seasonal practices - Holly Foster

December 30, 2020

Begin again

Another year comes to a close, offering us an opportunity for reflection. Perhaps more than most in recent memory, we’ll be glad to bid this year farewell. Its challenges were felt across the globe, and while cheers of “We’re all in this together” drew us closer with a sense of community and connection, we also witnessed deep division, mistrust, and isolation that threatened to pull us farther apart. Whatever this year held for each of us, may we find it in our hearts to look back with gratitude for its blessings, and to acknowledge the lessons we learned from its challenges.

Many of us might be looking eagerly to the new year as a time to start over, a clean slate – and given the way 2020 has unfolded, who could blame us. However, one of the most important lessons we learn in mindfulness practice is that we can always begin again – anytime, anywhere, right-here-now. We don’t need a new year, a new month, a new season; every day is new, every hour is new, every moment is a new opportunity to release what’s no longer serving us and begin again with an open heart and a fresh perspective.

Thich Nhat Hanh wrote: “Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully each moment, and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.” When we’re experiencing challenges – whether they’re physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual – it can sometimes feel as though there’s no relief in sight, no light at the end of the tunnel. But what if relief is waiting on the next breath? In the next moment? What if relief is found by waking up each morning and choosing to live fully each moment with kindness and compassion, beginning with ourselves?

Winter is a season of darkness, cold, stillness, and quietude. If we release our tendency toward constant busyness and activity, we can embrace the introspective energy of winter and nourish ourselves the way Mother Nature intended. We can welcome stillness, spend time in quiet reflection, withdraw from the cacophony around us to listen deeply within. With loving awareness, we can acknowledge our fears and anxiety, welcoming them as warmly as we do our joy. As we listen with kind attention to our inner wisdom, to our deepest self, our fears loosen their grip and we make our way to a state of ease and grace. Each day a challenge might present itself, and each day we can choose to respond to it with that same loving awareness and compassion, creating our own light at the end of the tunnel as we begin again. It’s a continual process: renewing our compassion for ourselves and others, forgiving ourselves and others when we or they falter, and then starting anew…again, and again, and again.

As we say goodbye to the year that was and welcome the year that will be, I wish you joy and good health, with deepest gratitude for your support. I leave you with the poetic wisdom of John O’Donohue.

For a New Beginning – by John O’Donohue

In out of the way places of the heart
Where your thoughts never think to wander
This beginning has been quietly forming
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire
Feeling the emptiness grow inside you
Noticing how you willed yourself on
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the grey promises that sameness whispered
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream
A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

November 22, 2019

Our true nature

In recent weeks, I have found myself gazing inward – a natural tendency at this time of year, with shorter days and colder temperatures. Autumn is a time for introspection and reflection, a time for nourishing ourselves and shoring up our inner resources so that we are strong and resilient for the long, cold winter ahead. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the autumn season is associated with the lung and large intestine organ systems, and the energy of the lungs is said to be one of “letting go”, releasing what no longer serves or resonates with us on our current path. When we reflect within, we can observe habits and patterns, thoughts and emotions, beliefs and expectations that are no longer of benefit, and that might be limiting our growth or even causing us harm. Our task then becomes allowing ourselves to let them go, to release ourselves from the suffering they cause – and this can be easier said than done.

I have always had a great deal of difficulty with the so-called “business of yoga”. Self-promotion runs counter to who I am as a person. I have never been on Facebook. I know almost nothing of Twitter (except its dubious reputation as the primary platform for the Tweeter-in-Chief south of the border). I created an Instagram account simply to stay in closer touch with family that was far away, and later it enabled me to remain connected with friends I left behind as I moved on to a new city (though how ‘connected’ anyone can really be through Instagram could be the subject of an entire post on its own). For me, yoga is about compassion, connection, truthfulness, authenticity – every day embodying the Yamas and Niyamas that are the foundation of our practice. I feel as though much of the business of yoga completely contradicts the practice of yoga, and I find it increasingly challenging to reconcile this within myself.

Lately, my inward reflection and observation has revealed some deeply conflicted feelings – a crisis of faith, if you will. Around me I see business practices that inflict harm rather than do good, that limit access to this practice instead of expanding it, that show immense respect for profits and none at all for the human contribution without which those profits would not be earned. I find it amusing, though disheartening, that I have been discriminated against because I did not do my training at a particular school, because I do not have an established following of students I would bring to a new studio, because I do not post photos of myself on Instagram doing complicated poses, because I am not the right age for the studio’s chosen demographic (this one is my favourite!). None of these things has anything to do with the practice of yoga or the transmission of its teachings, yet here they are, front and centre in what yoga has become in many places in the West.

