Space scientist, Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, says that "Seeing the moon always soothes my nerves and helps me feel a little better". This month there will be a full moon and blue moon on Halloween. It's called a blue moon because it's the second of two full moons to occur in a calendar month. October 31st is also Samhain which is the festival that marks the end and beginning of the Celtic year.

Usually, at this time we have candlelit pumpkin lanterns and children dressed up in spooky outfits trick-or-treating door to door. Although, with the pandemic, probably not this year. The world is  scary enough without  adding anything extra! 

Halloween is a traditionally time for honouring the dead. This can be done through a simple ritual, such as lighting a candle for a meaningful person in your life who has passed on. This might be an ancestor, such as a dearly loved grandparent, or it could be someone who has inspired you and whom you feel a spiritual connection to, such as a writer, poet, painter, singer, political agitator, or yogini. In yoga the root chakra (muladhara) is associated with ancestral connections and a sense of tribal belonging. 
​Below are some seasonal meditation questions focussing on the theme of honouring our ancestors:

​

• How can I honour those who have gone before me and thank them for the gifts that they have bequeathed to me?
• How would I like to be remembered, and what gifts do I want to hand down to future generations?
• Are there any older members of my family (or lineage) whom I could talk to and find out more about our family history?

Autumn is turning to winter now and the leaves are falling from the trees; the days are getting shorter and cold frosty mornings whisper that winter is on the way. One way to bring light into the darkness of winter and to escape our terrestrial troubles is to regularly take time to look up at the night sky. Dr Aderin-Pocock says, "All cultures throughout time have looked up at the night sky and they've found it a comfort." So, to soothe your soul and lift your spirits during this troubled time, remember this Halloween to look out for the blue moon, and I hope you find it a comfort.
See also:
Stopping, Calming, Resting, Healing
Planting Seeds of Hope
Autumn to Winter Page
Samhain Page
Find more inspiring ways of connecting with the stars in my forthcoming book, Yoga by the Stars: Practices and Meditations Inspired by the Zodiac

Today, walking by the river, showers of autumn leaves were falling from the trees and being carried along by the stream. The sun was shining through the trees and I had that I love autumn feeling. However, like many people at the moment I also feel a sense of apprehension at the thought of facing the winter ahead during a pandemic. Here in the UK the Covid restrictions we are living under change from week to week, and there is the impending threat of another lockdown hanging over us. Over the past couple of days, I've found comfort, amidst the gloom of world news, from reading through the Autumn Turns to Winter chapter in the Yoga Through the Year book, and working with the autumn to winter meditation questions.

Although the autumn-to-winter period is not a good time for action, it’s a great time for incubating ideas and making plans for next year. Yes, of course there is uncertainty about what the future will hold, but it's still good to dream and envisage how you would like things to be- after all magic happens!
Below are some meditation questions to help you visualise your plans and priorities for next year (Work, home, holidays, relationships, adventures, etc.):

When you answer these questions allow yourself to be bold and dream up a wonderful future. At the same time be aware of any worries and concerns that arise. Embrace both your fears and hopes and dreams with kindness and compassion. 

See also:
​Stopping, Calming, Resting, Healing
The Autumn to Winter page of this website
​And the Samhain page

Here, in the Northern Hemisphere, we are entering the darkest phase of the year, until the sun is reborn at the winter solstice in December. The dark half of the year gives us an opportunity to pause, rest, and rejuvenate. Just as the oak tree stays alive over winter by stripping itself of leaves and using almost no energy, we too can look for opportunities during this autumn-to-winter period to enter a place of stillness and simply be utterly present in the moment. 

This year, during a global pandemic, as autumn turns to winter, it is more important than ever to stop, calm our system, to rest, and take the time out to heal. Below are some seasonal meditation questions which will allow you to consider how to create some healing space during the coming season.

The Autumn to Winter chapter in the Yoga Through the Year book has a yoga practice aimed at bringing light into the darkness and brightening up the dark days of autumn and winter. Sun imagery is used to lift the mood and shake off seasonal blues. The practice honours the autumn-to-winter urge to hibernate by including poses that draw the awareness inward, such as Standing Twist, forward bends, and Child’s Pose. To avoid the autumn-to-winter slump we include backbends to open the chest.​ Our yoga practice offers us many ways of lifting our spirits and lightening up the dark days of autumn and winter.

See also:
Autumn to Winter Page
Samhain Page
Plant Seeds of Hope

​​The Placing Thoughts on a Leaf Visualisation can be done at any time of year but is particularly good to do when the leaves are falling from the trees in autumn. It soothes a restless and agitated mind; it brings focus to the mind and quietens persistent, unwanted thoughts. It can be found on page 106 of the Yoga Through the Year book.
It can be done sitting or lying down and takes about 10 minutes.

