expansions & contractions part 2

The season has reached close to it's full expansion here in Michigan, with the harvest waning and leaves beginning to shift into deep hues of orange, red and yellow. Like the fullness of a brief pause at the end of a slow inhalation, the garden gives it's last burst, with brussel sprouts, squash, pumpkins, beets, turnips, potatoes and onions. And, like the long slow exhalation following the pause, we begin to settle in to the season's contraction of winter. How do we prepare? On a practical level for yoga, it means more pratapana (warm ups) before asanas. Let the body warm gradually, with breath, patience and acceptance of the muscle's need to move slowly at first. On a practical level for life, around our house it's putting the garden to bed, splitting firewood and stacking it in neat rows in the garage and along the driveway, pots of soup on the stove, and hunkering down with good books, warming food and drink and the company of loved ones.