Spring Equinox & Full Moon: Letting Go of What "No Longer Serves You"

The first day of spring is being accompanied by a full moon this year! This is a great time to start fresh and release anything that no longer serves you. You hear yoga teachers say that all the time; “release anything that no longer serves you.” What exactly does that mean? Well, when I say that, I mean it physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Over the past few months I have consciously been making an effort to get rid of anything in my apartment that I no longer have a use for. I know that Marie Kondo is super popular right now because of her Netflix special Tidying Up, but I haven’t actually watched it yet! I did, however, hear from a friend that one of her basic ideas is that you should get rid of anything that does not “spark joy” in your life. This is was an easy enough guideline to follow, so with that in mind, I set out to organize my entire apartment. Here are a few things to remember when organizing your whole life:

1. Do not expect to do everything in one day. If you are like me, you have accumulated a lot of “stuff” over the years. It can be extremely overwhelming to think about going through all of your belongings at one time. I took my apartment area by area. I would do a closet one day, a bookshelf the next, and a dresser a few days after that. Give yourself breaks! I started this a few weeks ago and I still have to do a part of my bedroom. It is SO time consuming, but so worth it!

2. Recycle what you can. There are a lot of things in my apartment that I don’t need anymore, but can be reused by someone else. Think of people in your life who may benefit from your “junk.” My sister is a preschool teacher, so I have a whole bag of random items for her to use in her classroom ranging from cardboard paper to cinnamon sticks. While I was in the middle of purging, my girlfriend invited me to a clothing swap. It was SUCH a fun idea! I got rid of a whole bag of clothes (and only came back with three new things!) Anything else you cannot pawn off on your family or friends, donate to a local thrift store.

3. Have a place for everything. Part of this cleaning process should be to give all of your possessions a place of their own; this will make it exponentially easier for you to keep up with staying organized. It will also help you to save time because you will not be looking all over the place for something you have lost. When I need a pair of scissors, I know exactly where to go because all of our scissors now go in the same spot. The same goes for tape, Advil, a post-it, a book, etc. I’m not perfect, there is still a mess sometimes, but it is getting easier and quicker to clean up!

De-cluttering my apartment has seriously helped bring me mental clarity. I feel as if there is more room inside my brain. My to-do list is ALWAYS a mile long, but by taking the time and effort to organize (almost) my whole living space, I feel free to focus on developing more important aspects of my life like yoga therapy and photography. Your mind can also be cluttered with thoughts which can weigh you down and prevent you from living your best life. These are the types of thoughts that should be let go of and that will “no longer serve you.” This is easier said than done. Breaking negative thought patterns and beliefs can take time, but the first key is awareness. Sit down and write a list of any negative thoughts you have about yourself or your life in general. Start to notice when you are talking negatively about yourself or others. Ask yourself if these thoughts are true; if they are not, what are you getting out of holding onto them? Nothing! Let that sh*t GO!

Here is a brief list of thoughts/beliefs I have/had about myself that I have been working on breaking over the past few years: I am not smart enough, I am not worthy enough, I am “crazy,” I am a terrible person, I annoy everyone, I don’t work hard enough…. I could go on and on, but you get the point. None of these things are REALLY true, but I let myself believe them. All this is doing is preventing me from living up to my full potential. As I have been working on breaking these thought patterns, I have gained a new confidence in myself, and I finally feel like I am on the verge of “having my life together” (whatever that means!) Things are starting to fall into place for me because I have made a determined effort to bring positive change to my life through personal growth and development. It is not something that happens over night, but putting the time into bettering yourself is worth it.

There are emotional aspects of your life you can let go of that “no longer serve you” either. An emotional idea that I let go of recently was the idea that I needed to “just get over” something. That is absolute garbage! I need to allow myself to feel my emotions as they come up instead of pretending they don’t exist.

You can also let go of emotional relationships that no longer serve you. If you have a relationship that sucks positive energy from you constantly, let it go! It can be difficult to separate yourself from friends, or even family, but think about your emotional well being! Are you truly being kind to yourself if you are spending your time and energy with a person who puts you down or makes you feel like a lesser version of yourself? If a person just generally does not align with your beliefs any longer, it is okay to let them go. You will create space in your life to expand your meaningful relationships to a deeper level.

Spiritually, I am still trying to figure everything out when it comes to these Equinoxes and Full/New Moons! There are so many different ways to celebrate these powerful energetic events! The only way that felt appropriate for me was to get outside and be in nature. Connecting with the Earth truly makes me feel like the best version of myself; stress just melts away when I am surrounded by nature. What ways do you celebrate the Equinox? I am curious to know! No matter how you celebrate it, or if you just let it pass by like any other day, I think we can all agree that Spring is welcome!