Tag: ritual

Do you pray?

KathrinLeave a comment

I never used this term, as I related it to religion and I thought, people pray in a church, mosque, temple or on their own to their god. I even had issues with the term god, as I don’t belong to a religion and don’t believe in god. 

Even if this is still the same, my attitude made a full turn-around when I went to India for my teacher training first time and saw how open and easy people deal with their gods (yes they have more) and how they pray. I learned about the Hindu gods, and I love all the stories around them, colorful and beautiful analogies. And I like that they have a name, a family, a face, a body, certain things around them and everything is representing something important in life. Everything and everyone has a story to tell. They seem real. Even with a lot of arms and other magical attributes.

India took away the strictness and tightness I saw in religion as such and showed me a world full of openness, laughter, ease and same time seriousness. I learned to put my hands in prayer in front of my heart center during my yoga practice and nothing felt wrong with it. It wasn’t religious, it felt and still feels as a ritual.

However I still replace the term god with universe when reading a spiritual text and I still don’t pray, but strongly believe, it’s just a matter of definition. I recite mantras, I talk to the universe, I challenge the law of attraction, I ask and give thanks to my angles.

Well, guess some would call it praying. 

Lunar energy

KathrinLeave a comment

In the Ashtanga Yoga tradition, we don’t practice asanas on moon days. With this practice we learn to more and more listen to our bodies and align to natural cycles, so we can live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

Like the tides, the moon ebbs and flows and as we are made of about 70% water, we are affected by these phases. The position of the moon to the sun creates energetic experiences, that could be compared to our breath cycle. It is said, that the full moon energy corresponds to the end of inhalation (direction up), which makes us fell energetic and emotional, but not well grounded. The new moon energy is said to correspond to the end of exhalation (direction down), which makes us feel calm and grounded, but disinclined towards physical exertion.

I have to admit, I wasn’t consistent so far, but more focussed on my daily schedule, giving my best to have a regular practice. All of a sudden, today I felt I have to. It’s new moon today and I seem to feel that energy. All I want is to align. It feels really good to not doing this just to follow a rule, but feeling this is the way I want it. Time for me now to align to the lunar energy.

So what’s up on todays new moon?

New moon is the time to set intentions. It’s a start. A blank page. Commit yourself to your vision and open yourself to receive. Find your own ritual, there’s no one fits all, it should reflect you and come natural. You might want to write something down, establish a kind of moon journal. Or like me, light a candle, meditate, manifest an intention first in your mind and then let it flow and fill your body. Give it a try, you’ll find out what works best for you.

The next full moon will ask you to take action and celebrate the fruit of your efforts.

Let’s connect to the lunar energy and fill the blank page today!