Passage from Light to Dark to Light

Something special happens when an alignment of energies comes together in space and time. This year the winter solstice coincided with a full lunar eclipse. The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year when darkness prevails. And the lunar eclipse happens on a full moon when the moon, Earth and sun all line up - with the Earth in the middle blocking the sun's rays from lighting up the moon. These two events happening together is rare and in fact the last time this occurred was 1638 - over 370 years ago.

If you are lucky enough to view this event, the moon turns into various shades of glowing orange light. Orange is a combination of yellow and red. Red represents the chakra at the base of our spine, our roots and survival. It signifies courage and connects us with our physical body and the power of the earth. Yellow is the color of the solar plexus chakra located at the base of our ribs. It relates to mental clarity, curiosity and optimism. Orange, the color and chakra in between, is related to the sacral chakra in the lower abdomen. Connecting us to our senses, it helps us to be independent and creative. It is our center of reproduction. So the colors of the lunar eclipse are grounding and relate to our physical survival.

These grounding elements are dense and heavy. This is the time to go back to our roots, our survival, our digestion and elimination. What do we need to nourish ourselves? What can we get rid of? Darkness enhances our sense of touch and feeling. It is a time to draw inward and take time for self-reflection. The sun and the moon have opposite energies. When the earth is perfectly aligned between those energies causing an eclipse, the moon takes on a brilliant orange. It passes from light to dark and back to light again. This passage mimics the different stages of our lives as we move from full brilliance into soft darkness and back again.

The foundation of yoga lies in being grounded. It is also about passage through poses, through the cycle of the breath and through times of difficulty and times of ease. Yoga takes us into places of our bodies and minds that are not often visited in our daily routines. When our skeleton is aligned, when our minds and hearts are aligned, and our intention and actions are aligned, magic happens. A beautiful brilliant transformation occurs like a lunar eclipse.

Light and darkness follow each other, both giving their lessons and gifts. If times seem dark, give yourself the luxury to rest and reflect. Move slowly or be still. When light abounds, take action and tap into that energy. Be spontaneous. Let your creativity flourish. We will always go through times of difficulty and times of ease. It is what we do with those times that will determine how our lives evolve. Tapping into the special qualities of both light and darkness will enable us to experience the flow of life with less struggle and greater appreciation for the passage.