A Beautiful Life Magazine

Nurturing Your Alignment  

“It’s not always about accomplishing and achieving things, it’s also sometimes doing things that are not practical.” - Stan Dynak, Astrologer

Happy New Year! Bonne Année! As the sun rises and the modern calendar year rolls over, we wake up and see the digits of 1/1 on our devices. A fresh slate appears, sparking familiar conversation of resolutions. Choosing a personal word or quote has revived the art of setting a positive tone for the year ahead. What's happening astrologically for the upcoming year is a favorite resource, as we look to experts giving insights for the upcoming year. Discovering new resolutions, choosing meaningful words or looking up to the Universe for guidance creates a sense of social alignment to start off the year on an inspirational note.

Our ‘to do or not do’ resolutions have become somewhat of a novelty, challenging our willpower and allowing us to get creative with excuses! Adopting the mindset of the popular phrase ‘doing hard things’ can launch your potential or send you into a vortex of challenge. I like to add ‘do hard things… to which we are aligned with.’ Astrologer Stan Dynak explains, “It is about facing our fears. It is about living up to the potential that we have. Let’s say we have some leadership qualities in us, but somehow we keep denying that. We keep running away from that. It’s not until we get challenged or someone notices (that we stop) running away from what’s coming down our path.” Stan compares it to movies like Harry Potter or the great Star Wars saga, “It’s about an average person having these awesome powers but just not realizing they do have them and being afraid of using them. Stepping up and saying ‘it is in me and this is something I can embrace.’ It seems much bigger than who we are.” When we become more aligned with our natural abilities people take notice. Nurturing your alignment may remove any unforeseen blocks and give your resolutions, intentions, wishes and words more intuitive direction ahead. It’s in the exploration of alignment itself that we find a few clues as to why these annoying blocks show up in the first place.

How well is the modern calendar year aligned with our seasons? Taking this question back in time, Stan shares the beginning of the year for the Romans was March 1st. In the month of March the days become longer, warmer and nature starts to wake up. The energy of pisces is the last month of the winter season, late February to the first three weeks of March. Our astrological signs also align with the four earth elements. Pisces being a water sign carries a more go-with-the-flow energy. Stan notes, “It’s all about ending, closing and finalizing things. We are ending a cycle here. Whether you call it life force, divine force, force of the universe, everything has a cycle that it is ruled by. Nature just follows what it’s supposed to do.” Could Mother Earth actually be messing with our 1/1 resolution willpower knowing that it's actually springtime that our new growth can appear? This is a clear sign that we need to give our newly appointed vibes some time to settle in. Considering the compassionate and understanding energy of pisces, allowing them to ‘rise and shine’ a little slower in the winter months, brings a bigger process to our new intentions!

More alignment connected to Mother Earth is the ancient holistic system of chakra healing and the practice of yoga mediation. The primary seven chakras centres in your body originated over 2700 years ago in India and were translated for Western society in the 1880’s. This somatic (body and mind) practice is becoming part of the emotional well-being regime for more than just holistically minded people. I meet with people who are already attune with their chakras and first timers curious to experience a little more how soul healing can benefit them. My intuitive chakra practice is positive energy maintenance. I use ethically sourced crystals from and minerals from India for energetic alignment. Aligning your currency flow to release emotional blockages creates a natural filter for balancing negativity. We balance positive and negative energy in our lives. We need this to work for us, not against us. Mind and body awareness can also aid in present-centred methods of deeper trauma healing. Ever feel anxiety in your stomach? Taking a moment to understand why you are getting a nauseous feeling in your tummy is actually working with your solar plexus (yellow like the sun) chakra. Going into feelings of old emotions may help release lingering tired fears. Can’t seem to get on the same page with someone in your life? Working on your blue throat chakra may clear a blockage to help you share your thoughts more easily. Communication is also aligned with the planet Mercury. Mercury is always closest to someone’s rising sign and with a little research you can understand their communication style. My Mercury in the sign of Leo accurately describes me as outgoing, confident, gutsy, and somewhat of a trailblazer.

Are you more aligned with the masculine energy of the sun or the more still-yin energy of the moon? Stan explains, “every planet has a sign they closely connect with and just like nature, they do their own thing. If you look at someone’s astrology chart these are two essential ingredients, the sun and the moon. The radiant energy of the sun brings our freedom to be creative. Waking up and being awake is about having fun. The sun is at the core of it. We call it a planet in astrology but really the sun is our star. The moon has more caring, nurturing and supportive energy. The moon is home, family, feelings, habits of sleeping and having dreams.”

As the moon rises for the first time in 2024, know that it has made a resolution to support your journey ahead.

Your smallest intention might create the biggest shift in your upcoming year. Your biggest wish might draw people into your life that start positive changes destined to happen in the years to come. One word might get you closer to a purpose that doesn’t necessarily align with what you are doing right now, however it plants a seed of alignment that’s yours to nurture.