End-of-Summer
I hope you’ll join me for Pop-Up Stretch & Flow before the Farmer’s Market this Saturday … my last class offering in August … then we move into September, WOW!
Jim, me, Baxter & Tortilla had a “staycation” this year … we enjoyed home time and then a week up the mountain at a friend’s lovely little cabin … it’s one of our favorites & the boys, being “senior gentlepups” now, are familiar with the space and less stressed.
The end of summer can feel (for me, maybe you too) like a tug-of-war between “let’s get it all in before school / work / Fall starts!” and “omgoodnessIjustneedaminute.”
A few years ago, I started taking August “off” from teaching my regular yoga classes … in part because we’d be gone for vacation for 2 weeks & it just seemed like a lot to squeeze in one more class. Also, I find that most people are burned out, getting their final vacations in, and/or preparing for kids going back to school.
I admit I was fearful that taking time off would cause folks to not come back to yoga with me! What a Western anxiety mindset, right? It was interesting to watch that anxiety within me, attempting to suggest ways to keep going while taking time off (what an oxymoron that is!).
Maybe you’ve experienced something similar — that if you don’t keep going, then it will all come crashing down. That, to me, is 24/7 social media culture getting the best of us.
What I actually experienced in taking time off from my regular schedule was much more lovely:
1) Ability to do my own yoga practice.
2) Let my mind wander & daydream & (gasp) do nothing for a while … not even yoga … & come back more inspired.
3) That folks like you were super-supportive & encouraging, that you DID come back to yoga with me ;) … & you got to take your own break and/or try out a new teacher/class/practice!
Life is much more abundant than I’ve often given it credit for … I’m learning & re-learning this every day after so many decades of a scarcity mindset.
“Nature does not hurry, and yet everything is accomplished.”
Over the past few weeks, I have been harvesting sunflower heads from my garden … some as big as my face! Some I leave for the birds — it’s absolutely amazing to see a bright yellow goldfinch on a sunflower. Others I’ve decided to harvest for seeds for next year and also for my birdfeeders over the Winter.
Click on photo to see seed-harvesting!
Maybe you have harvested sunflower seeds — I had not — and 1) it’s more time-consuming than one expects! And 2) there are SO. MANY. SEEDS. on ONE sunflower head!
I’ve watched these sunflowers grow from seeds to sprouts to over 10 feet tall … in their own time and with the Sun … no rush … and ALL that abundance was accomplished.
I’m hopeful that I continue to learn from Nature’s cycles & pace — to plant, sow, grow, harvest & especially REST & REJUVENATE in season.
I’d love to hear your thoughts — email me at erica@ericaengel.com and let me know how you’re meeting the end-of-Summer season.
Looking forward to practicing with you soon, E