Navaratri - 9 nights celebration of the Mother Goddess
The fall season officially began. We’re in the midst of the fertile time of transition to the full blown autumn. Colors are changing, the plants are ripening and drying, we’re shifting gears in our lives from the creative holiday season to the more scheduled life mainly indoors. As of the fall equinox on September 22 we’re moving toward the darkness and the longest night of the year. Not a coincidence that this is the time of Navaratri - nine nights dedicated to the aspects of the fertile Mother Goddess or the Divine Feminine Force that resides in all of us. Navaratri begins this year on October 3 and ends October 12.
Navaratri is dedicated to three aspects of Divine Shakti, the feminine form of the Divine, celebrating them and asking for their blessings in the form of their essential qualities. The first three days of Navratri are dedicated to the Warrior Goddess Durga who embodies inner Strength, Justice, Speaking your Truth, next three days are dedicated to the Goddess of Beauty, Wealth and Prosperity Lakshmi, and the last three days are dedicated to the Goddess Saraswati - Goddess Of Knowledge and Creativity.
This is an excellent & auspicious time for spiritual practice and meditation, for turning to clean, pure diet or fasting, meditation practice and unclutering and beautifiying your home to prepare for the fall/winter season.
Here a few tips from me:
1. Focus + Slow Down The summer has kept us busy with countless outdoor activities, meetings with friends, traveling, spontaneous celebrations and late nights out. Now is the time to slow down both in life and in your yoga practice. Your breath should be long and steady, lengthen your exhale and savor the pause after the exhale a bit longer (pull your navel back). Add core excercises and restorative asanas to your practice, (re)-establish a regular meditation practice and add a mantra of your choice to it. This will increase your concentration, feeling of groundedness and connection. Make it a point to focus on one thing at the time, to speak and move mindfully for at least 5 minutes a day. Your energy goes to where your mind is. So choose wisely.
2. Oil oil oil Take a bath oil with warm sesame oil or an ayurvedic abhyanga oil from your head to your toes. This keeps the skin from dying, keeps your joints lubricated and calms the nervous system. You will love its soothing effect.
3. Eat nourishing, simple foods Take time to prepare and cook your own food. Try a week-(end) long of eating kitchari (a simple dish of rice and mung beans) for example. Generally, eat warm foods. Nourishing thick soups are the best. Drink lots of hot water (boil it first, then let it cool a bit), ginger- and spicy herbal teas. Avoid cold and raw foods.
4. Keep warm Fall is the vata (air element) season. Wear scarves, hats, shawls and keep especially your lower back/abdomen area warm. This prevents the building of excess vata in your body-mind system that causes irritability, nervousness and digestive tract problems.
Happy transitioning + hope to see you on the mat soon again!
With lots of fall love 💘.Gabriela xo
p.s. if you speak German please join us for the Navaratri Sadhana, an online 9-days ritual with Mantra, Meditation and Yoga.
About the Goddess:
"She is so bright and glorious that you cannot look at her face or her garments for the splendor with which she shines. For she is terrible with the terror of the avenging lightning, and gentle with the goodness of the bright sun; and both her terror and her gentleness are incomprehensible to humans....But she is with everyone and in everyone, and so beautiful is her secret that no person can know the sweetness with which she sustains people, and spares them in inscrutable mercy." Hildegard of Bingen
