Tall Trees and your Yoga Practice

I am so happy to be back home. We had a wonderful trip, but coming home is always so sweet, especially this time of the year.
I have many things to share with you from my retreat and trip, and I want to do the most obvious and corny one first. I am not alone in being wowed by the magnificence of the Sequoias. They are mind-blowing, humbling, noble, beautiful, and majestic. I can still feel the resonance of their vibrations. Being in the forest surrounded by the thousands-of-year-old giants is quite something. Since it is hard to fathom their height, even when you are looking up at them, I took a quintessential yoga photo-op of myself
in tree pose at the base of the Booker T. Washington tree, so you can get an idea of the scale of these trees. I am circled in red at the very bottom of the third picture. The first picture shows a pinecone that probably fell from about the equivalent of 10 stories up. We learned that a pinecone from one of these trees will wait on average 20 years until conditions are right to release the seeds. They are tough, and patient! It was impossible to break this one open, but we found one that looked as though it had been gnawed open and we managed to pull this seed from it (middle picture).
So, you know how I am going to tie this into a yoga practice, right? The potential of magnificence comes from the smallest of starts, like a tiny seed. Even the smallest of insights or awakenings can blossom into something as significant as a 115-foot, 2,800-year-old tree. We can and should look at and admire the outcome of the nurturing a humble little seed, but let’s not forget to look at the seed itself!
We all contain a multitude of seeds of karma, and on some level, we get to choose which ones we give light and sustenance to, and which ones we don’t. The ones we “feed” will get bigger. And then this is our choice- which ones do we feed and give our resources to? We also should appreciate that life has a hand in providing the perfect environment for certain seeds to be released and flourish.
In Sequoia, they say it's all about "location, location, location." The tallest and oldest trees thrive in ideal conditions - ample light, moisture, and even fire! Surprisingly, forest fires were found to play a crucial role in their strength and majesty. Many years ago attempts to suppress forest fires led to stagnation in Sequoia seedlings' growth. Scientists realized that fire was essential for the Sequoias' vitality.
The fires not only clear weaker vegetation, providing Sequoias with more resources, but they also prompt the trees to strengthen so they could heal. The burning process, it turns out, is integral to their resilience and endurance. This aligns perfectly with Victor Frankl's quote: "What is to give light must endure burning."
These majestic trees are symbolic of what one might find in a long-time practitioner of yoga -

• They stand tall and firm (despite their relatively small root ball, by the way. That is another picture, coming soon!),
  
• They are strengthened by tapasia (burning)
  
• They communicate volumes without uttering a word
  
• Their mere presence is inspiring
  
• They offer their gifts, which sustain their admirers, freely and without hesitation.
  

Those are a few of my takeaways, what are yours?