As my daughter said yesterday, “Autumn is coming”. It’s the season of bright leaves, cooler breezes, and for many of us a sweet turning inward. As the plants draw their energy down into their root systems we’ll be using our time on the mat to draw into a nourishing and grounding study of our own. This fall we will delve into the yogic study of deeply knowing ourselves. It’s one of the deepest things we can do on the mat: discover more about who we are, and who we aren’t. In my Sunday classes we will look at the ancient teachings on this, and read quotes from amazing thinkers and mystics on the subject. But most importantly we will find ways of accepting the yogic invitation to look deeply at the question “Who am I?” for ourselves.
Here is a quote from John O’Donohue that I find myself coming back to again and again. It, for me, summarizes this journey and study of self-discovery.
“Your identity is not equivalent to your biography. There is a place in you where you have never been wounded, where there is a seamlessness in you. There is a confidence and a tranquility in you. And I think the intention of prayer, spirituality and love is now and again to visit that inner kind of sanctuary.” Jon O’Donohue. (From interview on Speaking with Faith)
That interview is here, I highly recommend it!
We will be playing with arm balances to keep in light, and integrating plenty of hip openers and even a few restoratives into our Autumn practices to keep us grounded in this Vata season.
Happy pondering!
