To Everything There Is A Season
March is a season which not only brings great change, but forces us to accept and participate in change too. We conserve our energy in the wintertime, and find that the cold makes us withdraw, hanging on tightly for the promise of spring. Emotions affect the physical body and the suppleness of our spine (or lack thereof) extends to the periphery of our body and affects our perception. It can be easily said that the health of your entire body depends on the health of the spine and nervous system. There is so much more than just understanding anatomy and creating a “fix” based on how we understand the mechanical aspects of movement with regard to taking care of the physical body. Building our awareness past the physical realm, the bigger picture, allows us to look deeper, as yogis, to recognizing that we are spiritual beings on a journey here on this earth, presently in a human body.
Our body is a great gift which holds many truths. Lessons from exercise physiology teach us that to take care of the body, to act from the perspective of wellness and prevention, we need to attend to the components of physical fitness: muscular strength, flexibility, balance and cardiovascular endurance. Lessons from the Vedas (yogic texts to include Ayurveda, the science of life) explain the 5 layers of the body, the koshas, and the importance of tuning in to get past the superficial physical layer, past the second energy layer, to the deeper emotional, spiritual layers, in order to understand ourselves better, and address the need for a daily wellness practice includes body, mind and spirit (soul). Lessons from the Bible, Koran and Torah and more, lay the foundation of our faith and guide our spiritual practices too. All of these ways encourage us to keep moving forward on our journey, growing with the lessons of the seasons, especially the seasons of life.
May the lessons of March lend themselves as a reminder to come out of hibernation and extend from the center to the periphery and back again; to reach out and be in community yet remember to come back to yourself, embracing all that you encounter as reminders of impermanence. If only we can aim to refine our resolve to be present more often, then change is not so scary, rather it is laced with joy in the rebirth that is the promise of Spring, and in that deeper truth: To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1