The Spring Equinox and Yoga
What is the spring equinox?
The spring equinox is a solar festival. It is celebrated when the length of day and night are of equal length. The word equinox comes from Latin and means “equal night”.
In ancient times people believed that the beginning of the year was from this moment, at the spring equinox. When the sun crossed the equator and began rising higher each day.
The spring equinox is celebrated as the first day of spring. A time when all of nature is stirring and showing signs of activity after the long winter sleep. The days get longer and warmer up to the summer solstice in June. Buds are bursting into life on the trees. Spring flowers are coming out and seeds are germinating.
The spring equinox can be seen as the ignition key for the year, starting the engines and allowing you to move forward. From this point the energy of the year really revs up. From this point there is a short lived period of fertile energy in which nature grows and blooms.
The balance at the equinox
Spring equinox is the celebration of balance and union between many aspects of nature. It is the balance between the light and dark cycles of the year, the sun and the moon, ying and yan, fire and water.
What can you take from this time of the year?
The start of spring is a good time to consider how you can create a balanced life, mirroring the balance that is existing in nature. The power of the sun is increasing.
You may feel empowered to reach out for what you want, to take risks, to strike out on our own, go for walks and connect with the Earth again.
At this point , like in nature, you are poised between opposite forces of light and dark, receptive and active, unconscious and conscious, inner and outer. At the equinox you can unite these within you so that you can become whole and balanced individuals.
What is within is flowing out, towards manifestation and reality. This is the time for balance. This is the time of bringing together what you want to unite. Whatever you bring your thoughts to will grow - your love, your wishes, your intentions, your visions, hopes and dreams. Whatever you give your energy to will grow.
This is the time to consciously give life to the seeds that you've been nurturing through winter and early spring.
Spring Equinox and Yoga
In Sanskrit Yoga means “to yoke”. It is a union, a marriage between complementary opposites that help us bring balance into our lives.
In your yoga practise you can explore the equinox theme of balance by working with balancing poses and reflecting on how best to balance out your own sun “ha” and moon “tha” energies to create optimum conditions for healing to occur.
This is the time to focus outwards once more and turn your face to the sun.
This is the time for pushing rather than yielding.
This is the time to prioritise those aspects most important to you and to nuture them.
This is the time to embrace the short lived fertile sun energy to grow and manifest the projects closest to your heart.
In this active part of the year, your actions will be more effective and successful if you have strategies and plans in place.
Look for opportunities to reach out to others, make connections and collaborate with those people who will help you realise your dreams.
You can use your yoga practise to help stay in touch with your inner wisdom as you take action in the world. This will ensure that you can take wise action that comes from the heart. Your yoga practise will also help you to stay balanced, centred and grounded so that you're not swept away by the restless frantic energy of the growing season.
As you move from within to without be aware of the energy surge that propels life forward in the new growth cycle let's keeping your feet planted on the ground.
In yoga we can use balancing and grounding poses to help use transition. Poses such as simples balances, tree pose and warrior 3 are good for encouraging focus, concentration and balance. Poses such as downward dog, warrior poses and mountain pose are good for connecting you with the earth and giving you a sense of steadiness and rooting.
You can also work to balance your breath by breathing in and out for equal counts, doing box breathing or alternate nostril breathing.
