During this uncertain time, more than ever, our yoga practice has a LOT to offer us. The challenges we’re facing are various and different people will, of course, be suffering in different ways and to different degrees.
But if you practice yoga, or are interested in it, now is a really good time to find new ways of taking your yoga off the mat and integrating it into your way of life. Really, that’s what yoga is — it’s never just postures on a mat. Sometimes, we need the motivation of new challenges to make us see that.
Winter can be a calming time if you work with the season, rather than against it. It can be a time to settle into yourself and rediscover the steadiness within; to take stock, reorder, and care for your energy with kindness.
Autumn is a transformational time. Nature sheds its summer colour and welcomes the deep, nourishing hues that mark the start of rest or rejuvenation.
In Ayurveda, autumn is a time of lightness; of airiness; of brittleness and change.
It holds the potential for creative inspiration and productivity — if you feel grounded and well.
Summer is Pitta
Each of the year’s seasons is associated with a dominant dosha in Ayurveda; a characterisation which outlines the key qualities which must be balanced in order to maintain good health and steady energy. Summer is dominated by the Pitta dosha.
This means that the qualities of the season are hot, sharp, forceful and penetrating. Summer is intense! And so the secret to staying well during these warm months is to balance the heat and sharpness with food and activities that are imbued with different qualities: cool and gentle.