The conflict that I feel over what I see around me has manifested itself in my body, and it is time for me to pay attention. If we take the time to listen, our body will tell us when we are not living in harmony with our own true nature, our Svadharma. From a TCM perspective, if our lung and large intestine energy is deficient, we might experience respiratory issues like colds and flu, digestive upset, skin rashes; emotionally we might find ourselves experiencing extended bouts of sadness, muddled thinking, and a sense of disconnection. The inner resources we need to strengthen will instead be depleted and our immune function will weaken. If we are paying attention, our body will tell us that what we need is rest, acknowledging the longer nights of autumn by getting more sleep; we must nourish ourselves with seasonal foods; we must spend time in introspection, drawing our attention inward to reflect on the changing nature of our needs, determining what we are ready to release so that we may make space for new ideas and new possibilities. This is not always an easy process, but it is a necessary one if we are to move forward in good health and flourish on the path ahead.

Take a moment now to pause, to reflect, to listen. What is your body trying to tell you? Can you respond with kindness and compassion? Can you acknowledge that there may be things in your life, in your way of thinking and your way of doing, that might not serve you as well as they once did? Pausing in meditative contemplation will not give us all the answers we want in one sitting, but we can remind ourselves that there is innate wisdom within us, that the answers are there if we can be patient in our search. As Osho tells us, “Truth is not something outside to be discovered, it is something inside to be realised.” And as Jack Kornfield advises, “In the end, just three things matter: how well we have lived, how well we have loved, how well we have learned to let go.” Perhaps it is in letting go that we remove the barriers keeping us separated from the truth. Perhaps by letting go of things like fear and frustration and disillusionment, we can release ourselves from their suffering and become free to live our own true nature.

June 26, 2019

Season of the heart

Summer has arrived! If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, June 21st marked the first day of summer. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the season of summer is associated with the Heart and Small Intestine. It is a season of decidedly Yang energy when we are often more active and engaged, travelling and exploring, spending time outdoors. In spring, we make plans, we plant seeds and put down roots, and when summer comes we see our gardens grow and flourish. Summer is an opportunity to live from the heart, to play with our edges and explore outside our comfort zone.

For the last few weeks I have been absent from this space – my apologies! I have been busy making plans of my own, planting and tending to seeds that are very soon to blossom. The changing seasons are natural times of transition for us, and with the arrival of summer I am transitioning to a new home. I am not moving to a new city this time, only to the other side of my current one – though in a city like Toronto, moving to the other side of town can almost feel that way, as this is a city of diverse neighbourhoods, each with its own unique and wonderful qualities.

We are generally creatures of habit. We enjoy our routines, our familiar patterns, our favourite people and places and things. When we are presented with a transition – either by Mother Nature with our changing seasons, by our own choices and actions, or through unexpected developments in our life – we can choose to view it as an opportunity and embrace the possibilities it may bring. For many people, the arrival of spring is an opportunity to do some ‘spring cleaning’, clearing out the unwanted, unused, unnecessary things that we have collected. We might do this in our physical environment by deep cleaning our homes, giving old clothes and items we no longer need to charities so that others may benefit from them. We can also do some spring cleaning in our inner environment, releasing old judgments, beliefs, expectations, habits; we let go of what no longer serves us so that we can make space instead for things that nourish and inspire us.

If spring is a season of clearing out the old, summer is a season to welcome what is new. What new ideas, activities, and healthy habits can you invite into your daily life this summer? What new places can you explore, even in your own town or neighbourhood? Though sometimes it may feel like we are unable to change, like changing our familiar routines and patterns would be impossibly challenging, humans are strong and resilient beings and we are capable of much more than we think. The idea of stepping outside our comfort zone might be intimidating, but it is the way we grow and learn and flourish in this life. (I touched on the benefits of exploring outside our comfort zone in an earlier post and shared a wonderful little graphic and one of my favourite quotes from Mark Twain. Check it out here.)

So often we make our decisions based entirely on what our mind tells us is the right thing to do. What about our heart? It is within our heart that we connect to our intuition; it is within our heart that we find our wisest, truest self. This truest self is Atman, our essential being, our higher consciousness. Atman is timeless and ageless, the universal self that never changes and is unaffected by the material world. When we are guided by this deep inner wisdom instead of by the expectations and judgments of the external world, we cannot take a wrong step. When we listen to our heart, we can move freely, confidently, open and receptive to all that awaits us on our journey.

