Finding Balance

Move Well to Live Well

It’s Libra Season - interestingly a time in the astrological cycle to explore ideas of balance, equanimity (finding a calm, regulated nervous system in stressful situations), and how opposing forces can work together to build strength, harmony, and fluidity.

I don’t often think about my yoga practice as it aligns with astrological markers. I do think about the seasonality of my practice, because Ayurveda - yoga’s sister science - has a strong seasonal component when it comes to diet and lifestyle modifications. This makes sense from a dietary perspective, because eating what is in season locally (squash, beans, peppers in my part of the world) is far tastier and more nutritious than eating oranges that have been trucked half way across the world to get the same micro and macronutrients. It also makes sense from a lifestyle perspective. Cool, windy fall days require a change in skin care (mine gets pretty dry, so I take fewer hot showers and add more oils to my skin support products), and earlier nights inspire more rest.

So why shouldn’t there be some seasonality to a yoga practice. The beauty of yoga therapy is that the practice is not a “one-size-fits-all” repetition of the same asanas in exactly the same way. Because the practice is designed to meet you where you are, when you are, it will change depending on your embodied experience in the moment, and depending on what is happening around you.

This practice explores a standing balance. There is space in it to notice your relationship with gravity as you move through different planes. There is time in each asana to mindfully attempt the practice of equanimity. There is grace to explore the relationship between push and pull, between rising and resting. I hope you find some joy in the playful nature of it, and don’t take any of it too seriously.