| Dear Friend,
Early Spring can be a challenging time because we are all carrying excess heaviness, lethargy, and dullness coming out of the winter months. According to Ayurveda, in the Northern Hemisphere we are in Kapha season, a time when cold and prevailing wetness increases our tendency toward depression. Western psychological research suggests something similar. There are more mental health hospital admissions and higher suicide rates in the Spring.
Once we understand how intimately our moods are connected with the seasons, it may be possible to get less thrown off by seasonal mood shifts. Instead of needing to analyze and “therapize” the mood, it can be helpful to understand it may be part of the season, and that there are helpful tools and lifestyle choices that can help.
Learning to get out of your head and into your heart is one of the most profound and life affirming choices we can make as humans, and is especially helpful this time of year.
Depression, fatigue, and even grief often show up between March and May. It’s almost as if the heart is needing to clear out stuck energy. In yoga philosophy, the heart center is believed to be the seat of our true self, so of course we want this area as unencumbered and free as possible.
A Brief Practice to Clear the Heart
- Hold Vajrapradama Mudra, a great mudra for depression, which directs breath and awareness into the heart space and chest, cultivating a sense of openness and trust in ourselves and in life. It is thought to “reawaken us to the joy of living”. To make this mudra, open fingers and interlace them so left little finger is on bottom, and both thumbs are extended upward.
- Close your eyes and envision that above you, behind you and all around you is a sea of light. Feel as if you are surrounded on all sides by goodness, benevolence, and peace. On an inhale, draw some of this light down through the crown of your head into your heart. As you exhale, allow your heart to open and expand. On the next inhale, any darkness, heaviness, or pain in the heart lifts to the crown of the head, and as you exhale release it. Repeat this 2 breath cycle 2-3 more times.
For even deeper healing of the heart, join me for Wisdom Wednesday tomorrow at noon as we explore healing the inner child. |
