Fall Yoga: How I’m Moving These Days

I’ve been reading, learning, absorbing more days than not. Seasonal transitions can be tough and sticky, but a small part of me looks forward to them. I like goal setting, leaning into the possibilities and potential of a new season: rest, sunlight, plant growth, seasonal fruits and veggies, time off, markets, traveling, and on and on.

Ignore the green tint! The sauna is my happy place.

I’ve also been making my through Staying Healthy with the Seasons, which has been such a joy. It lists organs, elements, foods, sounds, and practices linked to each season. The point is to follow nature in our diets and choices to lead an optimal life; by preventing disease (often written as dis-ease) we’re healthier and more vibrant. Who doesn’t want that?

I’m drawn to Western approaches to health, most of which tend to be holistic rather than pinpointing one cause or one symptom. I magic square my body all the time, and though I don’t share what I see I make adjustments and I’ve begun to feel better. I’ve used essential oils to stop a sore throat and end an ear infection, I’ve used massage and epsom salts to ease sore muscles, I’ve magic squared my way out of anxiety attacks, sat in the sauna and colored light to improve my mood, and eaten my way out of digestive troubles. Things don’t work every time, but doing these things is already part of my routine; they bring me joy and balance and are cheaper than going to the doctor for an antibiotic when I’m feeling ill.

In the same vein, I change my yoga practice and teaching as the year goes on. In the summer I include vinyasas that build and release heat—things like reverse prayer, chair pose, extended side angle, and plank pose. This past fall I loved triangle pose for the perspective shift it provided. I taught more breath work and twists.

Now, there’s a new moon coming and winter is a few weeks away. My body seems to know what it wants most in the winter months: forward folds, supta baddha kanasa, tree pose, NOUN. I’ll still sprinkle in movements to keep me warm, especially breath of fire and cat/cow, but the emphasis on rest and the internal feels too obvious to ignore.