Spring, Again and the pursuit of practices

Back to Spring season, Kapha season and here we are in a new year, a new time- 2025. It must be because I am an Aries and I was a born in the Spring that I come alive and get most activated this time of year. It's also the season where sickness and health issues tend to flare up and demand more attention, with the remnants of Winter flu season lingering on. Well, it has been a long while since I posted and Spring seems as good a time as any to update!

Part of the reason for my absence in the previous seasons is because we've have a lot family health challenges in the last one to two years (myself included). I took 5 seperate trips to Iowa last year to support my sister's family while my brother-in-law went through chemo. I, myself, have had hip impigement and arthritis issues for about the last 18 months and finally I will have arthroscopic surgery in June to correct a torn labrum and bone spur. Not to mention, turning 40 which, actually, I wholeheartedly welcomed! And, this Spring, like many before has brought allergy flare ups and countless coughs and colds amongst our little ones. Another part of this is, if I'm being honest, compassion fatigue. There's just so much going on in our country and our world. My heart is extremely heavy for those who are suffering immense pain and loss and often needlessly at the hands of greed and misunderstanding. I sit with this often and do what I can from my little corner.

There's nothing like injury dis-ease in the heart and body to slow a person down, to demand rest and restoration (lest we become more sick) and to reflect on the finite amount of time we actually have. And, to practice true self-care is not a luxury or selfish, it's actually the most responsible thing we can do. Along those lines, the practices of yoga and ayurveda are things I keep coming back to. The truth is, yoga won't stop me or you from being sick, from having seasonal allergies or injuries. It won't stop suffering. In coming to terms with the issues occuring in my own body, I have had folks, dumbfounded, say things like "but, you're a yoga teacher!" or "how can you have arthritis at your age?!"

A little secret is that yoga teachers and personal trainers and fitness people are also just people. They're people who are definitey not impervious to illness or injury. Unfortunately, I have known very fit people fall privy to disease and even death, long before their time. So, if this is true, what's the point? If we're going to get sick and die anyways, why keep contemplating the Yoga Sutras or coming to the mat or doing pranayama or training for a 5k or lift weights or carve out 5 minutes for meditation? The point is not to outrun the inevitable-that the body will age and go through these things. We are mere mortals, after all. We have expiration dates. The point is to recognize the fallability of the body (and the mind) and still love it, still care for it, to meet the challenges of the season and the moment with more grace and ease and peace in our very core beings; to meet the moment with clear minds and clear hearts and to remain open and humble and honest with ourselves is what (I believe) a large part of this practice is. But, it's not the illusion that we won't get sick or feel pain. It's also not avoiding those realities. It's not all love and light- a lot of it is actually sitting in the darkness and being okay with it. It's actually meeting the not-so-fun things head on.

So, what am I doing in this season, in this year, to take care of this injuried, tired, inflamed body?! I'm definitely catching up on sleep. Rest is a big priority. I'm going slow and sometimes not at all with my asana/ movement practice. I'm re-reading text on the Yamas and Niyamas (the 10 ethical and moral practices of yoga), I'm taking slow, deliberate exhales very often to help regulate my own nervous system. I'm practicing metta (loving kindness) meditation whenever I remember to (may all beings be happy, healthy, free of suffering at at peace), and I'm going back to these daily (dinacharya) Ayurvedic practices and modifying them to the season (ritucharya):

• Eating fresh seasonal foods- Spring veggies like greens, asparagus, beets, carrots, green onions, fingerling potatoes and fruits like berries, mangoes, pineapple and lemons

• Tounge scraping and oil pulling for mouth care

• Using the neti pot (when my nose is not inflamed), and oiling my nose with coconut oil

• Drinking warm lemon water in the mornings

• Cleaning and oiling my feet at night (pada abhyanga)

• Taking slow meditative walks when I get the change

• Turning off my phone after 10PM

• Writing short essays, poems and daily journal to disperse the mental load

  
  

As I've said in many yoga sessions, this is not a perfect. It's a practice. A long, enduring, stedfast and earnest pursuit of practice will get you far- even if you think you fail or if you have strayed from it for a long time. A lot of what we can do hinges on the time we have, the wherewithal and the energy we have--the capactiy, the competency and the capability. So, take a good hard look at what's going on in your life and in your body in this season. Be honest about where you are. What things do you have control over and what things don't you? Slowly, slowly, steadily do what little you can to meet the moment and offer yourself some care. It's never too late as long as you're alive!

Cheers to Spring and many more. When my capacity allows, I will be happy to get back to making short videos and having more of an online presence. Until then, a few blog post is what I have capacity for currently. And, here's my 40-year old face as proof of life =) Wishing you health, contentment, ease of suffering and peace in abundance.