Summer Chill
I will never forget my “A-ha” moment in 7th grade Physics class, when our teacher unraveled the mystery of horizons. Known as the apparent junctions between Earth & Sky these mystical intersections don’t exist. The visible and the invisible are intertwined into a double helix of cause and effect. Just like our DNA stores boundless potential, the horizon stretches into infinity. This was the first time I recognized that boundaries don’t exist, like the horizon, they are an optical illusion. They are self-imposed limitations that inhibit our ability to stretch further, to venture into the school of life without expectations and restrictions. We tend to be a culture of restrictions, of borderlines, bans and taboos. Bound by a western geography of thought we seldom determine objects and functions by isolating them from the environment they inhabit. We formulate definitions and axioms, we separate science from wisdom. In fact, most of the information we acquire at school is based on deductive arguments, on fixed laws, on apparent boundaries that should never be trespassed.
I am a trespasser, an inductive observer who likes to explore objects in their relationship with the ecosystem, to experience every set boundary as a horizon. As the world unifies around its diversity we can extend a bridge between the local and the global, between individuals and traditions. Then we are ready to sacrifice our illusions that keep us stuck in a plane of limitations, and choose sustainability over competition. As we open our panoramic vision we see ourselves as an indelible link in a chain of wholeness and integrity. It requires a mental switch, a spiritual conversion within ourselves as we celebrate our richness.
Summer is when the Earth bathes in its bounty. With all in nature in a riot of fertility we are ready to bloom our creativity, and cherish our plentitude. This simple act of rejoicing one’s gifts is rooted in our ability to let go of our self-imposed boundaries as we embrace the latency of fullness, the bliss of summer. In summer all yogis indulge into a cocktail of chilled “asanas”, calming forward bends that pacify the turbulent mind and open an endless avenue of unexplored potential. Come, let’s venture into this horizon…it’s the perspective of “Summer Chill.”
Forward Bending Yoga Routine – Summer Chill
This Yogea sequence is an “insalata mista” of core-boosters and heat soothers. Abdominal toners trim the body for beachwear, as generous forward bends remind us of our ability to yield into abundance and prosperity. A gentle warm-up of kneeling, standing, reclining and inverted poses builds heat, targeting strong abs and supple hamstrings. Establishing a strong core, facilitates proper postural alignment that is juxtaposed by a variety of cooling forward bends performed in different, levels, directions and degrees of intensity. The sequence then unfolds into an explosion of modified standing poses that open the hips and shoulder girdle simultaneously. Seated bound poses help channel life force through the main meridians, while rigorous quad stretches combined with spinal twists open the thighs and front of body, creating a natural need to later submit to counter-poses that work out the back of the body and stimulate the gastro-intestinal tract and the process of elimination and detoxification. The swinging from forefront into background provide space for reflection and insight while eliciting the parasympathetic system response, and stimulating the neo-cortex and the organic ability of the brain to make a consciousness switch, and catalyze a shift of perspective. This blend makes the body – awake and slender, the mind – serene and accepting, the heart – empathic and equanimous. This is a sequence that cultivates the craft of abandon and control, introducing variety and contrast in our every day experience, a chilling infusion of ice-tea and spicy ginger.
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