Spring Cleaning With Yoga
I can feel spring in the air, which means I’m restless and full of energy. What does this mean for me as a yogini? This year it means letting go of all the junk that has built up over the winter. It’s not just dust in my apartment– as we all know. Junk builds up everywhere; in my body, my mind and my heart. Each day as it warms up I go back to my mat to open myself up and clear myself out. Getting into those stuck places with breath.
I’m spring cleaning with yoga this year.
Spring is about rebirth, but that means many things. Spring is an opportunity to change up my yoga practice and experiment with new styles of yoga and postures that have seemed challenging in the past. This year I want to use the energy that spring offers to try new things and let go of old habits of mind.
This is a bit scary, too. Trying new things also holds the possibility of failure. The Bhagavad Gita teaches us to let go of the fruits of our actions, because only the actions matter. For me this means really going for it and becoming comfortable with failure, both in my yoga practice and in my life.
So I’m working on Pincha Mayurasana (forearm balance). Every time I go upside down I learn something new about failure as I fall out. But I also learn about letting go– letting go of my expectations and fear of failure. One day (maybe soon, maybe not) I’ll stay up there.
It’s okay if it takes a while because falling out is part of my spring cleaning.
