Welcoming Autumn - A Season of Reflection & Renewal Through Yoga

I hope this message finds you well and ready to welcome the changing season. As the days of summer fade, a growing sense of stillness settles in the air. Like a whisper at your front door, it's time to invite autumn in. 

The world around us is changing as the leaves paint themselves in warm hues. The light continues to soften and fade a little earlier each day – gentle reminders to pause and take notice, much like the moments of stillness we observe in our yoga practice.

For many of us, autumn is a season of remembrance, reflection and ritual. It's a time to harvest the lessons of seasons past and create space for what is to come. This natural pause allows us to gently transition into the quieter months, feeling peace and finding alignment within ourselves. With each new season, it's important to acknowledge and celebrate the shifts, just as we celebrate the changing colors of autumn leaves.

The Art of Reflection: On & Off the Mat

As we enter a quieter season, I encourage you to build a little less into your schedule. Give yourself the gift of time to reflect. You might ask yourself: what brought you the most joy, and what were your greatest challenges? 

By putting pen to paper, we are honoring the memories and not losing them. With the passing of time, we often forget how much we've done and how far we've come. It is in reflecting that we are able to chart the way forward.

Embracing Autumn Through Yoga

Certain yoga poses can help us embody the season's energy as we transition into autumn. These poses help us connect with autumn's themes of balance, letting go and inner strength.

Consider incorporating these into your practice:

• Tree Pose: To ground ourselves like the sturdy trees around us.
• Twists: To wring out the old and make space for the new, mirroring the shedding of leaves. This can also be done standing.
• Forward Folds: To encourage introspection and letting go. This can also be done seated or half-standing.
• Warrior III: To find balance amidst change.
• Low Lunge: To embody the balance between letting go and staying grounded, mirroring autumn's dance of release and rootedness. The image featured above is this pose's Yoga Mundra variation.

Harvesting Life's Lessons

Summer, with its vibrant energy, often keeps us moving at a whirlwind pace. The season of autumn ushers in the perfect opportunity to shift the gaze from the outer to our inner world. One of the gifts of our yoga practice is taking time to turn our attention inward. Sift through our experiences and learn from their most valuable lessons. What are some unexpected challenges you've been faced with, and how has it caused you to grow? What has it asked you to let go of? These lessons carefully gleaned become the seeds we plant for our future growth.

Creating Space for What's to Come

Autumn invites us to let go, much like the trees shedding their leaves. This letting go isn't just physical; it's mental and emotional, too. You might consider:

• Decluttering your living space to create a tranquil environment.
• Simplifying your commitments to make room for what matters most.
• Create a new ritual honoring letting go and moving forward.

In our yoga practice, we move through poses that create space in the body and techniques that clear the mind. By creating space in our bodies and minds, we open ourselves to new possibilities and allow room for what truly takes care of us.

The Breath of Seasons: A Yogic Perspective

The basis of our yoga practice is through our breath. If we view the year as one great breath, summer is an inhale full of expansion. Let autumn be the pause, that moment of stillness between breaths, before winter's long exhale. In this pause, we find balance and restoration.

Embracing Autumn's Fleeting Abundance

This season is fleeting and oh so abundant if we are willing to bask in it for as long as it gifts us its presence. The impermanence of autumn – the changing colors, the harvest and the gradual cooling – reminds us to savor each moment.

As we transition into this new season, let's remember that change is happening not just all around us but also within us. By embracing autumn's gifts of reflection, release and renewal, we prepare ourselves for the coming season. We learn to fully appreciate each moment without clinging to or trying to change it.

Autumn Mindfulness Practice

Take a moment now for a brief autumn mindfulness practice:

1. Find a comfortable seated position and close your eyes.
2. Imagine yourself in a beautiful autumn forest.
3. Visualize a golden leaf slowly falling from a nearby tree.
4. Watch its gentle descent, noticing its path as it sways in the breeze.
5. As the leaf touches the ground, take a deep breath in.
6. As you exhale, imagine letting go of something you no longer need.
7. Repeat this visualization for 3-5 breaths.
8. Open your eyes, carrying this sense of release with you.

​This simple exercise can help us practice mindfulness and embody autumn's spirit of letting go.

May the natural rhythm of nature bring peace to your days!