Yoga on Moon-Days

Each month I practice yoga on Mondays (originally Moon Day), the week of the New Moon and the Full Moon. There are many reasons to use the moon to guide our practice. The moon shining (or dark) in the evening sky is a consistent reminder of the cyclical nature of life. It is also the closest celestial body to us and thus, it is familiar. We see it’s cycles every month. Some studies have indicated that the moon affects sleep and our even our moods, gently pulling at our emotional centers. We can visibly see its influence on the tides with King Tides. Catching a glimpse of the moon riding through the sky is a simple way to touch nature no matter where we are. I like the simplicity of mimicking Mother Nature and her Wisdom.

We often focus on balance in yoga. The balance of our emotional lives, our external lives and of course, the balance of a posture within a sequence. A particular style of yoga, “Hatha” actually translates to Sun (Ha) and Moon (tha). I find in my work with clients, we are far more familiar with the heat, light and pace of the Sun in this modern life and in our yoga practice. Doing yoga on the cycles of the moon can bring a little evening coolness and balance to the fiery expressions in our lives. A moon practice brings us to our center. This is the beauty of an embodied practice- what we find in the temple of our bodies, we see reflected in our lives. Yoga is both healer and revealer and a vital part of my healing practice.

There are some traditional meanings attached to the lunar cycle, of course, with the New moon signaling a good time to be quiet and go within. Similar to a seed beneath the soil, at the dark of the moon we, too, can pause in the dark, waiting for good things to germinate and ready themselves to sprout and bloom. Sometimes we explore our shadow, embrace our hidden strengths and releasing anything that no longer serves us. At the full moon we review and take stock, looking to see what has grown. We course-correct and express gratitude for the bounty in our lives. We celebrate, elevate our energetic frequency and build up life force for the new cycle ahead.

With each Moon Yoga practice, we carry the aliveness of the universal life force from our work on the mat and apply it to the dreams, plans and actions in our lives, both large and small. Of course, the best way to understand this is to experience it! You don’t need to believe me – try it out and see for yourself.