Do you struggle with feeling balanced? I honestly think everyone does to some degree, the picture we have of what we think balance should look like is often completely unrealistic. For me, balance is more about flowing with the ebbs and flows of life, showing up for them and being present with some added self care.

But ‘flowing’ – allowing yourself and your life to shift and change can feel really hard. We’ve been brought up in a very linear society that expects things to be at a constant level – usually one of ‘perfection’. We think in black and white and that makes flowing and finding our own version of balance really hard!

This linear way of living can be thought of as quite a masculine way of being (reminder that I’m not talking about men specifically here, feminine and masculine energies exist in various ways within all of us regardless of our sex) and it’s acceptance as the norm a result of living in a patriarchal society.

Living in a more cyclical way is more of a feminine way of being, that actually allows us to flow with more grace than trying to maintain a linear way of living. Some of us might notice that we do go round in circles but we beat ourselves up for it because we judge it to be ‘bad’.

Consider starting an exercise programme. Most will suggest you workout x number of times a week doing x exercises. But what happens when you feel more tired than usual? Or you’re on your period? Or you’re facing a really busy day? Trying to be more linear is often what results in us feeling guilty as hell if we skip a workout. Being more cyclical allows us to ebb and flow and reminds us that just because we’re too tired to workout now doesn’t mean we won’t be next time. In your job I’m guessing your employer expects you to show up and be productive at a near constant (and these days probably very busy!) level. How much of that showing up and maintaining productivity is at the expense of your wellbeing?

So what has all of this got to do with the moon you ask!

Well, the moon cycle is a beautiful example of being cyclical with it’s cycle taking place over a nicely observable 29 days (ish). Within its cycle you can see the reflection of the seasons, the menstrual cycle, the day, and even our lives. It’s also a symbol of abundance. The moon cycle never stops, it never runs out, it goes round over and over again.

Simply observing the moon in the sky, or using an app (I love Full Moon app) and having an awareness of where the moon is in it’s cycle can be helpful.

In case you need a reminder, here’s a quick breakdown of the moon phases within each cycle:

New Moon

This is when the moon goes from being completely dark in the sky to showing that first slither of light.

Waxing Moon

This is when the moon is getting gradually larger. It starts with a waxing crescent and moves through a quarter moon (when exactly half the face of the moon is illuminated) and then becomes a waxing gibbous moon as it moves towards fullness.

Full Moon

Everyone will be familiar with a full moon when the whole face of the moon is illuminated at the mid point of the cycle.

Waning Moon

The waning moon is when the moon is getting gradually smaller. It starts with a waning gibbous moon goes through another quarter moon and then finishes with a waning crescent before the moon goes dark just before the New Moon.

The energy of each moon phase is different, and when we can tune into that energy, even just a tiny bit, we can start and find a little more flow in our lives.

In part 2 I’ll be going into more detail about the different energies of each moon phase and how and awareness of the moon can help you flow and feel balanced.

What are your thoughts on linear vs cyclical approaches? Do you beat yourself up if you find that you’re either totally on it or totally off?