/cleanse
https://chopra.com/articles/7-yoga-poses-to-detox-your-body
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-17826/a-yoga-sequence-to-spring-clean-your-mind-body.html
Happy Spring and Namaste!
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