Let Ayurveda and Yoga Guide You – Part 1
Fall is here! Although it’s still hot in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, with the Fall Equinox, the earth is shifting to the Autumn, and with this comes cooler weather, windiness, dryness, shorter days, and the Earth’s natural seeking to quiet and find restorative nourishment.
Does this sound familiar? We humans are Nature as well, and when brought to deeper re-connection with Nature, we seek to find our own inner balance as the Season’s change. I love the study of Ayurveda, the sister science to Yoga, because it’s based upon the premise that if we follow the rhythms of nature, we will more easily find our inner balance.
This sounds so easy in theory, but in reality, much of our daily lifestyles are based not upon Nature, but instead upon routines of our workplace that don’t change much through the year. In our busy chaotic World, finding our place in Nature can feel somehow a distant desire.
Balance is the key, and the understanding of balance has many layers and dimensions to it. Balancing our daily rituals to change with the Seasons, eating closer to Nature and recognizing what foods are, by Nature, more available with the changing Seasons. Noticing through awareness practices what parts of our mind, body, and spirit are truly seeking to change things up as the earth finds her shift – such as types of body movement we engage in, the time of day we seek to rest and sleep, cultivating mind-quieting activities, etc.
Part 1 of this Series will address the concept of the changing Season to Fall Autumn, and the need to honor that transition with simple cleansing and refreshment of the body, mind and spirit.
Part 2 of this Series will dive into the quality Daily rituals that help guide us on the Journey to the Fall, and its movement towards Winter, the Season of the Sleepy Bear.
Part 3 of this Series steps into the world of postural balance, with tips and techniques to maintain this amazing proprioceptive quality, as well as how to regain it if your balance has started to diminish as you age. Remember, balance is the first of the proprioceptive activities to leave after age 40, but it’s also something you can work to get back and maintain.
Part 4 of this Series will explore balancing the mind and open to Spirit through awareness practices to help still the fluctuations of the monkey mind, and create a more sensual daily experience of life, and step more fully to our quiet essence of being and eventual transcendence.
According to Ayurveda there are 2 major points in the Seasonal changes: The Fall time for re-nourishing and preparing for Winter; and the Spring time for deep cleansing of the stagnancy of Winter and re-awakening to the expansiveness of Summer. The goal during these transitional times of the year is to seek to balance the unhealthy accumulations, to better launch us into the next Season.
The Qualities of the Fall Season are considered a more Vata time of year: dry, light, cold, rough, mobile, windy, and subtle. It is a time where we can feel more “spacey,” less focused, decreased memory, poor sleep, dry skin and hair, bloating and gas, constipation and anxiousness. It is also a time when we can step more fully into meditative practices, with many yogis describing how the Fall Season, especially after a period of cleanse, can feel very rewarding spiritually. By paying attention to Nature around us, and to what is arising within us, we can make simple changes that continue us on the pathway to Juiciness, also known as the ancient practices of Rasayana.
The simplest way to work with this is to look at our daily diet, self-care practices, our lifestyle choices, and the types of healthy movement we do.
Cleansing the body quietly and joyfully in the Fall Season is a wonderful way to honor the shift. With the key words “grounding, focus and stability,” you can take anywhere from a simple 4 day cleanse to a 14 day deeper refresh and realignment. What is asked for during this Fall junction is mindful eating, preferably cooked, simple foods, with no snacking to give the body time to truly digest, and lots of good herbal tea such as Tulsi and Ginger. If you want more information on this, please joint the Facebook Group – FREE LALITA Self Guided Fall Cleanse 2018 – Lalita’s Fall Cleanse experience. You can sign up and be part of the Instagram Cleanse challenge and receive daily reminders to guide you on your way too. This 12 day cleanse begins officially on October 15, although you can adjust that as you need.