As we move into summer, let this be a time to nourish your heart and heed its advice. Let yourself be guided by the wisdom of your intuition. As Rumi said, “I have been a seeker and I still am but I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teaching of my soul.” May we all be so wise and forge a deep, abiding connection to the wisdom that lies within.

April 6, 2019April 6, 2019

Planting new seeds

I love being a student. I love learning new things – new skills, ideas, perspectives. When I do something I’ve never done before, I feel awake and fully present, my attention squarely focused on the moment in which I find myself. It could be almost anything – hiking a new trail, exploring a new city, learning a new language. Our experiences shape who we are day by day and moment by moment; we are always evolving, integrating what we learn and experience into our body of knowledge and adjusting how we interact with ourselves and others accordingly. If we approach each new person/place/idea/experience with an open mind and heart, we can invite their lessons deep within to help us grow, to broaden our horizons and expand our view of the world around us.

I recently attended a conference and had the good fortune to study with some exceptional teachers. I chose sessions that I sensed would offer new ideas and perspectives on familiar topics, as well as some that were largely unknown to me, and I was not disappointed. I learned about a lineage of yoga called Purna Yoga that was created by Aadil Palkhivala, who jokes that he began practicing with B.K.S. Iyengar while in the womb (his parents were having fertility issues and went to Iyengar for help; after four months of practice with him, Aadil was conceived, and both his parents and Aadil continued to practice with him for many years to come). I studied hip health and explored a Purna practice created to support long-term hip mobility and stability. I learned about Thai yoga massage and self-massage, seeing meridian theory from a different perspective and gaining a deeper understanding of the power of hands-on body work. I rolled around in the world of therapy balls, learning more about the role they can play in analysing and improving strength, flexibility and range of motion in our myofascial structures. And I had the opportunity to study with an anatomy expert I have followed for many years (Leslie Kaminoff), diving into lively discussion and practice on bones, muscles and structural diversity, as well as breath-centered yoga and the bandhas. What an extraordinary few days!

After taking in all this new information, I let it settle. I assimilate and integrate what I have learned into my experience, where it can inform my practice and my teaching, where it can help me grow and develop. New seeds have been planted. Some will sprout and flourish, guiding me in new directions on my path, whereas others might not take root or blossom only briefly, as their lessons do not resonate as deeply or with the same relevance to where I am heading on my journey. That’s the beauty of learning – we open our minds and hearts to what an experience can teach us and we have the opportunity to listen and look within, to notice what touches us deeply, what lights us up, what changes our perspective or challenges our preconceptions. We can disregard the lessons, let them roll off us with no effect, or we can welcome them in and see what happens to the way we view ourselves and the world.

In spring we are surrounded by new growth, with budding trees and flowers beginning to bloom. What a perfect metaphor for our own opportunity to grow! My recent studies have sown a healthy handful of seeds, with more to come I’m sure, and I look forward to tending them and seeing what fruit they might bear. As the natural world wakes up around you, what seeds do you wish to plant? What unexpected wonders might they bring your way?

March 22, 2019March 22, 2019

Spring cleaning

Spring has finally arrived! Though outside my window there is a decidedly wintry wind blowing now, the sight of robins in the grass tells me that spring is here. The spring equinox this year coincided with a Super Moon, apparently the first time this has happened since 1905 and it will not happen again until 2144. How fortunate that we were here to see it, and what an extraordinary way to begin a season that invites us to explore new opportunities and possibilities.

In spring we can see new beginnings everywhere, we need only look – buds on the trees, tiny blooms poking through the soil, longer days and warmer temperatures that signal the arrival of a new season. Winter is a natural time for introspection, turning toward ourselves to explore our inner landscape. Maybe this winter you became reacquainted with yourself, reconnected with the light and wisdom and beauty that is you…or maybe you did not. Inner work takes time and patience and commitment and maybe this was not something you were ready to do this winter. Reassure yourself with kindness that that’s okay. It’s spring now, winter is in the past so we let it go without judgment or regret for what might have been, what we might have done. Luckily, there is never a wrong time for inward reflection, and the arrival of spring encourages us to do some inner work now – some interior spring cleaning to sweep away the old, the limiting, the unhealthy, the unwanted, to make space for what is new. What can we clear out? Old habits, unhealthy behaviours, fear and shame and malice, thoughts and feelings and preconceptions that no longer serve us. Just as we clean out our closets, donating clothes we no longer need to make room for new spring additions, so too can we clean out those inner places where we store old feelings, expectations, and beliefs that no longer resonate with who we are today and who we may be in the future.

