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Article: FALL UP!? - by Sylvanus Klotz (Rei No Dojo) |
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FALL UP!? What's up? Or, should we say what’s down? It is the time of the descending of the sun; the fall equinox. The word equinox derives from the Latin aequus, equal and nox, night; the time when night and day are of equal length in all parts of the Earth. Long before the dawn of any modern Judeo-Christian-Islamic faiths, rituals followed a more simplistic path. Guided by the natural cycle of birth-life-death-renewal, the ancients marked their seasons by celebrating each phase of the wheel of life. Both male and female principals, God and Goddess, were honored as the sun and moon entwined in their cosmic dance. Coming from a more simplistic time, the fall equinox celebrations are the foundations of our modern lives. I.e.: Thanksgiving, Jewish Sukkot, the Chinese Moon Festival, and North American-Indian festivals, to name a few. While these celebrations have evolved over time, they are as timeless and eternal as the Earth's orbit is. The predominant mood of these autumn celebrations is gladness for the fruits of the earth, remembrance of ancestors and a time to be grateful for what life has to offer us. All, however, are mixed with a certain melancholy linked to the imminence of the descending sun as described well in John Keats lyric poem “To Autumn” written on September 19, 1819. To Autumn 1. “SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells. 2. Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store? Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find. Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind; Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep, Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers: And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep Steady thy laden head across a brook; Or by a cyder-press, with patient look, Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours. 3. Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,— While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day, And touch the stubble plains with rosy hue; Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn Among the river sallows, borne aloft Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies; And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn; Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft; And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.” John Keats (1795-1821) As nature reveals its phenomenal transformation to us and the outside sun descends we must raise our inner sun to maintain our homeostasis with “All”. We often flock south in the winter as our inner being (either consciously or unconsciously) recognizes this imbalance and craves a tropical vacation to maintain harmony within. The vacation soon ends and we return North knowing it will only be time before our craving returns. Understanding the science of energy and balance and having the awareness of the element of the sun inside give us the tools to avoid depression and maintain a healthy immune system during this time. With a lifted inner sun we radiate joy, warmth and energy wherever we are. The element of the sun inside the body rests at the heart. If you find your “Self” dropping due to the weather, lack of sunshine, or cold, open the heart with backbends, lift your prana and store it like a camel stores its water for the long journey through the desert. Done with proper technique and awareness, performing Yogic back extensions regularly raises our prana, lifts our inner body and awakens our cellular intelligence to our inner element of the sun. A regular dosage of Bhujangasana, Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, Ustrasana or Urdhva Dhanurasana will keep our prana up as gravity tries to bring it down (see Sylvanus performing some of the poses to the left of page). With this balance between inner and outer sun, between us and nature, we use our awareness and intelligence so not to be affected by dreary sunless days and we will be able to feel grateful for the season and what it teaches us. Equally, when we walk by someone seemingly depressed and disconnected from “All”, we can look at them in the eyes, open our hearts and share our light. We can warm their soul with a big *Hotei (Laughing Buddha) smile radiating from our inner sun, our prana of the heart. (This article was inspired by and written for Robert Masotti. “ Keep steadfast you gentle courageous soul. Your “*Laughing Buddha” has transformed me. Thanks for all that you continue to teach me, for this I am grateful”.) Namaste! Sylvanus Klotz Yogi, Artist, Teacher & Healer |
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SYLVANUS KLOTZ Sylvanus Klotz has over 25 years of academic and practical experiences as a mind-body-soul practitioner. He has travelled the world and is internationally known as an ice skater, modern dance performer, choreographer, movement teacher, and healer. He graduated on the Dean’s Honours List with a Bachelor of Arts, Honours Degree from the University of Waterloo with fields of study including substantial course work in clinical anatomy, kinesiology, motor development, pedagogy, psychology, physical fitness, health, and dance. He has attained substantial awards and certificates and attended many workshops and training in various movement therapies, healing modalities and spiritual teachings including Pilates, Yoga (Hatha, Kundalini, Ashtanga, & Iyengar) , Laban/Bartinieff Fundamentals, Craniosacral Therapy Level I, Traditional Japanese Reiki Level III - Usui Healing System, Barbara Brennan School of Healing, Native Rituals, Vipassanna Meditation, Mindfulness Meditation, Transcendental Meditation, Bio-Tuning and Channelling. He is grateful to have been in the presence of many great vibrations and great teachers offering guidance and spiritual growth. Those of particular importance to him on his journey include Gurucharan Singh Khalsa, Guru Dev Singh Khalsa, The Dali Lama, Amma, Father Joe Pereira, Mahyar Raz, Faeq Biria, Ned Benson, Laurie Anne King, Dave King, Helga Marinzel and Bart Smit. Sylvanus is infinitely grateful to all of the honourable teachers and students who have and continue to lead him to the threshold of his own discoveries. He thrives on the evolution of life as a journey of experiences-forever learning, growing and healing. It is precisely these experiences and processes, which then have enabled him to guide others through their own unfolding process of self-discovery. “No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the the threshold of your own mind.” (Khalil Gibran) |
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