Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

“For a star to be born: a gaseous nebula must collapse. So collapse. Crumble. This is not your destruction. This is your birth.” – Zoe Skylar Recently, I wrote about the importance of play. Today, through my sugar hangover, my attention turns to decay, decomposition, and death. I wrote this around The Day Of The Dead, All Souls Day, or Dia De Los Muertos, when we honor not only those who have passed on from this lifetime, but also the natural passage at the end of all lives. Here in Denver, the once juicy green leaves have dried, withered, and fallen, now are starting to emit the rotten Autumn scent, reminding me that everything must come to an end. Unpleasant though it may be, the fact is that death can come at any time, at any age; after a long or short illness, due to violent crime or an inexplicably tragic accident.

Do you ever find yourself holding on to things tightly, not wanting to let go, either an idea or thought or feeling, even if it’s not serving you? I also hold on to relationships that no longer work—to projects or hobbies I am no longer excited about, and commitments I actually dread keeping. Then there is my anger or disappointment about someone or something, even though it keeps me resentful and irritable. When I am holding on tightly, the best thing I can do is release something, so it releases me.