Sprout’s Workshop Recap: New Moon Relaxation
I know many of you live far away from my current home of Blacksburg, VA, but I love to keep all my clients and friends in the loop of what we get into at Sprout Wellness! Also, there are probably similar workshops and classes available near you. If it sounds interesting enough, check what’s offered locally!
The Workshop
This wasn’t a concept I came up with on my own! My good friend Fraser (the Sound Bath part of our Stretch & Sound Bath) approached me with the idea in July. Back when they lived in Orlando, Fraser hosted community sound baths, often centered around the new or full moon.
They had an idea for us to join forces and provide an even more relaxing and involved experience, and our relaxation workshop was born!
Attendees start with a short meditation, followed by a stretching session led by me. Fraser finishes us off with an entrancing sound bath and we leave time at the end to allow for reflection and journaling (prompts provided). We often focus on the properties of the new or full moon, drawing inspiration from the astrological sign with which the timing of the moon cycle correlates.
We’ve had a great time with great people so far, and we’re excited to continue offering this workshop on a monthly basis!
Why The New Moon?
Both the new and full moons are great times to check in with your mind and body. Take inventory of your feelings, emotions, aches, and pains.
There are eight lunar phases, from new to waxing to full to waning. The phases can also have spiritual meaning, each evoking different moods, feelings, and actions.
The full and new moon are the most visually noticeable phases of the moon and, as the beginning and middle of the cycle, are awesome times to have a little self-reflection.
The new moon represents new beginnings. It’s an ideal time to reflect on your past thoughts and actions, while also exploring your wishes and desires. Determine how you want the future to look and set intentions to make it happen!
The full moon is a time for reflection too. Recall the intentions you set during the new moon and determine if they’ve come to be. If so, celebrate! If not, it’s time to take stock of what’s helping and what’s hurting you. Release what doesn’t serve you, and make room for the thoughts, feelings, and actions that can allow you to achieve your intentions.
Is Following Astrology Necessary?
Simply put: no! If you aren’t interested in astrology and don’t care to learn, it’s not required knowledge to properly relax, stretch, or experience a sound bath.
You can follow the properties and correspondences of the lunar phases without including astrology or you can simply use the phases as dates to check in with yourself!
Each astrological sign corresponds to a different part of the body and I enjoy using these correspondences to inspire how I create the stretching portion of the workshop. Each astrological sign corresponds to a different part of the body and I enjoy using these correspondences to inspire how I create the stretching portion of the workshop. For example, September’s Harvest New Moon is in Virgo, which rules the abdomen and digestive system.
Based on this, I incorporated a lot of twists and breathing into the stretching session, as those are some of the best stretches for digestion.
I also love adding hip and neck stretches to all my stretch sessions, as these areas are often tight for a lot of people!
Stretching Essentials
Like I said above, the focus of these stretching sessions depends on what sign the moon is in! For example, this most recent new moon was in Virgo, which rules the digestive system. During our stretching portion of the event, we worked on diaphragmatic breathing and twists, as both of these things benefit digestion.
Regardless of what part of the body we focus on, I always like to include hip, neck, and shoulder stretches. These are common areas of tension, especially with the prevalence of sedentariness and desk jobs.
I do my best to create a stretching routine that is accessible and easy to modify for most people. While we often do floor work, there are standing and chair options available for those who don’t feel comfortable getting onto the floor!
We work hard to create a warm and welcoming environment to all bodies and abilities. No one should have to miss out on an experience like this because they’re worried they can’t keep up.
Sound Bathing Explained
I hadn’t heard of sound bathing before Fraser introduced me to it. Essentially, a sound bath is a form of meditation. You lie down (or sit) and are immersed in resonant sound, or “bathed” in sound waves.
The practice of healing through sound is thousands of years old and can be found in a variety of regions and cultures. We use this practice in medicine, in the form of ultrasounds. There are also many studies, such as this one, supporting the benefits of music and sound therapy.
The sound in our workshops is made with metal or glass singing bowls, though other sources like gongs, chimes, and tuning forks can be used.
Sound baths are meant to create a sense of harmony by helping clear participants of their negative energy. Relaxation and better internal awareness are two important benefits of this practice.
I was able to participate in my first sound bath a few weeks ago. I was pretty exhausted and not feeling my best. Honestly, I was open to the experience but skeptical about how it would help me. After the 45-minute outdoor session, I felt so much better than I had going in. I felt rested, my mood improved, and my sleep also improved afterward. I can’t recommend this experience enough!
Time for Reflection
Taking time to journal your thoughts after a meditation session is an important practice to make sure you remember your thoughts and that the intentions you’ve made stick.
Your journaling time can be stream-of-consciousness-style, about your experience meditation, or it can be based on one of a few prompts selected based on the moon phase and astrological sign of that particular workshop.
Generally, I don’t think people journal enough in their daily lives! We often have so many good thoughts and ideas, but they rarely become anything more as we don’t write them down and move on, forgetting about them as we get busy. Write it down and return to it regularly to keep the thoughts and motivation flowing!
Try New Things!
While this description was specific to the workshop Fraser and I offer, I know there are similar classes out there! Trying new things can be so exciting. You might do things that turn out to be not quite right for you, but there’s always a chance you'll find something you love!
New things are always less intimidating with friends, so this is also a great opportunity to spend some quality time with the people you love as you all experience something different!
If you have questions about our event or any of the points we’ve talked about here, let me know!
For those in the area, I hope to see you for our October New Moon Relaxation!