Change of Seasons, Change in Practice

It’s winter in the northern hemisphere, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve already seen a fair number of pretty cold days.

For me, this isn’t such a bad thing.  I use this time to turn my thoughts inward, and that normally benefits my practice and my outlook. 

What I do find helps make the transition to these homebound days a little easier is turning a private space within my home into a meditation and practice room.  I can’t move everything out.  I know that.  But I do spend a few days each year clearing out things I don’t need, moving them into another space, and making room for my daily meditation and yoga. 

This is especially important for me, because I also tend to practice and meditate much more frequently when I find myself indoors more during these colder months.   Instead of mornings or evenings, I find myself doing both.  And if I’m off, I add a mid-day routine to my schedule. 

I change my shopping habits a bit, too.  I stock up on things like notebooks (for journaling), and look for items I just love to look at and focus on during my meditation.  This year I am changing my diet quite radically, too, and am trying the “raw food” vegetarian regimen I wrote about the other day.  Figure I won’t be moving about quite so much when the snow starts falling here, so I am going to experiment.  So far, so good.  I kind of do miss eating hot meals though, during these cold days and nights :-) But I am going to give it my best shot.  Also have removed as many processed foods as humanly possible from my diet to help clean out my system, and really use these months when life is a little more dormant by nature to calm down–and pare down–everything.  A little less stimuli can be a very good thing.

Winter is a wonderful time to do a really deep dive into meditation.  The world is quieter.  My thoughts are more focused.  Let’s face it, when it is 20 degrees and there is about 18 inches of snow on the ground, you are forced to think about everything you do, how you’re going to do it, and how you are going to get to where you need to go.  It’s only natural.  So I am going to go with the flow and take full advantage of these winter months to sow the seeds for real growth, spiritually and physically, too, with my practice.    

Would love to hear from all of you on how you plan to grow your practice during these cold winter months.  It’s a great time to nurture and enhance your bodies and your minds.

Peace.