The Ayurvedic Puzzle: Surroundings

the last part of my experiment was to spend time outside in nature. i now live near a wildlife refuge north of lake waneka. its about 45 min. to one hour at a brisk clip to walk around the lake and back to home. sometimes i sit and listen to the songbirds or watch the pelicans land gracefully on the water. this part was the easiest to maintain as i find i am super-highly motivated to be outside, watching animals, plants, clouds, anything without a silicone circuit, and simply enjoying it…the rain was such a gift the last few days!! how fresh and lovely she poured her gifts out in abundance over all the land!

being outside, away from synthetic structures, surrounded by the patterns, rhythms, cycles, impressions and details of an unselfconscious wilderness, this has always been a blessing, and feels like a gift to me. while i am still surrounded by suburbia here in lafayette, there is a bumper, a bit of space around it. any day i missed walking waneka felt very much like missing pranayama practice, or asana practice. i felt hard, sharp, ‘activated’. the days i walked, i found it was easier to spot and release a destructive thought pattern and easier to engage in new perspectives or ways of approaching challenges. in general, i am less grumpy when outside. i also realized that while i do practice self-massage in general, it is not the quality of massage that would counter the flighty effects of a vata constitution. i have not spent the time or energy on my own self as i would for another person. this was under my nose, but until now, not directly in my sight, so to speak.