Embodied Health

Each full moon holds a unique energetic signature, offering us a sacred opportunity to pause, reflect, and align with nature’s wisdom. The Sturgeon Full Moon, named after the mighty fish that once swam in great abundance through North American rivers and lakes, arrives each August as a powerful symbol of resilience, depth, and spiritual cleansing. This year, the Sturgeon Moon arrives on August 9^th, 2025

In yoga therapy, we often speak of the subtle layers of our being—the pancha koshas—and how energy, memory, and emotion can accumulate in our bodies and minds, creating patterns that limit our freedom. The Sturgeon Moon invites us to dive deep, to stir up the old “gunk” that settles at the bottom of our emotional lake, and to begin clearing what no longer serves us.

The symbol

The sturgeon is an ancient fish—prehistoric, armored, and bottom-dwelling. It survives by sweeping the lake floor, stirring up what has settled in the sediment. In this, the sturgeon becomes a symbol of spiritual excavation: the process of courageously disturbing what lies dormant within us, bringing hidden emotions and outdated habits to the surface so they can be seen, felt, and released.

Like the sturgeon, on our yoga journey we are called to be both sensitive and strong, to go deep rather than skim the surface, and to trust the wisdom of our bodies and breath as we uncover what we may have long forgotten or suppressed. Are you diving deep into your own spiritual practice, or are you dabbling in “spiritual bypassing” to temporarily soothe, but not yet face the uncomfortable truths of who we are, how we cope and what our attachments are?

Emotional Sediment

In yoga therapy, we understand that emotions are not just thoughts, they are energetic experiences that live in the body. They settle in our joints, our breath, our heart, digestive system, and our nervous system. When left unprocessed, these “sediments” can harden into chronic tension, reactivity, or stagnation. These accumulations of unprocessed emotions and memories are called “ama” or the undigested “gunk” that clogs our system, body, mind and soul. If not cleared through dedicated practice (Tapas), honesty (Satya) and self-study (Svadhyaya), this ama wreaks havoc on our body and mind, causing chronic illness, anxiety and mis-aligned coping mechanisms.

The Sturgeon Moon offers a mirror: What old emotional patterns have settled in your depths? What habits, relationships, or inner narratives are ready to be stirred up and transformed? What experiences have you not yet processed, that you are now ready to release and move forward from?

This full moon invites honesty. It’s not about becoming someone new; it’s about remembering who you are without the distractions of the modern, material world.

Yoga Therapy Practices Healing

Here are a few yoga therapy tools to support your emotional and energetic clearing during this full moon:

1. Gentle Somatic Movement
Explore slow, fluid movements like cat-cow, pelvic tilts, and spinal movements to “stir the waters” of the body. Feel the sensations in your physical body and invite your breath into places that feel dense or still.

2. Full Moon Journaling
Ask yourself:

• What emotions or memories feel like they’re lingering beneath the surface?
• What am I ready to release to create space for clarity and peace?
• Where do I need to offer myself more compassion?
• Where am I reluctant to stir up the sediment in my emotional experience and how can I create space to do this safely now?

3. Pranayama for Emotional Release
Try nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) to balance the nervous system, or sighing breath to allow spontaneous emotional release through sound and exhalation.

4. Restorative Yoga with Visualization
Rest in supported child’s pose or reclined bound angle with bolsters, imagining the sturgeon moving slowly along the lake floor—your own inner self gently excavating the emotional layers that are ready to rise and release.

5. Sound Healing or Mantra
Chanting or a sound bath work can help break up energetic stagnation and bring vibration to areas that feel stuck. Try chanting “Om Shanti Shanti Shanti” for peace within all layers of your being.

A Time of Trust

As the light of the full moon illuminates the night sky, it also reveals the hidden corners of our inner world. Trust that what arises is ready to be seen. Know that your body is wise, your emotions are not obstacles, but messengers and your breath is the bridge between the two.

Let the Sturgeon Full Moon be your ally in releasing old heaviness, clarifying your intentions, and realigning with your authentic self.

You are not broken. You are in process. You are evolving—beautifully, bravely, and in divine timing.

Breathe deep. Stir the waters. Move with the flow of life.