A FOREST PERSPECTIVE

“Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Restorative Yoga has -no doubt- changed my perspective on all things. As a teacher, I'm constantly telling my students to breathe and slow down in class and having come across an incredibly inspiring book "The Hidden Life of Trees" by Peter Wohlleben, it has occurred to me, once again, why we stress the concept in yoga so much.

“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy.’”

Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

Everything in the world is pulsating, is energy, is in its way -alive. Our ultimate goal in yoga is to feel whole and deeply interconnected with everything around us but that can seem and feel like a very abstract concept- unless we learn to slow down. Buddhism speaks of mindfulness, yogis emphasize living in the present moment- and here is an arborist telling me that the only way to know and understand trees it to change our perception of time to discover that what can occur to us in a minute may take a hundred years for a beech tree. If we are too self-absorbed or busy rushing around we may completely miss out on the fact that trees too communicate in fact. They breathe. They work together and yes, they have a sense of other, a sense of love.

“Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.”

E. O. Wilson

Yogic scriptures and concepts resonate with so many of us- hence the always greater influence of yoga in the world-but it can take years if not a lifetime for these concepts to actually sink in and be embodied by the practicing yogi. To understand with the mind is one stage of understanding- I fear an overrated one in western society. But in reality there are deeper ways to perceive, understand and transform cognitive understanding into feeling and knowing and in order to get there we must be fully present, fully embodied, fully awakened and learn ourselves very deeply- and this is why constant practice and mindfulness are necessary.

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

Albert Einstein

What better season than Spring to practice observation and mindfulness; when everything around us starts coming back to life we too should practice fully living! I teach that OM is the sound of the universe. The sound that represents myriads of trinities such as: the heavens, earth, and the underworld; the Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva (meaning the creator, sustainer, and destroyer); and the waking, dreaming, and dreamless states.

Yogis and foresters alike know that everything in the universe is pulsating and vibrating, nothing is really standing still. In fact the sound OM, when chanted, vibrates at the frequency of 432 Hz, which is the same vibrational frequency found throughout everything in nature. And that is why we say that 'OM' (actually pronounced with the 3-syllables 'AUM') is the basic sound of the universe. So by chanting it we are symbolically and literally tuning into the source and acknowledging our connection to all other living beings, nature and the universe.

"Trees are important, but when trees unite to create a fully functioning forest,

you really can say that the whole is greater than its parts."

Peter Wohlleben

"Every day in the forest was a day of discovery. This led me to unusual ways of managing the forest. When you know that trees experience pain and have memories and that tree parents live together with their children, then you can no longer just chop them down

and disrupt their lives with large machines."

Peter Wohlleben

The next time you walk through a forest may you be reminded of that omnipresent vibration and feel more deeply interconnected with everything that surrounds you. May we know our place and smallness in the scheme of things and simultaneously feel our vastness and connection to all things. May we remain humble and keep in mind that we can study our entire lives and still know little-or nothing- about other living things whether it is a tree, animal or rock. In the words of songwriter C. Pureka:"

A grain of salt for everything we thought we'd understand

And so we hold steady, and we keep our ears to the ground

And we hope we know what we're listening for

What we're listening for..."

Stay inquisitive, yearn, learn and look around at the marvels that are everywhere this Spring knowing you have new eyes, every time you try.

"Trees are individuals and their predisposition to wrinkles varies. Some trees acquire their wrinkles

at a younger age than their contemporaries."

Peter Wohlleben

We're surrounded by immediacy, instant gratification and instant satisfaction. Whether it's to buy clothes, be served at a restaurant or receive an instantaneous response via text or email everything is moving ever more quickly- the world around us and our expectations. We see it in yoga class too... where are my 16 chaturangas? Is it śavāsana time yet? So I was humbled and overjoyed to read about Peter Wohlleben's incredible career. Genuinely surprised and happily reminded that there are still people in the world living and working slowly. He reminds us that to understand a forest we must learn to shift perspective, we must slow down, listen, observe, digest, process. The difference between knowledge and wisdom lies here...First, we must study and observe but then, we have to still to feel, expand, process and allow enough space and time to pass in order to deeply know- to allow that initial knowledge to come out the other side as knowing. And no one but ourselves can teach us that last step of the process, it must be experienced. It is for this reason that I place always more emphasis on restoring, slowing down and meditating at the end of my classes- to allow students to have that void- of space and time lapse to listen inwardly to their pulse- their breath; to assimilate their practice and make it their own, to observe and learn from it.

Whether you're taking a restorative class or walking through a forest next time- take the time to stop, listen, observe, feel and ponder and perhaps you too will hear the spruces, beeches, oaks and pines whispering amongst themselves, the canopy tops breathing and the forest floor pulsating life beneath your feet.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

Lao Tzu

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.”

Rabindranath Tagore