We are entering week 2 of healing shame with the moon! If you didn’t catch Part 1 of this month’s healing journey you can read Healing Shame with the New Moon Here. While last week we explored reclaiming our truths, this week we are holding space to learn how to be WITH ourselves versus feeling alone by ourselves in the heavy energy of shame. To foster an empowered relationship with shame so that we don’t stay stuck in its suffering, we need to learn how to trust and be present with our mind, energy, and body. When we foster a relationship with ourselves on a day to day basis, we create a strong foundation to explore and honor our truth in the more difficult moments of moving through the energy of shame.
Intention of Healing
But before we dive into reclaiming our relationship with ourselves and life, let’s break down what healing truly means in the context of yoga and the context of this blog. In Western medicine and mental health “healing” is often directed towards “fixing” what is broken, off, or the symptom being displayed. Eastern healing, which is the perspective explored in yoga and the foundation of the work I do, teaches us that “healing” is not about fixing what is broken, but rather remembering how whole and complete we have always been as we let go of that which is not our truth. You are not broken. You do not need fixing. There is nothing wrong with you. You are whole and complete right here and now <3
Healing always comes from within us. While being held in the loving support of healers and loved ones within your journey may be the exact support and environment you need to thrive, the actual healing always comes from within you. It is your power and the beautiful cosmic divine consciousness within you that heals. Everything else, all the exterior support, is just that- loving support. You are the heroine or hero of your journey and always will be. So let’s support you in meeting and getting to know your beautiful inner healer. It is about time you got acquainted 🙂
Healing with the Waxing Moon
The waxing moon symbolizes our own Inner Spring as does our follicular phase of our menstrual cycle. While your Inner Winter is characterized by letting go of what no longer serves you, stepping unapologetically into your truth, and setting new intentions for the cycle ahead, your Inner Spring now embodies the symbolism of planting seeds. This week is a beautiful time to explore, play, try new things, and begin planting the seeds of self trust and the new narratives that are rooted in your truth. As we heal shame and our wounds of rejection this month, the waxing moon offers us the opportunity to explore a possibly new way of healing, find the simplicity of ahimsa in our journey, and integrate a practice of being fully present WITH ourselves back into our day to day life.
Learn how to track your menstrual and/or moon cycle with our Free Cyclical Living Bundle Here.
The Healing Path of Ahimsa
In order to get to know our inner healer and begin listening to our body, mind, and energy as sacred layers of ourselves that are communicating with us (not causing us problems or trying to fight us), we need to come back to the root. Just like how we explored truths versus non-truths last week, this week we are coming back to the root of what it means to heal and how that journey may look and feel. There are many philosophies of healing and it is important to honor that there are many paths to the same destination. With that said, as much as we may want to jump directly from feeling shame to feeling abundant and extraordinary self love and acceptance, that path may turn out to be more frustrating than beneficial. So let’s not try to reach for self-love right now. It is ok if loving yourself through the energy of shame, wherever it is present in your life, feels hard or even impossible. That does not need to be the next step in this journey, but you will be on that path soon enjoying all its magic and beauty. Every step and path of our journey, even the uncomfortable ones, are just as important as the ones that feel joyful and blissful. Jumping over the discomfort will not bring peace, only courage to face what we perceive as “good” AND what we perceive as “bad” will guide us to fully understanding our vibrant inner peace. It is all a part of being human- experiencing joy, and experiencing its opposite. This week we are going to begin a new practice and path of healing rooted in ahimsa.
Ahimsa is the yogic discipline of nonviolence. In my book “Butterflies & Rainbows” we explore how violence may manifest in our everyday life so that we can become aware of our own practice and exploration into non-violence.
