As rainbow leaves begin descending to Earth, we bake more, sleep earlier, and start wrapping up our year. How are you experiencing the shifting seasons?
I just returned from co-facilitating our Five Elements of Yoga & Chinese Medicine retreat at Esalen along the Big Sur coastline. Besides the magic of migrating whales, dancing monarch butterflies, and otters smashing sea urchins on their bellies, we savored fresh lettuce and salad greens from the gardens, steaming cliffside hot springs, beautiful community, and deep nourishment. I hope you can join us at Esalen next year! I’m sharing Embodying the Five Phases* in April (registration opens soon).
WANDER & WONDER
In one of my favorite classes to teach, The Five Phases in Nature, I share Wandering & Wondering, an inquiry & awareness-based walkabout process that roots & nourishes my life, and I hope will inspire you, as well.
Download my Five Phases Wonderings class handout here:
Settle your body. Welcome your mind to sift and settle too.
Open. Choose a word or question. Focus on ONE Phase through the duration of your walk, or explore ALL Phases in different sections of your walk.
Wander. Bring these questions, your journal, and writing/ drawing tools. Allow yourself to meander without direction through a landscape.
Wonder. Hold your question(s) lightly. Dialogue with the landscape of both your external and internal terrain.
Sit. Notice a place that calls to you. Silently sit and observe both your external and internal environments. Free-write observations & insights.
Thank this place before you continue wandering & wondering through other question(s), or close your journey.
* Note: “Five Elements” and “Five Phases” can be used interchangeably to describe the 五行 (wu xing), among other translations that seek to describe these natural rhythms that challenge description or definition, and are difficult to translate succinctly in English. I am shifting my languaging to “Five Phases” to reflect the dynamic nature of the wu xing, as “Elements” can seem static. You will see changes reflected across my website, articles, and classes soon. Pardon any potential confusion during this transition!
EXHALE
- New Podcast: Bridging Botanical Traditions, Geo Edwards
- Article Archives: Chinese Herbs for Nourishing Soups
- Newsletters for Autumn Reading: Check out my resource-links
May the gifts and changes of this season nourish you. May you open to wonder in moments both small and large. May you enjoy the loving embrace of your family, community, and our planet. Thank you for your presence on our Earth!
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