Autumn can often be seen as a magical part of the year where we take in the colours of the leaves and the smell of autumn while feeling the chill in the air. It is a season of slowing down and change and we can use our yoga practice to connect with this.
There is changeability with the weather with cooler days and darker evenings. During this time, we may feel unsettled, ungrounded, and unstable. We are often met with challenges to get up in the morning to come to a class, to stay at home during the day and face the dark to come out in the evening. A regular, consistent yoga practice is beneficial as this helps us build a routine which calms the chaotic energy of the season.
To balance the coolness and dryness of Autumn we can use our yoga practices to ground us to the earth and the energy of fire to stimulate and warm us. Standing grounding poses are beneficial this time of the year as they not only let us focus and steady the mind and body but also let us draw up the energy from the earth into our body, gently heat the energy system and help to build inner resilience. Finding movements around our joints is also a good thing to do this time of the year where we can feel stiffer.
Life is amazing. And then it's awful. And then it's amazing again. And in between the amazing and the awful it's ordinary and mundane and routine. Breath in the amazing, hold on through the awful and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living, heartbreaking, soul healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life and it's breathtakingly beautiful.
Mindful sun salutations are a wonderful practice to remind us that the sun is always there even behind the clouds, and they help to move the spine backwards and forwards to stimulate the nervous system to be active and awake. Twists and poses and practices that connect to the digestive system are a wonderful way to work with stimulating digestion and elimination. Re-balancing poses that support the body and encourage us to relax and ground are important to soothe the nervous system.
Finally breathing practices can be an important part of an Autumn practice as we can draw fire and warming energy through certain practices and cooling, re-balancing energy through others. Hope you enjoy exploring this month's theme in class.
Yoga For Autumn
Week 1 - Yoga for Balance and Focus - Sun Salutations are a good practice to do in yoga as doing them mindfully and a little slower rather than fast and overheating, they can help to gently warm the body, wake up the joints and take our spine backwards and forwards which brings a great balance to the mind and body. Standing one leg balances are also a wonderful part of our yoga practice which allows us to really focus on grounding through our connection to the earth.
Week 2 - Yoga that Strengthens the Internal Fire - Yoga poses such as twists, the pawanmuktasana digestive series, and breathing practices that bring warmth into the body are great ways to strengthen our internal fire. When we stimulate around the digestive area we can also tap into elimination and letting go of what does not serve us right now.
Week 3 - Yoga for Grounding with Calmness and Stability - Standing poses such as Warrior I and Warrior II, squats, balances on one leg and poses connecting low to the earth are beneficial to bring in energy through the body but at the same time being rooted and feeling firmly connected to the earth to help bring in some calmness and stability.
Week 4 - Yoga for Gathering Energy Inwards - A slower practice is a fantastic way to work with the autumn energy. Poses that help us can find the use our arms and hands to draw energy back in to us with the use of some visualisation. Finishing our practice with slow lying down poses draws our energy back inwards, soothe our nervous system and helps the body to really unwind. Lying down on our back with our legs lifted in the air allows our body and the mind to unwind.
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower
Related Videos
To try and make use of the videos we recorded a few years ago, we are going to list some that we think relate well to this month's theme. It might be good if you can't make the class for some reason, or some of you might just find them interesting in general and like to practice one or two at home.
Yoga for the Joints
Freeing the 1
Yoga for the Digestive System
Yoga for the Digestive System (Short)
Freeing the Joints 2
Be Grounded Stay Present
Wind Down Calm & Meditate
This Month's Music
Here's the usual selection of music that Vicky has been listening to this month.
| Rajendra Teredesai | Shakti Dhyanana (In Graceful Response) |
| Rajendra Teredesai | Samarpan (Blissful Release) |
| Joseph Anthem | Yogini Anthem |
| Benjy Wertheimer | Remembrance |
| Karunesh | Calling Wisdom |
| Aman Glory | Sonhos de Eternidade |
| Sol Rising | Rest |