YOGA AND THE HEART OF SPRINGTIME

YOGA AND THE HEART OF SPRINGTIME – WITH TRACY CHAMBERS

SPRING…a word that conjures up a sense of moving, to spring forth, to rise up!

We sit right in the heart of our Springtime as I write this blog. Green shoots are rapidly unfurling now from bare branches in the garden and tender shoots recently unpacked from the earth are now flourishing. There’s a buzz in the air. Its palpable, you can almost touch it. When the sun shines on you as you take your morning walk or journey to your workplace, you can’t help but smile, hum a tune and find there’s a literal ‘spring’ in your step. This season invigorates us and inspires us to start afresh, re-evaluate our goals, and clarify our vision. In 5 element theory this season is governed by the element of wood, the liver and gallbladder organs and the eyes, our literal vision.

This season is about seeing clearly and maintaining ourselves in a state of flow and ease with life. A task that we all know can be quite challenging. Conflicting inner tensions, rigid thinking, judgements, attachments and other deep habitual patterns or samskaras block this flow we so desire.

A steady and regular yoga and / or meditation practice can help us stay malleable in our body and mind to continue to flow with life’s shifts and turns. Like a great river flowing towards the sea, we must traverse boulders, trees and alterations of our course with ease, if we wish to enjoy the journey to its fullest.

So how can a yoga and meditation practice help us navigate our life better?

Firstly, the practice helps to free us of physical tension and blocked energy within our body and establish healthier breathing patterns, which both have a profound effect on our mental state. With consistent practice the nadis or channels through which the sensitive energy of our body flows, start to clear and the mind begins to quieten through repetitive withdrawal of the senses (pratyahara). Herein lies some of our most helpful tools for maintaining balance and flexibility.

So it makes perfect sense to develop a regular practice for our wellbeing. How then, can we give ourselves a helping hand to make it a reality?

Some of you reading this will already have a consistent practice that fits well with your lifestyle and available time, and if that’s you then well done. Many of us however, will find this a struggle. How do we fit an achievable practice into days that are filled with responsibilities and an overwhelming number of distractions? Its not easy, but if you take the time to work out how you can make this possible for you, the rewards are bountiful and life changing. In time we start to live our lives from a place of true reality, breaking free from the cycle of drama found in maya or illusion.

So I’d like to share some wonderful advice I have gathered from my own experience and from others on the same path:

1.  Take a reality check. Your mind may want to do 2 hours of practice a day but be honest about what that looks like in your life. Remember a little done often, say 15-20mins, is far more beneficial than 2 hours once a week. So start by taking a pen and paper and write down your daily schedule, divided into time blocks. From here, seek out your available space. Perhaps it’s early in the morning before the house wakes up, or just before bed, maybe half an hour at lunchtime, or after dropping the kids to school. Be flexible and most importantly start to think of your practice as a priority.

2.  Attend a regular yoga or meditation class to stay inspired, meet like minded people, and maybe share a cup of tea. Support your goals by being around people with similar interests.

 3.  Don’t rely solely on classes to be your only practice. Having a home practice keeps it regular, is convenient and saves time. Most importantly however by practicing on your own provides space to be with your experience. It is after all your practice and group classes don’t always give you what you need, as they can not cater for everyone. A home practice is where you will reap the longterm rewards in a very personal sense. Invest in a couple of ‘one on one’ sessions with a qualified yoga teacher to create a suitable home practice tailored just for you

4.  Create a dedicated space and set it up the night before. Perhaps a meditation cushion, yoga mat, music, incense, candles or create a small alter of things that are meaningful to you; a potted plant, statue, a window with a view…anything that gives your space a sense of the sacred. However your yoga practice doesn’t have to be a complicated event. You don’t need candles or music (unless you want them). It’s enough to have just you and your yoga mat and a few quiet minutes in which to slow down, breathe, relax, and feel your body. 

5.  Value yourself with commitment…this is your time, it is your right to nourish yourself so be vigilant in taking this time for you.Treat feelings of guilt as a reminder that the world will not fall apart without you managing everything for a while. In fact your days will flow better and your mind will be clearer and more vital.

6.  Be creative and mix it up every now and then. Keep learning: mantras, mudras, the yamas and niyamas etc the wealth of knowledge and tools in yoga/meditation is boundless and beautiful nourishent for your inner world.

7.  Include some pranayama (breathwork) in every session; remember breath is life. Most importantly make it real to where you are at on the day. A practice done in the evening, when menstruating or fatigued is very different to one done early in the morning after sleeping well and feeling full of energy. Take time at the beginning to be still, listen to the sensations of your body, still the mind and trust that you know what you need.

