"An amaryllis is always waiting to delight and surprise you, even when your world seems cold and dark."
Susan Meissner
March is here, roaring in like a lion under a Leo waxing gibbous moon, with 20 more days until spring. February brought a lot of snow and cold here in New England. Large piles of dirty, white mounds line our streets and obstruct our sidewalks, which will bring a wet, muddy thaw this year. To carry me through this winter, I've enjoyed the unraveling of my red amaryllis blossoms. It was a nice surprise to see 4 big blooms on this one mighty stem. This flower is a symbol of hope and inner strength, two important virtues reminding us of the power of resilience and growth. The amaryllis is often called the winter rebel as it bursts into bloom despite the cold and dark season of winter.
We welcome this new month with a full lunar eclipse on Tuesday, March 3. As the Earth sandwiches itself between the Sun and the Moon, casting its shadow across the lunar surface, it will create a "blood" color due to the longer red light waves that bend (refract) toward the moon. Waves of light come in various lengths and as sunlight passes through the Earth's surface, the shorter blue wavelengths will scatter and the moon will be visible to the naked eye as a deep red. During the 58-minute period of totality, the moon will be illuminated by the light of every sunrise and sunset that is happening in the world at that moment. I live in the Northern Hemisphere and the lunar eclipse will begin at 6:04 AM, peak at 6:33 AM, and end at 7:02 AM. Moments marked by these phases of events are special as they don't happen often, the next North American lunar eclipse won't be visible until New Year's Eve 2028.
March is a month of hope, a placeholder for the transition of winter into spring. As someone who is directly impacted by the current events in my life (a working mother/partner raising teenagers), in nature (winter/snow/ice), in the news (tragedy/ongoing violence), and in the world (environmental devastation/climate change), the choices I make to stay calm, balanced, and focused are inspired by life's challenges and joys. Moving my body has always been a form of healing for me and sharing this knowledge with others fills my heart.
This month's Movement Challenge is a foundational standing lunge pose that builds lower body strength, hip flexibility, and posture alignment. Warrior 1, Virabhadrasana, (vira meaning hero/warrior, bhadra auspicious/friend, and asana pose) symbolizes strength, fortitude, focus, and overcoming adversity. Combining Warrior 1 with Willpower Pulses, reaching the arms up overhead with open, extended hands, then pulling the elbows in towards the ribs squeezing the hands into fists, energetically harnesses confidence, power, and control. Mushtika (fist/closed hand) Bandhana (lock/seal) is the practice of opening and closing the fist. Rhythmically clenching and releasing the fingers improves joint health and grip strength. In addition, I've added in a functional movement exercise called kneeling step ups with the a chair and a weight.
All the videos below have been posted to my YouTube channel. Start where you are, connect to your breath, and switch sides for a balanced practice.
Hand Clenches
My previous 'Movement Challenges' start here. As each month passes, this collection of yoga poses and functional movements are slowly growing, allowing creative opportunity to tie them together for a short, daily, mobility routine.
Wednesday Chair Yoga (10a-10:45a) at the Melrose YMCA.
Thursday Mat Yoga (8:45a-9:45a) + Chair Yoga (10:15a-11a) at the Milano Senior Center.
FREE yoga videos on YouTube
FREE guided meditations on Insight Timer
My previous 'Movement Challenges' start here. As each month passes, this collection of yoga poses and functional movements are slowly growing, allowing creative opportunity to tie them together for a short, daily, mobility routine.
Wednesday Chair Yoga (10a-10:45a) at the Melrose YMCA.
Thursday Mat Yoga (8:45a-9:45a) + Chair Yoga (10:15a-11a) at the Milano Senior Center.
FREE yoga videos on YouTube
FREE guided meditations on Insight Timer
February's new moon nature mandala honored the lunar new year, shedding the year of the snake and welcoming in the year of the fire horse. Red amaryllis petals for strength, luck, and fortune, dried calendula for healing and soothing with bound scolecite for peace, calm, and serenity during turbulent times.
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