#82: How to Create Your Own {Full Moon} Releasing Ritual

Feeling stuck is a good indicator that something needs to be released from your life. Yet when it regularly feels like the chaos of running kids, making sure they're fed and bathed while also taking care of the household and your relationship with your spouse (and hopefully even yourself) dictates your life, it may make the thought of letting go of anything seem impossible. 

Which is why it's essential to carve out time in your schedule to actually focus on the task of letting go. 

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. Why releasing is essential to your action-taking nature
2. How to know when it's time to release something
3. What a releasing ritual is
4. How to create your own releasing ritual

In your life releasing might look like getting rid of physical things that are cluttering up your home environment or digital clutter on your device or in your inbox, or it might look like mental clutter that's taking up precious real estate in your big beautiful mind. 

Just like physical clutter can make you feel more chaotic, stressed or contracted, mental and emotional clutter can do the same.

You don't have to live with the mental and emotional clutter anymore.

And when you are able to let go of whatever is stuck in your brain, you experience freedom and flow...and it's beautiful!

A releasing ritual or ceremony helps you place intention around whatever it is you want or need to let go of in life. 

Resources:
Daily Rhythms Tracker

How We Feel App (Android)
How We Feel App (iPhone)

Sun Salutation Guided Downloadable Video

Grab the full show notes and resources at www.cairnyogawellness.com/podcast82 and subscribe and listen wherever you catch your podcasts: 

🎧Apple Podcasts>>>> https://apple.co/2ydvvBw
🎧Google Podcast>>>>> https://bit.ly/3a4xCF2
🎧iHeartRadio>>>>> https://ihr.fm/2XCtEAT
🎧Spotify>>>>> https://spoti.fi/3ci253V
🎧 Amazon Music>>>>> https://amzn.to/3pAupHh
🎧 Pandora>>>>> https://bit.ly/hhhcathypandora

Other Episodes like this one:
#62: Clearing out the Clutter with Krista Lockwood
#73:  Habits vs. Rituals
#76:  Creating Your Own Intention-setting Ritual

Join the Energetic Rhythms for Intentional Living community here.

Follow us:
Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

Rate or review this podcast on Apple Podcasts here.

