Here I am in Crescent Moon Camel variation pose, embracing the setting sun, from my last trip to Pathos. The Pose is a great blend of Crescent Moon and Camel Pose, and because it’s on one side at a time, it’s easier than it looks once you get into it. Try it with your back foot on tip toe first, as its easier to reach, then progress to the lower version with a flat foot, once you get the feel of it. In the Christian calendar today is All Saints Day, also called All Hallows Day, tomorrow is All Souls Day and yesterday was Halloween – which means the eve of All Hallows Day. As we transition from the bright forms of summer to the dark formlessness of winter, we are at a pause between the outbreath of summers creation and the inbreath of winters destruction, and in that pause, there is a chance to transcend the cycles of life and experience ‘the other side’. Hence in all traditions and cultures there is a belief that forces of light and dark can ‘come through’. The idea is to breathe out the dark on Halloween, and breathe in the light on All Saints Day. On November 12th Hindus will celebrate Diwali, the ‘Festival of Light’, which is also about the tussle between light and dark, when a being if light is kidnapped by a being of darkness, and then rescued by another being of light. In the Hindu trinity, Brahma represents creation, Vishnu Preservation, and Siva destruction. In the stage of destruction, which is represented by darkness and winter, there is the opportunity to let go of the past, and even the cycles of creation, and transcend to a higher level beyond the vicissitudes of time. Hence Siva is the God of the yogis and self-mastery. We grow and expand during the times of creation and preservation, and then when it all begins to crumble, as it inevitably will, we transcend, leap off, let go of our limited body and mind, and embrace the light of the soul – hence ‘All Souls’, tomorrow.
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