Jenny began the workshop by reading from Glennie Kindred – Sacred Celebration. She shared how Samhain is a Celtic cross-quarter festival that marks the end of summer, the start of winter, and the beginning of the Celtic New Year, and how it announces our rebirth in the midst of death and darkness. In the Celtic cycle of the year, darkness and death are considered as important times of rest and regeneration – a time of going inwards which paves the way for rebirth. She told us how during Samhain, the Grain Mother changes into the Crone, who is the wise woman and a symbol of the death element of the divine feminine trinity, until she is reborn in her virgin aspect together with the return of the sun at the winter solstice. The Sun King is sacrificed back into the earth, minding the seeds in the dark ground until the sun returns. He takes up the role of a death god and shaman who has the ability to travel the inner realm.
Samhain is considered an auspicious, magical time – where the veil between the physical and the unseen world of spirit grows thin, acting as an opening in the fabric of spacetime. It is known as a threshold festival marking the midway point between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice. During Samhain this liminal veil enables us to communicate with our ancestors, seek out inner mysteries, visions, dreams and embark on our own inner journey. It is a time where our internal wisdom has the opportunity to arise, leading to insight and healing. Vast pre-Celtic stone structures in Wales attract visitors during Samhain due to their specific energy which enable people to tune into the seasonal change.
Jenny moved on to the asana part of the workshop encouraging us to focus on connecting to the earth by engaging down through the feet. The intention was to connect to Mother Earth as if we had roots coming out of the soles of our feet – just as the trees do with their underground root system so we feel part of the interconnectedness of life. Leading to stability and a feeling of being completely supported by the ground beneath us. This engages the adductor muscles, the IT band and the sacrum – building up our ability to keep an upright, straight spine whether seated on the floor or a chair. Moving onto tree pose variations Jenny encouraged us to look at a tree outside and to root ourselves into the earth by standing down through one foot – enabling our spines to be like strong tree trunks as our arms floated out to the side like branches. We then transitioned very mindfully to the floor and practiced Janu Sirsasana gathering strength through the leg muscles to spiral the spine on its axis while grounding through the feet. Moving on to child pose we were gently reminded to rest our brows on the earth to calm the brain, broaden the back ribs, and release mental strain. The asana practice ended with cat pose and downward-facing dog – Adho Mukha Savasana. We were guided to lengthen the spine by standing down through the limbs and then to lift from our centre and lengthen through the upper back and tailbone without straining the spine.
Jenny then led a beautiful ancestral visualization starting with Chandra Bedhana Pranayama – our feminine moon energy. We were led on a magical journey where we were encouraged to bring our awareness through the left side of the body to invoke images of female ancestors (mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters and daughters, granddaughters) into the heart centre to clear past relationship strain. Shifting our awareness to Surya Bedhana Pranayama – our masculine/sun energy, we were encouraged to bring our awareness to the right side to connect with male ancestors (fathers, grandfathers, brothers, sons, grandsons).
She continued by reading from the Chandogya Upanishad reciting the ancient Indian text, describing the lotus-shaped space within the heart, which holds the eternal cosmos (earth, fire, wind, sun, moon, and stars) that remains beyond decay and death. Then we were led to a practice of Nadi Shodhana pranayama – alternate nostril breathwork, to balance the Ida and Pingala Nadis along the spine and hemispheres of the brain, followed by a silent meditation. The session closed with gratitude to the Earth, the sky, the changing of the seasons, the ancestral lineage, and the lineage of this practice.