Transcript

Cathy: 0:00

Feeling stuck is a good indicator that something needs to be released from your life. Yet. When it regularly feels like the chaos of running kids, making sure they're fed and bathed while also taking care of the household. And your relationship with your spouse and hopefully even yourself. Seems to dictate your life. It may make the thought of letting go of anything, seem impossible. Which is why it's essential to carve out time in your schedule to actually focus on the task of letting go. Hey friends. Welcome to episode 82 of the podcast. We are trucking right along with this show. And. I just want to put the bug out there that if you have ideas of things you would like to hear about on the podcast. Please send them my way. Um, my email is everywhere on my website. So you can head over to CairnYogaWellness.com and shoot me an email or shoot me a message. However... through Instagram or Facebook, however you would like. But if there's something you want to learn about here about, or someone that you think would be a great person for me to interview on the show let me know, I would love to hear from you. We are coming right up on a full moon, this coming Tuesday. So we were talking all about letting go today. Full moon signify the start of the releasing process. Today's episode is brought to you by the daily rhythms tracker. Since we are talking all about releasing today. There is an ideal time for you to release whether you are using nature's rhythms or your own body's rhythms. There's an ideal time that that starts to want to happen. I'm going to preface this with, I don't exactly take into account all of what the cosmos are doing. So most of the time, planets are also doing other things, whether they're in retrograde or crossing certain nodes or moving into a certain sign and. I don't do all that astrology stuff. What I do is help you use the natural rhythms around you, as well as your body's rhythms to help you get stuff done, including time for yourself, without the guilt that might want to creep in. When it comes to thinking about doing stuff for yourself. So, this is a very basic way of looking at when to release and when you need to release and what those ideal times are. In today's episode, I'm going to share with you why releasing is essential to your action- taking nature. How to know when it's time to release something. What a releasing ritual is because yes, we are going to talk releasing rituals. And then how to create your own releasing ritual. So why would you even want to let something go or release something? And I've touched on this in some of the other episodes that I've done, uh, like the decluttering episode. And then the episode that I did about phase four of your energetic rhythm cycle. I believe. So you can head back and check those episodes out when you get a free moment after you have listened to this episode. The reason we need to let stuff go in our lives or surrender stuff or release things that may no longer be serving us is because otherwise they clog up your energy. They stay stuck in you. And that leads to body aches, body pains, which we are going to talk about the psychosomatic or mind- body relationship in another episode, coming up, but anything that you're still holding onto, be it mental, emotional, or physical, maybe even spiritual clogs up the positive flow of energy in your body and in who you are. And so if you're not intentional about actually seeing a chapter close or seeing a book close in your life, seeing things that need to come to an end. Sometimes they just linger out there in space and continue to suck from your energy, even though you think you are done with them, or even though you've said I'm done with it or thought that you have let something go. So it's important to be intentional about letting go. So much of letting go has to happen in the mental, emotional part of you. It's not just about taking things to the donation center or selling them on marketplace. Although when we physically let go of things, it does communicate to our bodies a releasing in a way. Your mind still has to process and let go of things though in its own time. Now, the easy thing is that clutter that sitting around your house, that you bring it to the donation center, you physically see that you say goodbye to it and you let it go. You release it. that's a lot easier to let go of then some of the mental, emotional gunk that we tend to hold on to. Physical stuff is a little bit easier, although even sometimes when we let go of physical stuff, there's still a longing for it. There is still a place in our hearts and, and maybe this is talking about. Um, death as well. When we lose a loved one. There's still sometimes that longing. And that grief process that we have to go through. There's really no linear path or timeline to when the mind and the emotions, let something go or beginning to begin to let go and feel that closure of it. But so often we don't have the physical stuff to just drop off at the donation center. Allowing our brains to separate from it. Instead we carry with us mental and emotional beliefs and wounds that sometimes aren't so easy to let go of. And if we don't tend to them or pay attention to them, They have a tendency to come out in other ways, like in physical ailments or disease within the body. As I mentioned. A moment ago. Releasing or letting go is actually an essential part of productivity. It's normal to think of productivity in terms of just checking things off your list and getting things done because. That's who you are most likely. If you're listening to this podcast, you like to have the list, check the things off and really feel good about yourself because you accomplished all these things. But what about the times that. You don't actually check anything off the list because the projects are so big and they're taking forever. It can feel a little bit defeating, but it's all part of the process of productivity. There's actually a four step process that productivity follows. It's not just a do something. Start something new, do something, check it off, start something new. It's a four step process. And I've talked about this before. I'll share with you a little bit more about it today. When you begin to think of productivity like this in these four phases. You're actually able to live in your highest energetic state or energetic presence in the world, which means you are flowing instead of trying to control that seemingly uncontrollable chaos around you. You are allowing, you are surrendering in a way. We'll go further into the productivity conversation in another episode, but for now you need to know that the four