There’s a smell to late winter and early Spring, don’t you think? The Earth is wet and heavy - Kapha season in Ayurveda - as everything begins to thaw, especially in colder winter climates like where we are in Rhode Island.

When I open my back door in the early morning to let the dog out, I can smell that water soaking into the soil. I whisper hello to the daffodils pushing their way up through the dirt. As the days continue, my family has unearthed the plants that have been insulated by last fall’s leaves - the lavender, rosemary, evening primrose.

Yes, it’s almost Spring and with that the promise of rebirth and renewal in so many ways.

I have been interested in flowers and growing things for as long as I can remember. There was a little florist shop near my house growing up and when I got my license, I would visit that shop. It was my go-to gift for friends and family...a bouquet of cut flowers. When we purchased our first home, we created a vegetable and herb garden, and it was amazing - all the tomatoes! We have pictures of me very, very pregnant with Bodhi and Uma, planting flowers, harvesting vegetables, on hands and knees getting tulip and daffodil bulbs in the dirt. It's not so different this time around... :)

Last year, I planted my first cut flower garden from seed, and truly fell in love with the process. I had always purchased seedlings and plants from the nursery, but this time I wanted to try my hand at varieties I couldn't seem to get at the nurseries near me. And, at the same time I started writing the Afterglow Perinatal Yoga Training manual not really knowing why or what I'd do with it.

As a natural evolution of working with the Earth, the manual's modules began to mimic the wonders of the natural world. It made sense - this was always the intention of yoga and Ayurveda...to show us that we are nature. Inside the manual, you’ll find sections for SOIL, SEEDS, ROOTS, STEMS, FLOWERS + FRUIT. These sections offer a metaphor for understanding the perinatal period - women’s health, preconception and fertility, pregnancy and the birth portal, postpartum, very postpartum - and creating a vision for the future of well-being.

On the cusp of the Spring Equinox, I thought this would be the perfect time to share the first few pages of the manual, including the introduction to SOIL - Foundations of Yoga and Female Anatomy - and a brief history of yoga and Ayurveda. Enjoy!

Part One: SOIL

Good soil is the foundation of all life on this planet. That’s right, dirt.

We’re not talking about the sandy soil in my backyard or the dried up dirt on a monoculture agricultural field.

No.

Imagine the rich, black soil that’s found deep in the forest. It’s covered by pine needles. It’s springy to the touch. It feels clean running through your fingers, kissed by spring rain, smelling almost sweet in your palms. Nutrient dense, you feel its life force - prana - in your hands. That’s the soil we want to cultivate, to plant our seeds into.

Creating the foundations for thriving human life on Earth is quite similar to creating the conditions for thriving plant life. We don’t attempt to change the outside of a flower or a fruit in order to establish greater health…we go deeper. We go inwards. We go to its environment.

Our journey begins with laying the foundations for Perinatal Yoga based care. To do that, we must develop a firm, but yielding understanding of yoga, Ayurveda, human physiology, and anatomy, and how we might integrate these tools to support our own bodies, babies, and clients on their perinatal journeys.

FOUNDATIONS OF YOGA

Yoga + Ayurveda: a Brief History

Yoga originated 5000 years ago (this date is approximate) in India, and was first cited in the Rig Veda. The Vedas are a collection of ancient scriptures, mantras, hymns and so forth that share spiritual teachings to support life on Earth.

There are four Vedas. It is accepted that there is no one author of the Vedas, that many rishis and seers contributed to them, and it is also widely accepted that there were indeed women rishis who contributed to these sacred texts.

You may have heard of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali or The Bhagavad Gita. Patanjali is credited with organizing yoga into its eight-limbed path of practice. The Sutras were written anywhere between 5000 BC to 300 AD by a student of Patanjali’s.

The Bhagavad Gita is a well-known (and beautiful) yoga scripture found in the Vedas. It tells the story of a warrior, Arjuna, who does not want to go into battle against his family, and is visited by Krishna - a cosmic counselor. Does he or does he not go into battle? What are his internal struggles? How does Krishna support him? You’ll have to read to find out! The Gita expands on the fundamentals of yogic philosophy. In this perinatal training, we will reflect and learn about yogic philosophy to support those on their perinatal journeys.

To read more, please purchase these texts:

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with translation and commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda

The Living Gita: A commentary for modern readers by Sri Swami Satchidananda

Ayurveda is found in the fourth Veda, the Atharvaveda. “Ayur” means life and “Veda” means science of life or knowledge of life.

Ayurveda is one of the oldest forms of medicine in the world, beginning in 1500 BC in India. Within the Atharvaveda are the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita, which contain practices for:

General Medicine
Pediatrics/Mother/Baby
Psychiatry
Ear/Nose/Throat/Head
Surgery
Toxicology
Immunology,
and Fertility.

You can see how vast it is!

For the purposes of this training, we’ll be focusing on the Ayurvedic Five Element Theory and how it is reflected in nature and within the human body. The five elements in Ayurveda are Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether. The three constitutions are Vata (air/ether), Pitta (fire/water), and Kapha (water/earth).

Did anything within the brief history of yoga and/or Ayurveda stand out to you? Surprise you?

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the upcoming Afterglow Perinatal Yoga Training. You can read more about the entirety of the curriculum here and register for the Early Bird rate.

And if you need to talk it out, please write to me to schedule some time to address your Q’s at leanne@leannematullo.com.

Jai Ma.
With love,
Leanne