Wander, Wonder, and Expand Into Summer
/Namaste Yogis and Yoginis,
As the summer's playful light expands, we have the opportunity to stretch own capacity for lightheartedness. For starters, it helps greatly to get out side more. Yoga doesn't have to be practiced on your mat, in your postures.
At its very heart, Yoga is a practice that helps us reconnect with a feeling of belonging, presence, wholeness. Allowing us to feel more harmony within our own mind, body, and spirit as well as with each other and the environment.
Often, being in nature can help you reach this present and connected state more effortlessly. With summer in full swing, it is a perfect time to be outdoors and bring a yogic approach to any activity you choose.
Experience the rhythm of your breathing while swimming, feel your body moving through the thickness of the water. Smell the moss on a forest hike, listen to the dirt trail being shuffled by your feet. Feel your heart rate climb as you peddle your bike up hill, enjoy the wind on your face as you coast down the hill. How you connect to your body and meet nature in each moment can become your practice; feeling the sun on our skin, listening to the birds in the trees, and watching squirrels scurry.
We can bring our practice off the mat, and into our lives all summer. Showing up in the present; attentive and aware of life as it is happening. Best news is, this can happen organically, when you are not trying to "do it." A sense of presence, wonder, and playfulness is often threshold to a deep experience, a sense of wholeness... yoga.
So set aside time this month to allow yourself to unwind fully; meander and get off track. Do something you love, something playful. You don't need to have a kid around to build a sand castle or marvel at Fireflies. Let yourself savor every lick of your ice pop. And, when you are secretly wondering about the sprinklers you are walking by... just run through! You will be so glad you did!
“Set aside time to meander and get off track.”
And, when you do come to your mat or meditation cushion, choose a playful approach or technique! Engaging in practice this way, stretches our capacity to experience more light in our mind, body, and spirit.
This July issue of Yogalicious, and each blog this month, is fired up with ideas to help you experience and enjoy the beautiful glow of summer. In hopes that, with practice, you can return more easily to this part of yourself, even while navigating through darker times throughout the year.
With joy,
Jillian
WORDS OF WISDOM
“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
TRY A WALKING MEDITATION AT SUN SET WHEN THE FIRE FLIES ARE JUST COMING OUT.
Walking meditation should not be work. It is very pleasant... When we walk mindfully, we see the beauty and the wonder of the earth around us, and we wake up. We see that we are living a very wonderful moment. If our mind is caught and preoccupied with our worries and suffering, we miss these things. We can value each step we take, and each step brings us happiness. When we look again at the earth and the sky, we see that the earth is a wonderful reality. - Thich Nhat Hanh. Try it today.
“Look! Look down in the garden how The firefly lights are flitting now! A million tiny sparks I know Flash through the pinks and golden-glow, And I am very sure that all Have come to light a fairy ball, And if I could stay up I’d see How gay the fairy folks can be!”
ANNUAL SUMMER RETREAT....
I AM OFF TO KRIPALU!
7/10-12 and 7/12-17.
There may be few spots left. check for details HERE.