stages of my flow productivity model that I use are. Number one free to rest and receive. The second stage is the plans unfold, where you are beginning to plan beginning to take action. Number three is to own it, to actually do the things. Take the action. Change the mindset. Number four is to witness the outcome. To just observe to notice what has happened. What has changed since you moved through this process? And it's that third phase, the owning it. That releasing is initiated. It doesn't complete necessarily there. Sometimes it takes moving through that fourth phase. To actually complete the phase of releasing, just like the full moon. It peaks. That's the peak of the moon. And it starts releasing then. Well, when you move into that third phase of productivity that owning it, where you're taking action, where you are doing the things you need to do, that's the part where you are. Starting the process of releasing. Releasing aligns with the peak of summer or flowering in plants and the full moon in the natural world. In your body, it aligns with ovulation. It's the time when you start to shed, what's no longer serving you just as nature does that. It's honoring the idea that you've done the and you're ready to put it out there or that something has been in your life and served its purpose. And you're now ready to let go of it. It's about taking ownership of your thoughts and actions and letting go of those that don't fully support you. So, although it's very much about taking action at its peak, it's also the beginning of surrender to the natural flow of life. Releasing clears out space for the new and fresh, and it allows the positive flow of energy to continue instead of keeping you stuck. It's essential so that you can move onto the next stage of the cycle and bring closure to anything you're doing. If you don't. You'll be stuck, perpetually spinning your wheels and feeling like you're not going anywhere, especially not flowing through life. Releasing is the bold move to put yourself out there that might actually be taking action on something instead of continually making plans to do something or using the excuse."When this happens, I'll de. When I make this much money, I will...." in your life releasing might look like getting rid of physical things that are cluttering up your home or environment or the digital clutter that lives on your device or in your inbox? Or it might look like mental clutter. That's taking up precious real estate in your big, beautiful mind. We talked about the energetics behind decluttering and episode 62 of the show. So go back and take a listen to that when this episode is done, if you haven't, because it is a good one. But just like physical clutter can make you feel more chaotic, stressed, or contracted. Mental and emotional clutter can absolutely do the same. And we often take the least amount of action when it comes to that mental and emotional clutter, because we think it's just something we have to live with, but I'm here to bust that myth. You don't have to live with the mental and emotional clutter anymore. There is a way to let go of it. It takes a little bit of work. It takes a little bit of surrender and it might take reminding yourself that you're releasing it multiple times. But it's absolutely possible. And when you are able to let go of whatever is stuck in your brain, you experience freedom. And flow. And let me tell you friends that is beautiful. And this is where it might take the help of other people in your life to help you let go of that mental, emotional clutter. It might take help from a coach. It might take help from a therapist. It might take help from your energy worker. Or you're a massage therapist. It might take help from a friend, just lending a listening ear, whatever it is, letting go of the mental, emotional clutter is definitely freeing. Forgiving also falls into this category as well. So you may consider what needs to be forgiven in your life when you're preparing for your releasing ritual. So, how do you know when it's time to release something? Well, The easy way is when it's broken. Right. And it's no, or it's no longer useful to you in your house, then get rid of it. Don't let it sit in your cupboard for months and months and months get rid of it. Don't let it sit next to the garbage or in the garage for months, because you don't know what to do with it, and it doesn't work anymore. Just get rid of it, just throw it out, get rid of it. Okay. And. This is coming from the one who is like super environmentally conscious and wants to recycle everything. And I don't know, do all the things to save the planet. But sometimes my goodness, you just have to let stuff go and throw it out. You get rid of it because it frees up all this other space in your life. You have to let things go. In order to create space for more. Another good way to know when it's time to let something go or to release something is if you haven't used it in a year or more, Okay. And it's time to let it go. So. Oh, I just had an interesting thought. What about those thoughts? That. You maybe haven't used for anything. Good. In a year or more. Hmm. Those. Thoughts or, or negative self-talk thoughts that are in your head? The self-doubt. All of those things. Have they been helpful to you? Have you used them for something to help you out in a year or more? If not, maybe it's time to get rid of him. Another good indicator that it is time to get rid of something, is that you don't actually go back to that email and read it like you thought you would. Right. I'm completely 125% guilty of this. I like to keep those emails. Cause I think I'm just going to go back and read that at some point or that's going to be useful. And then I never do. Or if I do, it's like a year or more later and like, I forgot why I would even want to keep that email who knows. So allow them to go it's okay. Read them, skim them, read quickly, then let it go. Another good indicator is if you are living with a heaviness in your mind about something. That doesn't seem to go away no matter what you do to try to fix or control it. Something that feels heavy in life is definitely a good indicator that you may need to examine it and see if it needs to go. Um, one of my favorite questions to ask my kids is, was that helpful or hurtful? Now, if you're a parent, you've probably heard this before, but if you're not a parent. This works really well with the thoughts in your mind as well. Is it helpful or is it hurtful? Right. It can also be used when knowing when to get rid of something, is this helpful? Or is it hindering me? From moving forward in life. Just a thought that just came to me and I thought