Dancing with the Moon

In my adult years, I have struggled with getting enough exercise. It seems as though excuses come all too easy. In my younger years, I found an ingenious way to get enough exercise and to make money—I taught exercise classes, mostly to women (including pregnant women). I have also taught exercise classes for Senior Citizens and youth. I have one of those (now rare) Life Credentials issued from the State of California to teach physical education and art.

Oh my, I certainly seem to have gotten lazy as I have aged. I have noticed that when I don’t do much in terms of using my body, I don’t have much energy. The more I use my body, the better I feel—well, at least up to a certain point. If I cross over it, though, sometimes I pay. I may injure myself, or feel exceptionally sore the next day. So, when I am using my body, I need to remember that I am not a 20-year-old athlete. I need to be present with myself just as I am today.

Yesterday was incredibly hot. We had an inversion, and it was still toasty in the evening. I was busy on the internet, having great fun researching silk painting (my newest “thing”). Steve came in and invited me outside with enticing words about how beautiful it was. I said OK, and kept right on with what I was doing. The third time he asked if I was ever going to turn the computer off, I finally let go of the cyber world and strolled into the real world.

It was still in the seventies outside, and it felt luscious on my bare skin (yum, yum). The moon, which was in its second quarter, glowed like white fire. Why had I been so unwilling to come outside? It was otherworldly, and yet available in the twinkling of an eye. I started dancing with the moon as my partner. I realized that many others have danced with the moon over the millennia. Then, while I swayed rhythmically both to my own rhythm and the sky rhythm, I heard owls in the distance. Their sweet music bathed my ears and soul in the magic of the natural world.

I placed my feet shoulder distance apart, my knees bent. I could feel the energy coming up through my feet, into my body and out my fingertips. Relaxing my shoulders (an area in which I have carried a lot of tension most of my life), I felt as though I had let go of my worldly woes. Moving my hips in slow circles, my arms and hands in a circular pattern, I swayed in perfect balance with the earth and the sky.

Then I remembered to be present with the whole rest of the All-That-Is. I sent light out of my heart, and the top of my head to all of my brothers and sisters. I wondered who else was dancing with the moon at that moment.

I would like to invite you, in silence, to dance to the light of the moon. All it takes is pulling away from the TV or computer and tuning in to the natural rhythms of your Self, the earth and the sky. You may want to gather together with friends, or coordinate a time while being in different places. Join with me, wherever you are, move your body, and open your heart. Your body knows how to move, and how to heal itself. It just takes being present in the eternal now moment to tune in.