Spring fever is starting to hit, especially for those of us who live in Alberta. The last few days have seen some pretty warm weather and the snow is starting to melt. As the snow melts and spring approaches there is always this excitment that the hard cold winter is over and the long blissful days of summer are approaching. Lush green foliage, the sound of sprinklers and children paying, blue skies and beautiful flowers entice renewed vigour and fantasies of a new fresh start.
However as the the great thaw sets in and we watch the snow and ice melt layer by layer to reveal a big mess of brown, grimey, yucky mess that has long been buried and collected under the snow over the long harsh winter.
This “great thaw” is reminiscent of the process of transformation. During the process of transformation we go though: Detoxification, Creation and Manifestation. The “great thaw” is often a metaphor i use to describe detoxification. Detoxification is a process in which we not only clean out the body, but we also clean out the mind.
I have had many friends talk about spring cleaning over these last few days. Spring cleaning for most of us involves the scouring of all the nooks and cranes. You know that closet where you cram EVERYTHING, the couch that you sweep those little bits of dust, the area rug or couch cushion that you never lift up, for the FEAR of what might lie beneath. Out of sight, out of mind! Right?………
As we start this process of detoxification, slowly peeling back the layers that are sucking us dry of energy (kinda like that scene on the dark crystal where that machine sucks their essence) we often find ourselves stuck in a yucky, grimy mess that is uncomfortable and quite often we try to sweep it under the proverbial rug. However whatever we fight, hide or resist, persists (this is one of Empowered Yoga’s laws of alignment in yoga and life) In order to get rid of the old and create space for new possibility (another Empowerd Yoga law of alignment in yoga and Life) we need to uncover and let go of all of the stuff that is keeping us frozen in our bodies and lives. LET GO AND FLOW.
The process of detox requires many important steps:
Awareness (Vidya) Your attention is your psychic energy. Where are you investing it. Another one of the Empowered Yoga laws of alignment in yoga and life is: What you feed gets bigger. What are you PAYING your attention to?
Slow down (Shani) This one just hit home yesterday when i tried to cram my practice in while there was too much else going on…..needless to say i ended up with 2 stitches and a concussion from a very random accident, okay universe i got it but it literally required me getting hit over the head with a glass jar while up upside down in a handstand and landing on a piece of lego. Slowing down is kinda like how athletes use instant reply for feedback. When we slow down we create space to be more subjective and make better decisions another way of saying this is we wake the fuck up and see things clearly.
Discipline (Tapas) It takes tremendous discipline to stick with the process. We often set goals and focus so much on the beautiful pot of gold at the end of the rainbow but forget about the storm we have to go through to get there. Another one of the Empowered Yoga laws is: Challenge makes you stronger!
Letting go (Variaga) This is a confusing concept as we have grown to believe that surrender is synonymous with giving up and therefore carries a negative connotation. However letting go is a health secret. What stories, relationships, baggage, lies etc are you holding onto that are no longer serving you. If you no longer need them, let them go.
Once we get through this transitional period; the great thaw, the snow has melted and revealed the potential of new life and opportunity (we have created space for possibility) we then have the opportunity to CREATE a big beautiful vision for our life. Without the process of detoxification aka the great thaw, the goals we set become just another place for us to get to, in order to fulfill a “desire” that is most likely not even ours in the first place, or in alignment with what is really important to us and if in fact we manage to get there happiness is eluded, because happiness is not a place to get to, and we continue to seek our entire life, never fulfilled. The process of detox on the other hand is like cleaning your room so you can locate what you were looking for and in the process we often discover we actually already have everything we ever needed.
If you want to find out more about this work, we have an Empowered Yoga 200 Hr training this spring, where we will apply the 10 Universal Laws of Alignment in Yoga and life as well as create a strong home practice, learn to share yoga and become EMPOWERED on and off the yoga Mat.
I also work one on one with clients through the Empowered Living program, or in a corporate setting
Namaste
MT