A How-to-Guide with 4 Simple Steps
Hello again! Or welcome, if this is your first time reading Asana Insights!
Here we are again, coming up upon another full moon on April 6. Called the Pink Moon in the Northern Hemisphere, (a nod to the abundance of pink phlox flowers at this time of year) April's full moon is especially symbolic. As the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, it determines the dates for many holidays across cultures that follow the lunar calendar. For example, the Hindu holiday of Hanuman Jayanti, the Jewish holiday of Passover, and the Christian Easter holiday all fall around the time of the Pink Moon. These spring holidays are a time of rebirth, renewal, and celebration.
Todays blog is a teaching tool to help us mindfully anchor our personal yoga practice to align with natural rhythms like seasons and moon phases. Doing so connects our practice, and therefor ourselves and spirits, to the greater heartbeat of the world. Additionally, the stronger we can link our personal yoga practice to our unique family and cultural worship practices, the more personal pracitce becomes, helping it effortlessly merge into a lifestyle.
Otherwise, yoga loses its potential for unity, peace, liberation, and spiritual connection. Without spiritual personal intent, it becomes another workout or calorie burn, disconnected from its deeper power and longevity. Where workout fads come and go, personal awakening with connection to purpose, universal, or divine energy, is everlasting. While the physical needs of the body change throughout a lifetime, self-realization is timeless.
Yoga becomes a lifestyle when the universal energy we channel on the mat through practice becomes so radiant it infuses every aspect of living. In these moments, we become an expression of consciousness experiencing itself. Instead of being alone, an individual in the world, we become the whole world as expressed through one individual. And that is a life ripe with potential, possibility, and love.
Celebrating Nature 's Flow through a Yoga Flow:
"As the pink full moon illuminates my being, I open myself to renewal and allow its radiant light to cleanse and energize my chakras, bringing forth new beginnings and positive change."
- Lara Alexiou
During the Pink Full Moon, we can harness the energies of this special time to support our personal growth and spiritual development. An affirmation practice is one way to do this, with the above affirmation as a example.
Affirmations are useful in a yoga pracitce because taking time at the top of a practice to say a few words to yourself deliberately clears the mind and stops the looping of useless thoughts we all carry with us. Affirmations are also open to individual interpretation, which invites creativity and possibility into our awareness. For yoga teachers or anyone at home setting their own posture sequence, affirmations can set the tone of the class or provide a theme.
Full Moon Intention Setting in 4 Steps
All this a helpful, but still, sometimes dialing down into specificity is most effective.
For times when you already have a clear vision for manifestation, try this practice, which was my "go-to" back when I first committed to attending and hosting regular moon circles in the early 2000s.
1. Write down your specific manifestation intentions and desires on a bay leaf.
2. If you're comfortable, say them aloud to someone you trust or to the others in your circle if you are meeting in a group.
I know this step is very vulnerable, but saying the words out loud creates a vibration in the universe, and vibrations move matter. This also calls upon the Yoga Siddhi connected to the Yama of Satya, embodying truth in our thoughts, words, and actions. Paramhansa Yogananda said, "If every word out of your mouth is truth, then everything you say will manifest."
Speaking intentions out loud helps to refine them and distill their hidden truths. A compassionate group helping us work through our words by asking both thoughtful and thought-provoking questions results in clearer, stronger, and more meaningful intentions. And clear, focused direction empowers us do our part of the work that manifestation requires.
If you feel you lack the ability to manifest your desires, chances are likely that you aren't being specific enough in what you want, so you have not yet uncovered or admitted to yourself the innermost truth at the core of the desire. Going through this process with a trusted group of companions can help.
3. Bury the bay leaf with your intentions outside in the garden or indoors in a house plant, if you don't have access to a garden.
I started out using paper instead of bay leaves, but was never sure about the environmental impact of that. And if you do this every month, you end up with quite a few scraps of paper decomposing in a flower box!
Years later, a Feng Shui Master helped me out with my concerns. She recommended writing down intentions on a bay leaf and burying that instead. Since moon circles traditionally invoke nature, this felt much better than using paper, so I made the swap.
🌙 If you are just joining our blog, you can receive a free moon circle workshop as a thank you when you subscribe. The workshop is tailored for any new or waxing moon cycle in the spring season. Members can also access the moon circle any time in the members section.
4. After you write your intentions and bury the bay leaf, here's another original affirmation to use during your yoga practice to amplify the intention and support the energies of the full moon:
"I release old patterns and embrace new beginnings. I trust in the cycles of life and trust that everything is happening for my highest good. I am open to receiving the abundance and blessings of the universe."
By repeating this affirmation during your yoga practice, you can connect with the energies of the Pink Full Moon and tap into the power of new beginnings. Also feel empowered to use the affirmation as a base line. Modify the words to specially connect with any holidays you celebrate this spring or to connect with your personal deity or faith.
In Closing
As we move through this Pink Full Moon next month, let's remember to honor the growth and renewal of spring, embrace new opportunities, and trust in the cycles of life. May this Full Moon bring you peace, joy, and abundance.
Thank you reading! Please subscribe if your are new here, comment to keep the conversation going, and share with others who would enjoy the content!
Namaste,
Lara
Are you ready to leave the hustle and bustle of daily life behind and reconnect with nature?
Join us on Chakra Bliss Meditation and Yoga Retreat this September on Aegina Island, Greece provides the perfect setting of relaxation and rejuvenation. Join us amongst the beaches, the olive groves, and the rolling hills. For all yoga levels and practice styles.
"Attending a yoga retreat hosted by Lara and Yanni Alexiou is a truly amazing experience.
I have traveled with Lara and Yanni on three yoga retreats both alone and with my husband. Each and every time they provided individualized attention that made me feel well cared for.
Retreating with Lara and Yanni is a real gift to give yourself."
- Erin Pica
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