I admit it -- I'm a sunny side up kind of gal. I tend to be optimistic. I look at the bright side. One could say that my yoga practice reflects this, as I thoroughly enjoy Sun Salutations. If I'm feeling stiff or I want to inject myself with some energy or if I'm simply craving some flow-like movement, I jump onto my mat for some Sun Salutations. Heat, movement, flow...do they feel good? Absolutely.
These days I'm enjoying the other side of that coin. I guess you could say I'm enjoying some moon time. Yes, it's currently the last full moon of the year, so I suppose this is appropriate. I've gone into full moon mode -- less doing, cooling practices, no Sun Salutations. Yes, for a Sun Salutation lover such as myself, this is quite the change. For the past few weeks I've been unwinding at the end of the day with Moon Salutations.
For the rest of the year, there will be no more Sun Salutations in the morning. Instead, I unfurl my yoga mat at night and close out the day with Moon Salutations. I'm normally a start your day with a movement and/or yoga practice person, so practicing at the end of the day has been a nice change of pace for me. Over the years, I've mentioned the time between Christmas and New Years as being a time when I slow things down and enjoy being over doing. This year I've extended this time out to include a good chunk of December.
Yes, a change of pace will do you good. It certainly has done wonders for me. It's reminded me of how I feel when I go on retreats -- calm, centered, full of creativity, joyful, refreshed, renewed. It's not the getting away that does it for me -- it's the dropping of the doing and the routine that opens up a spaciousness in me. This past week or so has felt just like that and I haven't gone anywhere.
It makes me think of the fact that the moon is bright because it reflects the sun. Taking some moon time or slowing down helps me to see what's being reflected in my life. It shows me where I'm living from fear, beliefs that I have, places that need love, and choices that need to be made. As I unroll my mat each night I ponder the idea of spaciousness and how I clutter my life with unnecessary actions, habits, beliefs and thoughts.
So this post is a tribute to living in the moon space and Moon Salutations...because there's nothing quite like breaking from habit, from "the norm," from the majority, the defined path and off roading. A yoga person recommending dropping Sun Salutations in favor of Moon Salutations?!?!? <GASP!> Yes, it's shocking, I know, but I do so enjoy the surprises found in the atypical and the space that it opens up.
Why not shake things up and howl at the moon?
You just might find that you can be lit up by something other than the sun.
Namaste!
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