I should share that. Another good indicator of how to know when to get rid of something would be, if you feel stuck in a particular area of life, perhaps it's with feeling like you don't have the time to give to yourself to work out or practice yoga or meditate or journal. And in that case, what is the barrier that's keeping you stuck? Is it needing help with the kids so that you can do that or having a conversation with your spouse so that he, or she can take some of the load and you can give back to yourself or other habits. Or could it be other habits that are getting in your way of giving time to yourself? Or lack of motivation, or maybe it's just a belief pattern about working out or movement that's keeping you stuck. Whatever it is when you feel stuck, it's a good indicator that something is calling for your attention to be released. And that's when you have the invitation to dig in or lean in or dive deep into what might be keeping you stuck. Enter the releasing ritual. All right. Now remember from one of the previous episodes that I did about rituals. That a ritual is a sacred way of putting your spirit and authenticity into a habit to give it more meaning in your life. It's an intentional act that results from an increase in the amount of attention or energy you put into it. All right. So it's taking a regular old habit. And putting meaning behind it, basically. I talk more about the benefits of making mundane tasks or habits you do regularly into a ritual and an intention setting ritual episode. I shared recently. Again, you can check that out. When you're done listening to this episode. When we talk about intention setting and releasing. They are rituals because there's something that you ideally want to do at least monthly. And when you make it ritualistic, you're more likely to enjoy it and stick with it and look forward to it. It's a time to look at the past month. At releasing ritual is a time to look at the past month forgive what needs to be forgiven and let go of that, which no longer is serving you, whatever feels heavy in life. And a releasing ritual or ceremony helps you place intention around whatever it is you want or need to let go of. So, how do you create your own releasing ritual? Super simple friends. Don't overthink it. Don't overcomplicate it. I know some of you out there. Are much like me and we like to overthink things over, analyze. Resist the urge to do that. This is one of those times where you get to listen to your inner guidance and do what feels best. I'm going to give you some guidelines, but really honey, do what feels best. Okay. The full moon is a beautiful time to do this process because it aligns with nature's rhythm to begin the process of releasing. But another good time to do the releasing ritual is mid cycle of your menstrual cycle. It's right around ovulation. It's a time to let emotions out. The full moon is all about emotions and bringing them to the surface. It's bringing the inside world out. And that's what happens when the sun reflects on the moon and it recreates a full moon. It's reflecting the inner out. There's another episode on that too. I'm sure, but I don't know what it is right now. So you'll just have to scroll back and look at the episodes. But. The full moon is all about emotions and bringing them to the surface. So it's a conscious way of acknowledging and honoring whatever it is you are feeling, and then letting it breathe. And that's because the energy that comes with a full moon and often with ovulation is excess energy. It's expansive and it's active. There may be tension because of high emotional vibrations. So it may be like that time when you get a little antsy or itchy. But that's just because of all the energy that's flowing through, your has the potential to be flowing to you. It's when your full potential is peaking. The full moon and ovulation signify your full potential peaking. It's the peak of feminine energy. releasing in the menstrual cycle looks like. The beginning of your body letting go of all the hormones that have been building up in your system over the past two weeks, if you're on a 28 day cycle. It's when your body begins to release the egg, to begin the journey to either fertilization or disintegration. So it is the start of releasing in your body. So here's how you create that releasing ritual for yourself. Similar to an intention setting ritual. Create a sacred space to do this, to give it meaning. Light some candles, some Sage, Palo Santo, your space, grab your essential oils or whatever else helps you create a sacred space and feeling. Then come into presence somehow, whether that's taking a few deep breaths, listening to some music, Practicing yoga first. Just getting into a space where you can be fully aware. Usually that involves breathing and breath, doing a little bit of breath work or, um, three to four deep breaths. That's the easiest and simplest way that you can relax your body into a place of presence. Then tune in to your mind, your body, your emotions and your spirit in the moment and breathe fully into your body. Find that voice of your inner guidance and ask yourself."What is it that I need to most let go of right now?" Or something similar to that. Consider anything from the past month that is no longer serving you and that you want to release, or that you are ready to give to the world. Write it on a piece of paper and spend some time acknowledging it. And the place that it had in your life. I like to encourage you to sign it and date it so that, you know, you're kind of like sealing the deal I'm done with this. Sign, your name, put the date on it. And then maybe do a little bit of visualization. Now. It might not look exactly like this, but here's an idea of what it could look like. Close your eyes. Visualize the item in front of you. And then see the item wrapped in your love with a pink glow or light surrounding it. Then choose to release, attachment to that item in front of you by visualizing yourself either releasing it into the air and watching it until it cannot be seen anymore. Um, or maybe by burning it or burying it. Or sending it into a black hole or a vacuum, maybe flushing it down the toilet, whatever it may be. However you want to visualize yourself getting rid of that item, perhaps it's even just cutting the cords of it and sending it away. To be gone forever. So some place where it can't come back, okay? Choose how you want to visualize that. And that doesn't even have to be something you decide on beforehand. It might just be what comes to you in the moment, because you are so in tune with listening to your inner guidance and that's beautiful. Then after you finished