Spring is my favorite time of year! I suspect this is because the energy of the earth is on full display. I’ve always been attracted to natural displays of energy. I even enjoy the spring rains because they invigorate the rivers and that means I’ll have the opportunity to feel that energy in my kayak! The spring season is alive with energy and possibility and it’s a living reminder that energy is a key aspect of life as well as the agent of change.
The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in the autonomic nervous system. It runs behind the ear, down the throat, through the heart and lungs, and into the digestive system. It is key for activating the rest and digest system (parasympathetic nervous system) and plays a central role in emotional and physical health.
Spring gives us a chance for a fresh new start, a chance to renew, reawaken and refresh. We can get outside and enjoy nature, go for a walk or run, and begin preparing our gardens!
We are emerging from the winter season and we may feel sluggish and dull despite knowing spring is just around the corner.
Happy New Year, Yogis! With the difficulties and changes to our normal routines and all the challenges faced here at Drishtiq Yoga studio, many of us are grateful that 2020 has ended and optimistically looking forward to ushering in the hopes of a new year.
I mark the beginning of my yoga journey (over ten years ago), with a significant event that occurred while I was cutting my front lawn. I was listening to a podcast by a psychologist who was listing the traits of an anxious brain. Wow, it was as if she knew me personally. My aha moment was the insight that I was perceiving my life with an unconscious bias of caution and fear.
2020 brought one of the most challenging years the studio has faced so far. The one thing that never faltered was the embrace of this community to not miss a beat. Between the teachers, staff and our yogi’s, everyone stepped up in one way or another to keep this studio going. As a business, we had to make decisions on almost a daily basis of which direction to go to save the business. The rules of running a business changed on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. Our team stepped up to the challenge and our students gave us grace and patience as we figured it out, and continue to do so.
The holiday season is upon us! Typically, it is easy to get lost in the sea of activity that the holidays bring. However, this year the season may move at a slower pace for many of us. Our calendars may be less crowded, and we may have more time to sit with our emotions and thoughts.
We are in the month of November, the month that is associated with Thanksgiving. As we look forward to Thanksgiving we associate that with gratitude.
Balance. What is balance? If you look it up in the dictionary, balance is a state of equilibrium or equipoise, equal distribution of weight, amount, etc. But what does that really mean, what are we balancing, and how do we know if we are in balance? To understand balance, we must first understand the concepts of yin and yang.