Traditional Chinese Medicine confirms that spring is a time for clearing out. The season of spring is associated with the Liver and Gallbladder organ systems, which govern the flow of our chi (energy), our inner disposition, and our detoxification processes. When our liver chi is unbalanced, we can feel defensive, agitated, angry, and unable to think or act decisively. Healthy liver/gallbladder chi enables us to make plans and put them into action, to follow our path in life and to regain equilibrium when unexpected challenges threaten to knock us off course. Healthy liver chi also connects us to our innate capacity for compassion – towards ourselves and others. It is this compassion that can help us to recognise and release what no longer serves us, what might be hurting or holding us back, so that we can create space to welcome something new.

As the signs of spring slowly appear, let this be an opportunity for you to refresh and renew your inner landscape. With compassion and lovingkindness, examine some of your habits and patterns, your recurring thoughts and feelings, judgments and expectations. Is there anything that no longer resonates with you, that no longer serves a positive role, that might hold you back as you seek to move forward on your path? Give thanks for whatever lessons they have taught you, and then let them go. Make room for what is new – new ideas, new adventures, new paths forward. Welcome the new growth and possibility of spring.

March 4, 2019March 4, 2019

A new beginning

Spring is on its way. Can you feel it? Outside your door it may still look and feel like winter, but the days are getting longer and soon there will be buds on the trees and tiny blooms will poke their heads through the snow.

Our body knows that spring is coming. Something begins to stir deep within – if only we take the time to listen. Despite our best efforts to confuse and misdirect our body with artificial light from our devices, interrupted sleep patterns, a diet that often has no relationship to the climate we live in, we are still guided by the changing seasons at our deepest levels. We simply need to attune to our body and it will tell us what it needs to remain healthy and resilient.

Whereas winter is a time to invite introspection and quiet into our life, in spring we are like those tiny blooms, slowly poking our heads out from the snow. As we emerge from our long winter’s sleep, we enter a season of awakening and renewal. Spring is a time of planting seeds and making plans, releasing the old that no longer serves us to make way for the new – new ideas, new habits, new steps on our path.

As we eagerly await spring’s arrival, let’s consider what changes this season might bring for us. What are we ready to let go? What no longer brings us joy? What have we outgrown? When we release what we no longer need, we create space for new joys, new adventures, new ideas, new paths forward.

In anticipation of spring and all its possibilities, I leave you with the words of John O’Donohue.

For a New Beginning - by John O’Donohue

In out of the way places of the heart
Where your thoughts never think to wander
This beginning has been quietly forming
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire
Feeling the emptiness grow inside you
Noticing how you willed yourself on
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the grey promises that sameness whispered
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
You eyes young again with energy and dream
A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

October 29, 2018

Letting go

Let go of the battle. Breathe quietly and let it be. Let your body relax and your heart soften. Open to whatever you experience without fighting. ~ Jack Kornfield

Autumn is my favourite season. I revel in its riot of colours, I breathe in deeply its crisp and refreshing air, I nourish myself with its abundant harvest of fruits and vegetables, and like a joyful child I dance my way through piles of leaves and relish the sound of their crunching beneath my feet. Autumn greatly appeals to my nature as an introvert – I love spending quiet time alone curled up with a good book, puttering in the kitchen making hearty soups and savoury preserves with my fall bounty from the farmer’s market. Autumn is a season tailor-made for homebodies like me.

You may have noticed that over the last few weeks there have been some common threads woven through my posts. These threads are an integral part of the larger tapestry that is Autumn and all that this season means for us on a physical and energetic level. The daylight wanes and the temperatures cool; the natural world sheds its summer clothes and quietly prepares for winter slumber. Though our busy modern life seems to draw us ever farther from our connection to nature, when we take the time to listen to our bodies, to listen to our inner selves and the innate wisdom we have within us, we realise that we are deeply moved and shaped by the rhythm of the changing seasons.

Traditional Chinese Medicine teaches us that our vital energy moves through channels in our body called meridians, nourishing all of our cells and tissues. The meridian lines are connected to organ systems, and while there are clear links to the Western understanding of organ function, TCM also assigns other physical and energetic attributes to these systems. TCM also acknowledges the important role that the seasons of the natural world play in our physical and energetic well-being. The autumn season is associated with the Lung and Large Intestine meridians. These organs separate what is essential from what is waste; they eliminate what is unnecessary or toxic and welcome what will nourish and heal. Their energy is one of ‘letting go’, releasing what no longer serves us, creating space to respond to our changing needs so that we have room to grow and move forward on our path.

