Having grown up on a farm in upstate New York, autumn is in my DNA as the season of labor-intensive harvest, hearty bounty, and careful preparation for winter. After a decade + hiatus in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the summer-fall-winter seasonal changes require little more than stocking another sweater in your yoga bag for when the SF fog rolls in on your bike ride between work and class; as opposed to stocking the root cellar for vegetable sustenance in the middle of February when everything green is under a foot of snow ~ I'll admit I got soft.
Moving back to a four season climate that more resembles a NY winter than a CA one and year one in France being the coldest winter in 20 years, I had to tap into my (thin-skinned) reserves, restock on wool sweaters and coats, and prepare to freeze my ass off. Since no matter where I am, I teach a seasonal practice, I actually enjoyed the dramatic harshness of distinct seasonal change. It all felt very natural (and cold); memories and connection. Each year for the last four, little by little, when the chilly winds, long shadows, and burnt amber light of autumn appear, my memory becomes more distinct and sweet recollections of childhood come to mind.
Over the course of hundreds of years, my Northern clime ancestors (mostly the women) learned a thing or two about how to avoid scurvy and other ghastly winter diseases ~ preserve, preserve, preserve. So in the fall, I remember participating in the annual canning and freezing fest at Daterra Farms: jams, jellies, compotes, sauces, pickles, breads, soups...and the smells, oh la la. All so that in the deep, dark of February, a simple visit to the cave or freezer would result in un petit goût d'été. You felt like you were eating the sunshine that brought it to life in the first place. Canned August peaches poured out of their Mason jars over vanilla ice cream in February is ALL prana, baby.
So, this Sunday at Paris Yoga, we're going to celebrate the transition from summer to autumn by stocking away some of that yoga peach compote into our Divine root cellar, to pull out in the bleakest part of winter when our practice is lacking in vitality and our bodies feel heavy, weak, cold, and depressed. (How's that for an over-the-top yoga metaphor?)
Our autumn practice conditions us, prepares us, preserves us to be able to handle a harsh winter without succumbing to every last cold, flu, or crankiness in the air. It also brings a bit of levity when the heaviness of winter makes us take ourselves too seriously ;-)
This will be a core awakening, strength building, humor required workshop. It is not for absolute beginners. Bring water.
See you dimanche ~
Autumn Equinox Workshop
10h30 - 12h30
Paris Yoga, 9 rue Magellan
Metro - George V