“When you hear the word “violence” what comes to your mind? Maybe you think of aggression or malice, physical abuse, or pop culture media such as a movie or game. But what about on a more subtle and smaller scale. What about the negative thoughts and mean girl voices that run in our heads, sabotage us from taking empowered action, and limit our perception of ourselves? What about when we forget to eat because we are so consumed with what we are doing? What about the burnout cycle that happens when we overwork ourselves? What about working out without listening to when your body says to stop? What about comparing yourself to others and emotionally beating yourself up when you don’t meet your own expectations? Violence can come in all shapes and forms beyond aggression and malice. Often the violence that we show towards ourselves comes from subconscious patterns of which we are unaware and that our mind tries to prove and justify as loving”
Butterflies & Rainbow: Reclaim Your Womb and Sovereign Truth by Lilia Gestson
It is important at this moment to take a deep breath and welcome self-compassion. This conversation is meant to open a door to a new way of healing shame NOT to hold space for you to beat yourself up emotionally. You are amazing and in every moment you are doing your best with what you know and that is always enough. Remember, this is a journey that you get to make your own and life is about always learning and growing. The answers are always within you and this path is designed to help you remember your truth even when it feels uncomfortable.
Practicing ahimsa, means exploring healing shame in our everyday life by asking ourselves “how can I be nonviolent towards myself in this situation/moment.” And that is it. It can be simple. It may take practice. It may feel challenging. But it can be as simple as pausing and choosing the path of nonviolence when we have the option, whether it is choosing a nonviolent thought to focus on or choosing a nonviolent action that honors the signals of our body and our truth… How can you practice ahimsa in your life today?
Yoga as a Practice of Relationship
Yoga in Western society has become well known as a form of exercise, which is beautiful and amazing; however, that view is divergent from yoga’s classical intentions and is not what we are exploring in this space. The yoga we will be exploring over the next year is a healing and spiritual practice rooted in the Classical Tantric path of yoga. Each path of yoga has a different view or philosophy accompanying its practices, but they all come back to the same intention- to know and remember the truth of our reality.
Just like we need to get to know people to build a relationship of trust and safety, we need to hold conscious space to get to know ourselves and feel safe in our body, mind, and energy. If we have been fed narratives, such as narratives of shame, throughout our life that impact our self trust, then being gentle with ourselves is so important as we begin reclaiming the safety within us that is our right. On our emotional healing journey’s yoga offers us the opportunity to have a tangible experience with the connection that we have to everything around us, with feeling anchored in our right to exist with love and inner peace, with understanding and fostering a relationship of trust with our many layers, and with remembering the truth of our innermost divine essence. This month, I invite you to explore the meditation, visualization, and breathwork practice below.
This Month’s Practice
Each month in our Healing with the Waxing Moon post we will have a practice that you can do from home that complements our healing journey. As we explore fostering an empowered relationship with shame this month, we will be exploring 1) how to sit and breath to find inner calm and peace within us and 2) a visualization practice to gently release all of the self image constructs and narratives that no longer serve us as we feel our vibrant wholeness that is permeated by the unconditional love of divine consciousness.
I invite you to make a gentle commitment with yourself around this practice. While a daily practice of self relationship will feel the most powerful and supportive, sometimes we need to start with a commitment in which we know we can stay disciplined. It is in self accountability that empowerment truly blossoms. Explore this 20 minute practice as many times a week as it feels right for you and your journey and I invite you to play with this breathwork during your day to find an anchor of peace and calm within you at any moment. Trust yourself!
This Week’s Healing with the Moon Class
Join me virtually for a 90 minute special healing yoga class designed to support you this week in healing shame with the Waxing Moon. We will be exploring a playful yet meditative practice of asana yoga poses alongside the breathwork and visualization from this month’s practice video. Explore this week’s journey in your own life as you hold space to foster self trust, foster an intimate relationship with your mind, and become fully present as the wise healer within your own life. This healing space will be filled with an energy of love and safety to support you in your beautiful journey.
Rent the recording of the class HERE
Next Week on the Blog…
We are diving into healing shame with the Full Moon and exploring the ego dynamics of shame and how they may impact our day to day life, embodying your narratives of truth, and comforting your inner child with compassion…
Additional Resources and Reading
Butterflies & Rainbows: Reclaim Your Womb and Sovereign Truth by Lilia Gestson
[…] and taking this journey one day/week at a time. If you missed last week’s post, you can find our Healing Shame with the Waxing Moon post HERE. This week we are exploring this healing journey in alignment with the full moon and this is one of […]