Traditions, Reflections and Cyber Sangha Love on this Blue Moon New Years Eve, by Cora Wen

And now….New Years traditions and reflections by the one and only sirsa queen, the gracious and inspiring yogacrone, Cora Wen!

Do You Believe in Magic? Standing in the Full Blue Moonlight

Oak Moon, Bitter Moon, Snow Moon, Long Night Moon, Cold Moon, Rain and Wind Moon – these are some traditional names given to the December moon. Tonight we have the unusual event of a second full moon in a calendar month, known as a Blue Moon.
As the saying goes, magical things happen once upon a blue moon, and it is a rare lunar event to coincide with New Years Eve ~ there won’t be another New Year Blue Moon until 2028!

This Blue Moon got me reflecting on the years 40th anniversary of the moon landing and the 400th anniversary of Galileos telescope to see the moon clearly for the first time. Interesting coincidences…moon sighting, moon landing, moon blue as we shift into the teens of this millennium! (http://wechoosethemoon.org/ )

This year was a wild ride ~ the first multicultural leader of a democratic society, a global economic shift that changed our perspective like a gigantic “reset” button, and many childhood icons of contemporary culture from television, film, music and social consciousness left this life. The natural storms and disasters that come with each passing year, and corporate giants storming through huge shifts and changes.

I am not one for resolutions, or regrets…Buddhist training has tied me into the present, and Yoga has reminded me to stay in the breath. Not the last or next breath, but this one right now. So resolutions seem too distant and regrets have never proven useful.

My biggest and best resonance of the year was discovering and developing the incredible cyber sangha on the web…wonderful connections and new friends through Yogadork and cyber communities of Elephant Journal, Facebook and Twitter.  YogaDawg and other blogspots have connected me into communities across the globe, and as last week’’s map showed; our community is growing and moving across the world! Rocking the planet one yogadork at a time…sometimes even on our heads! 😉

Developing sincere friendships with Tweet peeps like @innerspaceyoga, @yoga_mydrishti and @ashdyogi are some of my best memories of 2009, and the cyber sangha has sometimes proven a greater support than studio communities. We have reminded each other in “being” rather than “doing” Yoga; joining together in a true vision of connection and sharing that defines Yoga as something greater than exercise.

Teaching, learning and sharing through Youtube, blogs, Ning and other mediums has connected us in ways that are truly magical. I can demonstrate how to use a chair for scorpion to someone in Connecticut, Oklahoma. London and Australia in one day! How much more magic is needed than that?

Discovering these connections and developing community is like seeing and landing on the moon in one sweep! Ashtangis, Anusaraians, Bikrams, Iyengarites, Vinis and others discussing asana, Sutra, Gita and more has been a bright light; much like the upcoming full moon rising tonight. Our journey is a bit faster than Galileos telescope to NASA, but in some ways, the journey has been longer in the 5000+ lineage of Yoga to join us together in our innovative virtual shala!

As a Chinese born Yogini living in California celebrating the New Year in Ireland, I am reminded of how closely connected we are…  There is an Irish tradition of banging doors and walls with bread to chase away bad luck and bring good spirits into the New Year. Perhaps my “banging” on Twitter to the newfound cyber sangha will bring abundance in 2010 too!

In Asia, children jump up and down at midnight to grow tall, and sunrise celebrations honoring ancestors and elders bring luck. There are diverse traditions and celebrations to wish good luck for the New Year around the globe, and many include foods both savory and sweet. From pigs to grapes to honey drenched balls of fried dough, these dishes ensure a sweet and successful year. Holiday traditions vary with countries and cultures, but all have in common the sharing of warm wishes with friends and family for happiness, health and prosperity in the New Year.

So on the eve of 2010, as we pass into the teens of the new millennium, let us watch this blue moon arise and celebrate a beautiful open exchange of ideas, information, insight and inspiration. Like the astronauts felt when they walked on the moon, I have hope and delight in this virtual community for us to collaborate and connect and keep rocking the cyber sangha…

Keep sharing and caring in our cyber sangha, and keep viewing the world from every angle…especially upside down! 😉 We have until 2028 to see the next Blue New Years Moon ~ can we fill the world with laughing, smiling Yogadorks spreading the message that Yoga heals and connects, and more than ever, Peace IS possible!

with love and pranams,
Cora, the Yogacrone
www.corawen.com

Be sure to read Cora’s excellent yearin review post on elephantjournal.com

Earlier…Meet Cora Wen! And the Sirsasana Challenge, It’s On 2010