Living the Circle with Full Moon Yoga: Transform Your Life One Month at a Time

As I write this, it is a gloriously beautiful Friday afternoon in October, a day before Halloween. I am aware of the passing of time in the gold, red and brown leaves that snap and crackle under my footsteps, in the crispness of the air and in a certain clarity of light. My instinct calls me to move with this cycle, to let go of all that is unnecessary and, like the trees, to draw into center, to what is essential. However, with three children and various commitments and obligations, I find myself "overriding" this natural inclination. I find myself envying the trees their graceful surrender as I drive through the country toward the yoga studio where I teach others to slow down and attune to their inner wisdom.

It is often said that we teach what we most need to learn. I cherish my time teaching and practicing yoga. In my personal practice, I turn off the phone and take refuge on my mat with only some water and a blanket for company. What happens next is magic. My consciousness shifts in whatever way is beneficial for me to open up to my life physically, mentally and emotionally. I move through layers of body, mind and spirit to connect with what is happening moment by moment. Do I feel good? Sometimes. Do I feel exactly what I'm feeling, pleasant or unpleasant? Almost always. Yoga is where transformation begins for me.

But the yoga mat is a place without seasons and without time, and I'm feeling the desire to anchor my practice in the natural rhythms of life. What does it mean to practice yoga as a 42-year-old woman, wife, mother, writer and yoga instructor in upstate New York on Saturday, October 30, 2004?

I am deeply aware that my practice exists on and off the mat. My practice lives in the way I relate with my family, in the choices I make in how I spend my time, how I shop, how I earn money, how I participate in my community. What I feel and experience on the mat translates to my life off the mat. Discovering the connections between my practice on the mat and off invites awareness and transformation. What is the internal context of my yoga practice today? What are the external forces that have an impact on my practice, on and off the mat?

Full Moon Yoga is an opportunity to explore our lives and our yoga in new ways. According to Waverly Fitzgerald (www. schooloftheseasons.com), "the phases of the moon offer the opportunity, once a month, to move through a complete cycle, from darkness to promise to fullness to decline and finally darkness again. The sun, moving in its much longer rhythm of the year, offers a similar pattern, from the darkness of winter through the promise of spring, then fullness of summer, the decline of autumn and finally the darkness of winter again."

What is possible if we gather at the full moon each month, when, according to many cultures, the transformative energy is at its highest, to practice in a way that is connected to the seasons? What is possible if we use this time to align not only with what is authentic and true within us, but to align with what is actually happening on the earth and in the sky? What might be nourished if we looked at our lives in 28-day increments—circling from darkness to light to darkness again? What might grow if we re-connected to the steady pulse of the season?

How does this resonate with you? If, like me, you find yourself "overriding" your natural instincts, perhaps it's time to connect with your innate rhythms on a deeper level…to practice yoga by uniting body, mind and spirit with the ever-present, light-bearing cycles of moon and sun.

Each month, we will use movement, breathwork, sound, dance, sharing, journaling and drawing to connect with the qualities we want to manifest in our lives. We will explore our inner and outer lives, our connections to the world and our connections to spirit in ways to support ourselves in our lives. Together we will raise the questions of our lives and support each other in finding and living our own answers.

This article first appeared in Healing Springs Journal. For more information on this publication, please link to: http://www.healingspringsjournal.com/.