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Looking to refresh your mindfulness
practice? Step outside: The flowers
blooming all around you can actually
be powerful meditation tools. Picking
blooms and arranging a bouquet, when
done mindfully, becomes a fragrant and
calming moving meditation—one that may
help you feel just as relaxed as a session on
your cushion would, says Anthony Ward,
author of Being with Flowers. Before you
begin, take a few deep breaths. “Allow
your focus on the flowers to create space
in your mind,” Ward says. Then, try his tips
for building a beautiful arrangement every
time—so you can focus on the practice, not
worry about the end result.
1 Use odd numbers: Always work with at
least three of each different kind and color.
“Designs look better with odd numbers of
each varietal,” says Ward. “It’s a key
proportion in sacred geometry.”
2 Color and species diversity is key: Ward’s
favorite color combo is blue and yellow,
though any hues far from each other on
the color wheel will work. Try not to repeat
flower species in different colors. For
example, pair pink roses with white lilies
rather than with white roses.
3 Scale matters: To keep the blossoms
as the focal point, don’t go any taller
than one-and-a-half times the height of
the vase.DEANNA KERN17
august2017yogajournal.comPHOTO: JENNIFER OLSON; PROP STYLIST: NICOLE DOMINIC