Finding Time for a Joyful Spring

It’s spring! Time to get outside, and play! In yogic tradition, we begin to establish a new habit after 40 days of practice. Springtime is a season of new beginnings. As we shift from hibernation-mode to getting back outside, it’s time to self-reflect. What is the new daily practice that will bring me joy? How can I create time and space for more freedom and fun?
Before we try something new, we have to give ourselves permission. The inner dialog may say: “There is no time for this frivolity, I have to take care of my family and my many jobs.” We are last on the list. Yet, if so much depends on our strength, isn’t it important to stay well? If we are the hub of the wheel, and go off kilter, everything else is off with us. The new dialog may say, “Taking the time for my own health & happiness is part of the well–being of our family.”
Next, we need to tee up for success. Perhaps two hours per day of marathon training isn’t possible yet, but a 15-30 minute walk at lunchtime would work. Perhaps there is time for meditation in the morning, when the house is quiet.
Now that time and space is established, what to do? We might try flash-writing a list of things that make the heart happy. Write down every possibility and don’t limit it. See what naturally floats to the top of the list.
Next: we begin! We may wish to mark a calendar for the progress of the 40 days. In Kundalini Yoga, we often commit to 40 days of a particular yoga practice or meditation to work on a particular challenge, such as being more compassionate. If we miss a day, we start the countdown all over again! This is not meant to cause stress. It is meant to be an experience of commitment and immersion. It can be fun to journal the experience.
The takeaway: Once we start a new practice - be it yoga, meeting a friend for a walk, working on our golf swing or skateboard technique - the sustained practice creates a relationship. Our brains create new connections. Immersed in an activity perceived as pure play, the mind relaxes and is more creative. This has a positive effect on our mood, relationships and even our work productivity. We have created a joyful spring.
HariKirin Khalsa, MD, serves as the yoga center director at Yoga at the Ashram in Millis. She is currently focused on the intersection between Western health care, science, and yogic technology. She is a Board Certified Obstetrician Gynecologist retired from clinical practice. She serves as volunteer faculty both in the Worcester medical community, and in the yoga therapy program of the Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine and Humanology in New Mexico. She and her colleagues offer yoga by donation in the greater Worcester area. She lives with her husband, author Peter Gray, in Norfolk. She enjoys walks in nature, kayaking & gardening.