October 2020 | Transform
NOTE: This was originally published as part of my newsletter in October 2020. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive the next Om Letter direct to your inbox once a month.
How do you start a new tradition, ritual or habit? As I sit here, contemplating what the perfect opening line for this first ever Om Letter might be, the yoga teacher in me can’t help but see a metaphor in everything, including this very moment.
So often the hardest part of leading a yogic lifestyle that honours all eight limbs of this ancient tradition is beginning again: embracing new or uncomfortable ideas, and as soon as we notice that initial struggle turn the tide towards ease, we find a new way of challenging the very notion of ‘comfort.’ Simply writing that out, I’ll admit, makes it sound like an exhausting practice, but it is this constant process of exploring, uncovering, layer by layer, expanding our awareness outwards that has held my curious attention for the past thirteen years.
I recently completed my advanced yoga teaching certification, which now firmly cements me into the ISHTA Yoga lineage. In Sanskrit ishta means ‘that which resonates with the individual Self.’ It is also an acronym for the Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra & Ayurveda. Meeting once a month with my fellow ishtees over the past year, so much has shifted. Not just in my own, internal landscape, but also within the wider world around us. When we began this training, the yoga world was an entirely different place.
All of us are now living this ‘new normal’ and some of us have felt supported by our existing yoga practice in wonderfully unexpected ways. Maybe the fact that we have been actively challenging our ‘little grey cells’ (as my partners favourite fictional detective would say) has helped us adapt to this ever-changing situation just a little more readily than we might have done without our practice.
Now it feels as though we’re gearing up for round two: the darker, colder winter months that lie ahead which personally, I find challenging even in the best of years. Will we find it easier or harder to protect ourselves and those we love? Did we stretch ourselves a bit too thin earlier in the year or did we take a lesson from yoga here too in that we’ve been conserving our energy reserves like a wise tantrika would?
In the Ayurvedic tradition (yoga’s sister science), Autumn is thought to be a period of transition that can leave us feeling unsettled if we don’t move through it consciously. Historically, this is a time when we would harvest and store provisions for winter - reaping the rewards for seeds sown earlier in the year. Although most of us will find ourselves living a very different lifestyle than our ancestors, our Autumns can still serve as a preparation time before the natural hibernation period sets in. So here are a few Ayurvedic ideas that might help you live more in tune with this season of change:
Feed inner warmth
During Autumn all meals should be warming so avoid raw foods, muesli or cereal as well as sandwiches. Include more natural oils and warming spices such as ginger and cumin in your cooking. Indulge in lots of herbal teas throughout the day.
Nourish your shell
Ayurvedically speaking, Autumn is considered the Vata season which means its overriding qualities are dryness and wind. Both of these attributes can leave our skin feeling a little rough so ideally we would pay particular attention to our skincare regimen during this time. You may even consider adding a regular abhyanga or padabhyanga self-massage into your daily or weekly routine.
Embrace stillness
A simple cure to counteract the flighty nature of this season is to take just five minutes every day to sit or stand still in uninterrupted silence. Find a quiet space at home or in nature. Notice the silence around you, or the absence of silence. With your eyes closed, pay particular attention to the sensations of your physical body - the temperature of the air caressing your skin, the movement of your own breath, the connection of your body into the Earth, the steady beat of your own heart. Bring a child-like curiosity to this practice and observe your state of mind as it begins to shift.
I hope in the midst of all the turbulence that this Autumn will undoubtedly bring that you’ll make the time to enjoy that gradual slowing down as we, and the natural world around us, gradually draw our energy inwards and begin to retreat.
Finally, I would like to thank you all for being here - someone out there in a marketing department somewhere might refer to you as an ‘early adopter.’ The type of person who supports someone else’s journey or project at that very early stage when they themselves spend half their time second-guessing their life choices. I’m not entirely sure how anything would ever get off the ground without people like you, but I’m glad you’re here. So many of you have shown me immense amounts of kindness, not just in recent months but in some cases over the course of several years. It’s tricky to communicate how often that has kept me going, but please know that I am deeply grateful to you.
With love,
OM x
Monthly Mantra
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be”
Lao Tzu
October Playlist
No spooky tunes needed! This playlist is the perfect soundtrack for the season of slowing down and self-reflection.
Featured Flow
Counteract the fast paced, ever-evolving nature of this season by grounding down into this challenging balancing sequence.
Reading Recommendation
This month I’d like to highlight my Qi Gong teacher Mimi’s book ‘Xiu Yang’ which focuses on the ancient Chinese art of self-cultivation. Rather than prescribing how we should live our lives, I feel this book guides us back to our own internal wisdom. It has recently been translated into German as well.
Thank you for reading - if you have any questions please feel free to reach out via email.
Copyright © 2020
Oceana Mariani
