I’m celebrating this morning. Why? Because it’s officially Autumn! Summer is finally over, and this is the point in the year where, eventually (if Mother Nature is kind) the weather starts to cool down (okay, it’s a long cooling down period admittedly, and tends to take its time) and the days of muggy and sweat are numbered… for maybe the whole two weeks we do eventually experience Winter.
Now, before you think I’m a total Summer grouch let me clarify… I’m not. I love Summer. I love the beach, the salt water, the ability to feel cleansed by going for a dip (a thing which this born and bred Queenslander is far too precious to do in Winter). The thing is though, and I’m learning this about myself more and more, that I thrive on balance. I am someone who tends to enjoy most things in their somewhat extremes, but because of that, I need one to balance the other. Summer is soooo long here in Australia that I feel like I need Winter just a little bit more than what I experience where I live. I’m also very happy spending time on my own, but there gets a point where I need contact with others and to immerse myself in building those connections, friendships and relationships. If i spend too much time one way or the other, I either feel low and unenthused, or drained and irritated. Balance works perfectly for me!
Even bringing this into my own yoga practice. While I love a good nurturing slow flow and restorative practice, I find that I need to break that up at times with a flowy or fiery practice where I can feel any excess ‘stuff’ either break free or burn off. It’s cathartic, and I wouldn’t have that feeling if I only stuck to the bolsters and eye pillows.
The important thing here is that check in. I can’t determine a week in advance how I’m going to feel and what kind of practice I’ll need. I’ll go weeks until I feel like I need a good dynamic, moving flow, and then I might only want that for a bit. The thing is, I do check in. I try to sit and feel into what it is I need: if it’s practice-related, what kind of practice, where sometimes the answer is ‘no on the mat practice’ and I walk the dog instead, or go and sit quietly down at the beach.
As we move into Autumn, we move into that sense of balance. The equinox approaches where we have a balance in light and dark, day and night. There’s always a special energy around this time, whether it’s in Autumn or the Spring, and to me it feels like a recalibration. A chance to check in (not check out) and look at what’s feeling good in my life and what I might need to add more or have less of to really feel right. I get to give thanks to what is happening and feel excited for whatever is coming. It’s a subtle feeling, but certainly very much there.
I invite you to do the same. It doesn’t need to be about your practice on the mat (although of course it can be!) but more about how you practice mindfulness in your life off the mat. Take even 15 minutes sitting quietly somewhere where you can breathe (check out my recent article on the importance of breath written for Sunny Coast Health & Fitness if you need some motivation), maybe out in nature if that’s comfortable for you, or at least somewhere with fresh air, and take a look at how you’re feeling in your week-to-week. Perhaps you feel like you’d like more time to yourself, meditating, practicing, walking on the beach, or maybe it’s about setting aside a half-day every month or so to just immerse yourself in that great book! It could even be finding more ways to have fun and play – with your family, kids, best friends and soul mates, new friends and colleagues, whoever! But embracing and bringing more lightness into what might be feeling heavy.
This is a great chance to explore, reassess and embrace what feels good. It’s not even about drastic change, but inviting more of what you’d like in to your life, bit by bit.
I’d love to hear how you go with this!
