Yoga Swansea, May Newsletter from Louise Thorndycraft

May is nearly here and this past month has felt very different from the last, for me at least. I think it's safe to say that the sunshine and warmer weather have been a welcome arrival for most of us. Mind you, it's turned chilly again these last two days, so it seems the predicted wintry spell is upon us. All change!

I've been pondering the subject of change a lot recently, partly as a result of my enforced quiet period whilst recovering from the flu, but also as a natural response to the season. I think spring is a time of year when many of us feel a strong sense of new beginnings and a need to let go of the old. Something in spring's abundant energy, with nature blossoming all around us, gives us the motivation and enthusiasm to move towards that which we love. It's a good time to really get a new project off the ground and to fully action some of the plans made back in the winter months.

Back in January, I set an intention to relocate within the next five years to somewhere more rural and with a bit more green space outside. Since I started the process by setting up an exploratory online property search and, more importantly, since I started feeling into the idea of being elsewhere, I have been struck by such a sense of gratitude for where I currently am. I love the openness and generosity of the people I know in Swansea and Gower and am regularly awestruck by the beauty of the landscape. As I walk the cliff path from Limeslade to Langland, the idea that someday soon I might not have this on my doorstep brings such a lucid awareness and appreciation of the present moment. Such a profound gratitude for the beauty available in this moment, in this place.

The notion of impermanence (sanskrit: anitya, pali: anicca) is one of the central lessons of Buddhism and is a profound and life-changing teaching when we begin to truly explore its depths. It's a poignant reminder that everything is constantly changing. As a concept understood purely by the intellect, the teachings on impermanence are only marginally helpful; an interesting philosophical exercise, but not life-changing perhaps. However, when translated into a somatic experience, meditating on impermanence becomes much more interesting and transformative. When we are willing to explore the felt sense of losing things, places or even people that are dear to us, we begin to open to the vulnerability of loss and can find a much deeper appreciation of everything around us.

You can read more from Louise on her website Blue Sky Yoga