Celebrating the Autumnal Equinox

Over the past week, it’s started to feel a lot like fall – staying darker later into the morning and growing darker earlier in the evening. The chill in the air. And tonight is the autumnal equinox, marking the time when day and night are approximately equal in length. Two sides of a scale coming into balance for a brief moment in time. When I visualize this in my mind, I see in that brief moment of balance, stillness, a pause – no movement. 

As we transition from the outward expression and expansion of summer to the more inwardly focused, contemplative fall, it’s a good time to notice the moments in between – the spaces, the pauses. On our mats, we can experience this as the space we create in our bodies, between the vertebrae of our spines, in the way the inhale helps us to create space in a pose for our exhale to invite us deeper. And, we can experience the pause between breaths at the end of the exhale and the end of the inhale. We can begin to expand into these spaces, these pauses, these brief moments of stillness, to relax into them, and rest in the space we create in our bodies and the pauses in our breath. Off the mat, we can start to notice brief moments of stillness in our otherwise busy days, and take those moments to pause and reset.

If you're in the Burlington area, join me tonight for a de-stress yoga class and celebration of the autumnal equinox at evolution yoga from 5:45 to 7:15.

I believe...

I was recently inspired to compile a list of my beliefs. And, while the list I generated was far too long for the purposes of that initial motivating factor, I thought I would share them here as a way of sharing more about myself. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, and I may read this again later and wish to disavow some of these statements. But at least for now, which is the only moment there ever is, I believe...

• in letting your life speak, walking the talk, practicing what you preach.
• there are multiple paths to the same endpoint.
• in being change you wish to see in the world. (Gandhi)
• our health as human beings and the health of the Earth and its other inhabitants are inextricably linked.
• one-way communication is an oxymoron.
• in following your heart.
• "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
• we are each unique waves rising out of and descending back into the same ocean.
• that change is the only constant.
• in meals made with love and local ingredients, shared with friends and family, and meaningful conversation.
• if we each listened just a little more closely, with a little more compassion and openness in our hearts, the world would be a far better place.
• communication is about far more than what you say.
• in the power of the breath and the power of silence.
• employees are a company's most valuable resource.
• it is our duty to create more environmentally friendly businesses, communities, and infrastructure that will sustain our children and future generations.