Spring is right around the corner. On the first day of Spring, the sun shines equally on the North and South hemispheres of the earth. We think of Spring as the Season when all of those trees that have lost their leaves will begin to grow new leaves and flowers will bloom. As a small child, I remember my mother talking about "Spring Cleaning" where she would basically tear apart the house in a very fashionable sort of way. She would clean everything in our house (every room, windows, blinds, bathrooms, and even our closets.) No matter what house we were living in, she would somehow do her best to make it feel like new, make our wardrobes feel like new.
Had been raised in Florida and now living in Hawaii, the Spring Season is not as noticeable outdoors, as it is elsewhere in other parts of the country. But that's okay because as a yogi practitioner, Spring has taken on a new meaning of its own. Spring reminds me of the magical number 108. Many yogi's all over the world come together to practice 108 Salutations at the time of the Spring Equinox. 108 has a number of significant meanings, but many refer to it as the number of beads on a Mala beaded necklace (which I referred to 108 as most often when I first started practicing), the average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters. 108 has been known to represent sacred places throughout India and sacred places within the body.
The meaning of "Spring Cleaning" now a days, I refer to this time to clean out "Me" more than I think of it as a time to clean my house. This is my personal journey, my time to clean out those sacred places within my body. A time to get back to my true self and deep cleanse from the inside out. Whether it may be on my yoga mat repeating 108 Salutations, or taking my yoga off the mat somewhere along the ocean side practicing in an open lava field. A deep form of cleansing my mind, my body, my breath will take place. Setting aside this special time for "Me" to renew and rejuvenate.
It is just as important, if not more important to me, to take the time to "Spring Clean" my own body. I know when I dedicate my practice to myself and truly allow my "Prana" my breath to move through me, within me, to nourish my every internal being I feel like a new person, similar to the cleaning effect my mother must have felt after cleaning the house and making it too feel like new.
When I feel good on the inside, I feel even better on the outside. Spring is the perfect time of year to rethink my current situations with my internal being. If I don't like what I feel or see, I know it must be time change it. Like those trees that lost their leaves and the flowers that bloom once again, so can I and so can you. We have the opportunity to bloom again an again.
If clothing, so to speak, can bloom and bloom again and again, with cute new prints and colors and materials, so can we! Little changes can have a profound effect!
I do "Spring Clean" my house and my closets,but again it is not as important as taking time for "Me" internally (mind & body). This time of year is also a good time to go through my closets and get rid of those clothing items that have been hanging for way too long and no longer being worn. I like to get rid of the old clothes in my closet, so I can make room for anything new that might be making its way to replace what I have gotten rid of. It is nice to treat ourselves to a little something new, but if you or I don't like what we see on the inside of ourselves, we are not going to like what we see on the outside. The practice of 108 salutations or yoga in general, is reason to focus on the inside. I know when I feel really good mentally about myself on the inside, I want to go shopping and almost give myself this new make over from head to toe because I want that feeling to show on the outside too. A new hair cut, new clothes, new purse whatever it may be, just something new. A new addition to my old wardrobe is a part of cleaning my external "Me." Right? I love getting new yoga clothes, leggings, and other fitness apparel.
I had ordered some new yoga leggings while I was pregnant and decided to hold off wearing them until after the baby was born. She is almost 3 months old, I think it's a great time to pull out those new leggings just in time for Spring. After baby was born, I wanted to begin getting back into shape mentally & physically. It was important to me to take care of my body from the inside first (healing from the pregnancy, eating to produce for my daughter to nurse, letting my insides find their way back into place after the c-section delivery.) When I felt good from the inside, I then knew I could begin working on the outside of myself (getting my body back into its shape, thinking about replacing my wardrobe with some new fresh clothing, etc...) All of these things I do, you do, we do, play a role in the way we see and feel about ourselves on the in and outside. And of course there is plenty of other things we can do in combination with what I mentioned, but I think you get the drift!
After the baby was born and I began making progress, I was thinking I wanted to change some things up with my wardrobe. Like I mentioned earlier, I love buying new yoga/fitness apparel, but right now I feel like I need to also buy myself something else. I thought about buying something like a skirt or new boots, something I typically would not buy for myself.
I headed over to Prana to check out what they had coming for their new Spring Collection. Last year I got some really nice yoga leggings from Prana and still love them just as much as when I first put them on. This year I was interested in some of their other pieces besides their leggings. I was very excited because I got to pick out a new outfit in collaboration with the Sweatpink girls over at FitApproach. FitApproach has again teamed up with Prana for their Spring4Prana fun! Have you seen Prana's new Spring Collection? Really really comfortable and stylish pieces for everyone. I'm excited to treat myself to something special and we all know that feeling good on the inside helps to feel good about how we look on the outside. This momma right here "Me" truly does feel good and I think it shows and I would like to wear something to compliment that feeling of feeling good!!! Now I'm ready to spruce up my wardrobe!!! I am ready for change!!!
 |
| Here is what I have chosen from the Prana Spring Collection |
If you haven't checked out their new collection I suggest you head over there now and at the checkout use my 15% Off code S4P17JBB (Now through March 28, 2017.) Take your time exploring the Men's and Women's clothing line. There truly is something there for everyone. The New Line is so exciting and full of sunshine for that warmer weather. You won't leave with an empty cart!!!
I love EVERYTHING about the Prana Spring Collection, but right now with this cute outfit I have here, I am enjoying it's versatility. As an active mom on the go picking up my son from school and tending to the needs of my newborn daughter, I can still be cute and fashionable with lightweight and comfort on my body. It feels quite nice to be out of my daily fitness attire and into something with a lot more Spring other than my usual jean shorts and a tank! But the pieces I have here, do look great with my jean shorts and the skirt goes perfectly with a light tight tank and a pair of slippers too if I decide to mix it up. You could say I'm excited to mix and match my pieces with each other and with what is already in my closet. (It's nice to to spruce it up once in while, it's healthy for that part of "Me" externally, that I'm working on cleansing. It's different from my yoga/fitness attire and it's as comfortable as my jean shorts and a tank.) I can put on a pair of boots or slip into a pair of flops. This shirt covers my chest, so I don't have to worry about my nursing breasts to accidentally slip out for the world to see. lol. And usually I wear shorter shorts and such, but I can get used to a little longer on the legs every now and again for something different.
I love this outfit from the Spring Prana Collection so much right now (all except for the fact I misjudged my body size thinking I could use a size larger for my skirt, but in actuality I needed a smaller size (***just be sure to size yourself correctly before you choose your pieces.) And Hey,
you just might catch me wearing this very outfit on Monday March 20th ( the first day of Spring) repeating my own series of 108 Salutations - minus the boots! And I'm Not sure if I will be on or off my mat...............
GO check out http://www.prana.com and tell me what you think! I would love to know what you end up purchasing!!
 |
| Comfy is exactly what I look for in clothing. |
Much love and Happy Spring,
Brooke
No comments:
Post a Comment