Spring Renewal: Yoga Practices to Care for Your Self & Environment

The full bloom of spring has arrived – the buds and birds greet us each morning and offer us their vibrancy and song. This time of birth in the macrocosm around us reflects the opportunity for rebirth and renewal within:

1. We can practice ahimsa or non-violence with others, mother Earth, and also ourselves. When we notice thoughts of judgment or criticism, there’s an opportunity to return to the breath, witness those thoughts and emotions, and allow them to flower. This momentary gap enables us to choose how we respond – ahimsa lives in our breath, that dynamic and divine pulsation of inhalation and exhalation that we share with all living beings
   
2. Practicing satya or truthfulness means being honest with others but also with ourselves. Are there aspects of your life, health, emotions or life dreams that you have been ignoring? It’s so easy in the busyness of modern day life and technology to be swept away with stimulation and distraction, swaying us from who we really are, what we really want, what serves our highest self and those around us. This is a time to come back to our truth and express it compassionately to others.
3. Asteya (non-stealing) and aparigraha (non-possessiveness) align perfectly with this season of letting go – detoxifying and cleansing materially, physically, and emotionally, instead of accumulating more.
4. Brahmacharya may be similarly interpreted as an opportunity for cleansing and purity, in whatever form that may look like for you – a seasonal Ayurvedic cleanse, a more consistent yoga practice on and off the mat, devoting a day to yourself free of technology and spending more time in nature, eating high pranic/sattvic foods, and breathing deeply. 

Consider starting with even just one of these yamas that you feel especially called to. Wishing you a beautiful month, and we hope to see you soon!