that visualization, take the paper or papers that you wrote the thing on and burn it or throw it away forever for good. Declare"I'm now ready to release...." fill in the blank. And then end it with,"and so it is." Then let go of any emotional attachment to it. Do some sort of releasing movement, like shaking to stimulate your nervous system or brushing it off or clearing your aura or brushing your aura, maybe even some dancing in the Moonlight. My husband thinks I'm super crazy when I do that, but he doesn't even say anything about it. He just walks about doing his normal life. Or sitting by the campfire and I'm the silly one dancing by the fire. So now, you know, a little bit of how I do these releasing rituals when it's nice outside. And he loves me for all my craziness. So I love him as well. Find someone like that in your life. Okay. All right. Um, or, you know, even if you don't do some sort of. Releasing movement then maybe you just go outside or stand at the window and look up at the moon and take in a little bit of a moon bath. If you can see the moon. And if you can't, you just have to trust that the moon is full and it's honoring the process of releasing. This isn't about worshiping the moon. This is about hunting, the natural rhythm of things and the natural rhythm of productivity that it takes releasing in order to move in to the next phase. Which is getting closure and celebrating and just being in that space. Then after you've done that releasing just sit quietly and notice the lighter energy that you might now be experiencing. Now it might take a few times releasing something in order for it to actually feel lighter in your body and in order for it to actually actually release from you. This is just one way to do a releasing ritual. Another idea. If you're not so into doing all of those steps of the ritual might be that you even do something as simple as journaling on something that you're ready to let go of, or maybe writing a letter for giving past hurts and either sending it or. Never sending it at all, but instead burning it to signify your commitment to being done with it. A good practices even to do a little releasing or mental clearing out at the end of the day, which the daily rhythms tracker has space for stressors to let go of each day. So that's a great place to begin the releasing or to continue the releasing. Um, on a daily basis throughout the month as you're using that daily rhythms tracker. So let's wrap this up. Uh, in order to flow with life, you have to be able to let go to release. What's no longer serving you or to put out into the world what you have to offer the world so that you can move on to the next stage of productivity. Which is celebrating, but so often perfectionism fear or not knowing what action to take stops us when we get stuck in the cycle of planning and doing for the sake of doing without actually placing an intention behind the doing or action taking. This is your invitation to put yourself out there or to let go of something that you've been holding onto because it's become comfortable or out of fear of what might happen if you do let go of it. It's a full moon in just a few days. So use this information to begin planning your full moon, releasing ritual. You already know how to get all this stuff done, but is it the right stuff to be helping you create more health, harmony and happiness in your life? Or does it feel like it's an uphill battle all the time? Like the chaos will never end. And for the time being in this stage of life, you're just going to have to live with it. Guess what you don't have to, you can indeed create the opportunities for you to connect with yourself intentionally and by doing so, create the best possible energetic state or presence for yourself. You can feel that inner harmony, even in the midst of the chaos that might surround you. Be it, the kids home for the summer or stress induced by work or other family issues. And one of the ways to create that connection time with yourself, just like yoga meditation or the intention setting ritual I encourage you to do each month. Is also to do a releasing ritual each month. It doesn't have to take a lot of time and it can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose. It doesn't have to look the exact same each month. It's just you being intentional about connecting with yourself and allowing your mind to let go of whatever isn't serving you anymore. Or to put something out there into the world that needs to be birthed. That needs to be shared. Okay. There is a correlation between full moons and babies being born. Also hospitals have statistics on it. So just so you know, full moons are also a great time to birth things into the world. Be it people or projects. Or boldness in your own self. Releasing is a part of nature's natural rhythm. We see it with the moon, the seasons flowers, the female body, all these things do it naturally. But with your mind, it's not as automatic. You have to create that space to help your mind, heart, spirit, and body. Let go of things sometimes. Because you know that once you truly can let go of something in your mind and cut that cord your body will most certainly respond positively and physical ailments will likely shift and change for the better. You just have to make the choice to let go. And a releasing ritual can help you do that. So next Tuesday, when the full moon is out, grab some paper, light, a candle, or a campfire and ask your inner guidance. What it is you need to release most. You might not even have to ask. You might just know. Then write it down, sign it and date it. Thank it for being in your life. See yourself being blessed by it, even if it was challenging, surround it with love. And imagine it leaving you in whatever way works for you. Maybe it's floating away, burning it, cutting the cord with it, flushing it down the toilet, whatever feels most natural to you. Then burn that piece of paper or those pieces of paper that you wrote it on. And do some self-regulating movement to release the energy from your body and regulate your nervous system. And remember that. This might have to be done more than once. Release attachment to the outcome and just see what happens. That's all I've got for you today, friends. If this episode was helpful, would you so kindly share it with at least one other person or maybe even share it in your social media stories and tag me in it so that more people can find this podcast and can benefit from it. Until next time I'm Cathy Struecker, helping you find and use the rhythms in and around you in all you do. Cheers to cultivating your own version of health, harmony, and happiness in your life.