Despite being 238,900 miles from Earth, the Moon affects us and our planet in many ways. Tides, for example, are known to be affected by the gravitational pull of the Moon. Water that faces the Moon is pulled towards it strongly; water which faces away from the Moon is pulled significantly less. Even the water beneath the Earth’s surface (groundwater that constitutes the water table) as well as water in plants and trees is affected by its position on Earth relative to the Moon.

Humans are three-quarters water. And like oceans and plants, we are affected by Lunar cycles. In addition to being watery, we are energetic beings. And since Full Moons are thought to be times of great energy, our vital energy (what is referred to as prana, or life force, in Yoga) is especially strong.

Full Moon is a time of upward movement, of feeling energetic, headstrong and even invincible. In contrast, apanic energy (the downward, grounding energy within the body) dominates at the other end of the Lunar cycle. As such, we feel more connected to the Earth during a New Moon. We’re more grounded, passive, and even lethargic.

Traditional asana sequences in Hatha Yoga are designed to balance apanic and pranic forces/movements within our bodies. In fact, each individual pose seeks similar balance by containing different degrees opposition — inward and outward rotation; inhalation and exhalation; grounding and reaching. During Full and New moons, however, prana and apana dominate respectively and can throw off such carefully crafted balances. Many yogis say, the more we practice and become sensitive to the energy within and around our bodies, the more important observing these cycles becomes. End the struggle and enjoy freedom

"The most difficult thing for spiritual seekers to do is to stop struggling, striving, seeking and searching. Why? Because in the absence of struggle you don't know who you are: you lose your boundaries; you lose your separateness; you lose your specialness; you lose the dream you have lived all your life. Eventually you lose everything that your mind has created and awaken to who you truly are: the fullness of freedom, unbound by any identifications, identities, or boundaries. It is this locationless freedom of being that spiritual people are seeking, and at the same time are running away from because its faceless nature gives no fixed reference point for the personality to hold onto or to seek security in. As long as you remain identified with the personality, you will always be seeking security to the exclusion of the Truth, and will remain in a constant state of struggle. It is only when your love and desire for Truth outweighs the personality's compulsive need for security, that you can begin to stop struggling and be swept up into the arms of an ever unfolding revelation of the Truth and Freedom of Being."

~ Adyashanti Copyright ©1998 by Adyashanti. All rights reserved.

Blinded by science by Matthew Silverstone: Chapter 3 Introduction to the sun and the moon.

Madness, Menstruation and Manure "Whoever desires properly to investigate the art of medicine must first take into consideration the seasons of the year, and how each is capable of operating, for they not only do not resemble each other but differ widely the one from the other in the changes they bring about". Hippocrates, Greek physician 400 B.C.

It wasn't until recently that I became aware of my complete ignorance about the moon. My knowledge was so limited I actually didn't know how many times the moon goes round the earth each day. I also didn't know if there were any nights in the month in which the moon does not appear. In fact there were lots of things about the moon I really had not bothered to think about. Even though I calculated I had looked at it over 10,000 times in my lifetime I had never really thought about it. So, when I did take the time to think about it in a very casual sort of way, my thoughts turned to the tides, as this was the only fact I was aware of. I thought if the moon can move oceans, which are just made of water, and we as humans are made up of seventy per cent water give or take, it would seem obvious the moon must be having an effect on the water in my body. How, or to what extent, I did not know, it just seemed to be logical that it did.

At the time of thinking about the moon, I did not really care how the moon achieved its effects just that it did. But it was the idea the moon must also be affecting the water in my body that caused me to question some very basic facts about how my body worked. What effect this internal tide had on me was completely unknown at the time, but my general western scientific education instilled in me a belief the moon does nothing. I imagined there were lots of scientific studies that have been done which proved this. But have they? Have studies been done that prove this beyond doubt? Spending time researching this question has in fact caused me to come to quite the opposite conclusion. Lots of studies have been conducted which show there is a direct link to the moon's cycle and the behaviour of animals, plants and humans. The same with the sun but even more surprisingly to me was that it was not just the moon and the sun, but the other planets as well, such as Jupiter and Mars, they all affect the biological behaviour of living organisms.

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