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Jilly's Yoga Blog

Halloween Yoga to Lighten Up Dark Days

12/10/2023

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Hanging out in graveyards and sitting meditating upon a corpse, is probably not, I’d guess, how you’ll be spending Halloween. Macabre as it may seem, the Buddha encouraged his monks and nuns to go to the charnel ground to receive a lesson in impermanence by contemplating the body of someone who had recently died. The charnel ground is the place where the dead are cremated; in Buddhism it’s considered to be a sacred space where the conditions are right for transforming fear into awakening. Of course, although it’s unlikely that you would go to such extremes in your own meditation practice, the gentle discipline of our yoga practice is to learn to turn toward unpleasant emotions, rather than push them away.

Although it’s natural to be afraid of the dark, our spiritual practice trains us to turn and face our fear in order that its hold over us might be diminished. We can expend a lot of energy avoiding facing our fears. Consequently, the more we push our fears down, the greater power they exert over us. What we resist persists. Our yoga and mindfulness practice can help us to embrace and engage with our fears, moving through them and out into the light again.
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5 Autumn Meditations to Lighten Up Your Mood

12/10/2023

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5 Autumn Meditations to Lighten Up Your Mood
Bringing Sunshine to Autumn Days 
As autumn turns to winter, do you feel a grey cloud hanging over you and a sense of dread at the onset of the shorter, darker, cooler days? If so, help is at hand to fight off those winter blues and avoid descending into the winter slump. In this article I’ll outline 5 Seasonal Yoga inspired meditations and mindfulness practices that will lighten up your mood and bring sunshine into the darkest of winter days.
  1. Invite the Sun to Power Your Yoga Practice Introducing images of the sun into a yoga session is uplifting, empowering and expands your sense of what is possible. At the start of your yoga practice, spend some time either lying or sitting and picture the sun in the sky. Feel the warmth of the sun. Next, imagine the sun within your own body, at the solar plexus, radiating warmth and healing light all around your body. Then, as you do your yoga practice, keep bringing your awareness back to this part of the body and visualize a sun radiating warmth and light there.    
  2. Mindfully Plant Spring Flowering Bulbs. Although the autumn-winter season is not a good time for action, however, it’s a great time for incubating plans for next growing season. You can either mindfully plant the bulbs outside in the soil, or inside in a pot. As you place your bulb in the soil, imagine all the wonderful things that you wish to grow more of in your life, such as love, courage, and self-compassion. Or picture a project that you’ll be incubating over winter and imagine it sending up green shoots and blossoming next spring. Remember, that you, like the bulb in the soil, can use this autumn-winter period to put down strong roots; to find rest and renewal; and to incubate ideas which will come to fruition next spring and summer.
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    Author

    This occasional blog is designed to share my yoga class handouts, resources, and tips with my yoga classes.

    ​Other yoga teachers are welcome to use the handouts etc. that I share here, but please acknowledge me as their source. Thanks. 

    Disclaimer: if you have any concerns about your health or suitability to do yoga, please consult a medical professional before attempting any of the yoga routines in this blog.

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