Easing into Autumn

This year the autumnal equinox occurs on Sunday 22nd September (at 12.44pm to be precise!), when day and night are equal and earth is perfectly balanced. How are you feeling about saying goodbye to summer? How does balance feel for you right now? Do you feel ready for the darker half of the year?

Whether you feel sad to let summer go or welcome autumn with open arms, this seasonal transition is a powerful time for us to reflect, refocus and set our intentions for the months ahead. It is a time of harvest, and a time of letting go: an end and a beginning.

I hope you are able to slow down and get back in touch with yourself. Try to get out in nature as much as you can, create moments to pause within your day, and allow time to consider what it is you need for the coming months. 

Reflections:

• What personal harvests am I celebrating?
• What lessons did summer teach me?
• What do I need to let go off in order to move forward?
• How does balance feel for me right now?
• Which parts of autumn do I look forward to?
• Which parts of autumn do I dread?
• How will I care for myself during the darker months?

Our autumn yoga classes, retreats and events will have a gentle focus on the themes of slowing down, letting go, accepting, grounding and balancing. I love sharing reflections and poetry as part of our practice and will certainly include this poem by Safire Rose which seems so fitting for this time of year.

She Let Go

by Safire Rose

She let go.

She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.

She let go of the fear.

She let go of the judgments.

She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.

She let go of the committee of indecision within her.

She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.

Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.

She didn’t ask anyone for advice.

She didn’t read a book on how to let go.

She didn’t search the scriptures.

She just let go.

She let go of all of the memories that held her back.

She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.

She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.

She didn’t promise to let go.

She didn’t journal about it.

She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.

She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.

She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.

She just let go.

She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.

She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.

She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.

She didn’t call the prayer line.

She didn’t utter one word.

She just let go.

No one was around when it happened.

There was no applause or congratulations.

No one thanked her or praised her.

No one noticed a thing.

Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.

There was no effort.

There was no struggle.

It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.

It was what it was, and it is just that.

In the space of letting go, she let it all be.

A small smile came over her face.

A light breeze blew through her.

And the sun and the moon shone forevermore…

Have a great autumn!

Maura