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…
