Late summer, early autumn is a time of transition, the pause between inhale and exhale.
And there is the wind: slowly gathering strength, carrying the tides of winter on its breath. - Melody Mischke
Change can feel unsettling or it can feel a little exciting. We are journeying into a new season and personally I love that shift of energy and temperature, a change in season feels significant. Yet the further I drift into ânormalâ ways of life, the bigger the âshiftâ that is required to bring me back (home) to the state of:
wholeness | connection | love
I have noticed however that the more I keep coming back (persistent effort), the less time it takes, the more tangible it feels and the more I know where Iâm going back to; developing a sense of trust and faith. Much of that trust and faith, for me personally, comes from blending *Nature Connection with yoga philosophy and somatic movement.
This month's intention and theme for practice draws upon the yoga sutras of Patanjali; the Pancha Kleshas and Ayurvedic wisdom; balancing vata dosha.
Pancha klesha is a key concept from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Sanskrit for 'five obstacles,' Pancha klesha are afflictions in the mind which form the root cause of all suffering. Avidya (ignorance), Asmita (egoism), Raga (craving), Dvesha (aversion), Abhinivesah (clinging to life)
From an Ayurveda perspective, because âlike increases likeâ, Autumn is vata season. Autumn is dry, rough, windy, erratic, cool, subtle, and clear, dominated by the element of air and of movement - these are all qualities shared by vata dosha.
I am reluctant to divulge âwhatâ has brought about the most insight for me recently, because it is the reason I have been drawn back to the Pancha Kleshas, one of which is aversion.
I have been considering how to share my inspiration for this month's practice without you all running for the hills thinking Iâve gone completely doo-laly!
âŚ.but here goes, this termâs practice has been inspired by slugs! (you may be grateful I have decided not to add lots of slug photos!)
As we move out of summer mode we need to slow down, however when we slow down we tend to become more aware of our desires and aversions (raga & dvesha).
I have always had a fondness for snails, fascinated by their Fibonacci spirals, and I have always been fairly repulsed by slugs - yet the only difference is a shell!
There are many things we can learn from observing nature, what I have learned from the prolific number of slugs in our garden these last few weeks is:
Vulnerability | Connection to the earth | Slowness | What we leave behind
Being âseenâ without a shell (our identity, ego labels etc), vulnerability
Slowing down (feeling it all) our pain, our joy, our desires and aversions, leaning into all these feelings, staying with them without distraction.
Leaving a trail (evidence of where weâve been on our emotional journey) rather than always being focused on the future or being stuck in the past, the slugâs trail reminds us to keep moving but take time to acknowledge our journey.
Interestingly I have had an aversion to most of the above, much like I have had an aversion to looking at and connecting with slugs!
Much of these insights from the slugs mirror what we can learn from Gaiaâs transitioning in Autumn. (Gaia is life. She is all, the very soul of the earth)
This season harbors a certain emptiness that can leave us feeling exposed and a little raw, but it is also filled with possibilityâa time when we, too, can strip down to a quiet essence of being and savor the simplicity. - Melody Mischke
I have practiced leaning into these feelings of aversion (dvesha) with the help of awe.
If the sense of awe doesnât come upon you naturally we can use the acronym - A.W.E
Attention | Wait (pause) | Exhale and expand
It is in doing this this that I realised:
What we resist is often a gift
As I observed the slugs with awe I realised they have all the qualities needed to balance vata season:
Moisture | warmth | slowness | regularity | rhythm | earthiness | softness
They move with steady, slow, rhythmic waves of muscular contraction on one foot. (which stretches the whole underside of its body.)
In cold, dry weather they tend to stay deep below the soil, slugs need a moist environment in order to survive due to their soft, moist body tissue which is prone to desiccation.
Whilst they can desiccate your favourite garden plants they are very useful to help clear away rotting vegetation.
Whilst also observing and harnessing the positive qualities of vata. For example the movement of release and letting go, as the trees drop their leaves. Harnessing the movement of breath (element of air) keeping it steady, deep and regular.
So whilst I still experience some aversion to slugs I have gained a lot from observing them!
Awe is one part of the puzzle in overcoming obstacles (kleshas).
Patanjali prescribes an eight-limbed path of yoga to overcome these obstacles (pancha Kleshas) Engaging in practices, such as asana, pranayama and meditation, can help one to observe how these afflictions manifest in the mind, body, and breath, leading to the understanding required to overcome them.
This term our practice will include slow, whole body movements, with plenty of time to observe how we feel the movement in our physical body but also what obstacles arise.
We will practice grounding, nourishing movements and breathwork, to strengthen our sense of self, accepting our individual journeys within the greater whole we are part of.
Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world. - John Milton
Om shanti
đ
Sophia
A.W.E is something weâll be practicing during my S.A.D Study this winter. Please get in touch if you are interested in taking part. I am looking to work with any individuals that experience a degree of low mood that is noticeably worse during the dark, winter months.
The study will take place over 12 weeks (October - February). It will require some small daily practices, a commitment to walk out in a natural environment for 1 hour a week and to touch base with me once a fortnight.
*Nature connection is a phrase I use because it is more widely understood. However this phase suggests duality, that we are separate from nature. My personal philosophy is one of wholeness, that we âareâ nature, one and the same, all part of the whole - we have just forgotten. So the practice of nature connection is more a practice of remembering. To do that we often have to place ourselves back in more natural environments for us to remember that natural wisdom within and around us.