Welcome Fall! (Ease and Trees)
The Fall Equinox is today! Let's make some fall-inspired shapes together and take a few moments to feel our way into stillness.
Just like that, it’s fall.
After a cool, wet spring and a big, energetic summer, it’s finally time to take a look around at all the work we’ve done, gather and give thanks for what we have, and start to wind down the clock of the year, inviting a little more quiet.
I often hear students say that on a given day they “just” did some child’s pose, or yin, or maybe “just” did 15 minutes of yoga. I try to gently suggest that “just” is the antagonist of “exactly enough” - that not every day’s energy is best supported by a big, fiery practice. I considered, today, “just” presenting Balasana, or Child’s Pose and discovered that I was craving a little bit - but not a lot - more.
So today, a 15-minute medley of shapes, beginning and ending with ease, with some fall-inspired moments in between, all around opening up the hips (mine are creaky after some much-needed garden work!):
Balasana, or Child’s Pose: a nice, gentle stretch through the hips and across the spine.
Toe Squat: giving the arches of the feet something to think about.
Mountain: this is a fabulous time of year to really think about rooting down.
Angel Breath: imagining gathering energy up from the earth to the heart, and then from the heart to the head, with a nice long exhale as we ride the breath back down.
Tree: more rooting work! Remember that the trees that thrive through the winter are the ones with the deepest roots. This is not a time for fruiting or flowering - it is a time of preparation, of connecting deep.
Malasana/Lizard play: really just an excuse to give the hips some novel movement.
Deer: another great hip opener, with both external and internal rotation. Time is your friend here: start easy; allow your body to do its own subtle work.
Butterfly: flapping your “wings”, evoking all the things that are migrating to their winter grounds.
Apasana: “wind relieving pose.” Fall is a gusty season. It can be nice to take a pause and let some of that back out.
I am also using today’s practice as an opportunity to practice accepting imperfection. My door was open…my dogs were playing…the camera angle was a little funny…and yet, this little flow was exactly what I needed this morning. Perhaps you, too, could use a few minutes of ease and trees to start your week (and your fall.)
Happy Autumn - and be well.
Below: audio version of this post + 16-minute yoga practice (video)
Post audio:
Yoga practice (ease and trees):