Main Street Yoga

Yesterday evening I stepped out onto our deck and I noticed the sweet smell of fallen leaves - the unmistakeable scent of change. Dead leaves were scattered across the deck and the grass, and I had to pause for a moment, close my eyes, and breathe it all in.

This brief season - call it late summer or early fall - has always felt magical to me. The days are warm, the mornings cool, and the sky is magical shade of blue that exists at no other time during the year.

I used to mourn the end of summer, but this year - perhaps because summer was so hot, or perhaps because I’m fresh off a retreat that emphasized rest - I feel ready for the coolness and color of autumn that signals it’s time to slow down.

And it doesn’t escape my mind that this season of the year corresponds to this season of my life.

Change is coming.

Wait, that’s not quite right.

Change is constant.

Even when things feel stable and solid, change is churning just beneath the surface hum of everyday life. It’s the one thing we can count on.

This past week, on my Instagram story, I shared this quote from Vex King:

So much of our suffering comes from fighting reality. We cling to how things should be, how people should act, and how life should unfold. But peace lives in the space where you meet life exactly as it is. Not by giving up, but by letting go of resistance.

So set aside some time this week to ponder these questions:

How do you fight with reality?

How does that cause you unnecessary suffering?

In Yoga, we call this type of inquiry svadhyaya - self study.

Throughout autumn, I invite you to notice the changes taking place without wishing things to be anything other than what they are.

And if autumn is your favorite season, see if you can enjoy this time without wanting it to go on forever.

Because change is constant.

We don't have to like every change. We don't have to understand it or know what comes next. But we can practice meeting it with a little less resistance and a little more curiosity.