Falling, Falling
North Tripyramid 9/10/25
I hike mountains all year around, and find beauty and amazement in every season, but Autumn is the time my heart is most stirred when climbing mountains. My senses are attuned to the poignancy of nature’s gifts and reminders. I relish the sweetness of slanting light in the afternoon, even as it signals the shortening days. I love how the changing leaves in this achingly beautiful part of the world paint a vivid picture of impermanence, a theme central to yoga and to life. I find myself connecting to the concept of letting go, as I watch leaves turn color and then shed gently into the sun warmed air by trees that hold their arms wide open. Can I too embrace the art of letting go, finding simultaneously my own sense of balance and the courage to open my arms wide, unclench my hands and let go?
Yoga practices mirror the lessons of nature’s transformation, help us to embrace the impermanence of life with softened hearts and steady minds. With autumn on the near horizon, and the deep winter of introspection that follows, I find this “shoulder season" suggestive of the need for balance, harmony between light and dark, stability and poise especially as they are demonstrated in balancing postures. As an “earth” oriented person, I gravitate to grounding practices, as I find that a stable foundation helps me navigate life’s fluctuations—balance poses help me feel equilibrium that I seek during times of transition. And because my teaching is born directly out of my practice, in my classes you are likely to be playing with balance too, over the next few weeks.
Come to class, but even if you can't join us, get outside! Look up. Close your eyes. Take a sniff. Unclench your hands. Just sitting in the September light for 5 minutes is sublime. Take walks, stretch, commune with what's around you, and open your senses to soak it all in.
I hope to offer one more outside class during this brief and glorious season, should the weather and schedule align over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!
