As the brisk air of autumn arrives, we are reminded that vata season is approaching. The cycles of nature move in different forms and at different times depending on where you are located. Vata season is present during the time of year that most embodies the qualities of the vata dosha: dry, airy, light, cold, changeable, and mobile.
I grew up in New York and one of the things I distinctly remember is the smell of autumn, my favorite time of year. I remember the crunching of the leaves under my feet as the trees shed their layers and the cool air in the mornings indicating the seasons were indeed changing.
We live in a world that is largely created using straight lines, boxes, and sharp angles. We see it in the steel frame of a new building being built, in the grid structure of big city streets, even on our highways, outlined in colors and dashed lines. It’s no wonder we crave routine in our daily lives, the world we live in guides us towards structure at every turn. When we get caught up in structure and hard lines it’s easy to forget the natural ebb and flow that we embody.
Breathwork and pranayama are having their moment in the sun right now. The practices of pranayama, which date back at least 5,000 years to the time of the Hindu Vedas and Upanishads, are being used to treat anxiety, depression, cardiac disease, and now COVID brain fog as well. Modern breathwork teachers such as Wim Hof, Dr. Konstantin Buteyko, and others, have popularized simple breath protocols that have proven to have very positive results, free from complicated jargon and without the need for fancy equipment.
As the days grow hotter and the world looks to put itself back together again, finding the space and time to catch our breath has become one of the more daunting tasks. Much like Humpty Dumpty, who apparently had a great fall, according to our storybook time, so too do we look to renew and reclaim a sense of security and joy for life. As we each put the pieces of who believed ourselves to be in 2020 into a new way of moving forward in 2021, we find ourselves navigating life with a deeper awareness of our soft and cracked spaces that still feels all too raw.
Growing up in the “City That Never Sleeps”, I had always equated strength with energy. I always assumed the more “life” you brought to a relationship, project, idea or work, was always directly connected to how much drive you possessed. And, in order to get that “drive” or even maintain it one had to work hard; real hard.
In yoga, we learn this sacred practice is a practice toward the liberation of mind, body, and spirit. We learn that true liberation arises from the unification and embodiment of our true nature, the Self that exists beyond space and time, eternally connected to Divine Source Consciousness. And yet, as powerful as the practice of yoga may be, many of us can still feel restricted, unsafe, and many other things that do not quantify a sense of freedom.
In a world that is constantly telling us who we should be, to hurry up and wait for the manifestation of that narrative, it is no wonder it took a pandemic to slow us down and provide us an invitation to become. It was, and has been, a harsh and yet necessary pause; a diversion in this road of life to bring to our attention what has been wholly out of balance and what is looking to be birthed, nurtured, and manifested in its place.
Feeling overwhelmed? Try these yoga poses to help you maintain a state of calm and centered balance in times of stress.