Thriving through Transitions

I'm not sure who coined the phrase of the moment, "September is the new January," but I love it. In fact, September has always been my January. The anticipation of a new start, the fresh supplies, and the return to routine fill me with both an eager determination and a wistful mourning. For, as much as September is a time of beginnings, it's also a time of transition. 



Summer's heat and hours spent lounging by the water give way to dropping temperatures and adjusting to shorter days with packed schedules. As tans fade, so does the vacation vibe, and it's easy to get caught up in the frenzy and, even before October hits, experience burn out. Or, we can take a different approach and transition smoothly into autumn. 

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How we flow from one asana to the next gives us some insight into how we can move into this next season and the next stage of our lives. Here's what I'm practicing on my mat, sharing with my students, and living with my family: 

1. FOCUS: Just as we set an intention to inform our yoga practice, we can set an intention that guides and supports our choices in life. This summer, I started working with Danielle La Porte’s workbook, The Desire Map and engaging these two essential questions: How do I want to feel? What will I do to feel the way I want to feel? These simple questions are keeping my choices clear on everything from the asanas I practice to how I schedule mine and my family’s time; the foods we eat to the conversations I have. Focus is the thread that inspires and unites our actions.
2. FOUNDATION: In addition to fostering balance, a strong foundation is key to moving safely and elegantly from one asana to the next, and it’s also essential to maintaining equanimity in times of transition. While whatever is touching the earth grounds and stabilizes the body, it is the breath that establishes a sense of connectivity and roots us into the present moment. Simply observing the breath can align us with presence in a pinch.    For a more focused practice, try following the inhale breath from the soles of the feet, through the legs and into the muladhara chakra, or pelvic floor. On the exhale, breath flows from the pelvic floor, down the legs and into the soles of the feet. Play with this pattern in your yoga practice, while prepping dinner, waiting in line, anytime—a supportive foundation prepares us to move smoothly from where we are to where we’re going.
3. FLUIDITY: The quality of a transition—whether from plank to downward dog or summer holiday to school schedules—depends on our ability to “go with the flow.” In the case of asana, flow happens when the breath guides the movement. Allowing movement to follow breath establishes a relationship of trust that relaxes the mind and releases the body. Likewise, when shifting from one season to another, one event to another, or even one life experience to another, we can practice attuning to and accepting how it is, rather than struggling against the current. One easy way to open the channels of breath is to use a neti pot daily. Irrigating the nasal passages with warm salted water gets rid of the gunk and lubricating with oil—sesame, coconut, argan—protects against colds. Keeping the channels open and clear—in the body and in the mind—enhances our ability to move fluidly and easily. 
4. FLUENCY: Borrowing this term from a dear and gifted teacher, Elena Brower, fluency describes our ability to adapt to new situations and the level of mastery we attain through measured devotion. To be fluent requires focus, foundation, and fluidity. On the mat, fluency is experienced through the integration of body, breath, mind, and spirit; off the mat, fluency is expressed through the quality of our responsiveness to the moment. Simply put, are my thoughts, words, and actions moving me closer towards my highest self? The degree to which the answer is “yes” is the measurement of your fluency. In times of transition, which is, let’s face it ALL THE TIME, it is this ability to respond wholeheartedly to what is happening right now that determines the difference between floundering and flourishing. 

Historically speaking, September is the start of a season that has been challenging for me so I’m looking forward to contemplating these inquiries during the time I’ve scheduled for personal study, exploring the topics of focus, foundation, fluidity, and fluency in my classes, and implementing the self-care strategies with my family. May these principles and practices be of value and use to you and the people you care for, and may you move with ease and an ever-expanding sense of possibility into the next stage of your becoming.​