Halloween & Dia de los Muertos
Halloween
Halloween-Bare Bones Tree Pose
Great Aunt Yogi
A Real Baby Yoda
When I was around 10 years old, my brother Cree and my dad began their 10-year courtship with Halloween decorations and haunted houses.
It began as a singular disturbing piece displayed in front of our house, you know, like a talking severed head. This would then be enacted by my mother, illuminated upon a pedestal with carefully placed mirrors. The disconcerting effect proved compelling enough to alarm local neighborhood kids, which, of course, was the desired effect.
Later that night, several of my brother's friends took on the roles of Dracula emerging from a smoky front yard cemetery and a hunchback who laid in wait around the corner, during which bags of candy descended from the rooftop on a zip line contraption to nervous and apprehensive trick-or-treaters. Mom? Well, her talking severed head pedestal was enlarged to cover the entire front door entryway, blackened with paint and lit with black lights for a glowing Disneyland Haunted Mansion Madame Leota effect.
After all this planning and designing, Halloween turned into a month-long event rather than a single night. (Mom eventually retired from Madame Leota to stay home and pass out candy.)
It was brilliant
By the time I went away to college, my brother continued the tradition. Cree and his crew of Creeps converted the Los Altos YMCA in Long Beach, California into a four-day Haunted House extravaganza. They went big by including a swamp monster (who emerged from a dry ice swimming pool), walk-through rooms of surgeries gone wrong, Frankenstein’s experimental laboratories, and darkened endless hallways filled with mirrors and creatures who would reach out and touch you, then disappear.
Dia de los Muertos
It's a celebration of life, not death
Although related, these two annual events differ greatly in traditions and tone. Whereas Halloween embraces terror and mischief on the last night of October, Day of the Dead festivities unfold over the first two days of November in an explosion of color and life-affirming joy.
Sure, the theme is death, but the point is to demonstrate love and respect for deceased family members. In towns and cities throughout Mexico, revelers don funky makeup and costumes, hold parades and parties, sing and dance, and make offerings to lost loved ones.
CoCo is a beloved children’s Pixar movie from 2017 that illustrates this tradition
Día de los Muertos is an opportunity to remember and celebrate the lives of departed loved ones. Honoring our Dead is so sacred. Here is a link that extends beyond Nov 1 & 2 throughout many countries.
I suppose we’re honoring not just our family, but our experiences. I was listening to NPR in my car the other day. The story was about a woman who had experienced many difficult life trials but instead of being bitter or stuck living in her past, she chose to show gratitude toward these experiences for, as she said, “They made me who I am today!”
For her, Dia de los Muertos honored her former self by celebrating a new self.
“Temporal landmarks divide life into distinct mental phases. They allow us to put in the past negative experiences and propel a fresh outlook.”
Research shows that experiencing temporal landmarks, moments that stand out in time, can boost motivation to pursue goals. This is a great opportunity to quiet the mind and the body to think about “What is it that you long for?”and “Does your body, mind and spirit yearn for something specific?”
For me, I present my questions, concerns, worries, thoughts and ideas to the front of the yoga mat where I will spend 90 minutes practicing. Typically, it is here that the seeds of my thoughts take root and a pathway is sown.
I invite you to practice this fall and into winter.
“Nunca enterramos a los muertos, hijo.
Los llevamos con nosotros.
Es el precio de vivir.
(We never bury the dead, son. We take them with us. It’s the price of living).”
