Following the Wheel of the Year

Nature is stirring and maybe you are too?

We are now well past Imbolc and heading towards the Spring Equinox. The shift from winter into spring is underway and even though the harshest weather may still be to come, the light is returning into our world and with it, a little more energy and verve! The birdsong is ramping up, territories are being established, animals and birds are pairing up ready to mate and plant life is pushing up from the warming earth. 

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What I love about following the wheel of the year and the cycle of traditions from our shared agricultural heritage, is that every six or seven weeks there is a marker to celebrate. Either a subtle seasonal shift like Imbolc, or a precise astronomical event like the eqinoxes and solstices. 

It helps divide up the year, and especially the long winter months, into more manageable phases. It encourages me to notice the gradual changes in the landscape and to gently log where I’m at in terms of planning and acting on my dreams and goals for the year. 

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Spring is obviously the time for new beginnings, but Spring Equinox is also a good time to consider balance. When the hours of daylight and darkness are the same, we might enquire where the imbalances are in our daily lives.

~ Are we spending our time on the things that really matter to us or are we getting distracted?

It’s a good time to look at resistance and apathy and where they show up in our lives and the effect they have on our sense of wellbeing.

~ What new things do we want to dive into this year? …and how might we get in our own way?

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February and March are also the spring cleaning months and I learnt recently that the period from Yule to Spring Equinox used to be called The Cleansing Tide. It’s the time to clear out, wash clean, let go of unnecessary clutter and prepare a clear space for the coming year. It was a mental as well as a physical space-clearing, in tune with the shifts happening in nature. 

If life is already full to the brim, there’s no room for new experiences and adventures.

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All of this, of course, is fuel for our seasonal yoga practice. On the mat, we can explore resistance as a physical force. We can play with our capacities to push and to yield, to reach and to rest, to take ourselves in and out of balance in a safe space.

We benefit hugely from the physical practice to refresh our bodies, rejuvenate our breathing, clarify our focus and thinking. Every time we move our body in a conscious and caring way, we’re respecting its innate intelligence and capacity to heal. Our yoga practice is a laboratory for experiments in living well. 

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If you’d like to join me in this life-long experiment, a new Springtime round of yoga classes begins from the 12th March. All the dates and details are HERE.

Get in touch for more information and to book your place.