Oh End of Winter, Where are You?

The end of winter seems many moons away. We wait for Spring...and wait...and wait...and wait. We dream of tropical islands. We feel stagnant, stuck in the frozen muck. When will it end?! When will I be able to breathe fresh air again? To go outside again? To hike and run and play again? Waaaah! Soon, child, soon.

I worked on a farm for a few years. When you're outside each day, year round, you notice the day to day changes. You notice the placement of the sun in the sky on January 15th versus February 15th. You notice the difference between a 20 degree day and a 30 degree one. You notice that you take your hat off one day in February. You notice what time the birds sing.

When you start yoga, you make big shifts to feel things. You crank and tug at your body. You overdo, try to push past your edge, try to go as far as possible in the pose. Over the years, you become more aware, more sensitive. Little shifts are noticeable. A subtle repositioning blasts you into a galaxy of new sensations. This is because, over the years, you've become quieter. The white water rapids of your mind have dissolved into a slow and steady stream. Your body and mind have practiced hundreds of Savasanas, assimilating hundreds of practices and inviting stillness hundreds of times. In the silence, you see that to which you were blind, hear that to which you were deaf, feel that to which you were numb. Just as it is on the farm.

The daily changes in mid-February are subtle. But in the quiet mind, they're shouting at us. And the end of winter...well, it's happening right now.