The Moonlit Tree Sequence is from the Pisces-inspired Yoga Practice in the Yoga by the Stars book. The Pisces glyph was my inspiration for this sequence, which is circular in nature, and echoes the Pisces glyph’s waxing and waning Moons, which represent the cyclical nature of life, where every ending is a new beginning. The sequence is relaxing and energizing, grounding and elevating, promoting an ability to go with the ebb and flow of life. 

​The Moonlit Tree Sequence Overview
Full instructions for the sequence can be found in the Pisces chapter of the Yoga by the Stars Book.
8a. Child’s Pose. Stay for a few breaths.
8b. Sitting kneeling to Standing Forward Bend.
8c. Standing Forward Bend. Bend knees and arch back × 4.
8d. Come back up to standing, raising the arms up above the head.
8e. Dynamic Mini Squat × 4.
8f. Standing knee to chest.
8g. Tree Pose into Swaying Tree.
8h. Standing knee to chest.
Repeat 8f, 8g, and 8h on the other side.
8i. Chair Pose. Stay for a few breaths.
8j. Standing Forward Bend. Bend knees and arch back × 4.
8k. Bend the knees and transition into Child’s Pose. Stay a few breaths.
Repeat sequence × 2–3.
See also:
The Pisces Page of this website.
Circular Breathing and Pisces Glyph
The Blossoming Feet Visualisation

Pisces is a mutable, negative water sign ruled by the planet Neptune. The rulership of Neptune gives a depth and mystery to the sign. Key words of this planet are nebulousness and impressionability. It has to do with what hides itself from view and veiled strength from behind the scenes; this is because it was only discovered because its pull altered the regular path of Uranus. It can be revealing to explore in our own lives what are the hidden influences exerting a gravitational pull upon us and perhaps distorting our trajectory. Are there hidden players pulling our strings? Yoga helps us gain access to our subconscious; for example, in meditation we dive deep into the ocean of our mind and this can shed light on what was previously hidden from view. Once we are aware of these nebulous influences, we can either accept them, if they are benevolent, or change them if they are pulling us in a direction we don’t want to go.
Below are some meditation questions to help you to explore and uncover hidden influences that might be exerting a pull upon your life: 

• What are the positive influences in my life that help me stay on course?
   – Who supports me and helps me keep on track?
•  What are the negative influences that pull me off course?
   – Are any of these subtle and hidden, and if so, how could I bring them out into the light?

Hidden within each of us are worlds within worlds. Sometimes we abandon our self to the periphery of our life and become a planet orbiting someone else’s sun. Hidden forces can exert a gravitational pull on us, pulling the path of our life out of orbit. We all carry in our heart influences from the past: for example, a kind grandparent, a critical parent, or an overly strict teacher. Hidden and out of view, they carry on exerting veiled strength from behind the scenes, sometimes benevolent and sometimes destructive. Yoga helps us peep behind the veil and bring these influences out into the light so we can work with them.
Se also:
Pisces Page of this website.
Circular Breath and Pisces Glyph
The Blossoming Feet Visualisation

The Pisces glyph  represents two crescent moons: one waxing and one waning. Originally, the glyph meant the waxing and waning of each life in cycles defined by the Moon. The Sanskrit name for the constellation of Pisces was Mina, which means fish, and the glyph is sometimes interpreted as two fishes pulling in opposite directions, one representing the physical side of our nature and one representing the spiritual side. In yoga terms this would be the tension between prakriti (matter) and purusha (spirit). I prefer to see the thread that joins the two fishes as an umbilical cord that nourishes both spirit and matter, rather than the two working against each other.
The Pisces glyph was my inspiration for the Pisces-inspired yoga practice in the Yoga by the Stars book. The practice is relaxing and energizing, grounding and elevating. It promotes stability, resilience, and an ability to go with the ebb and flow of life. It provides an opportunity for a deep and profound healing to occur on both a physical and emotional level, and it helps promote a healthy breathing pattern. ​
The Pisces glyph encapsulates that just-before moment: the moment just before a flower opens, just before the New Moon is visible in the sky, just before sunrise, just before a baby opens its eyes and sees daylight for the first time. The glyph’s waxing and waning Moon represents the cyclical nature of life, where every ending is a new beginning. In the Pisces-inspired yoga practice, this led me to focus on the cycle of the breath, noticing where each part of the breath begins and ends, as well as observing the spaces between one breath ending and the next breath beginning. This focus gives a deeply meditative quality to the practice.
Below are instructions for Circular Breathing, Visualising the Pisces glyph, which is how we begin the Pisces-inspired yoga practice in the book. 

Find yourself a comfortable position, lying down. In your mind’s eye visualize the Pisces glyph. Hold this image in your mind as you begin to follow the natural flow of your breath. As you observe the breath, notice where your inhalation begins and where it ends. Notice where your exhalation begins and where it ends. Be aware of the spaces between the breath. Notice the space between the end of the inhalation and the beginning of the exhalation, and the space between the end of the exhalation and the beginning of the next inhalation. Observe the circular nature of the breath, in which each ending is a new beginning. During the yoga practice, you keep coming back to this focus on circular breathing and picturing the Pisces glyph.

You can find the Pisces-inspired Yoga Practice in the Yoga by the Stars book. 
See also:
​The Pisces Page of this website.
​The Blossoming Feet Visualisation

The feet are the part of the body assigned to Pisces. All over India the footprints of the Buddha are worshipped at holy shrines. In ancient times there were stones dedicated to Isis and Venus marked with footprints, meaning “I have been here.” Egyptians, Babylonians, and other ancient peoples considered it essential to step on sacred ground with bare feet in order to absorb the holy influences. Dedicating a yoga practice to focusing on the feet is always fruitful and can incorporate elements such as grounding, alignment, rootedness, connection to the earth, the pull of gravity, and finding support from the earth beneath our feet.
In this post I'll share with you the Blossoming Feet Visualisation. It's the go-to practice when you need grounding (and who doesn't at the moment!). It's also wonderfully relaxing as it induces a calming breathing pattern. You can find this exercise in the Pisces-inspired yoga practice, in the Yoga by the Stars book. In it we focus on the feet, beginning the practice with the Blossoming Feet Visualisation, and then we keep coming back to an awareness of the feet blossoming on the exhalation when holding each yoga pose. ​

Lying on your back, bend your knees, both feet on the floor and about hip width apart. Bring your awareness to the soles of your feet and picture a flower at the centre of the foot. Imagine that each of your exhalations travels all the way down to the feet, and at the end of the exhalation there is a sense of opening and blossoming at the soles of the feet. Then, silently repeat the affirmation a few times: A flower blossoms with each breath.

The rest of the Pisces-inspired Yoga Practice can be found in the Yoga by the Stars book. 
See also the Pisces Page of this website.