The Season of Seeing Clearly: Autumn & The Third Eye Chakra
There is something about fall that naturally draws us inward.
The light changes.
The air cools.
The trees begin to release what they no longer need.
After the outward energy of summer, autumn invites us to gather ourselves again.
To become quieter.
To listen.
To notice what has been lost beneath all the doing.
This is one reason I love moving into practices for the Third Eye Chakra at this time of year.
The third eye, or Ajna chakra, is traditionally associated with perception, discernment, intuition, and our ability to see beyond our immediate reactions and conditioning.
It is not about becoming mystical or escaping reality.
It is about learning to see reality more clearly.
Waking Up
We can move through an entire day without really being present for it.
Thinking.
Planning.
Reacting.
Taking care of everyone.
Moving from one responsibility to the next.
And somewhere inside all of that, we forget that we are more than the thoughts running through our minds.
Yoga asks us to remember the awareness underneath them.
The part of us that can notice fear without becoming fear.
Notice grief without becoming only grief.
Notice an old pattern and decide not to follow it.
This is part of what it means to awaken.
Not to leave our humanity behind, but to become more conscious inside it.
Why the Third Eye?
The third eye is connected with our capacity to recognize patterns and question the stories we have accepted as truth.
Sometimes clarity looks very ordinary.
Realizing you have outgrown something.
Recognizing a familiar pattern.
Knowing you need rest.
Seeing that fear is influencing a decision.
Admitting that something in your life needs to change.
The quieter we become, the easier it can be to distinguish between reaction and deeper knowing.
That is why meditation can be so powerful here.
We stop feeding the noise for a little while.
We sit.
We breathe.
We observe.
And slowly, the mind becomes less crowded.
Why Yin Yoga?
Yin gives us another doorway into this work.
We enter a posture and stay.
The body becomes quieter.
The usual distractions begin to fall away.
And we have the opportunity to notice what is actually happening inside us.
Sensation.
Restlessness.
Resistance.
Emotion.
Thought.
Eventually we begin to observe rather than immediately react.
That is one of the reasons I pair Yin and meditation so often.
Both practices create space.
And sometimes space is exactly what clarity needs.
A Simple Five-Minute Fall Practice:
Give yourself five quiet minutes.
Sit comfortably and feel the support beneath your body.
Take several slow breaths.
Allow your attention to settle around the center of the forehead.
You might imagine a soft indigo light there if that helps you focus.
Then simply ask yourself:
What am I ready to see more clearly?
Pause.
What pattern or belief may be clouding my perception?
Pause again.
What do I already know that I have not been giving myself space to hear?
Then sit quietly.
Do not force an answer.
Do not analyze.
Just listen.
When you are ready, bring one hand to your heart and take a final slow breath.
Then return to your day.
Make lunch.
Walk the dog.
Call someone you love.
Do the ordinary things.
Because this is where practice ultimately brings us.
Back into our lives, but a little more awake.
The Invitation of Fall
Perhaps fall is not asking us to become more spiritual.
Perhaps it is simply asking us to become more conscious.
Less hurried.
Less lost in thought.
Less asleep to the life happening right in front of us.
The trees are letting go.
The light is changing.
Another season is beginning.
This is a beautiful time to slow down, turn inward, and practice seeing clearly.
That is where we will be moving together in practice this fall.
Not toward becoming someone new.
Toward remembering what is already here.
With love,
Prema
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