Samhain: Yoga Practices for Halloween

Samhain is a Gaelic festival celebrated from sundown on October 31st to sundown on November 1st. It marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of the "darker half" or Celtic New Year.

This transition signifies the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, which was central to Celtic beliefs. All of nature seems to return to the earth, making space for higher consciousness to occur. The Veil between the physical world and the spiritual (or "other") world is considered to be at its thinnest during this time, allowing spirits to easily cross between realms and enter our world.

​The ancient Celts would traditionally make offerings of food, drink, and prayers to honor ancestors and appease the spirits of the other realms. This was done to seek their protection and blessings for the coming year and to benefit their harvest and livestock for the following season.

Ideas to cultivate in your yoga practice

• Dedicate your practice to the ancestors. During centering and throughout your practice offer the efforts of your practice to your ancestors and lineage. 
  
  
• Create an ancestor altar. Photos, objects, incense, candles, flowers… are all beautiful ways to honor those who have passed.
  
  
• Reflect. Look back at your day, month, year…. observe the changing seasons of your life and the harvests. See the rhythms in your life and notice patterns. 
  
  
• Spend time in nature. Take in all the sensations from the beautiful colors and shifting light, to the earth smells of leaves that have fallen, and the crisp air.
  
  
• Enjoy the bounty of harvest. The physical harvest of greens and root vegetables, as well as the mental harvest of seeds sown from thoughts and feelings. 
  
  
• Bonfire and candles. Ceremonially offer that which is no longer serving you and your loved ones into the fire for transformation.
  
  
• Bring Triangle (Utthita Trikonasana) into your practice. With one hand on the earth and one hand reaching skyward- connect your earthly existence to the higher realms of the heavens and our ancestors. Create a straight line of energy and awareness through the wrists– past, present, future.
  
  
• Offer a prayer for the efforts of your practice to benefit all beings everywhere. Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu  लोका: समस्ता: सुखिनो भवन्तु  May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute towards that happiness and freedom for all. 

• Connect with community. Gather with friends and loved ones. Join us for a Halloween Flow with Piper Tuesday October 31st at 5:30.

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