Looking out at the crisp clarity of the icy garden & my snow covered yoga platform I almost wish I was brave enough to take my meditation practice outside. Instead I decided to take the beauty of the cold outside into my internal world. To do this I needed to maintain my inner warmth with increasing my agni (internal fire) with a strong dynamic practice before sitting to a breathing & then meditation practice. Combining the joy of movement and the peace of stillness into my practice always leaves me feeling warm & somehow touched more by the appreciation of my world.
There is something special about appreciating the amazing beauty in the natural world. Something I often forgot to do when I lived a more fast paced life. Just pausing for a moment to look around and notice. Be it gazing out of the window as the kettle boils, enjoying the time it takes for the traffic lights to change or just reveling in each footstep as you walk.
My favorite pranayama (breathing) practice with always be working with the pause after the exhale…the time when the world stills & listens & the mind is calm. This is a practice that for me can be integrated into the asana (posture) practice & then linked into the stilling of the mind in meditation.
So goodbye for now as I’m off to play at appreciation of stillness…