The Season of Balance

It is already the season of spring and the Noongar season of Djilba represented by the colour pink and growth of wildflowers and plants. One year after planting my native garden outside my yoga studio window continues to bring me joy on a daily basis with new flowers blooming, birds visiting and dragonflies hovering. It is my favourite time of the year with still cool nights for sleeping and clear blue skies and sunny days.

This weekend also marks the Spring Equinox and the start of Libra season ushering in four weeks of balance. Libra is my star sign and the season invites us to create harmony, balance and equanimity in our lives, within ourselves, in our relationships and how we use our energy. The Spring Equinox marks the time of the year with equal day and night, a perfect balance of dark and light in nature.

You could support this sense of balance by tuning into your current state through some embodied movement, breath work, meditation or nature connection. Remember Libra energy isn’t about avoiding life’s storms, but learning to dance gracefully through them. If you can build a solid foundation, feel grounded and peaceful then you have a balance to return to when life becomes unbalanced.

A good place to start to feel more balanced is working with your breath as it is a perfect practice to balance mind and body. You could begin by just sitting comfortably with energy, spine tall and belly soft, while you just observe the breath and notice how it is right now in this moment. Is it slow or fast, smooth or uneven, quiet or loud and then notice if the inhale and exhale are even. If not maybe practicing a Balancing Breath with a count of 4 on the inhale and count of 4 on the exhale for a few rounds. If you feel that you are a stressed you might like to practice a Relaxing Breath or if feeling a tired an Energising Breath.

If you feel some movement might help with balance maybe heading outdoors to practice the Tree Pose or Earth Sequence. Another practice that can connect you to nature and leave you feeling both grounded and expansive is the Salutation to Four Directions Sequence which you might like to do facing the different directions and tuning in with a season for each point in the compass.

If you are feeling a bit sluggish after winter then some movements that bring in twisting could be beneficial, maybe just starting with a standing twist allowing the twist to start at the base of the spine and working its way up. Or maybe a seated twisted which can be done on the floor or a chair. Twists are a good way to give the digestive organs a squeeze and release and get your digestive fire going.

From a yogic perspective one of the main aims of yoga is to increase balance and it is said that the material world is made up of three Gunas: Tamas, Rajas and Sattva. Gunas can be both states and traits meaning they can be a constant attribute and also fluctuate throughout the day. Tamas is related to inertia/depression, Rajas is related to action/anxiety and Sattva is balance/equanimity. I invited you to try out this of typical Dru Yoga class to reduce Rajas (anxiety) and work towards cultivating Sattva (calm). If you are wanting to reduce Tamas (depression) then this class can also be done with the intention of a more energising effect by moving more dynamically.

Enjoy this time of spring renewal and season of balance. It is a time to get out in nature with a sense of gratitude for the earth.