For a few years, I tried growing sunflowers in my garden at home. To my delight, they would sprout and grow. Apparently, their growth was also the delight of other living beings in my garden because they never got past three-inches. I tried covering them, using chicken wire to protect them, and a variety of other techniques to no avail. When I started gardening a plot at the Duxbury Community Garden five years ago, I was joyful to find that I could direct sow sunflower seeds and the overwhelming majority grew. As part of our goal is to repair and enrich the soil, I planted a great many types of sunflowers. They are amazing soil cleansers and remove metals and other toxins.
My hands down favorite sunflowers are these The Birds and Bees (affiliate link) sunflowers from Renee’s Garden. They are also the favorite of the chickadees that express their joy and gratitude with lovely songs in my garden. If you are going to plant sunflowers in your garden, then these are the ones I recommend most highly for genuinely happy plants that bring joy to all the living things.
The truth is that my favorite season here in Vermont is winter. Snow brings a kind of quiet to the woods that brings me peace and a sense of cozy well-being. The glow of a full moon on deep snow is like a prayer. The winter offers a permission slip to just stop or to slow down and focus on what matters. So, when mud season starts to arrive, like it is this week,I can’t help but feel a little sad. Not only is mud season a difficult time when getting up and off the mountain can become impossible for days or even weeks at a time, but it is followed by black flies. It feels like my peace is melting along with the snow.
It is precisely this moment when I re-frame this season of change and being in between as a time to get serious about garden dreaming and planning. Thinking about chickadees these happiest of sunflowers help me get through this muddy and buggy time.
I am a Renee’s Garden affiliate. This means that I receive a small commission when you purchase items from Renee’s Garden following a link on my blog. It does not cost you anything additional, but it certainly does help me with my gardening fund. I appreciate your support.
Each year, in preparation for spring, I read this book:
Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience
by Sharon Salzberg
In my practice of both Catholicism and Judaism, I always appreciated the statements of belief that come at the beginning of a mass or service. I like the idea of a gathering of people who very clearly state, up front, what joins them together and what they wish to publicly announce as their main practices and beliefs. It’s a very powerful feeling to be a part of that prayer. The ability to state, with such certainty, these statements of belief that provide the foundations that both define the religion and the basis of the prayers and practices of that religion, requires faith. By repeating these statements, and especially by repeating them as a group, they provide a significant structure of support for those beliefs and practices. But, it isn’t belief that brings that group together. It is faith.
This book by Sharon Salzberg is a profound exploration of what faith is and how it continues to work as a powerful force even when we feel that we have lost it. Although it is written from a Buddhist perspective, or, at the very least, the perspective of a Buddhist, the ideas can be applied to the human condition in general and are not specific to any particular religious practice. Perhaps, a Buddhist exploration of the idea of Faith can be so open precisely because questioning is an important part of Buddhism. Practitioners are told not just to believe, but that they should practice and see what the reality of their own experience is. Not only are you not going to hell for asking the question, but questioning is an integral part of the faith and practice.
Why this book? Why spring?
First, I learned this concept of re-reading certain books at certain times of the year from my mother. Each December, she would sob her way through the New York City subway system reading Charles Dickens’, Christmas Carol. The first time I read Faith it was in the fall and I was drawn to re-read it that spring. It has become my “spring book” and this ritual is part of my spiritual preparation at the end of winter, when I just can’t take one more minute of cold or darkness, to remember that the seeds of spring have been cradled and nurtured deep within the earth the whole time.
Second, I learned to see that our biggest and smallest choices in life reflect our faith on a daily basis from my father. At a speech he gave at my first wedding rehearsal dinner, he expressed the idea that the act of getting married is one that reflects our ability to have hope and faith. If we didn’t feel like we could carry love into the future, we wouldn’t do it. Even with the awareness that marriages fail, the act of getting married reflects a faith that it is also possible that some will not fail. Our ability to have faith in our relationships, even while knowing that the people we love and that love us the most are not perfect and can’t be loving all the time is a spiritual practice. This preparation for spring and considering the role of faith in my relationships, my work, my family and in my own choices is an important ritual that, just as powerful as a statement of belief, helps me to re-gather my spirit after a time of darkness.
Third, the truth is that I start to lose it by the end of winter. The kind of “losing it” that requires more than a new lipstick to feel better. Reading this book on faith reminds me that the seeds of spring have been cradled deep in the earth all winter long. It is only my inability to see the life and to focus only on what is not living that causes my discomfort and un-ease. Within the ground, not even that deep, lie the bulbs we planted this last fall. They are happy and safe in the darkness of the earth, resting all their forces for the burst of life that will come when they feel the sun start to warm the surface. And this, of course, is a wonderful reminder that I can choose my focus and my perspective at any time, in any season and apply this lesson of spring to all the winters of my life.
Hello Matrikas! If you are in Pittsburgh, or visiting Pittsburgh this holiday season, please check out these fabulous holiday events at Yoga Matrika:
FIRST: Elsie Escobar is facilitating a workshop on December 6th (Sunday) in the afternoon called SEASON of LIGHT, BODY of PEACE. This is a wonderful way to find peace and tranquility in these darkest of days that start to get longer and brighter on the 22nd of December! Elsie will guide the group in yoga techniques for finding your center, even in the midst of holiday pressures. She will also help you find an intention for the season and the new year that will guide you into the light of 2010. There are only a few places left, so please pre-register soon. https://www.yogamatrika.com//workshops/
SECOND—please come and find lots of handmade, natural and organic gifts for this season’s expressions of generosity at Yoga Matrika’s open house and craft sales. Many of the items are under $10 and there are also discounted gift certificates and class cards available online and during these sales at the studio.
