THE WISDOM OF THIS IN BETWEEN SEASON
Movement, breath, and herbal medicine for the last weeks of Summer
This time of year always makes me think of this special place: a small apartment, with a large swathe of land surrounding, that I moved to in Woodstock, NY in 2021. I was here for a short while, but the medicine of this season is deeply entwined with the mornings dripped in dew, faltering bird song, and energetic descension of the plants of this land in the August time.
Our surroundings here on the North-East coast are already signaling the turn of the season: mornings are cooler, evenings come sooner, the light of the Sun is a little bit more regulated, shadowed, drawn back. I love this time of year and its call out to the season of turning inward: casting a line out to the inevitable Winter to come, starting to slide down from the high point of Midsummer and toward Winter’s Solstice. To think, to know, to feel. As ever, an ecological awareness brings us into a deeper relationship with the possibility of being in right relationship with the living world around us.
What is “right relationship”?
Right relationship is the awareness that we are in constant, ever-unfurling, reciprocal dialogue with those around us (ecologically, this includes the plants, animals, and trees that make up our local-to-us ecosystems). It inherently bucks against the philosophy that has created our modern society, providing a medicinal currency for so much of what plagues us. If we can draw a map of the greatest modern day ills, I imagine that so many of them can be drawn back to the root of isolation, individualism, and separation from the body, from land, and from the communities that we inhabit and hope to build. Right relationship offers us a way to take responsibility for releasing the inherited belief that what exists outside of ourselves is “other”, that we are not absolutely responsible for each other’s wellbeing, that we can take without giving, and that we can only imagine our success occurring at the expense of another.
As I continue to examine the concept of right relationship and apply it as deeply as I can to my own life (not without failing at times, of course), I also learn another medicinal action of this concept. Instead of defining one’s belief systems and identities by the crown of what you are living in opposition to, right relationship invites us to build our individual and collective identities on what we are turning towards. It is a perfect time of year to consider this concept: What are you turning towards? What are you inviting yourself to build deeper relationship with? These can be things, people outside of yourself, but can also be things within you: ideas, ways of being, qualities you are looking to drop your anchor toward. Thinking about our relational engagements as things that buttress our own sense of Self: we are allowed to be who we are because of the things that we are consciously (and unconsciously, but that’s a discourse for another time) in relationship with.
If we imagine, as so many traditional cultures tell us, that Winter is the time to be deeply inside of the considerate mind, then it is now that we must start setting the foundation for that work to be done. If Winter is the time we sit in stillness with what we are cultivating, it is now that we must determine what those qualities of cultivation will be.
Here, a breathing and embodiment exercise to energetically integrate these concepts:
HARVESTING BREATH
This is a three-part breath that can be done anywhere from 3-11 minutes, or longer if you feel so inclined. An inhale, a suspension of the breath at the top, and then an exhale. This will be an equilateral breath, meaning that each part will last for the same amount of time. I suggest starting with four seconds for each part, and working your way up to ten seconds if you feel inclined to do so. Start in a seated position (cross-legged, sitting on a chair, or any other seated position that may be available to you) with your right hand holding your left hand and your hands cupped and facing upwards, just below the belly button. As you inhale for four counts, draw your palms up until they are just in front of your chest. As you hold your breath for four counts, change your palms to press against your heart. As you exhale, flip your palms so that they are pressing down, right hand on top of left, and push them back down to where you began. Flip the palms over to the starting position and repeat for your desired length of time.
As you engage this exercise, imagine that the motion of your hands activates the subtle body architecture and sweeps through the hollow tube of the spine. I call this a harvest breath because, in my experience with it, it invites us to draw up to the heart the longings, desires, and creative missions from the power center of the belly/sacrum, place them in the heart, and then sweep back down the spine to imagine clearing away that which must be cleared in order for us to stay in right relationship with what we are placing on our hearts. You are welcome to journal after completing the exercise, solidifying anything that has come up for you. This practice is best done consistently, and works very well to begin or end the day. If you work with it, please let me know what your experience is!
AN HERBAL TEA FOR THE TURNING OF THE SEASON
¼ cup dried oatstraw
¼ cup dried Linden
Pinch of hawthorn berries
1 quart of just boiled water
Directions:
Add all of the herbs to a quart glass jar or comparable french press. Bring water to a boil and pour over the herbs to the top of your container. Cover and steep overnight. Strain and drink in the morning. If you do not drink it all at once, put the rest in the fridge and sip throughout the day.
I have been drinking this infusion blend for the last week and, along with the embodiment/breath exercise mentioned above, have noticed an increased connection between my thinking brain, my feeling brain, and my embodied brain. These plants are nourishing to the nervous system, uplifting to the heart, helping to regulate circulation and replenish the adrenals. I highly recommend for this time of year, when many of us are both feeling the burnout from summer’s high activity and energy load, while also supporting this crossing of the threshold from summer’s pleasures to autumn’s delights.
CURRENT OFFERINGS
I am excited to share that I will begin officially teaching a movement class each Wednesday, from 3p-4.15p at Souk Studio in NYC. It will be each Wednesday, starting on September 4th and will be a chance for us all to gather weekly in community movement practice.
Here is the description:
Movement Medicine: Dance for all Bodies
This 75 min movement class, designed for all levels, is meant to use breath, gentle movement sequences, and guided dance improvisation to encourage a deep somatic union of your emotional and physical bodies. Class will begin with gentle movement sequences that align, strengthen, and warm the body from the inside out, and will progress into joyful guided improvisations where you will be encouraged to play, bend, fold, make circles, find the natural shapes of your body, and let your emotions guide your movement. This weekly class is a checkpoint, a place to witness yourself, to come home to your body, and to celebrate the medicine available in dancing with a community. No previous movement or dance experience required!
SEASONAL APOTHECARY OFFERING
The last couple of boxes of this season’s medicines are available at a greatly discounted price! Note that, if you place your order, please allow for 7-10 days of shipping.
https://www.amphorahealingarts.com/apothecary/p/midsummer-nights-dream-seasonal-apothecary-box
Many more movement and herbal gatherings, performances, and apothecary offerings upcoming. More soon!
Xx
With care,
Amanda