Although fall doesn’t officially begin until September 21, I’m already feeling the change in the air that comes with shorter days and cooler nights. Summer seems to fly by, we jump into our fall schedule on the Tuesday after Labour Day, and before we know it, we’re cooking soups & stews, putting on sweaters, and wondering what happened to September!

As you may know, I love thinking about the seasons as metaphors for the phases of our lives – winter as a time of dormancy, rest and regeneration; spring as a time of new growth and energy; summer a time of ripening and fruition; fall a time of harvesting, slowing in preparation for winter.

Can you give yourself some time and space this week to reflect on the past couple of months? Grab a cool drink, mute your phone and sit on your balcony, front porch or back deck, and consider how summer lived in you this year.

What did you cultivate and nurture that you’re preparing to harvest? I’m talking about the metaphorical fruits of the season – are there relationships that you were able to spend more time tending to through unrushed warm evenings, long hikes or car rides?

What ripened in you? What ripened through you? Did a break from ordinary time or a change in activities give you a different perspective on a problem you’re working through or a goal you’ve set for yourself? What happened that you weren’t expecting? How did you respond to it?

Gardeners know that despite their best efforts, there is sometimes too much or not enough rain or sunshine; a bumper crop of something one year doesn’t guarantee success the next. What did you plant that didn’t work out so well this summer? What did you put time or energy into that disappointed or frustrated you? Are you spending time and energy being upset, or can you dust yourself off, learn from the experience and move forward?

I’ve done some intentional personal growth work this year and I am loving the ways that work is bearing fruit – with seeds that were planted both long ago and more recently. Here are a couple of examples I’m very excited about:

Many of you know that I started writing a book a couple of years ago – at times my fears stalled its progress, but this year I learned to dance with my fear and got back to work, finishing an initial draft that was sent out to some amazing beta readers.

I received thoughtful and helpful feedback that I’ve been working over the past month to incorporate, and within the next couple of weeks I’ll be moving into the next steps of getting it ready for publication. (Does anyone know an amazing non-fiction editor?!?!)

What has been surprising to me through the past couple months is how much I’ve been enjoying the process – there are definitely challenging aspects to ruthless editing and reorganizing content, but I believe there is so much value and potential in the book that I am excited to sit down each day and bring the work one step closer to fruition. I will let you know as soon as I have a publication date! 

I’ve had the pleasure of working with movement for many years, and I love helping my students and clients find more mobility, strength and ease. As I have witnessed the benefits of working with the nervous system and the mind-body connection, I’ve had an increased desire to expand my scope of practice beyond movement to help people in other areas of their lives. After lots of soul-searching and some inspiring conversations, I’ve made the decision to become a certified life coach. I’ve registered for a highly recommended training program and am eager to start this new journey this fall.

I still love teaching movement and plan to continue doing so for the foreseeable future – I love my Zoom classes for the way they keep me connected to students near and far. And when a student tells me about the way classes are making a difference in their life, it makes my day! The Fall Session of classes begins September 3 – details are below.

Working one-on-one with yoga therapy clients to help them recover from surgery, injury, or to find relief from chronic pain remains incredibly fulfilling, and I am so grateful to my clients who trust me with playing a role in their healing journey.

If you’re wondering whether classes or yoga therapy with me might be a good fit for you, let’s talk. Reach out to me at joannehudspith@gmail.com and schedule a free consultation.

What will life look like next year? I don’t know, but I have decided to pause, listen to my body and trust.