YOGA MATRIKA
Hand Made Holidays &
Celebrations
* Children welcome—they play & you shop!
*Holiday refreshments to sweeten your day!
*Special offers at each open house.
Come to them all!
Sat. Nov. 21
Open House from 2:00-7:00pm
Make any purchase today and get a coupon for a FREE class with Sharon Rudyk in 2010!
Sat.Dec.5th
Open House from 2:00-7:00pm
Sat. Dec.12th
Open House from 2:00-7:00pm
Make any purchase today and get a coupon for $5 off the registration fee for select workshops in 2010.
Sun. Dec. 13th
Open House from 12:00-3:30pm
Make any purchase today and get a coupon for a FREE class with Maria Graziani!
Holiday Class By Donation
December 18th at 6:00pm
Sharon Rudyk is teaching a honey flow yoga class for all levels and anyone over the age of 12 by donation.
Holiday Party
December 18th at 7:30pm
Enjoy some birthday cake & other sweet treats in honor of Sharon’s 36th birthday, the season of light and the potential fabulousness of the new year! Everyone is welcome to the party!
We have many gift ideas for $10 or less and ALL handmade by Pittsburgh artists. Find great office gifts, hostess presents and stocking stuffers and know that you are supporting small businesses, art and ingenuity in Pittsburgh!
www.yogamatrika.com
6520 Wilkins Avenue/Squirrel Hill
(412) 855-5692
Well, it’s here. Officially, winter has not yet arrived, but what certainly has are the days of gray. This is the type of weather that gives “whiter shade of pale” a whole new meaning. I would like to invite you to make a rainbow of these gray days and allow yourself the freedom and comforts of gray: spend time with a pot of tea and someone whose voice you love to listen to, knit and create more, pop your own popcorn and read a story to a child or adult and, of course, do more yoga! Sometimes just bringing your awareness to your breath and making gentle movements in the upper spine can bring just the lift of spirit and body you need to inspire the rest of your day. Here is a gentle exercise you can use anytime and anywhere to boost your mood:
Open your heart: seated in a comfortable position on a chair or on the floor, place your hands palms down on your thighs. As you inhale through your nose, bring your heart forward and roll your shoulders back behind you. As you exhale through your mouth, round through your back as you roll your shoulders forward, dropping your chin towards your heart. As you inhale and open your heart, your palms will move along your thighs towards your body and as you exhale and round, your plams will move away from you.
2. Reach towards the sky: Seated in a chair, with your arms by your sides, inhaling a breath through your nose lift your arms up beside you bringing your palms together above your head. Keeping your arms up overhead, relax your face/neck/jaw and release your shoulders away from your ears. Exhaling through your mouth, release your arms down by your sides.
To finish your energy boost, place your right hand over your heart and your left hand over your navel center (belly button). Feel the weight of your hands and the movements of your body under your palms when you breathe in and out.
Cheer up Pittsburgh! Each day gets a little longer starting December 22nd and it’s always darkest just before the light!!!!
As the days get darker and we are immersed in this late autumn freeze, here is the tentative January through March schedule so that you can dream of the warmth generated by a beautiful yoga practice in the comfort of our fabulous community:
Mondays: 10:30 to 11:45 Basic Matrika Flow w/Sharon
6:00 to 7:15 pm Matrika Flow w/Elsie
8:00 to 9:15 pm Matrika Flow w/Alana
Tuesdays: 4:00-5:15 Teen Yoga w/Sharon [*SERIES CLASS]
5:45-7:00 pm Restorative Flow w/Sharon
7:30-8:45 pm Matrika Flow w/Jessie
Wednesdays: 10:30-11:15 Me Too w/Sharon
11:15-11:45 Mother’s Kula
12:00-1:00 Yoga 4 Lunch w/Leslie W.
1:15-2:15 Adaptive Yoga w/Leslie W.
5:45-7:00pm Pre-Natal Yoga w/ Bethany
7:30-8:45 pm Matrika Flow w/Erin
Thursdays: 5:45-7:00 pm Matrika Flow w/Cindy
7:15-8:15 pm Mini-Series w/Sharon [*SERIES CLASS]
Fridays: 9:30-10:45 am Matrika Flow w/Katrina
11:00-11:45 am Toddler Yoga w/Cathy [*SERIES CLASS]
Saturdays: 9:00-10:30 am Matrika Flow/Intensive w/Sharon
11:30-12:45 Yoga Booty Ballet w/Aleta
Sundays: 9:00-10:15 am Yoga Basics w/Jen B.
5:30-6:45 pm Fertility Yoga w/Tara H. [*SERIES]
Series classes require pre-registration and payment. You can find more information on the Series Classes page of the website. All other classes are “drop-in” meaning that you can start anytime in these ongoing classes. All “Matrika Flow” classes are open level, meaning that the class is a mix of levels, and beginners are always welcome. The basic classes provide instruction at a slower pace and the instructor will provide more detailed instructions for poses. Basic doesn’t mean “easy,” but it’s a great place to start. The instructor can always make modifications for more experienced students. There are Family Yoga workshops, Childbirth preparation workshops and a variety of professional level continuing education opportunities. Always check the workshops page periodically so you don’t miss something FABULOUS. This year, don’t make resolutions…..just RESOLVE…..resolve to feel as healthy and energized as possible. Come on Pittsburgh….do yoga and have fun!
See you soon at The Mat,
Sharon