about moon have you noticed this

7/29/2019 About MOON Have You Noticed This

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8/12/13 Have You Noticed This?

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Have You Noticed This?

Dr Rishi Vivekananda Saraswati

About thirty years ago, when I was working as a general practitioner, I noticedsomething mysterious. A lot of my practice was spinal adjustments, using techniques Ihad learnt from two other doctors who were experts in the field. It dawned on me oneday that almost all of the people in that session had come with neck problems. Dayslater, the people at that time were nearly all there for lumbago and sciatica, and theones with the neck troubles had settled down.

As the weeks went by I realized that this was no coincidence, and that there was arhythm to it. First the people with upper neck problems would come in, then a coupleof days later a different group of people with lower neck and arms, then thoracicspine and c hest, then upper lumbar, then lower lumbar and legs. T hen it would goback the other way: upper lumbar, thoracic, lower neck, then upper neck. What wasthe cause? I thought of all sorts of things, from the weather to the television news,then it dawned the rhythm was the phases of the moon.

Prior to that, I had known about the influence of the moon when I lived and worked inpsy chiatr ic hospit als as I tr ained to be a ps ychiatr ist. T he nursin g staff wereconvinced that the patients were more disturbed around the full moon, and as timewent on I realized it was true. In fact, later when I was Deputy Superintendent of ahospital and responsible for the medical staff after-hours roster, I always had myself working on the nights of the new moon, and slept undisturbed.

The appearance of spinal problems at different levels was something new though. Theupper cervical troubles with their headaches came at the time of the full moon, thenas the moon waned, in came the people with lower cervical and arm troubles, thenthoracic, then upper lumbar, then the lower lumbar and sciatica at new moon. Thenas the moon waxed, it occurred the other way. Not only that, as I was alsoconducting a normal family practice, I began to notice a predominance of people with

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all sorts of head problems at the time of the full moon. Then as the moon waned, thechronic arm problems would flare up, then t he c hests, then the abdominal troublessuch as peptic ulcers, irritable bowel, etc. then the urinary tract, and finally the legsat new moon.

Sometimes it was a new condition, at others it was an ongoing chronic one 'flaringup', but in each case its location was usually in time with its phase of the moon. Ithought it was rather funny that I was getting credit (and payment) for relievingthose people of their symptoms within a few days, when the moon should havereceived most of the credit. It also suggested something else too: maybe people whoare having ongoing treatment, only need it at their 'flare up' phase of the moon cycle.It is something to think about in the healing professions.

In later years, as I travelled around the world teaching yoga and learning all sorts of things, I noticed other effects from the moon phases. People in general were moreimpulsive and agitated in the two days or so before the full moon, and I see itnowadays in my psychiatric patients. I realized it first when I was driving a car in theUnited States of America, both in other people on the road and in myself. We were

more impatient, would push into small spaces, pedestrians would hurry in front of thecar, everybody seemed in a hurry. Then like a miracle, as soon as the moon started towane, we all settled down. I still see it now.

However, some people experienced the opposite effect. At one time, in a place whereI stayed, one woman, who had been born in early July, was (not surprisingly) thecook. Every month (not related to her menstruation) at new moon she wasdepressed, surly and withdrawn; she used to hide in a cupboard and we had to coaxher out to cook the dinner, which usually turned out to be awful. Then as the moonwaxed, so did she. She started to exude vitality, she became friendly and loving, andthe food became better and better. Then at the full moon she absolutely glowed andthe food was cordon bleu.

It occurred in the yoga classes, too. The joints at the level of the moon phase wouldstiffen up and had to be given extra gentle stretching to avoid straining them. It wasobvious especially in the pawanmuktasana series 1 practices, in which all the joints of the body are stretched in turn. It is best to give extra stretches to the stiffer ones.In the major asanas people in the class would say, It's funny, I could do this asanaeasily during the week, now I can't get into the position. It was usually an asana forthe chakra area which was being 'lit up' at its phase of the moon.

Maybe in meditation, and in daily life, the mental material we are working on ispredominantly that of the chakra activated by its phase of the moon. Such as


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intellect and intuition at full moon, communication as the moon starts to wane, love,hate and hurt as anahata becomes active, power and self-esteem at middle moon,sexuality when it is swadhisthana's turn, and security at the new moon. Myobservations over the three decades lead me to believe it is true.

Of course, the events around us will help to determine our mindset, but maybe theyalso are influenced by the moon's phases because the people around us are similarlyinfluenced, and they trigger most of our joys and sorrows. Moreover, no matter whatis impinging on us, maybe we react to it differently according to the phase of themoon and which of our 'buttons' can be pressed most easily at that time.

Paramahamsaji has said that we are a ll slowly evolving anyway, yoga hurries it up. Inyoga we practise techniques to activate and awaken the chakras and emptyourselves of the personality blockages associated with them. Maybe the moon as itpasses through its phases is one of the instruments that is driving our naturalevolution, by activating the chakras and forcing us to confront the pains andpleasures of our expanding personalities.

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about moon have you noticed this

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