“Be both soft and wild. Just like the Moon. Or the storm. Or the sea.”
-Victoria Erickson
I’ve had a short fuse this past week. I could blame it on the coming full moon, but I know it’s more likely that my plate is too full, my mind is too full, or I am too full of the emotions I have to hold in check while my kids have their meltdowns here and there. You know, the kind of meltdowns that young children have because everything means so much to them and they’re still learning to manage their emotions.
I have a confession to make: I am also still learning to manage my emotions, but then again, who isn’t? I drew the diagram in the picture above months ago and I keep finding it floating around my office. Every time I see it, I click with it; it reminds me that even when I flip my lid, there are other parts of me that are bigger than the stress that I feel at the current moment.
What better time to reflect on this than on the full moon? Full moon is a great time to pause and just bask in what fills us up. Being ‘full’ can be a good or a bad thing. We can be full of joy, inspiration, or frustration. We can be too full of expectations or self-criticism, or even ambition. We can judge whether each instance of fullness is good or bad, but if we want to stay healthy and balanced, we gotta let fullness come and go. Just like the tide, and the phases of the moon.
Our breath is a reminder of this. The inhale follows the exhale and the exhale follows the inhale — that’s how it happens no matter what. That’s why basic breath awareness is the foundation of yoga: it brings us into touch with the pulse of life.
But that’s not the end of the story. We have bodies too, and we need to move them, in many different ways outside of the motions of our daily routines. You know how sometimes people advise you to take a deep breath when you’re stressed out?
Well, sometimes to me, that feels like the hardest thing in the world to do when I’m stressed. There are times when that slow deep breathing will only come after some physical activity. Maybe it’s a walk, or run, or bike ride. Or, if it’s hard to get out of the house with the kids, a sun salutation or another yoga sequence could be more feasible. Personally, when I feel stressed, I love movement that engages my leg muscles. Sometimes it helps just to get into Virabhadrasana 2 (Warrior 2) and then flow between Viparita Virabhadrasana (Reverse Warrior) and Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle). Not sure how what poses these are? I’ll dive into the details of them in the next post, but for now you can Google them:)
And until then, reflect on this: what type of movement does your body want when you feel stressed? Which yoga poses give you the most release from that fullness? You are your own best teacher if you can stop and pause enough to sense what your body needs!
Happy Full Moon, Yoga Mamas!