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Hey gang,
If spring invites a hopeful inhale, fall elicits an appreciative exhale. This exhale is not a submission, an acceptance of inevitable loss, but rather a relieving pause that opens one to a different kind of beauty.
When faced with a drastic difference between summer and winter, like in Minnesota, the first hit of crisp fall air is often tinged with initial regret, “Damn, where did summer go?” or “I didn’t get enough fun in!” Then, too often, we prematurely brace for winter.
Except there is a rhythm to fall, a beautiful finishing. Sunlight softens its bite, shedding a golden hue. Yes, the sugar in leaves drops its quest to attract sunrays, returning to its wooden source. Sure, the leaves fall, but not without transforming into brilliant oranges, yellows, and reds…to star in one last celebration. When they dance and flutter to the ground, they honor a job well done. Leaves do not quit. They merge with the ground and help prepare for future generations.
So too, a complete yoga practice. Out of a quiet centering, a sense of grounding appears, then an inner expansion throughout the body, an integration of balance, into the rhythm of breath and movement. A culminating effort, then a graceful quieting toward stillness, and finally a falling back to the ground.
The best part of a yoga practice is not the hardest or best pose performed. It is the feeling of accomplishment that comes during the slow descent, the acknowledgment of effort given, and the job well done. This is fall’s quiet rhythm within the cycle of a yoga practice and the preparation for savasana (relaxation) pose.
Don’t sleep on the fall and brace for the winter. Fall’s rhythms are everywhere.
Cheers,
Matthew
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