How the Body knows

I find myself this week wanting to pull on sweaters and wear jeans. i want to cozy up under a blanket and read a book with a hot cup of tea (or, better yet, hot chocolate) resting on my nightstand. It is, afterall, nearly the end of October. Fall is set upon us and the world is getting ready for winter. leaves have dropped all over our yard and my body just knows it's time to start to settle down. i'm sure i'm already gaining my winter weight (ho-hum).

That would all be normal, except that it isn't normal in 80 degree weather. yes, it is October and until today our temperatures have continued to hover in the 80s for weeks now. we had a brief drop into the 60s, which felt absolutely frozen, just in time for my friend's wedding. and then back to the 80s. currently, it is rainy and 66 degrees but with a forecast high of 84. what is this crazy weather warp? i've long believed myself to live in a weather vortex... it sometimes downpours at the studio and not at all at my house only 5 miles away as the crow flies. global warming? possibly... but how do you explain global warming to my body?

my body is trying to set itself for winter. in total disregard for the actual sensations i am experiencing, in total disregard for sunshine and blue skies, my body is storing up, resting up and growing weary...ready for the long winter's nap i suppose. how does my body know that it is time? my body cannot read a calendar. my body does not realize that October 23 is any different from July 23. my body apparently does NOT pay attention to actual air temperature.

i think my body is a tree. it is vrksasana walking on two legs. my body must work just like a tree does, shedding it's protection and storing up as the sun begins to set earlier and earlier each day. i notice each year how long it takes me to reset at the beginning and end of daylight savings. and i know it is because my body's alarms are not in tune with what they sky is telling me. as fall comes my body starts to slow down while my psyche starts to gear up. fall is for back-to-school and work after summer chill-out, but my body works backwards. all my energy comes with the sun, i am Solar Powered. in the summertime i can stay up all night and workout for hours, i am ridiculously productive and energetic. by winter i'm sleepy at 6 and passed out by 9. it is a chore to keep myself motivated to work out. (am i an ad for Seasonal Affective Disorder or what? Thank goodness for yoga to keep me sane) and now i'm feeling that same feeling again, my body is finely tuned to read the skies and know what comes next... Winter. cold or not, the days will be dark the nights will be long and my body will rest after the mad dash that was this summer. i am in constant amazement with my body and its ability to tell me things that my mind would rather disregard. this time it tells me, get ready to rest, winter is coming.