Reflections on the Equinox
Spring (or Vernal) Equinox, is one of two moments in the year when the Sun is exactly above the Equator and day and night are of equal length. It is also the time of year that we are awakening from the remnants of Winter’s hibernation. Winter often brings a time of pause, conservation of energy, and seeking warmth inside. From these months of dormancy, we now turn towards longer days, more light and external warmth that will gently nourish seeds of new growth. Spring can beckon a gentle unfurling of leaves while also bringing in harsh extremes and temperature flux before the dominant warm season takes us into Summer. Spring may be joyous bursts of color, more birdsong and loosening of our winter scarves and can also be surprising gusts of wind, cold snaps, and late frosts.
With Ecotherapy, we hope to guide you in turning towards the season of Spring to deepen your curiosity and awareness of the ways we humans are inextricably connected to nature. We invite you to reflect on the following questions:
How do these seasonal shifts impact you?
What do you notice about your mood and energy in these turning seasons?
What do you leave behind in the Winter months?
What indicators of growth do you notice in your life?
What might be the wind gusts or late frosts that have unexpectedly shaped your path this year?
Are you called to nurture any seeds or waken any roots that have been dormant?
Spring invites us to move forward in our paths, it allows the thawing of Winter ice to free up our inner streams and is a time to make plans, re-engage in creative processes, clarify, make decisions so what’s within can be shared in safe connection with the outer world. The greening we see now is not only in the outdoors but in the life we wish to cultivate.
In our Ecotherapy groups and one-on-one Ecotherapy sessions, we visit some of these questions and themes as we either have sessions outdoors or identify practices for you to engage with in life outside of sessions. Through our time in nature, we consult the knowing of the land and more than human community (trees, plants, insects, animals) who make their homes in our local biosphere. We will lean into what lessons we may be gifted by the season and by deepening our relationship with our local ecosystems and fellow humans we walk the paths with.
A practice that we invite you to explore or build on in your lives is a nature based mindfulness practice called a Sit Spot. Most simply, a Sit Spot is a favorite place in nature (or view through a window to the outdoors if that is most accessible) that you return to regularly. We invite you to consider leaving distractions (phone, dog, children etc.) behind to support you in dropping into the present and befriending your surroundings. We favor places that can be visited daily or frequently in a week over a grandiose view that takes an hour to drive to. By returning to the same place each time, the practice supports you in developing increased self-awareness and enhanced attunement with the subtle changes in nature. You might notice forming knowledge and fondness for parts of nature you hadn't previously considered.
While there is no true right or wrong way to experience this practice, a good way to do it is to keep it simple:
Go outside.
Find a place in nature that calls you and sit down.
Practice opening your senses & observing nature.
Observe yourself as you are in the present moment.
Repeat as often as you can (return to the same place each time).
If this practice feels accessible and intriguing to you, we invite you to consider beginning or seeking out your Sit Spot as close to the Spring Equinox as possible. We look forward to hearing what learnings you may glean from this practice.