Dear yogini,
It’s transition season! If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed or ungrounded, you’re not alone. We’re entering the Spring-Summer transition in the Ayurvedic calendar (late May-early June). As Mother Nature switches into summer mode, the body, mind and spirit may mimic the chaos brought about by change. Any transition brings with it challenges, obstacles, and uncertainty. You may feel a little more vulnerable in your emotional life or a little more scattered in your mental/energetic life. Transition points between the seasons are a wonderful opportunity to check in, rest, release, and create new intentions for the season ahead.
Transitions naturally occur throughout the seasons of your life as well. You transition from childhood to young adulthood at menarche. You transition from independent woman to mother as you cycle through pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum, perhaps multiple times. Perimenopause/menopause ushers in a whole new you and opportunities to re-align with your true purpose in life. Almost always there is an invitation to rest and slow down.
I’ve always considered this particular seasonal transition from Spring-Summer volatile. When you think of the qualities associated with Spring—heaviness, lethargy, abundance—and the qualities associated with summer—sharp, hot, expansive—it’s easy to see why so much unrest tends to unfold around this time. (Take a look at the news and tell me the world is not completely spiraling right now.) For me, fully in the thick of the season of motherhood, late May marks the end of another preschool year for my son and the beginning of our summer travels. I’m preparing to shift into summer mode (reminder: buy more sunscreen) and trying to keep up with all the end-of-school activities while preparing for two weeks of vacations with two different families in two completely different locations. (Pro tip: don’t schedule vacations back-to-back.) I’m also trying to build this community and soak up more summer memories with my kids.1 Just typing that all out is exhausting.
When I hear the word transition in the context of a yoga class, I always think about Chaturanga Dandasana, a pose I have a lot of mixed feelings about. These moments in class that lead you from one sequence to the next have always been interesting to me. By focusing on how you approach your transitions in yoga class, you can learn a lot about how you transition through the rest of your life. Do you insist on powering through your Chatarungas? Do you pause to take note of how you feel in the moment and choose a transition that feels appropriate? Do you gently step forward or back, utilizing props and support to help you along your way? Or do you ignore the transition altogether and simply move on to the next sequence? The transition point has the potential to set the tone for your entire class/life. There is no one right way, just your way. No pressure 😉.
What do you have going on in your life this next couple weeks? Is it a time with lots of activity or does the next month look pretty smooth? Is that on purpose or by accident? How are you feeling about what you’ve got going on?
The practice below gives you the opportunity to get grounded in the whirling vortex that is Spring giving way to Summer. It is designed to help you move through a transition period in your life such as this seasonal transition, any of the female transitions, or for a general transition to a new house, job, creative project, relationship, etc. Enjoy!
With gratitude,
Ashley
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How do you approach transitions in your yoga classes (as a student or a teacher)?
