In August of 2018 I attended a yoga class in Bellingham, Washington. I don’t remember the name of the studio, or the instructor, but I remember the theme of the class… it had to do with this season, late summer, a time of berries dripping off the vine, the peak of earth’s production, of bounty and luxury, of savoring.

I remember the image she painted of lazily enjoying time in the hammock, and letting ourselves feast on the harvest of so much work. I remember it so clearly because, up until that point, I had never thought of the summer as a time for slowing. More play, yes! But I associate slowing down with winter. And yet, we have seasons within seasons, and at the time I had been zooming and zipping all over the West in my #tinvyvan period, gaining speed and momentum in external ways, but I was starting to run out of juice, and resonated with her call to pause for pleasure.

I liken this time of the year to the moment of cresting the peak, when the steepness of the ridge starts to ease a bit, the lungs and legs that have been working hard to carry you here, to this beauty, are strong and moving in practiced rhythm, and suddenly the work gets just a little easier, the heart feels relief, your eyes look up, out, and you are able to see more of the world around you. You are able to see how far you have come.

Is it just me? Or is there not more room now, for perspective, for ease. If the winter is about turning inward, then the summer is full expression outward. That too can be exhausting… and here, at the top of the inhale, what if you were to pause and SAVOR?

What would you notice? How far have you come? What fruits can you enjoy in this moment of your life?

Of course I do not mean that the struggles of our shared existence have disappeared, that there aren’t very real challenges and ongoing pain in our lives.

What I intend to say is,

at this time of year,

what does the natural world show us?

How can we incorporate a little of her wisdom into our own animal bodies?

May I be a bear,

just for the afternoon,

eating these berries,

finding cool shade,

resting and seeing,

in the distance,

just how far

I have come.

Collective Uplift

May I be a bear

Aspen Roots Collective, PLLC