Everything in nature follows a cycle, a rhythm that has both a beginning and an end. The cycle of day and night, the waxing and waning of the moon, the flow of one season to the next and the passing of one year into the next. There is a pulse, a natural quality of contraction and expansion. Each one as important as the other.
Beginnings and endings are important. Imagine if there was such a thing as an “endless summer”, not only we would never enjoy the richness of the other seasons but we probably would not appreciate the summer in the same way. Knowing that something has an end invites us to be more fully present in the moment and with the experiences that arise.
Endings also encourage a natural process of reflection of what has passed. What did one experience, what did one learn, and what does one wish to take forward into the next new beginning.
If beginnings and endings carry strong energy then sitting between the two lies the more subtle time of transition, which, if we pay attention, can be rich with experiences and insight. Just like when we first wake up, there is a sweet memory of the soft stillness of sleep which draws us back into the sheets. Or at the end of summer, just before Fall one can still feel the heat of the summer sun on brown skin and hear the lingering laughter of outdoor fun.
The transition between the end of one year and beginning of another is a time where we get to look back on the fullness of 365 days and realize how rich life has been with experiences, lessons, and opportunities. Endings can be a time for celebration as what went before has been the soil, seed and fertilizer for what is coming.
The practices of yoga invite us to learn to move consciously through each pose, each breath, each moment, day, season and lifecycle, with as much awareness as possible, knowing that what we plant today we reap tomorrow.
Here at Maha Yoga we have enjoyed a year of hard toil, turning new soil into fertile fields in which new seeds have been planted. Our owner Karin Kuhn wrote on her labor of love with the opening of the studio and her experiences and lessons of these past 6 months in a recent blog which may invoke feelings of sympathy, empathy, and hopefully even inspiration in many of you! READ THE BLOG HERE!
We now sit in the presence of something small and sweet that is expanding and growing each day in its own way. But the forward momentum of the past year must now be tempered with reflection on what is working, what is not, where we can expand and how best to go forward.
Can you make a little time over these last few days of 2018, which are often a time of such holiday busyness and even stress, to reflect on what your year has been like. What still needs some final tending to? What do you need to “weed out” and where can you “make space” to plant new seeds while tending to those already starting to bear fruit?
What are the things that “feed your soul?” What nourishes, inspires and enlivens you? Where can you put your energy in terms of relationships, career, physical activity and your spiritual practice? How can you take better care of yourself this year?
From all of us at Maha Yoga we wish you all a safe and joyous end to 2018 and best wishes for 2019. May this year bless us all with health, happiness, abundance and peace for all!
ALOHA AND NAMASTE
