Thursday 19 June 2014

What is it with the moon?

Friday 13th and a full moon — the omens were surely there! Halfway through the day one of my students emailed to say how sad she was to hear that a studio where I teach — and have been a member for many years—was shutting. Immediately. She’d really miss the classes. What a shock — I was reeling and sad because I will miss my friends and wonderful students so much, and also because no one had bothered to inform the freelancers working there, including me. Wow! Not sure if it was the news that may me feel so ungrounded. Or was it the full moon?


What is it about the full moon anyway? Some people find themselves full of boundless energy, others feel a little unbalanced, and others just heavy! Some people don’t notice anything at all. Maybe that’s because they are not used to closely watching their body? In the Ashtanga tradition, students don’t practice on the days of full moons or new moons. It’s a time to rest and observe the changes in the subtle energy in the body. What! Yes, I know… I was one of those yogis who’d turn up to my usual class and sigh heavily when told we would be doing a gentle yin practice instead of the full monty (aka the primary or secondary series)… Other students would roll their eyes with disgust when the poor teacher suggested we got bolsters and lay on our mats! Now I love the change of pace and chance to transform my body through passive release. (Though when I suggest a gentle approach in my classes on Moon days I am still met with fair few grimaces!)

Is there a reason for it? There’s a theory that because we yogis are just like other human people (in some respects!) we’re made up of 65 to 75 percent water, so the moon can have a gravitational affect on us, as it does with tides… so our energy peaks and wanes. The jury’s out on that one, but it is a nice connection to nature and a nice way to think about the peaks and dips in our energy levels.

I have a feeling I will be doing a few more days of grounding, calming practices before things get back to normal…