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Health & Fitness

Finding Your Practice for Spring Cleaning and Beyond

When Spring is in the air, it brings with it a sense of renewal, growth and regeneration. The energy of the plants begins to rise, bringing forth lush greenery and new life. If we mirror the cycles of the seasons, then we too should feel a sense of renewal as the sun brightens our homes and warms our skin for longer periods throughout the day. 

To make room for this renewal, we often do annual routines like Spring Cleaning the home and fasting or detoxing for religious or spiritual reasons. We’re sheading in order to create space. As you consider how to prepare yourself for the shift, consider an activity that has longer lasting effects, a routine that you can maintain after this surge of energy lifts. For Tami, my business partner and wife, and I, yoga has become a practice that shifts with us through cycles of change, seasonally and in life.

I know, I know, you’ve heard about the benefits of yoga over and over again. I was a total non-believer too. Even when we first began our practice over 3 years ago, I would give Tami and our instructor the ultimate side-eye. You want me to downward, what? Teeth-sucking and neck-rolling for an hour and a half.

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But Tami really wanted me to try it with an open mind and the stars aligned just right as one of our dear friends was studying to get her yoga certification. The die-hard cheerleaders that we are, we went to her classes. I couldn’t show up with an attitude, that’s just rude, so I participated with little resistance, for her of course.

Reluctantly, I admitted that I liked it. We started with a non-traditional practice called Dahn Yoga that incorporated more deep stretching, Tai Chi, Qigong, energy and breath work. No postures I couldn’t pronounce. Our friend continued to invite us to class, we kept going and I’ll be damned if the unexpected happened. My back and posture improved so much that I eliminated chiropractic care for my scoliosis. From three appointments a week for years, I was down to zero and still haven’t been back.

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For Tami, yoga taught her awareness of her current condition. Let’s think of Tami as a ball of knots. This is her normal. Her energy is very high, especially when left unchecked. Through yoga she’s able to identify the parts of her body that hold her tension, her behaviors that trigger it and how to release it. Yoga has given her language and tools to manage the ebb and flow of life.

When our lives have changed, so our yoga practice has evolved to give us the support we need during each phase. During the first year of building Iwilla Remedy it was all about managing stress and releasing doubt and insecurity (yes, yoga helps with emotional balance). Now, we are using it for pre-pregnancy support to not only open up the hips and build stamina for carrying, but also for preparing the womb spiritually and expanding the heart.

Yoga is one of the tools in our toolbox to help with the changing seasons. Maybe it’s yours, maybe not. While you Spring Clean, think of how you intend to fill that space you’ve cleared with a wellness practice, routine or activity that you can sustain year-round. 

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