Tag: Yoga

Happy Sharad – Lakshmi Poornima / Full Moon- Ivy or Hunter Moon/ last SUPERMOON of 2015!

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Happy Sharad also called Lakshmi Poornima / Full Moon- Ivy or Hunter Moon/ last SUPERMOON of 2015!

October Ivy Supermoon
October Ivy Supermoon

Tonight the energy of the moon shining is considered particularly benevolent as the moonlight rays represent AMRITA/nectar pouring straight from the Goddess of Abundance Lakshmi.

To Celebrate Lakshmi – goddess of beauty , wealth and prosperity – a night vigil is observed. Jaagrati (vigil) suggests that those who wish to acquire wealth should always be vigilant at night. Continue reading “Happy Sharad – Lakshmi Poornima / Full Moon- Ivy or Hunter Moon/ last SUPERMOON of 2015!” →

Spring Full Moon – Holi Yogic Salad!

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Happy Full Moon – Holi, the festival of colour, love and merriness that is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon ( Purnima) day of the lunar month Phalgun, which usually falls in March, sometimes in late February. The festival honours the arrival of spring  in the form of a carnival of colours, where participants play, chase and colour each other with dry powder and coloured water.

Holi - Spring Festival Of Colours
Holi – Spring Festival Of Colours

Spring is symbolic of growth and renewal and nature begins to bloom and blossom in a multitude of colours.

The spring season, during which the weather changes, is also the time where we get rid of the toxicity and lethargy accumulated in Winter, often through fevers and colds. During the Festival of Holi the playful throwing of natural coloured powders has a medicinal significance: the colours are traditionally made of medicinal herbs prescribed by Āyurvedic doctors like Neem, Kumkum ( made of Saffron or Turmeric) , Haldi ( Turmeric ) and Bilva.  Continue reading “Spring Full Moon – Holi Yogic Salad!” →

Autumn Equinox Sadhana: Inner Revolution with Durga’s fierce vigour.

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2.29 am GMT today: Autumn Equinox. New Moon Approaching. Blessings.

I have been ritually honouring the turning points of time ( beginning of a new month, cross-quarters , Equinoxes and Solstices ) on the wheel of the year since an early age – my teens! – in a very spontaneous and nearly religious way, that was dictated only by that inherent connection with nature that we all have as kids.

All transitions in and out of the season are cardinal points of the year and carry a special energy. We can consciously decide to embrace and embody these transitions ( Vinyasas of the Sun and the Moon !) as a ritual, to honour the cosmological flowing of time. Or we can decide to ignore this intelligence built into the cosmos and isolate ourselves from it, going against the grain.

Nature is intrinsically intelligent. Consequentially if we learn to attune our inner clock to its universal micro (hourly/ daily/weekly/ ) and macro cycles ( season/yearly/solar and monthly /lunar) we maximise our chances to live our lives to the fullest, in a happy, enriching and harmonious fashion.

Autumn calls for renewal in the form of letting go. We are urged to reorganise our inner   and outer space as thoughts , routines,   relationships, and projects . This season calls for inner focus and organised effort, we get to gather all our inner strength and skilfully prepare to approach the end of the year.

Durga: Goddess of Autumn, kills the demon Mahishasura

As this is quite a turning point we get an extra boost of power from the mighty Durga, The Invincible, that represents the courage that comes from staying connected to one’s heart, the impulse to protect ourselves from negative habits and the force to eradicate them and replace them with good ones.

This is the right time to act with more integrity and resolution to and to embrace change if change is needed.  Continue reading “Autumn Equinox Sadhana: Inner Revolution with Durga’s fierce vigour.” →

Early Morning Summer Solstice Meditation

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Happy Solstice: today, 21 June 2014 at 10:51 UT the Sun reaches its highest excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere at the Tropic of Cancer. Then it begins its journey from the Northern Hemisphere back down towards the Southern Hemisphere from the tropic of  Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn.

Surya riding his Chariot. Sun rising on the banks of Ganges at Rishikesh
Surya riding his Chariot. Sun rising on the banks of Ganges at Rishikesh

 

Sol – Stice means the SUN STANDS STILL. There is a magic turn: we glide down toward the cycle of next 6 months to embrace an energetic shift that corresponds to the fact that the axis of the Earth ( Northern Hemisphere) from today and for the  next 6 months is pointing away from the Sun.

At this point of year you should have filled your cup with your own personal nectar , generated between Winter Solstice and Summer Solstice, and now is time to enjoy, celebrate the full-ness of life whatever that means for you, give up worrying, and bask in the warmth and life-giving rays of Sun. Continue reading “Early Morning Summer Solstice Meditation” →

Ekadasi: Auspicious time for fasting and other Vedic and Ayurvedic practices for Spring Time.

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Happy Ekadasi. Twice a month in the Vedic Lunar Calendar ( and 24 times in the cycle of a solar year) is EKADASi… Ekadasi falls twice in a Lunation ( Lunar month , is calculated as a cycle of 30 days) and it is the perfect time of the month to embrace fasting. Normally a cycle of fasting would last for four consecutive days from Ekadasi to the day before  Full Moon or to the day of New Moon. Fasting is not recommended if you are pregnant, on your moon or you are ill. Ekadasi is an auspicious day for fasting and this is the right time of the year for cleansing to be aligned with the flow of Spring. Ekadasi means ( eka= 1 and Dasi = 10 1+10 = 11 ) the 11th day of the Calendar Month, before FULL or  to NEW MOON .

Vasanta Navaratri
Vasanta Navaratri

Fasting, in the tradition, is a sacred observance that is practiced to reclaim your state of inner balance with the cycles of Nature. It is a powerful inner medicine way of healing all diseases and rekindle Agni, your digestive power. Fasting also lightens the body, relieves toxins , cleanses and nourishes all your tissues and cells and strengthened your innate intelligence. Continue reading “Ekadasi: Auspicious time for fasting and other Vedic and Ayurvedic practices for Spring Time.” →