Australian_Yoga_Journal_October_2017

PHOTO: JENNIFER OLSON; PROP STYLIST: NICOLE DOMINIC

petal

POWER

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, and 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

colour. “Designs look better with odd

numbers of each varietal,” says Ward.

“It’s a key proportion in sacred

geometry.”

2 Colour and species diversity is key:

Ward’s favourite colour combo is blue

and yellow, though any hues far from

each other on the colour wheel will

work. Try not to repeat flower species

in different colours. 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 KERN

20

october 2017

yogajournal.com.au

PRACTICE WELL

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