​A.U.T.U.M.N   E.Q.U.I.N.O.X 

@ 15.30 T.O.D.A.Y

It seems too fast for summer to have come to an end and already for Autumn Equinox to be here but today is that day!

"A moment of cosmic equanimity" - Gaia.com

The day to celebrate the almost equal day and night. A time to reflect on all that has happened in 2020 so far.  With that comes a process of slowing down and drawing inwards.  

It is a time where you can turn into the RHYTHM of the Earth, the natural change in light, the surrendering of the plants and nature letting go of its leaves and following natural cycle of life and death. 

So today I choose to begin the journey of letting go, letting go the sadness that summer is ending, letting go of holding onto the light and I choose to bring my attention once again to that light that shines inside.  

I choose to reignite my practices that always help look a little deeper at my patterns of behaviour, thinking and I choose to keep the Light over the dark in my heart.  Like the earth, I will use this time to regenerate, conscious eating, breathing and being with more attention and focus. 

I look forward to Autumn, thinking of the warming foods, woolly jumpers, forest walks, mantra evenings and grounding practices.   
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Whats your favourite practices, foods and things to stay healthy and well?

Have you been able to find your own Rhythm?  

​Do you feel in balance or looking forward to slowing down, checking in and finding your place of homeostasis? 

Yoga, breath work, mantra, meditation, self care routines and rituals will all help you come back home to your self, to feel more peace and become more grounded and rooted no matter if the world is going wild around you.  

​Take time for yourself in your day, maybe just to breath for a few minutes, or ⁠be still.  99% of the time you will always feel better.

Have a great start to Autumn.  

All my love Helen x

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Heres a great mantra to chant for this time of year. 

Om Asato Ma Sat Gamaya - From Ignorance lead me from Truth

Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya - From darkness lead me to light

Mrityor Maamritam Gamaya - From death lead me to immortality

Here is a 60 minute yoga practice designed to arrange and charge you for your day ahead, with lifted heal variations in high lunges and some gentle heart openers and backbends.  This is a practice to take you back to the summer feeling.  

2020 Summer time certainly has been a different and slightly strange summer.  With many people deciding not to travel or travel locally and then others wanting to travel further a field only to experience long traffic delays or flights diverted or cancelled at short notice.  

For me our holiday time was spontaneous and very unplanned.  Any planning that was done before hand had to be cancelled last minute due the German authorities putting various countries and locations on their High risk COVID 19 list.  Like all holidays we had our highs and lows! For me spending hours a day in a car made me realise how much I needed a moment to practice yoga, this didn't happen until day 4 or 5 and then I could fully appreciate why my practice always draws me back, like an old friend coming to share their positive vibes.

We had sunshine, rain, electric storms, sunshine again and in-between we experienced our car being broken into and our clothes and things stolen. We got fined as we forgot to buy a pass to drive through Slovenia and we got charged for a cool off the grid hut that we couldn't get to due to the restrictions.  

To balance all of this however we were by the sea and I grew to remember the simplicity of hearing the birds sing, the calming sounds of the waves gently lapping in and out until you fall asleep on the beach, watching Jahni (our 3 year Old) wanting to constantly go in and out of the water and her swimming unaided each day gathering confidence to swim a little further and go under the water a little more.  Picking fresh figs and grapes from the trees and vines and generally relaxing. 

It took quite some time, for my mind to forget the daily details of home life, all the things needing to be done and then at one point my mind relaxed and stopped comparing to other places, such Greece (my favourite) and enjoyed being exactly where we were, Istria, Croatia.  Then the days felt long, the sun warming my soul, heart and whole being, whilst the sea refreshing me and drawing me back in again and again and again.

Of course once we are home, my mind could wander straight to the fact that I would have liked to have seen more sunsets, or feeling annoyed about our things being stolen or extra expenses for nothing.  However I am making a promise to myself to remember the sea, diving in and out, Janhi‘s joy at her new mermaid, the relaxed vibe of Istria and most of all spending time appreciating the simple things, like throwing pebbles into the sea, a never ending game! 

How was your summer time? Did your holiday go as planned or did you have unexpected adventures?  How are you talking to yourself these days as the summer draws to an end?  Whats your positive take aways from the summer time and do you still feel like you deserve a rest?

If yes, and you are looking for an end of summer weekend retreat to regain that sense of simplicity or maybe give back time to yourself as you didn't manage to get away. Join myself and a lovely group at Reinighof , Germany.