Staying Cool with the Help of the Moon

Moon and Sun are the omnipotent embodiments of Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine energies, respectively. Every one of us is divinely designed to express, within ourselves, the harmony of these two energies. The moment we align with this universal truth and allow it to be expressed within us, through us, and for us, we feel the ease and the harmony of the energetic flow in all areas and aspects of our lives. And we can witness the playful harmony of the feminine and masculine energies everywhere in our bodies and beyond.

How can we stay cool with the help of the moon? How can we harmonize Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine energies within us no matter if we are in a male or female body? It’s as easy as understanding the energetics of the left and right nostrils.

Cooling Pranayama

Clearly, breathing in and out are intimately connected and equally essential. They accurately correspond to receiving and giving, and their harmonic dance creates healthy flow in life. There is no substitution for it.

Your left nostril corresponds to the right side of your brain. The right side of your brain expresses the creative Divine Feminine energy.

Your right nostril corresponds to the left side of your brain. The left side of your brain expresses the logical Divine Masculine Energy.

The brain functions best, and at its optimal capacity, when its two hemispheres are working together in complete cooperation and support of each other. This is one place where the dynamic and harmonic dance of the feminine and masculine energies are clearly observed with ease in action. For example, left nostril breathing calms the hot qualities of pitta as the left nostril is associated with the right side of the brain. The right side of the brain corresponds to the body’s cooling lunar energy.

One of the most powerful pranayama practices used in Ayurveda is Nadi Shodhana. This balancing breath, also known as Alternate Nostril Breathing, actively harmonizes both the solar and lunar energies by switching the breath between right and left nostrils. Are you enjoying how you are perfectly created? I am. I truly am.

Moon Gazing

The moon's cooling light can also help balance pitta’s hot, fiery qualities. Note the cool and calm way you feel the next time you are basking in the rays of the moon. When sitting under the moonlight, gently look up to the left, to the right, and to the middle with conscious awareness. Notice how this nourishes, nurtures, and opens up your receptivity. This allows you to receive all the benefits from the coolness of the moon and realize the connection of the moon with the receptivity of the feminine energy.

A Moon Bathing Meditation. The moon’s energy corresponds to receiving, having, and being provided for and activates your receptive feminine. You are receiving and being receptive, open and allowing yourself to receive. Feel this cool, passive, receiving, having, divine feminine energy and its infinite contribution to your whole being. Bask in it. Realize the essential power of receiving and its association with taking a breath in.

Bask in this balance and let it strengthen your whole being. The more you allow it, the easier you align with who you are created to be.

Just by being present in the coolness of the moon, you allow your awareness of the micro and macro cosmos to increase. You witness their interconnectedness and how they mirror each other. You can observe this dance within you and all around you. This activates your tranquil and quiet presence—your mind is calm and your awareness is focused within you. Within you is where you intimately experience your connection with the Divine Source Energy whose individuation you are. This is where you can access the Universal Flow of energy.

Cooling Yoga Pose

Moon Salutation, or Chandra Namaskara, is a series of poses performed in an ordered sequence to create a cooling flow of movement. They are also quieting poses. Summer is pitta season and Moon Salutation is a gentle way to keep pitta in balance, helping you stay cool and in alignment with the energy of the moon.

Finding Restful Sleep When the Moon Is Bright

• Create a comfortable, cool, and calm sleeping environment.
• Remove all electronic devices from your bedroom or turn them off. The lights from their screens disrupt proper sleep.
• Before bed, rub the soles of your feet with organic coconut oil. This calms and cools the body and mind and helps prepare for sleep.
• Get to bed by 10 p.m. Pitta peaks between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. and you want to start the sleep process before pitta becomes active.
• Avoid any physical, emotional, or mental stimulation before bed and during the night.
• Allow your brainwaves to go down to alpha, theta, and delta. This is where deep sleep happens.
• Notice all the beauty of the calm moonlight. Notice how all of nature slows down and enjoys it too. Tune into this calm and ease. Align with the beauty of receiving and enjoying every moment of it. Be in the present moment.
• Focus on relaxing and receiving rejuvenation while the moon is lighting the night up.

Remember to enjoy yourself and surround yourself with beauty—sight and vision are ruled by pitta and pitta is balanced by lovely and exquisite things. Receive. Receive. Receive. Harmony is beautiful. Witness it. Allow it. Enjoy it within you and all around you.

Be consciously aware of how everything above is in complete alignment with the innate harmony of nature. At night, the plants and many animals are quiet and resting. The moon is up, offering its cooling loving light to all of us. And we are wise to notice the omnipresent wisdom of creation and take advantage of its omnipotent offerings to us so we can thrive in mind, body, spirit as the whole beings we are created to be.