Find yourself a comfortable position either sitting or lying down.
If you are sitting, establish an erect but relaxed posture.
Begin by noticing any thoughts and feelings that are passing through your mind. Simply observe thoughts and feelings without judgement as they come and go.
 
Now bring your awareness to sensations arising in your body. Notice which parts of your body already feel relaxed and where there is discomfort or tension. Become aware of the natural flow of your breath. Notice how your belly rises and falls with each in- and out-breath. Throughout the meditation maintain a background awareness of the natural wavelike flow of your breath.

Now imagine that it is a sunny day and you are sitting under a tree on the riverbank, watching the river flow by. Shafts of sunlight stream through the trees and sparkle on the water below…The river is like a mirror reflecting blue sky, white clouds, and rippling trees. The wind whispers through the branches of the trees and blows autumn leaves onto the water …You watch the leaves, noticing their different shapes and colours as they sail by…

Now once again return your awareness to noticing thoughts as they come and go in your mind. Imagine that as a thought arises you place it onto a leaf and watch the leaf float by. And then when another thought comes into your mind, place that thought on a leaf too and watch it sail away downstream.

If your mind gets carried away by a torrent of thoughts and feelings, congratulate yourself for noticing this, and then simply begin again by placing the next thought that comes into your mind onto a leaf. If thoughts come into your mind that the meditation isn’t working or that you’re not doing it right, these are just thoughts, so just place them on a leaf too and watch them float by…

We’re not trying to get rid of thoughts. You don’t need to push thoughts away. We’re simply observing the stream of thoughts passing through the mind and letting them float away in their own time.

Now let go of placing your thoughts on leaves. Widen your awareness to take in the whole of your imagined river scene. What do you see? Notice shapes, colours, and textures. What do you hear? Use your five senses to picture the scene around you. Particularly, be aware of changes that herald the arrival of autumn. Enjoy the beauty of the place.

​Now let go of picturing the river scene. Bring your awareness back to noticing sensations in your body and where your body is in contact with the floor or support. Notice how you are feeling now and how the meditation has affected you. Become aware of sounds inside the room and sounds outside the room. Become aware of your surroundings and when you are ready, open your eyes. Take this peaceful, patient, accepting, and more spacious awareness into the next activity you do today.

​​The Placing Thoughts on a Leaf Visualisation can be found on page 106 of the Yoga Through the Year book.
See also:
The Autumn Art of Letting Go
Autumn Equinox Yoga Practice
Autumn Page
Autumn Equinox Page
​​

The tree in autumn provides the inspiration for the Yoga Through the Year book's Autumn Equinox Yoga Practice. We can imitate the wisdom of the tree by conserving energy over the coming autumn and winter months and letting go of unnecessary baggage. This process of letting go enables us to create a sense of physical and mental spaciousness in our lives. Letting go is about prioritising what’s important to us and clearing a space, both physical and psychic, to nurture and nourish the things that do matter to us.

There is wisdom to be found in the fading beauty of autumn. In spring the newly formed leaf contains within itself the blueprint that prompts it to fall from the tree in autumn. The tree knows that to survive the dark, cold winter months it must conserve energy. Over winter, the fallen leaves rot, forming compost that in turn nourishes the tree. And when spring comes around, new buds unfurl into fresh green leaves.

As the trees let go of their leaves, what do you wish to let go of this autumn? The global pandemic has thrown all our lives into confusion and uncertainty. As autumn arrives, many of us wish to let go of the fear, disappointment, and loss, that has been our companion during these unprecedented times. Our mindfulness practice reminds us that the first step of letting go, is to allow ourselves to fully experience the emotions that we are wishing to let go of. Along the lines of: what we resist persists. If we can allow ourselves to simply feel what we are feeling, then we can process those emotions, connect with their inherent wisdom, and begin the process of healing. However, if we bypass this stage of feeling what we are feeling, then letting go becomes pushing away, which in turn traps us in a cycle of persistent, unwanted thoughts and emotions. 

Feeling what you feel is warrior work! Your yoga and mindfulness practice can support you along the way. The Surrounding a Difficulty With Love Meditation, page 126-127. in the Yoga Through the Year book, will help you to develop the skills to tolerate and embrace difficult emotions more easily. This in turn will help you to build up courage and emotional resilience. You could also check out the audio mindfulness exercises on The Mindful Way Through Anxiety website.

As we approach the autumn equinox there is a shift of emphasis from sun to moon, light to dark, action to contemplation, growth to dormancy, fruitfulness to composting, building up to letting go, and movement to stillness. Now is a good time to pause after the frenetic activity of the growing season and consider how best to recuperate, regenerate, and replenish your energy this autumn. 

Below are some meditation questions to assist you with the process of letting go this autumn.

