‘Meditation is the best thing for when you can’t be dealing with anyone else’
Bhumisparsha Mudra at the foot of an Ancient Oak Tree in Epping Forest
Going inside: Just as the leaves fall to the ground to be returned back to earth from which they came. Autumn arrives with the perfect invitation to sit in peace, and reconnect with the space inside.
That is somewhere behind my thoughts - literally behind my eye globes (thank you Andrea Boni) on the way to my brain.
This is the third eye, the location of the pineal gland. Andrea taught us at the Dublin European Yogi Nomads that bringing your awareness to this place, I image i am looking at the back of my eyeballs, releases your optical nerve. This is the place I go when the headlines of my life start to interfere when I meditate.
This time of year the pull of the season, as we head towards the darkest part of the year, creates the natural urge to hibernate.
Turning inward into to meditation and stillness is like a human version of hibernation, it really helps and makes a difference to how I respond to life: my instincts, emotions and challenges.
It allows me to take the temperature of it all, observing what feels balanced and reasonable before I react.
I sit, I am drawn to stillness, no rushing, multi-tasking. I stay in, slow down. Hibernate, meditate and then regenerate.
As humans in the UK we are pretty weather proof. Being indoors for 6 months is no good - i am not a hedgehog. The Sun, air and earth pull me back out. I get fidgety and restless the only answer is a long session of outdoor time, fresh air, activity. Working with the earth, feeding the soil with mulch sweat and love.
Blowing away the cobwebs the cool autumn air cools the sweat on my brow, makes the colour in my cheeks until the early dusk falls out of nowhere, street lights glow and I am forced inside.
This is a huge remedy for stress and frustration for me.
I have always been aware of the impact of sunlight on mood and feelings but according to many and researched by Yoshiro Tsutsui at Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University temperature also impacts on mood. Apparently 20 minutes outdoors at 13.9 Degrees Celsius is the optimal climate for happiness.
So go outside, walk, work or whatever. Climatise. Enjoy the season.
#loveplaygrowdo
#delightfulautumn