Autumn definitely seems to have arrived this morning, here at Inside Out HQ! So it felt timely to share with you some of the yoga we’ll be practicing in our weekly classes during this transitional season.
Crane pose is a balance and a forward bend
Autumn can be a busy time, back to school or work after the summer holidays, new fitness regimes as we head towards the party season and all the busy-ness that seems to be part of autumn, and it is easy to get swept along by this if we are not careful. Naturally, autumn is a time for stillness, reflection and letting go of what is no longer needed – you only need to look at the trees to see what I mean – so it’s no wonder we can feel a little jaded as the days shorten, if we don’t take care of ourselves.
So, with this in mind, we will be working on improving our balance, which helps us to, so expect Tree, Dancer, Eagle and time stood in Mountain to give our mind and soul time to catch up with our physical body. Forward bends are an excellent way of letting go of things we no longer need…bad habits, negative thought patterns, non stop mind chatter…just like the leaves, they’ve served their purpose, now it’s time for the tree to let go of them. Think about what no longer serves you and consciously focus letting it go when practising forward bends.
We’ll also be supporting our kidneys. On a physical level, the kidneys do not like to be cold, so it’s nice to “warm” them up, which in turn helps the detoxing process. From an holistic viewpoint, the kidneys hold fear and sometimes it can be a little bit frightening to release long standing habits and emotions, therefore we use twists, rotated triangles and strong backbends to facilitate this letting go process.
I’m sure you’ll also be pleased to hear that our Autumn programme includes plenty of relaxation, giving us time to be calm and rejuvenate.
More Autumn wisdom next time and I hope this has given you some ideas for your own practice, particularly if you are not able to get to a Dru Yoga class.
Take care Ix