Riim Lagerwerf There is a moon inside of every human being. Learn to be companions with it.” Rumi
I remember the first time I became aware there was a Moon. I must have been 5 or 6 years old. I noticed it one day during the daytime when I lived in the Chicago area. I noticed it every time I was outside on a clear day when it was visible in the early morning. I didn’t see it at night since I was indoors during bedtime. My great aunt Doris pointed it out to me, she said, That’s the Moon, it’s a planet and it looks small but it’s big. She explained that we lived on a planet called Earth that spins around. There was also a star, the Sun, which made it light outside and enabled there to be life here. My existential thoughts and questions thus began. Who made the Earth, the Moon, the Sun? Who made us? Why are we here?
My fascination with the skies and our connection to it still intrigues me and my experience of Ayurveda has provided the knowledge and techniques of how we can connect and attune with these rhythms of the Moon and the Sun for greater health and wellbeing.
The Moon is associated with kapha dosha or Soma that combines water and earth elements. According to Vedic Astrology, called Jyotish, the Moon is the most influential planet, because it governs the mind and emotions, mother, temperament, behavior, mood, instincts, changing emotions, circumstances, and intuition. Depending on where one’s Moon is located at birth, it has a very individual influence on one’s life.
Today, November 27th landing on the Moon’s most auspicious day Monday (Moonday) is the beautiful full moon and for some, has a soothing and calming effect on the body-mind connection. It carries and reflects the sun’s light energy without its intense fire harshness; the Full Moon balances excess heat; and is also known to help in the treatment of certain illnesses and conditions like migraines, rashes, blood pressure, and inflammations. Did you know wearing pearls is a remedy to enhance the cooling nurturing qualities of the Moon?According to Shaka Vasya Ayurveda and Vedic Science, there are 72,000 nadis or channels that carry and distribute prana throughout the body. The left, the right and the central nadis of the body are called Ida, Pingala and Sushumna are the main channels. The moon also called Soma and/or Chandra in Sanskrit is said to be associated with the part of the brain responsible for creativity and intuition, pituitary gland, and the female reproductive organs.
The inhalation and exhalation through the left (Ida –lunar) and right nostrils (Solar, heating) affect different parts of the brain. Ida draws prana from the left nostril. The word ida means “comfort” in Sanskrit. Ida has a moonlike nature and feminine energy with a cooling effect in the subtle energy body. Pingala is solar, agni, heat energy.. In Ayurveda, we recommend doing Nadi Shodhana pranayama – breathing exercises to balance the right and left brain – allowing the solar and lunar energies to be balanced thus helping to distribute prana throughout the body for greater balance in mind and body.
The many phases of the Moon include the New Moon Day, Full Moon, 11th day (a few days before the Full and New Moon) called Ekadashi, Eclipses, the season, the month, the waning and waxing times all affect our digestion, mental and physical health. As we all know, the Moon affects ocean tides and it also affects the water and hormone levels in our physical body. The Moon also affects the digestive fire called Agni – it becomes lower on certain days of the month and so a lighter diet is recommended without grains, meat, legumes, etc or light fasting during eclipses. Ayurveda believes that all disease begins in the gut, so our aim is to prevent ama (toxin) from forming from undigested or poor-quality food). I have been finding great benefits from changing my diet with the ever changing phases of the Moon, especially more bliss and energy the day after the light fast.
Aligning your life with the phases of the Moon has many health benefits for personal development, health, and mental and emotional well-being, you can:
- know when it’s the right time to support and give permission to your body to rest and rejuvenate according to the Moon phase
- know when it’s the right time to take action in an activity or task towards your personal and professional goals
- move into a new sense of flow with life, for greater support of nature
- know when it’s a good time to reflect and create intention
- For women: improve hormonal balance, increase fertility, balance menstruation cycles.
- Improve digestive health and increase vitality
As you can see, there’s a tremendous amount of detailed information and for this reason, I have put it all into a 2-hour online class called All About The Moon and You. I will be teaching a class via zoom, where you will learn in more detail how we can maximize the benefits of our awareness of the phases of the Moon with diet and lifestyle for great mental and physical well-being. You will learn about the 8 phases of the Moon, learn lifestyle, rituals, diet recommendations, and recipes that enhance this somagenic lunar energy and enhance agni during certain phases. The class is held on Thursday, November 30 at19:30 pm Central European time OR join us on the full moon day on Thursday January 25th 2024 at 6:00 pm CST . You can register here for November 30
I hope you can join us this week and start applying these tools for personal transformation before the new year approaches us. Feel free to reach out by replying here.
Enjoy the beauty of this Full Moon Day!
By Rose Carol from Amritanam Ayurveda
