Now that you’ve defined the sacred intention for your circle and set the parameters of where to hold it, how frequently to meet, and who to invite, it’s time to throw the doors open to the inspiration of the Goddess.
What are the elements you’d like to include that will make up each circle? Let your mind run free, and open yourself to many possibilities.
If you’re contemplating starting a circle, most likely you have many skills you can bring to your leadership. Don’t underestimate your potential!
You may have expertise as a yoga teacher in leading yoga poses, guided visualization, chanting, and/or meditation. You might have other relevant experience, such as training in coaching, journal writing, sacred dance, spiritual direction, art therapy, massage, mythology, story telling, music making, gemstones, Ayurveda, the 5 elements, puja and ritual, wicca and seasonal ceremonies, non-violent communication, public speaking, transformational learning, women’s spirituality, or more!
You name it ~ each of these skills can enhance your circle, and makes the experience you offer uniquely yours.
The Goddess is wide and wild, and she loves your circles to have a good dose of basic elements (like movement, sharing, and simple ritual), and always some new, playful ones!
There is no one right way to lead a circle, and there is no one standard formula for what must be included. In a future issue, I’ll tell you the elements I include in mine (and the time allotment I give to each) but for now, let’s throw the doors open wide to what YOU want to include.
Start by gathering the resources you have to bring to the circle. This is like an inventory of your assets. I gather the hands-on materials that would make a circle fun, and also brainstorm the internal assets (such as yoga poses I know, group exercises I know how to lead) I can bring to the circle.
So first 1) Gather physical materials, then 2) Take out a piece of paper and make a list of additional ideas for what you might integrate into your circle.
Materials and ideas to gather:
- Favorite poems
- Centering meditation themes
- Bells, candles, heart crystals, or other items to place at the center of the circle
- Simple but unique ways to have participants greet each other in the circle
- Simple ritual from puja, yoga, Ayurveda, lunar, seasonal, or Goddess wisdom
- Free movement exercises
- Sacred circle dances
- Spiral dance
- Yoga poses that work well in a circle
- Yoga poses for a deeper inward journey
- Partner poses
- Group poses
- Art exercises
- Partner sharing exercises
- Whole group sharing exercises
- Simple stories or myths to tell
- Guided visualizations
- Journaling questions
- Tarot, angel, or animal wisdom cards
- Specific tracks of music (or instruments) for the circle
- Simple songs that are easy to teach and learn
Believe it or not, you need a lot LESS than you may think to start your circle. Although I’ve listed 21 possible elements, you can lead an excellent circle with just 4 or 5 of the above elements!
So don’t worry if you don’t have all of them. Just work with what you already know how to do, and only add 1 or 2 new elements into your circle.
Also, believe it or not, simpler is better in a circle. What matters most is time to integrate and digest, time to share, and time to connect with each other. So you don’t need long, complicated stories, visualizations, or movement; just the basics can go a long way.
See you in the next issue!
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