Namaste!

17 Days until spring arrives!

Soon, we will feel the rigor of spring blow in. This is the time of release and renewal; new beginnings. We are talking about the powerful energy needed to transform dry, hard soil back into moist, fertile ground. The vigorous energy needed to crack a seed and nourish its growth into a budding plant. This is the same uplifting force that is around us, and within us, moving us along from our winter repose and eventually, transitioning us towards the vibrancy of summer.

However, even as sunlight expands and the sweeping winds wildly churn up change - we can still find ourselves sluggish from winter.

In this season, Yoga and Ayurveda practices are designed to help melt the ‘sludge and heaviness’ of winter; cleansing and removing built up residue in the mind and body. To release what is no longer needed, and make room for growth and expansion.

To help support your renewal, below you will find ideas to enhance your spring yoga and two links for on-line home practices with me. I will also filled each blog this month, with techniques to harness the powerful energy of spring. You will find cleansing foods to support detoxification, a meditation for renewal, a Vernal Equinox practice, and 5 easy daily rituals to help you get ready to bloom. So be sure to check back each week for new tips to help you grow more vibrant all month long.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden.”

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

More ways to invite the energy of spring into your step

YOUR MIND ON SPRING

Open the Windows and Expand Your Mind into Spring! via Yogadork.

SPRING YOGA

Yoga always places a high value on purification of body and mind at all levels, all the time, but especially in Spring as we need to release the ‘sludge and heaviness’ of winter. It is a time to stimulate and revitalize the liver and large intestines; to release toxins, and brighten up. To do this we can and incorporate warming flows, twists, side leans, and inversions. Build heat gradually to help generate sweat and naturally detoxify our bodies. Slow flows are ideal for movement that can be vigorous, but keep you feeling grounded. Twists stimulate the organs (especially the liver) and balance the hemispheres of the brain to enable greater mental and emotional balance. Inversions (even gentle inversions like legs up the wall) can aid the flow of blood back to the lungs and heart for purification. In addition, inversions and most yoga asanas assist the lymphatic system. The Lymphatic system circulates lymph fluid and transports cellular waste, viruses, and bacteria from the tissues to the lymph nodes.

Most importantly, your yoga practice should not leave you feeling depleted, but rather ‘ready to go’… Stay rooted while you begin to rise up and out, rejuvenated and radiant.