'We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And to know the place for the first time. Through the unknown, remembered gate... At the source of the longest river' -T.S Eliot
I love this photo...it is a place called Kananaskis in the foothills and the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies about a one hour drive from Calgary. We were camping here probably two summers ago and I recall holding my baby niece close to my chest as I walked close enough to see and hear the river yet far enough to ensure I could keep us safe from anything unstable, especially as this was unfamiliar territory for me. I feel an array of emotions when I am close to a river such as this; angst at its strength and speed yet fascinated by thoughts of where the water is rushing to and what it is carrying along the way; pebbles, sediment, people's hopes and wishes. How many of us have stood on the side of a river bank and hurled stones in, maybe casting in dreams or worries for them to be transported away in the unknown. Recall when you were little and you wrote a message in a bottle and sent it out to sea in the hope someone would find it and read it. We never knew if someone would ever read it but we enjoyed the mystery, excitement, possibility and the hope. I suppose we could say that now we have jumped in (or for some of us dipped our toe in the Zoom Room!) and although it is cold to begin with you soon warm up and actually it is ok...life isn't where any of us expected it to be but we have adapted. We can't paddle back upstream (well you could but do you want the effort of going against the current??) so we have to take a deep breath and continue trusting the flow of nature. Now as we navigate another twist and turn as we move into September and that 'back to school' feeling is looming, whether you have to return to your place of work or have chosen another path, can you surrender and trust the flow? I feel we have come so far and definitely don't want this current to lose momentum so we will keep Zooming through. I hope you have benefited from our work on the charka system noticing where perhaps there are blockages or imbalances for you. Our work has taken us from the ground to the crown and is far from complete, in fact it is just starting. Many of you know that yoga is more than a physical practise and hopefully this has allowed you to come to your mat with curiosity and intrigue. 'It is by unlocking the rigidity and congestion in the first chakra, the muladhara chakra, that the sublime channels within the subtle body can flow without obstruction' Tias Little. It is my hope that we can continue to go with the rhythms of nature especially as Harvest festivals are around the corner with the coming of the Autumn Equinox. Maybe we can take time to honour Mother Earth for her fruits- there has never been a greater time to honour and give thanks for our Earth.