We can all feel it. The long days of summer, filled with sun and light, are dwindling. Darkness is settling in earlier, bringing with it the coolness of fall. Fall is a very erratic season full of transition; this week was a perfect example as weekdays brought early snow and a crisp frost, but Saturday and Sunday blossomed into sun ripened warmth and color.
As the seasons change, so do patterns across the natural world. Birds migrate, animals harvest for a long winter, and we see those same changes in our own lives and activities. There are a few more good weeks of hiking, climbing, and biking before we turn towards winter activities. This in-between time is a very powerful time to recharge and reconnect to our inner self. Summer heat and light can be viewed as an expansion, and the cooling down of fall is the drawing in of the earth on itself, sucking warmth deep into its core.
Commit to making more time for yoga and meditation this fall to ease your body and mind. Restoration is especially important as we move into this brief down time in between our typically active summers and winters. To help you make the best of your practice, we are initiating an October yoga challenge, inviting students to take 21 classes in 31 days. You’ll track your own progress on the sheet inside the studio, and we’ll reward you with discounts on retail purchases and yoga events. The true reward of course will be in how you feel, look, and move. We are also offering a Relax & Renew weekend that will include a holistic approach to restoration. Through meditation with Felix, deep and rejuvenating yoga with Kiara, and a spa workshop, you’ll experience the true rest and relaxation that we all so desperately need. Check out these great fall offerings and explore one- or both!
On another note, fall is the season of change, so it’s a great time to examine how and when you practice yoga. Imagine if you hiked or biked the same trail all summer long, or climbed the same route, or skied the same run every day all winter. What would that be like? Boring, repetitive, dulling? What do you gain from exploring different trails and terrain; do you use different muscles as you navigate moguls instead of steeps, or downhill instead of cross country? What about the amazing richness and diversity of sights, sounds, and sensations that comes from switching it up?
Now, apply this concept to your yoga. Think about your practice and how it has become a routine- do you practice only in the evenings or in the mornings, do you avoid our more challenging classes, or do you shy away from our gentler ones? Notice how you’ve created a habitual groove to your practice; it’s very similar to skiing Simba all day every day, or biking Meadow Mountain all summer long….I don’t know about you, but that sounds really boring!
Use this month to explore our restorative class on Sunday nights. This is the perfect antidote to a summer full of intense activity. The deep release and healing that restorative yoga offers is essential to creating balance in our bodies. Have you ever tried our 6:30 am yoga? Do you avoid it because it’s too early? Why not get out of your comfort zone and give it a try. What about our master series on Thursday nights…do you look forward to this class or do you dread it? If you haven’t made it to one yet, then come this month. Does the word gentle make you roll your eyes and feel like you’ll have to plan an additional gym session to get your “workout?” Just notice how stuck you can get in a routine yoga practice, and open up to the possibility that changing it up, either by practicing at a different time of day, or with a different teacher, or in a different style, could completely jump start your practice.
Come spend time with us in the studio, we’re waiting for you!
Namaste! Jessa Munion |
