Okay, okay, so it doesn't much look like spring here in Brooklyn, but the helpful little square on my calendar begs to differ so I'm rolling with it. This first day of spring is especially poignant. Early today was a full solar eclipse (not visible here) and we also have a new moon today. The days are getting longer, the nights shorter. In other words, the universe has lined up nicely for change. To reboot our inner computers, so to speak. It is time for me to drag out my favorite Thich Nhat Hanh quotation once again:
"Everything changes. Nothing stays the same. Having gained this awareness, one is freed from suffering. This is the way of purification."
The seasons change, the days change, the weather (theoretically) will be getting warmer. In yoga, I feel my muscles and joints easing up a bit. Just walking home from teaching this morning, I noticed that my shoulders were not inching up my neck, vying for the position of earrings. This is an unbelievable relief. This change, and many others, are more than welcome. Winter serves its purpose: a necessary rest period for the earth to take a break from the intense release of growing energy that it spouts off from spring through fall. Winter gives a moment to settle in and quietly work on what has been grown and sprouted during the rest of the year. This first day of spring is our indication that we can set down our knitting and weaving and get out into the fresh air. Find some new hobbies. Grow a garden, go for bike rides, put away those yoga videos and get into the studio (hint hint, I'd love to see you all in class!).
“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past, or a pioneer of the future.” Deepak Chopra.
The Spring Equinox is a great moment for some spring cleaning. No, I don't just mean donating a few odds and ends to the salvation army (though that is fabulous). I mean getting down into the gritty, dusty places of YOU and sweeping them out. Chasing out the mental tumbleweeds that are preventing you from seeing clearly through your mind and into your thoughts. Maybe the snow and ice had you mentally set on the idea that your apartment is the only place you want to be. Or that you are a sedentary creature. Or whatever. But with this new season, you get to re-write your thought processes. You get to clean out that which is not serving you and mentally re-stack, re-hang and revive that which still is. Your body, may need some spring cleaning as well. Those heavy winter meals can begin to be replaced by lighter meals, with bright spring colors decorating the plate. Perhaps you could seek out some twists in your yoga practice, wringing out anything you do not want any more. Personally, I'm feeling the need for some yummy heart and hip opening.
Accepting these changes. Accepting that the body, mind, spirit need new things is part of spring. Part of the process of freeing ourself from suffering, as Thich Nhat Hahn suggests. I am hoping that this spring will bring some extra joy and positivity to everyone.
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