In yoga, and in Raglan where we’re surrounded by a pretty awesome natural environment, our daily choices follow the wisdom of nature. We eat seasonally, play outdoors and practice yoga in alignment with seasonality. A balanced yoga practice and lifestyle helps us transition from winter to spring in body and mind.
In the natural world, spring is a time for new life, germination and sprouting. It’s not easy being a seed; waking from a long slumber to break through that hard, protective shell. Then making a path through the dirt and mud to break through the surface and find the light. It’s kinda like that old exercise motto (factoid: invented by Jane Fonda in 1982!) No pain, no gain. You can say it like a yogi… No mud, no lotus.
Its going to get messy before it gets clean and pretty. But to make a change, we first have to be uncomfortable with the status quo. Otherwise it would be so much easier to give up, to never try. But like the seed, something inside us wakes up to possibility and light. And then it’s time to move, to grow, to evolve.
In our practice, deep hip openers and twists empower us, clear out the stagnancy of winter and give us the drive to move through what is keeping us stuck in the mud. Standing twists help us detoxify, cleanse and fire up after a winter of sluggishness and perhaps overindulgence during those long dark nights. Literally, wringing it all out and then letting our organs and tissues soak up fresh fluids, energy and oxygen so we can feel light again.
Yin and restorative postures help us to ground, center, and connect with our intentions as we move into new possibilities in spring. Viparita Karani (Legs-up-the-Wall Pose) and other inversions help detoxify too by using gravity to stimulate the liver and kidneys, lymph and blood circulation.
Spring is a great time to love our livers. Eats lots of greens, sprouts and liver-loving beetroot. Drink lots of water and herbal teas. Take deep breaths.
Take some time to visualise how you want to live your life from this day forward.
Remember to use each cycle of breath as an opportunity to start again, a new spring with each moment.