When we avoid introspection, when we turn away from ourselves and ignore the signals being sent by our mind and body, we are fighting a battle we cannot win. We are an integral part of the natural world. What if rather than struggling against its changing nature, we relaxed and softened into that change? What if rather than clinging tightly to what we know, we released our grip and let go, making space for something new? Autumn is a time for us to dive within and plumb the depths of our experience. Let yourself be nourished by the changing season. Open your heart and your mind to whatever comes, and release what it is time to let go.

October 15, 2018

Sweet surrender

Savasana is one of the most challenging poses in our asana practice. It is also one of the most rewarding, and the most necessary. We lie down, our body relaxes, our breath slows, and our attention withdraws from the external world. It sounds so simple, and yet this beautiful, healing repose runs counter to everything that has come to characterise modern life. Our minds are busy and we fill our days with ever-growing to do lists. We are constantly climbing the dizzying heights of our expectations; each time we reach a summit, we seek out the next peak and begin our climb anew. What if, instead of always climbing to the sky, we lay down upon the earth and paused to welcome stillness? What if, instead of always ‘doing’, we embraced the present moment and took the time to simply be?

Savasana is Sanskrit for corpse pose. Visionary teacher BKS Iyengar often ended his classes with two words of instruction: be dead. To truly absorb and integrate all the benefits of our asana practice, we must surrender fully to stillness. We must let go of our need to be constantly in motion, to be always thinking and doing and moving forward towards something. In stillness lies profound beauty and healing, kindness and wisdom. In stillness we come home to ourselves; we recharge, refocus, and remember that we are already enough exactly as we are.

Savasana is one of the extraordinary gifts of our yoga practice, and it is one that we should invite off the mat and into our daily life. As autumn arrives, the natural world around us is in transition, letting go of summer blooms and preparing for a long winter’s sleep. Our physical and energetic bodies naturally crave this same sense of letting go and finding rest. However, our busy minds try to divert us from this course, continuing the climb to the sky. If we could release our attachment to those busy thoughts and let ourselves be guided by our intuition, we would find that what serves us best in fall is reconnecting to the peace and stillness of the earth.

As the temperature cools and the days grow shorter, attune to the innate wisdom that lies within you. Relax your grip on the busyness of your mind. Release yourself from doing and take time to simply be. Lie down, let go, and feel the earth support your weight. Sink into that nurturing support and let yourself find the sweet surrender of Savasana.

October 8, 2018

Autumn reflections

Each new season brings change; whether subtle or profound, we are all affected by the changing nature of the world around us. In autumn, we see shorter days and cooler temperatures. Depending on where we live, there might be a riot of colour to signal its arrival, one last hurrah before the natural world settles into slumber.

The needs of our minds and bodies also change with each new season. After the expansive, external energy that the heat of summer brings, we find ourselves drawing inward as fall arrives. We feather our nests and get cozy, we nourish our bodies with warming foods made from the bounty of fall’s harvest. This is a time for introspection, for gazing within and connecting to our heart and to our intuition. All of the answers to our biggest, most pressing life questions lie within us, but we rarely take the time to listen openly and honestly to our inner guides.

Let autumn be a time to embark upon an inward journey. Mine the depths of your soul with compassion and lovingkindness and see what treasures you uncover. With open-hearted awareness, attune to the subtle rhythms of your body and your breath, as you dive deep inside to connect to the wisdom that lies within.

Autumn is a time for nourishing food, nourishing practices, nourishing community with friends and loved ones. We shore up our inner resources to support us during the dark and cold of winter that lies ahead. A vital part of our autumn ritual is also adequate time alone and in stillness to attend to the needs of our mind, our body, and our spirit. We take this time to reflect on how these needs may be changing and how we can best respond to them; we reflect on what is serving us well in our life, and what it is time to release. In autumn, we can let go of what no longer serves and supports us, and we can make space for new experiences and ideas that will help us to learn and grow on our path.

What practices can you invite into your fall routine that will nourish you deeply and allow you to explore your inner landscape? Make time for yourself. Make time for stillness and quiet. Make time for healing and for letting go. Welcome spaciousness into your heart and your mind, making room for love, for gratitude, and for possibility.