Week Five ~ A Signal for S P A C E
A Chairde,
The equinox has landed here in the northern hemisphere, and with it an entire world of movement begins. Our songbirds like the sparrow and warbler are leaving in their millions, following the stars south. The magnificent humpback whale that has holidayed near Achill will continue her long journey towards the equator. Trees are pulling their nutrients inward, surrendering their leaves to the cold. In Ireland this is a time when we see a gap opening up between the conscious and unconscious worlds, a moment in the year when the veil begins to thin. For us, the equinox is probably just a day on the calendar. For the natural world, it is a primal signal to change ~ to slow down, to prepare, or to start moving on.
This Sunday will be our final series of yoga practices in the current term! Our theme this week will be
S P A C E
I'm really excited for this one. In both classes we will work to open the heart and shoulders, move slowly with the breath to cultivate a calm mind, and spend a little extra time in a guided meditation at the end :)
We will be going straight into a new five week yoga term after this Sunday, with a theme of exploring the five Koshas. The dates for the new term will be October 4th ~ November 8th *with no classes on bank holiday Sunday October 25th. Please let me know if you would like me to save your space for the new term, it will be €75 for all five weeks :) Or if you'd like to drop in for 5pm Hatha or 6:30pm Soft Stretch this Sunday to close out our current term, you're very welcome!
Throughout our yoga term this month, if you have been peeking and pondering at these emails, you have been invited to consider what elements within you are, or perhaps are not, in balance. As we consider our theme of space this week, I can't help but wonder if the whole northern hemisphere is lacking in this essential quality. It's no surprise that outer space, the final frontier, holds so much fascination for us in this century. Space embodies something essential that we have lost...the ability to do and be nothing. The ability to sit comfortably in the unknown. The ability to let go of time.
We don't have to be star trek heads or astrological nerds to consider the element of space in our lives, mind you. The reality is that the element of space is a constant; it's all around us all the time. According to zen masters, a way to touch the infinite dimension is simply to find something still and living, like a tree, and to watch it silently. Let the stillness of the tree become your entire focus, and soon the tree's presence will become your presence. This is interbeing ~ a concept of consciously cultivating peace and happiness by witnessing the universe as non separate; a non separate you and I. My eyes are exactly the eyes of my great, great grandmother, after all. The joy of a small child could become my joy for a moment as I walk by, if I allow it to. The lines on my hand match the lines on a fallen leaf. Actually, if I look down from outer space, the lines on my hand match the network of an entire river system.
"When you are aware of space, you are not really aware of anything, except awareness itself—the inner space of consciousness. Through you, the universe is becoming aware of itself!" Ekhart Tolle
So the element of space is the element of nothing at all. A paradoxical practice where we try to find meaning and personal fulfillment by letting go. By focusing on space, silence, stillness, we can disentangle ourselves from inner narration, struggle, and story. Natural caves were famously places in which yogis and gurus, monks and even the Buddha, all went to become enlightened. Thich Nhat Hanh explained the potent reason for this ~ it was and is because caves physically represent the spiritual journey, in that they only exist due to a natural process of taking away. When we remove the obstacles within our psyche, the yogic samskaras ~ when we surrender the ego, our idea of separation ~ when we create enough space and depth for refuge, for stillness...this, according to the masters, is what inspires enlightenment.
Distraction is the filler of space, and perhaps the killer of peace. As we now come into an autumnal shift and settle in for slower and colder days, are you willing to sit still? Are you willing to resist distraction, to compassionately resist the urge to fill the void of boredom and discomfort ~ all these things that come up when we have a moment (if we have a moment!) to witness. It's incredible to feel in myself the tendency to want to watch telly when I eat, or to want to listen to music when I walk. I avoid these natural opportunities for spaciousness because I'm afraid of what will come up if I sit with myself...I don't want to feel bad. Or bored. But really, I know that space is what I'm craving most. It's what I'm calling out for.
Meditation is certainly a challenging practice, one I have personally struggled to stick with over the years. Who has the time to sit and do nothing for 15, 20, even 30 minutes a day? And yet, when we check our screen time....There must be more space in the day than we think :)
In any case, this Sunday's yoga will be lovely! Gentle movement, easy flow, time for yourself in a community that supports and holds you, with a short and sweet practice of stillness afterwards. I would love to see you there!
Le grá,
Macha
*My personal favourite app to practice meditation with is the free plum village app :) It has a lovely bell and timer, and offers loads of guided meditations! You can get it on the app store :)
