Creating Alchemy Through Your Own Pores ~ Fall Cleanse Time!

This time of year is so ripe. I can't even believe it sometimes when I walk out the front door and take in all of the sights, sounds, and smells. When I lay down in the grass it feels like a million little green sprites are jumping up to greet me. Enthusiastically, they're telling my skin: "Soak it all in while you can because in a few weeks we'll begin to retreat back into the ground for many months of hibernation."

And so it happens - summer inevitably turns into fall - and we move from the extroverted Pitta season into the reflective, more Yin season known as Vata. Ayurveda tells us that the Vata season is a perfect time for contemplation, a perfect time for letting go and, ultimately, grounding all of the prana gathered in the sunny months. As this happens, we acknowledge ourselves as a vehicles of light. Big light. To our hearts, to our families, and to the world around us. 

So how can we promote this alchemy? How can we harvest all of the summer-season goodness into our bodies to turn it into pure bright gold for the coming fall and winter months? (This, afterall, is what true alchemy is: A transformation of any substance into metaphorical or physical gold.) 

Ayurveda sums it up pretty clearly: We use oil and the subtle aromas of plants, of green things, to invite the energies of flowers and leaves right into our pores. When we perform this ancient technique of self-massage with intention, we bring a whole new level of beauty to our skin - and to our existence. We shine from within. We become mirrors to the light around us. We embody the wisdom of plants and earth and wind and rain and sun. We radiate.

This is the deeper and more profound meaning of the Ayurvedic self-care massage routine called Abhyanga. 

Ancient saints and sages said that anointing the body with oils containing the essences of plants brings harmony, immunity, and clarity as well as a sense that - to paraphrase - everything's gonna be alright. They said our skin is the ultimate portal to something beyond our brain's intelligence, to something deeper that knows how to self-heal, how to bring balance, and how to feel deeply. 

Abhyanga is a huge part of Ayurvedic seasonal cleansing and panchakarma, and this year we will be using my hand-made Abhyanga oil in our Fall Vata Season Yoga & Ayurveda Cleanse at Waterville's School Street Yoga in October! I invite you to come take part with us for this healing, transformational week-long journey honoring our ability to cleanse, let go, move into, and otherwise embrace the gorgeous season of Fall. 

These Ayurvedic cleanses are perhaps my most favorite thing to share with clients and students, as well as my own family. And the love-inducing process of applying oil daily - both internally and externally - is the cornerstone of this traditional Ayurvedic detox. 

Together we will be eating whole, Vata-balancing foods, taking amazing Ayurvedic customized herbs for the Fall season, learning Marma Point Therapy for our own self-healing, doing Yoga together all week long, and dropping into the time-honored routines that help to bring true balance during times of change. At the end of the week you'll feel more bright, shiny, light, and yet grounded. You'll be more focused and intent, more able to digest all of life with a boosted immune system, great glandular flow, and a more deeply calm mind. 

We begin on Saturday, October 11 and end on Saturday, October 18 - all meetings take place at the gorgeous, cozy School Street Studio in Waterville.

The all-inclusive cost of this week-long Vata season cleanse- which pays for herbs, oils, routines, workshops, daily email support and inspiration, tonic elixirs, recipes, and specific guidance on how to cleanse fully and safely - is $195. 

Please join me on this healing week-long journey ~ it would be my honor to be your guide in Ayurveda, Yoga, and the alchemical properties of ancient herbal detoxification formulas and routines. Feel free to be in touch with questions or concerns or to register!