La Bella Luna

As I write this, I am inspired by the full moon.  I've just come into the house having stood barefoot on damp grass with arms outstretched to the luminous sphere.  I've been thinking about this full moon since yesterday.  I was driving home from dinner with a friend and it was a perfect desert evening with an indigo sky.  And there was the nearly full, waxing moon.  Perhaps it was the combination of a warm, windless evening, deep sky and the brightness of the sun reflecting off the moon that took my breath away.  

It made me curious as to the yogic meanings and significance of the moon.  (You've got to love Google...got a question?  Google it and your world opens up in an instant.)  I knew that some styles of yoga avoid practicing on the full and new (not visible in the night sky) moon, but I didn't really know why.  And I know that a woman's menstrual cycle is often referred to as the "moon" cycle and is a time to avoid inversions longer than a minute.  So what's the connection?

Chandra is the Sanskrit name for the moon.  It represents feminine energy, that which is cool, nurturing, creative, empathic and intuitive.  The sun (Surya) is masculine energy being hot, 
fiery, linear, analytical and pragmatic.  We all have these energetic qualities and, at times, one is more predominant than the other. We also know that the moon effects the ocean's tides and since we too, are largely composed of water, the moon is thought to act on us as well.

When the moon is full, the energy is thought to move out and upward, often in a chaotic and energetic way.  This upward movement can lead the yoga practitioner to striving and over-doing their practice, perhaps to such an extent that it leads to injury.  The full moon acts as a natural sabbath, a day to rest and connect.  When the moon is new, the opposite energy is present, often sluggish, downward moving with lethargy and a lack of concentration being present.

Ideally, the half moon, the phase of the lunar cycle that is in the middle away from the extremes, is a great time to be in your practice.  This is represented by the pose Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose and pictured below).  It's a place of symmetry and balance between the extremes.

So much about being on our path is aimed at finding the middle way.  That perfect place of harmony between body, mind and spirit.  Instead of living at the extremes for any length of time, our healthiest selves come from being in balance. It's how we fluctuate between hot/cold, creativity/analysis, right/left, good/evil and love/hate.  Can we step onto our mats, recognize what's out of whack and allow the process of our breath, movement and awareness bring us back to center? 

A point of reflection is to notice how you feel when you're overdoing  or under-doing anything...work, exercise, food, sleep. What could come into your life that would swing your pendulum back toward the middle?  Perhaps doing a few half moon poses between the full and new moon is a starting point.

Ah...La Bella Luna.  Not only does it reflect light, it inspires me to connect to my own inner radiance.