Season of the Witch- tapping in to your feminine power through your yoga practice (also applicable to guys!)

You may well have seen a plethora of little witches, wizards and ghoulish creatures running around recently excitedly scaring each other with tricks in search of usually sweet treats and although yes it can feel a bit commercialised these days, it is good that Halloween remains a significant date in our annual calendars.

Traditionally the start of Samhain festival celebrating the autumn harvest, but it was also believed to be a time where souls who had died might return to visit and scary costumes were donned to ward off any evil spirits that may be around!

Witches have more often than not throughout history been depicted as scary, hence the many green wort covered face masks available to wear for Halloween. However early witches were in fact mostly wise women ahead of their time who were most misunderstood!.. Often using a combination of herbs to make tinctures (think of todays revolution in aromatherapy!) to try and help heal the sick along with what at the time were perceived to be magic spells, but in fact were much more likely to be what we would refer to these days as meditations and chanting affirmations.. In a patriarchal society daring to do such things with any courage of your own convictions was in times gone by a very risky thing to do!.. Fast forward a few hundred years and thank goodness times have changed, mostly!

So how might you be thinking does this all relate to my yoga practice, especially if you’re a guy?.. Well, we all possess masculine and feminine traits within our own individual personalities, a simple example of this being Yin/Yang. With Yang energy being the Sun active doing masculine form, think Suryar Namaskara (sun salutaion vinayasa) and Yin energy being the Moon cooling more calming energy. As the symbol portrays one feeds into the other and to maintain balance in life we need both. However in todays crazy busy world Yang ‘doing’ energy often becomes the more prevalent of the two, and the misconception that constant ‘doing’ is the best way to achieve.

Anyone who has experienced burnout may well have been simply forced to slow down and take time out. Perhaps in then doing so discovering how effective for example a Yin Yoga practice can be, where staying in postures like a Swan Pose (elongated pigeon pose) for a minute or more can help to relax and restore tightened muscles and minds.. How taking time out to walk in amongst nature just being with your thoughts, observing things like trees casting light throughout moss covered soft woodland carpets, can turn in to a most wonderful moving meditation.. How rituals like writing a note to yourself about something that no longer serves you on a piece of paper, then throwing it on to a fireplace and watching the flames transform it into tiny particles that float up and away skywards can be immensely cathartic.. All practices that may be slower, but nevertheless incredibly mindful, purposeful and powerful.

So how about this winter season tapping into your ‘inner witch’ to discover the magic of your feminine power ?! ..