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Vata is the dosha of autumn and is ruled by the two elements Ether and Air (the other elements being Fire, Water and Earth).

Cooler temperatures and the quick changes in our environment – think warm days suddenly becoming very cool, how quickly the mornings are becoming darker – these all increase the energy of Vata around us.

For us as humans living amidst this energy, an imbalance of Vata energy can manifest as feeling a little ungrounded from the cold wind, unsettled by routines that become disrupted as we transition from summer to winter activities and a feeling of coldness in hands, feet and within.

The antidote to a Vata imbalance is to embrace the opposite qualities – moving the energy of practice towards a state of feeling balanced, grounded and secure 💫

Physically this may mean exploring Skandasana, a side lunge that allows for exploration of different heights, arm positions and use of props to support yourself in this posture 😊

Focusing on lower body flexibility, hip mobility and core strength, learn to move through Skandasana in a way that suits you best, warming the body with movement so you can move into the sweet rest of savasana at the end of practice 💕

It can be really lovely to take time to focus your practice on seated twists, such as Marichyasana III.

Marichyasana III, the sages twist, is a beautiful shape to focus on creating a stable, grounded base. By grounding through the points of your body touching the earth, you’ll be able to focus on the internal lifting and rotation of your spine, starting from your navel and working all the way up to the top of your head.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali tell us “sthira sukham asanam” – steady and comfortable should be the posture.

In this twist, you can explore the interplay of these qualities of sthira (steadiness) and sukha (ease) – finding stability through your base, connected to the earth, so there can be ease and freedom in your movement and breathing. Your breath helping to release tension in your body so you can settle deeper into the stillness of your practice ❤️

Malasana is one of those poses that can communicate so much about what’s going on in your body. We all have different body proportions, mobility, areas of tension, strengths and challenges and these all play a big role in how you feel and look in this posture.

In English we call Malasana garland pose or yogi squat and yes it’s a get-your-knees-wide, bottom-close-to-the-ground squat 😊 Unless squatting is a daily part of life (which for most of us it isn’t!), Malasana can feel a little awkward and clunky. It’s important in this asana to pay attention to bringing fluidity to the ankles, knees and hips so you can find your most comfortable, stable Malasana.

And this might mean your feet are facing the sky! Try exploring Malasana as both a standing, grounded asana (with prop options to support your body) and a supine, fire building core asana.

Being the Vata season of autumn, practice should continue with the qualities of nurturing and centering but also warming, staying with the focus of activating your parasympathetic nervous system so you feel tranquil and balanced after practice.

Twists are an important part of our personal practice, and there’s rarely a class we teach where there isn’t some kind of twisting asana included.

Standing, seated or lying down, twists are amazing for spinal health and feel so good too 🌟

Building stability and flexibility in your spine, twists are also super helpful for stretching and lengthening your spine, helping to keep your back happy and healthy 😊

The breath is an important focus as you move in and out of twists and focusing on the exhale while moving helps to stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system (the part of your being responsible for rest and digest).

And it’s something important to consider adding in to your own practice! Playing around with different variations of lunge twists to enliven your spine, creating an inner experience that is calming, grounding and centering.