April 27 2025 Embracing Spring (Finally) On And Off The Mat; Practicing Vikasita Kamalasana And Making Cold Noodles With Sesame Sauce
- rockbriarfarm
- Apr 26
- 4 min read
I have been working on another blog inspired by enduring friendships, but like the last one, it is highly personal and thus remains a work in progress. In the meantime, I am so very happy that we have some real spring-y weather as I write this. While I love all four seasons, my joy for cold weather centers around snow at the holidays and all winter sports (cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, etc.) I am a person that needs to be outdoors every day, no matter the season. I embrace the adage that outdoor activity is accessible no matter the temperature if you have the right gear. In fact, years ago there was a woman at my office who I greeted every morning as I walked in. It became a challenge for her, no matter what the weather, to ask me if I walked that day. I embraced the challenge and looked forward to answering “yes” on those 5-degree days! I admit, the prospect of telling her I did not go was a powerful motivater for me to get up in the cold and dark and go!
I have gotten into my gardens in recent days and have been experiencing the joy that is the scent and vision of blooming hyacinths, daffodils and crocus. I have not yet gotten angry with the deer who use my yard as their playground and our hosta beds as their lunch buffet; I love looking at the deer families as they hang out and explore our property. Meanwhile, Peter is preparing his nasty anti deer (organic) potion to encourage them to dine elsewhere. 🤣🤣
As we garden, we experience so much of what yoga is. We breathe in and out, the calming breaths soothing our nerves. We stretch and strengthen as we move our bodies, hauling compost and mulch, digging and pulling weeds. And we meditate - as we hear the birds chirping, the breeze blowing, finding our rhythm, a zone of pure gardening joy evolves. This too, indeed, is yoga.
Spring is a time to embrace detoxifying habits; indeed, according to some Eastern medicine, spring is the season when our liver may need some extra attention. Since the colder months find us eating more fats and “cozy” foods, spring brings the lovely green vegetables. We can shift our diet to include more of these greens and they help support the liver’s digestive capacity. Drinking more water and incorporating detoxifying twists in our practice also support this shift.
As we embrace our asana practice this week, let’s incorporate some spring inspiration into our movements. In class we will embrace some cleansing, detoxifying twists, and practice blooming lotus. Off the mat, I encourage us to all get outside: garden, walk, experience the beauty of spring weather in a way that gets your body moving in ways it has perhaps not done since last fall. I find walking in nature (no head phones or company), an approachable way to approach a meditation practice; I struggle with seated or group meditation. By walking, immersing my senses in nature, the meditation sneaks up on me and I don’t think about “getting it right”. Taking our personal practice onto our deck, patio or lawn are also ways to invigorate the soul using our senses to absorb the sights, sounds, and smells of this beautiful season.
Our Practice Celebrating Spring - Vikasita Kamalasana Blooming Lotus Pose (and Some Twists)
Come to Baddha Konasana (bound angle pose), bending knees and bringing soles of your feet together. Sit with tall spine with your crown to the sky.
Inhaling, engage your core and lift your legs rocking back on your sitting bones and balancing.
Weave your arms under your legs, lifting your chest squeezing shoulder blades and work on keeping spine straight.
Gaze upward if it feels ok in your neck and imagine you are a blossoming flower.
For more on this pose, I love this article that I have shared before.
I recently read this article in a local paper about the benefits of yoga twists promoting both detoxification and spinal health.
Meditating on Spring – Daffodils by William Wordsworth
I cannot help but repeat this lovely poem that I first learned as a child. I love how Wordsworth confesses that during darker times (perhaps winter) he imagines the beautiful fields of joyful flowers. I often flip through my minds eye when during cold, dark times (either literally or figuratively) I need visions of the beautiful blooms here at Rockbriar Farms to cheer me.
Daffodils
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed'and gazed'but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lieIn vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills
And dances with the daffodils.
“There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” —Rachel Carson
Nurturing with Food – Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce
We had friends for dinner recently and made this recipe, not sure why but we had not made these noodles in a really long time. I had forgotten how much I love them; they remind me of a restaurant in NY’s Chinatown that I first discovered when I lived there in the late 1980s (yup, the olden days). On a recent visit to NY, I brought a friend to the same restaurant, in its new location, and the cold noodles were as good as I remembered! These are easy to make and can be served as a first course or, on a bed of greens or with my Asian Salad recipe as a main course. So good!
See you on the mat!
Namaste,
Julia Anne
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