 8.  Remember that anything can be yoga. Any daily task can become a mindful, meditative practice. How you are with others matters just as much as how you are on the mat. You can live yoga anywhere and anytime…its a way of living and being in the world, not just exercise.

 9.  Take some time at the end of the practice to record your thoughts, feelings, anything that comes up. Feelings expressed are part of Spring’s cleansing. The 2017 Yoga and Meditation Diary is great for this as each day has allotted space to record your experiences, thoughts, inspiration and dreams.

10.  Most importantly remember that the point of it all is to make a habit of coming back home to yourself. Simple but powerful.

Tips for a Spring Yoga Practice

Include more lateral stretches opening into the sides of the body eg Parighasana – Gate Pose, Parivttra Janu Sirsasana Revolved Head to Knee Pose,  Utthita Parsvakonasana – Extended Side Angle Pose, Utthita Trikonasana – Extended Triangle Pose . And all manner of sitting, standing and reclined twists such as Ardha Matsyendrasana – Half Lord of the Fishes Pose , Parivttra Parsvakonasana – Revolved Side Angle Pose, and Jathara Parivartaranasana –  Reclining Twists.

Together these help access and balance the energy of the liver and gallbladder meridians.

Tendons become particularly vulnerable in this season with their relationship to the liver so keep moving and the blood flowing

Take your practice outdoors, feel the earth beneath your feet, breath

Tips for Spring Meditation

Mind feeling too jumpy to sit? Try a walking meditation.

In the early evening to still a busy overactive mind. Done in the early hours of the morning is particularly powerful. Immerse yourself in the quiet and stillness and sense the heightened prana or life force in the air.

At the end of each month in the 2017 Yoga and Meditation Diary is a mandala for colouring. You may choose to take a few minutes in your day to absorb yourself in a colouring meditation

Diet

In Spring think GREEN. These foods assist the bodies natural desire to cleanse and also support the liver Leafy greens are so easy to grow at home so now is a great time to get the veggie garden underway. The sour taste stimulates liver energy so think dandelion greens, rocket, endive, onion, a slice of lemon squeezed in water. Include also cabbage, broccoli, celery, beetroot, carrots, and sweet potato. Lightly cooked foods are better, not too much raw. With fruit think grapefuit, tangerines, peach, strawberries, fig.

Take a few short fasts each week by taking your last meal of the day before 4.30pm and wait til around 10am next morning to have your next meal. Take as many fluids as needed in this time, herbals teas, vegetable juices, filtered water etc. Lighten the load on your digestive system and you will feel happier and clearer

Wear something green, surround yourself with green plants and spend time outdoors. Commit to a realistic and achievable yoga and meditation practice and expect feelings of vigour and freshness like the new rising growth all around you.

Namaste

Tracy’s Bio:

Tracy has had a close relationship with yoga for over 35 years. Teaching is quite simply the light of her life as she has witnessed first hand the healing and transformative power of this ancient and beautiful practice. After enduring years of health struggles with a chronic condition, the practice of yoga in all its facets quite simply turned her life around. ‘My decision to train as a yoga teacher and commit to this path has been nothing short of a miraculous transformation for my health and life. I feel I am living proof of yoga’s power to heal and it gives me the greatest joy to be able to share yoga in its many forms with others What I love about teaching is that it is a constantly evolving and creative process; I am constantly learning new things for my own practice which I can then share with my students.’

Today she teaches all styles from vinyasa to restorative yoga and has for many years guided groups in meditation and mindfulness practices, derived from years studying Buddhist philosophy. Tracy also runs Dreamtime Yoga and Didgeridoo events which combines the beauty of yoga with indigenous vibrations, a powerful mix. One of her favourite things is to take her practice outdoors and be in nature. She is a kind and caring teacher who delights in making yoga accessible to all and sharing yoga’s innate ability to connect us to what is important and sacred.

On the weekends you will find her somewhere by the sea or in the bush. Swimming in all weather, the ocean inspires and rejuvenates her. Her love is a good book, friends, live music, growing vegetables, walking in nature and of course yoga! She is a passionate activist for all things related to caring for our home, planet earth. Having spent 15 years as a Marine Ecologist before immersing herself in the wonders of Yoga fulltime, her philosophy is that caring for our planet is not a job; its part of our rent in return for living in this beautiful place.

Currently Tracy teaches at:

Avalon Yoga Co-op

Yoga and Health Collective

Tracy is also available for one on one sessions and private group classes. You can contact her on tchambers@dodo.com.au