In preparation for winter the trees are letting go of their leaves.

• What do I wish to let go of at this time?
• Are there any habits, ways of being, relationships, and activities, and so on that no longer serve me well? What are the steps I need to take to loosen their hold over me?
• What’s important to me? What do I need to let go of in order to prioritize the things that I value most in life?
• In what way would letting go of physical clutter improve the quality of life for me and those closest to me? 

A full set of Autumn Equinox Meditation Questions can be found in the Yoga Through the Year book.
See also:
The Placing Thoughts on a Leaf Visualisation
Autumn Equinox Yoga blog post
Autumn Page
Autumn Equinox Page

The tree in autumn provides the inspiration for the Autumn Equinox chapter's Yoga Practice, from the Yoga Through the Year book. We can imitate the wisdom of the tree by conserving energy over the coming autumn and winter months and letting go of unnecessary baggage. This process of letting go enables us to create a sense of physical and mental spaciousness in our lives. Letting go is about prioritising what’s important to us and clearing a space, both physical and psychic, to nurture and nourish the things that do matter to us. 

Today, I used the Autumn Equinox yoga practice, from the book, as my early morning yoga practice. It felt the perfect way to connect with the change of the season from summer to autumn. 

You begin the practice Standing Like a Tree, and picture a tree in all its autumn splendour. Then, later in the practice you evoke the image of the tree again as you hold Tree Pose (Vrksasana). Today, rather than picturing the beauty of autumn leaves, I pictured a tree in fruit. I've recently been walking in the Peak District, so my mind easily filled with images of wild apple and damson trees, and red-berried hawthorns; before I finally settled on the image of a rowan tree, with its rich orange berries, which grows nearer to home, in my back garden. 

As autumn arrives and the year winds down, nature takes steps to conserve energy and let go of that which is unnecessary; this yoga practice will enable you to begin that same process of conserving energy and sensory withdrawal (pratyahara). This is reflected in the practice with vinyasas such as Child's Pose (Balasana) flowing into Upward-Facing Dog Pose (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana), which generates that sense of moving from the sunny openness of summer, to the more inward, contemplative  focus of the autumn and winter months ahead.

In the practice we also use the Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana), to help us imitate nature's autumn work of letting go. As you hold the forward bend you ask yourself the meditation question: In autumn, as the trees let go of their leaves, what do I wish to let go of?

Today, in preparation for the Seated Forward Bend, I moved dynamically a few times, from Staff Pose (Dandasana) with arms raised into the Seated Forward Bend. As I did so I found myself instinctively using some meditation phrases from the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh:
Breathing in I smile,
breathing out I let go. 

I then shortened the phrase to
Inhale: Smiling
Exhale: Letting go

Towards the end of the practice, we return to the fruitfulness of the season, repeating the affirmation,  I welcome abundance into my life, as we rest in Supine Butterfly Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana). 

Then we conclude the practice in Knees-to-Chest Pose (Apanasana), contemplating upon the meditation question: What do I wish to incubate over the winter, ready to send up green shoots next spring?

Below is an aide memoire for the Autumn Equinox Yoga Practice, full instructions for the practice can be found in the Yoga Through the Year book. 

Autumn Equinox Yoga Practice Overview
1. Standing Like a Tree. Picture a tree in all its autumn splendour.
2. Bend and Straighten Warm-Up. Exhale: bend both knees and lower arms. Inhale: return to starting position. Repeat × 8.
3. Tree Pose. Picture a tree in autumn. Stay for a few breaths. Repeat on other side.
4. Cat Pose to Cow Pose. Repeat × 8.
5. Child’s Pose into Upward-Facing Dog Pose. Inhale: move from Child’s Pose into Upward-Facing Dog pose; stay one breath. Exhale: sit back into Child’s Pose; stay one breath. Repeat × 6.
6. Seated Forward Bend. Ask: In autumn, as the trees let go of their leaves, what do I wish to let go of?
7. Supine Tree Pose. Stay for a few breaths, picturing a tree in autumn. Repeat on other side.
8. Full-Body Stretch into Curl-Up. Inhale: lengthen tall along the floor. Exhale: curl up. Inhale: return to stretch. Repeat × 4.
9. Supine Butterfly Pose. Affirmation: I welcome abundance into my life.
10. Full-Body Stretch. Lengthen tall along the floor.
11. Knees-to-Chest Pose. Ask: What do I wish to incubate over the winter, ready to send up green shoots next spring?

The Autumn Equinox chapter of the Yoga Through the Year book is packed full of ideas for yoga in autumn, including yoga practices, visualisations, tree wisdom, and meditations.
See Also:
The Autumn Art of Letting Go
The Placing Thoughts on a Leaf Visualisation
Autumn Page
Autumn Equinox Page