Practice Ways with Elizabeth Antonia

Seasonal anchors, breath connection, being

Practice Ways is a monthly feature on Balance Practice that shares notes from writers, makers, coaches, and creatives, offering perspectives on what balance looks like as real life is happening.

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A few years ago I came upon a book that changed my life. I had just moved from London to Northern California, a homecoming of sorts as a west coast native and simultaneously a move to a foreign land. I had been practicing and teaching yoga for over a decade, and had recently authored two books about balance, and yet found myself overwhelmed and anchorless — navigating an international move with a baby and toddler while searching for my voice and my feet as a new mother, shortly before the onset of a global pandemic.

Early Riser Companion: Rhythms & Rituals, Traditions & Transitions for the First 7 Years was a healing balm and drishti for my sleep deprived, scattered attention. It’s a family resource book that celebrates the season of childhood, and gently encourages us to more consciously shape our experiences. Since then, it has become one of my family’s most treasured companions, a guide we return to seasonally with our now 6 and 8 year olds, and its messages and practices take on new meaning with each turn of the year. If you’ve been here for a while this might sound familiar — I’ve written about Early Riser before as it’s inspired some of my favorite practices, especially as they relate to mothering.

We have Elizabeth Antonia to thank for this timeless resource, which she so beautifully created alongside her own mothering journey. I particularly love the way she compares our movement through the day to breathing — encouraging us to feel for the natural rhythm of inhaling and exhaling, working and resting (more on this in her notes below!). This is something I’ve long explored in my own classes and reading her perspective has felt like comparing notes with a dear mama friend. 

Also a California native, Elizabeth now lives in the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest, where she offers aromatherapy consulting and workshops designed to help us support households and ourselves. Her Good Morning and Dreamland blends are in daily rotation in my home.

It’s an honour to share her notes on balance and practice with you here.

What’s feeling really good to you in this season? 

We are getting a slow start to summer here in the Northwest. I am still getting accustomed to a new life where I wear shoes year round (in California, I was often barefoot outdoors!) I’ve had to call in summer when the days are still a bit overcast and chilly out. So for now, I’m savoring the first acts of summer. Smelling the first stone fruits. Welcoming all the birds back to our porch with handfuls of sunflower seeds. Making a key lime pie from scratch and adorning it with chamomile flowers. Taking quick dips in the lake with my daughter. Taking an evening walk to our favorite sunset spot. I’m still working on a new book and some online offerings, which is fairly time consuming but these sweet moments anchor me into summer.  

What does balance look like for you right now?

The practice year in and year out for me has been collecting my attention and taking an inventory of what’s going on inside. When I feel turbulence it is often when my mind has escaped to future plans or thinking of things I “should” be doing that I’m not. I can feel something like impatience when I let my mind flow like that so definitely focusing on what I am doing now, in big and small acts, and giving it my full attention helps me keep my equilibrium. 

What practices support your sense of balance?

I was in my daughter’s class and she wrote a few little lines about meditation that captured the beauty of it so perfectly. 

When we meditate I feel safe. 
I appreciate meditation because it makes the louder day feel calm.

I love being held in the container of meditation and it always leaves me feeling refreshed with a new perspective on my day. 

I have a special spot in my home where I practice. I light a candle, take a drop of rosemary oil, geranium or Spanish Sage depending on the mood I wish to cultivate and place it on my heart. This helps me regulate my nervous system before I drop in. 

What’s one gesture toward center you’d invite everyone reading to partake with you today?

We are actively shaping our experience on this planet either consciously or unconsciously. There is a lot of emphasis these days on somatic healing with good reason. We often feel so wound up because we spend so much time in our minds. Taking in stimulus, finishing tasks, doing. When we counter that with being we can create more ease in our day. 

I invite you to spend a day thinking of it in terms of the in breath and out breath. 

In breath — chores, work, concentration, time on your phone, reading a book.. 

Out breath — a walk in the woods, drinking an herbal infusion such as oat straw on the porch by yourself, spending time with your dog, a bath with essential oils and magnesium flakes, singing a song you love, remembering to actually breathe!

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Elizabeth Antonia is a mother, author, and certified yoga teacher who has taught meditation and facilitated workshops encouraging our capacity to raise family consciousness. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and connects globally — learn more about Early Riser Companion and her aromatherapy offerings at earlyrisercompanion.com and find more inspiration on her Instagram.