October, I am thrilled you are here! I relish the crisp air, the
whisper of magic, the carved pumpkins, the appearance of leather jackets and
boots. I’m planning Hocus Pocus movie
nights and a trip to Magee’s Bakery for the famous pumpkin cookies is
definitely on the Fall agenda.
I’m ready to embrace the playful, sweetly wicked side of October, but
I also recognize that I’ve been feeling ungrounded lately. The Fall season,
with its winds of change, can easily stir me into many a thinking frenzy and am
lured into scheming about the future, repeating the past (Gatsby, I can relate) and end up disconnected from my body and the present
moment.
What helps ground me down? Routine and rituals focus my dancing, Vata mind. I just need the discipline to
follow through with them. So, I add a little bit of sparkly fun to encourage my
bouncy self to settle down for a moment.
At the start of the new month, I make a point to sit down with my
beloved, personalized Erin Condren planner (best gift to self EVER) and a prized collection of
pretty inked pens and take the time to record appointments, yoga classes,
birthdays and events onto the calendar. Instead of feeling stressed or
overwhelmed with the to-dos, scheduling the month actually makes me feel better
prepared and helps me make intentional plans. If I see that I’m double teaching
for a few days in a row, then I know and make sure that I get a day off to take
it easy and decompress.
A morning mindfulness and meditation practice also replenishes and
calms my go!go! mind. Before I get up and start the day, I take a few moments
to simply rest, hearing the sounds around me and noticing how my body is
feeling. I rise and find a comfortable seat for meditation. Meditation lets me
witness where my thoughts are flying off to – either the future or the past. I
compassionately recognize them and then lovingly return to the breath.
Sometimes I fear that when I meditate I’ll just go more thought crazy,
but I haven’t found this to be the case. I feel calmer, breathe more deeply and
operate more smoothly for the rest of the morning. There’s also no “bad”
meditation experience. So even if I were to meditate and just bought into
thinking the whole time that would be all right. It’s an experience. I can
always begin again with a new cycle of breath.
There are a few rituals special to October that invite me to
experience the beauty and magic of one of my favorite months. First of all, I
relish the Fall weather. October promises beautiful walks around the Ashland Estate,
through pumpkin patches, across sidewalks carpeted with red and yellow leaves.
During these walks, I set an intention to receive and marvel at the beauty
around me. I feel my feet connecting me to the ground. I take courage from the
rooted trees and see my thoughts like leaves, floating in the wind. Walks
connect me to my natural, unhurried self.
For Halloween, I’m musing on whether I should be a flapper (for the
third year in a row, but the roaring twenties are my favorite era!), or Cher
from the 90s classic Clueless. I’ll be celebrating with all the ghosts and ghouls and will be doing
so with a calm mind and both feet on the ground. The midnight broom ride can
wait until November.
