Springtime Seduction

I’m sure most people have noticed that spring has arrived a bit early this year in terms of the emergence of plants and flowers. But it’s also having affects on the terrestrial creatures. I noticed its effects on February 16^th. That’s when my spring fever hit and I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin because I had so much nervous energy and such a heightened sense of awareness that it was simply overwhelming. It’s as though the earth got the cue to start blooming and sent a shock-wave of energy out to all living things…..humans included. We are, after all, animals, highly evoloved, but just as affected by the change in the seasons as other creatures. Spring has a physiological affect on us. It’s not just in your head. Spring fever is best characterized by restlessness, loss in appetite and nervous energy. The longer daylight hours trigger a drop in melatonin to the brain, so we suddenly have more energy when spring hits. Makes perfect sense. It’s mating season!!!

I think this is a really cool occurrence. In a time where we are so reliant on gadgets to help us navigate through life, almost eliminating our need to rely on instinct, we have this natural phenomenon that happens every year that is embedded in our instincts from the dawn of man and maybe you feel its effects, maybe you don’t. The fact is, this phenomenon we call spring fever is so visceral, so primal, so intuitive….and yet there are probably people out there who have no idea why they feel so frustratingly good once the sun comes out and kisses the skin. This is such a magical time to really tune in to your body and your senses and experience life from a sensual place. Spring fever gives most people extra energy, so what do we do with that? A lot of us go use it on exercise; others perhaps use it on creative endeavors; while others expend their energy on the chase and some extra circular activities. Wink, wink.  Nudge, nudge.

On your mat, you have an opportunity to explore that sensual side as you move through asana (yoga poses) and connect with your breath. Notice your heartbeat. Is it quickened or slow and steady? Notice the parts of your body that you love and praise them. Love yourself up!!! Think of this time on your mat as a hot date with yourself. Allow yourself to be seduced by your breath, the movement of your body as you flow through poses; being completely in your senses. 

                                                                                                                                                  

For some of us, to allow ourselves to open up to our sensual side can be scary. It breaks us wide open and makes us feel vulnerable.  We are raw, real and primal in that moment and it can feel like we are losing our sense of control. However, if you allow it, it can be so liberating and so blissful; you may find yourself in tears. Let it go. Let yourself go. Liberate yourself. Move from a place of intuitive knowing. You know the poses and their alignment… now move from a place of feeling. If your breath becomes an ecstatic moan, let it be so. Be yourself on your mat; your true, ecstatic, vulnerable self. 

                                               
                                                     

                                                         

Relinquish your control and your measured responses with yourself. Why would you have measured responses with yourself anyway?? Let the boundaries you put in place with yourself fade away. When you allow those boundaries and obstacles to crumble, you connect so much deeper to everything going on within you and everything around you as well. Your practice can become an all encompassing experience if you want it to be: you connect to your breath, your body, your thoughts and emotions and to some degree, depending on how spiritual you are, your higher self.

I have been known to liken my yoga practice to the greatest sex of my life because I feel like I am making love to my soul. For me to have to back away from my asana practice when I injured myself was like being forced to break up with the love of my life. My heart broke. And yet, during my physical therapy, I have had my weak moments where I have ventured back to that love only to suffer a set back in my healing. My practice has become the lover I simply can’t stay away from.

Even now, as the weather gets warmer and days longer, I feel that familiar pull on my heartstrings; that need to indulge in my sensual self; to turn myself upside down and inside out to connect with my heart and be moved to tears as I reunite with the greatest parts of myself.

This is what I hope for all yoga students. To experience that same visceral connection, that intuitive pull to discover how amazing you are and crave to rediscover it everyday.


"For it was not into my ear that you whispered, but my heart.
It was not my lips that you kissed, but my soul".

~Judy Garland


Namaste!

Kristen

Yoga & Dragons

I just took my children to see "How To Train Your Dragon" yesterday. It was a great flick! I highly recommend seeing it.

I found myself making an interesting yoga connection during the movie; one that nearly brought me to tears with realization. The main character, Hiccup, was learing how to fly his dragon, but in order to do so he had to figure out how to manipulate the tail in order to fly straight. He had it all figured out and written down....as long as he followed his own instructions, he could fly the dragon okay. At one point, those instructions got blown away and Hiccup was forced to rely on his instincts to help his dragon fly. It was his instinct that made all the difference, not the crib sheets. He learned to trust himself and his abilities in order to soar with his dragon.

In yoga, we do much the same thing. When just beginning or even learning a new asana, it's like taking flying lessons for the first time. We may read about the poses and feel like we know exactly what to do until we actually do it. At first everything seems like such a huge effort. There are so many new sensations in the body; many of which take time to get used to. And once we figure out the basics, then we move on to fine tuning and refining the practice, so we can fly smoothly and effortlessly. We make our adjustments in our poses. We become familiar with certain sensations; so much so that we trust what we feel in our bodies to be the correct sensation in order to achieve our desired results. There is a liberation there when we know we can rely on our instincts to take us where we want to go in our bodies and in our practice.

As I work to refine my own practice, I reflect on this analogy so I too can learn to soar with my own dragon.

Thanks for reading!

Until Next Time........

May joy course through your veins as you experience a deeper sense of self through practice.

Namaste!

Kristen