When my daughter was very little, she used to cover her eyes, and pretend that I couldn't see her. She'd giggle with delight as I walked around the room saying, "Where's is she?! Oh, my goodness, she disappeared!!"
Then all at once she would yank her hands down, regaining 'visibility' and squeal with delight at my awed gasps. " How did you do that!?" I'd exclaim. Of course, this would happen several more times, my daughter enjoying her newfound superpower.
Spring is like that: innocent and sly, playing peek-a-boo. Are you feeling the fun? Or do the false starts of Spring spoil the game? The simultaneous starts and stops of pandemic recovery could make a cynic of any of us. And while pandemic recovery is certainly not a game, Spring is psyching us out saying "not yet, just a little longer, be patient... I promise this glorious rebound of color and new life is coming."
For several months I have been helping to plan Heartwood's 5th Annual Spring Event. Like many "annual" events, this one has been on hiatus during the pandemic. Even planning a large in-person event has been a guessing game with stops and starts. To reflect these emergent times and the bravery of first steps we chose "Planting Seeds" as our theme. As homage to this process of growth and rebirth we are giving away seed packets of Nemophila, a lovely little heirloom annual that pollinators love. It's a bold spring bloomer, tolerant of cooler temperatures, but sensitive to frost. Could planting those tiny seeds somehow help us emerge from the pandemic? Are we similar to those vulnerable seeds, sunk in the dark earth of a long pandemic, waiting? Do we just need the right conditions, some sun, proper hydration and nurturing from a patient gardener to emerge? Planting a tiny seed is very different than buying an established plant. It's a wonder that something so small could contain such potential. And yet this simple act mirrors our own journey back to health & wellness: small steps, lots of waiting, perhaps at first, on the surface, there are few signs of stirring life.
As yoga students we are a bit like gardeners. Our tender and vulnerable hearts can be like a garden, mowed flat by devastation, laying dormant for many seasons, and then, one day we pick up our tools and begin again. There is much to clean up, much tending to foster the right growing conditions, and a careful selection of what we want to invest in growing.
To me, a Yoga Therapist is a professional "Gardener of the Heart." It's our life's work to guide others out of dark places. It's our job to brave the long wait with clients in steady companionship. I see the seed taking root, its tough outer shell softening. The signs of life and new growth are there, vulnerable, but with the right conditions, willing to play the game of life. No matter how many false starts and peek-a-boo Springs. I hope you will join me and my fellow Heartwood practitioners Saturday April 30th to discover all the ways it's possible to emerge. Spring will be in full swing by then (hopefully), glorious and bold. Get a free massage or bodywork sample; take free mini-class (yoga and qi gong), I'll be doing free Posture & Movement Assessments. Meet lots of practitioners; bring that loved one needing support. Heartwood is your very own neighborhood wellness center. Come for the yoga, stay for the raffle (and your free seeds)! Click here to register and learn more.
