Hi Friends,
As the leaves morph into brilliant reds and oranges, I revel in their splendor while, at the same time, remembering that this big show is all a preparation for letting go. The leaves dance in the wind, shimmering golds and fierce crimsons...all a flashy goodbye as they let go of their branches and beautifully glide through the air and surrender to the Earth.
As the season turns and a bright crispness blankets the town, what are you ready to let go of? Is there someting you've been hanging onto? Perhaps something that no longer benefits you? Big or small, we all have these people or things in our lives that we just need to let go of.
Try this breathing, meditative exercise:
Find a comfortable seat on your mat or on the floor. I recommend sitting up on a firm cushion or a yoga block...bringing the hips higher than the legs is a nice way to releave the hip flexers and even create more space in the belly for the diaphragm to move down as you take nice, big inhalations.
Feel the sitz bones rooted into the prop, through the floor, as if they could reach all the way to the core of the Earth. Spine is long and straight; creating space in between each vertebra. Shoulders back and down. Crown of the head reaches toward the sky. Eyes are closed
Take a moment here, just to be. Feel the parts of your body touching the floor and allow the ground to fully support you. Tune into the sounds around you; not judging or analyzing...just noticing and becoming completely aware of your surroundings.
Then rest your attention on the breath. Noticing it's natural cadence. Tuning into it's qualities: is it deep or shallow? Jagged or smooth? Regular or irregular? Stay like this for about a minute.
Begin to deepen the breath now. Drawing in so much air that the belly inflates like a balloon with each inhalation, and exhaling so completely that the belly button naturally draws in toward the spine. Continue breathing like this...long, deep breaths. If the mind wanders, simply bring it back to the breath.
Then, maintaining this quality of breath, call to mind something that has been a challenge for you...something you're ready to let go of. Then exhale and calmly release it. Inhale, inviting in fresh, new space. Exhale release. Continue like this, trusting that all events will flow toward a beautiful resolution.
Do this for about 4 minutes. The allow the breath to resume it's natural cadence and sit still for another 2-3 minutes.
Open your eyes and try to maintain this feeling of peace, trust, and freedom throughout the day.
xoxOM
