The Sun and Moon Within
Photo by Moises Torne
The moon encompasses the psychic and intuitive layers of our mind. Lucidity. Hidden depths. Introversion. Subconscious. Feminine. Shadow. Unmanifested. Beyond reason. Unproven. Hunch. Gut feeling. Argument without evidence. The edge of sanity.
As the moon represents our mental energy, the sun represents our life force. Both the sun and the moon are always there, but the moon remains hidden until it is exposed to the sun's light. In that encounter, our spiritual powers ignite.
Hatha yoga refers to physical techniques that align the body to attain the free flow of energy within. Of the two syllables in the word, ‘Ha’ means Sun and 'Tha’ means Moon. The sun and the moon symbolize that duality of vital and mental forces present in humans. Hatha is the combination of those two.
The purpose of Hatha yoga is to purify, promote, combine and balance these two energetic currents and, as a result, awaken our spiritual power. It is thought that the harmonious blend of our wild animal life force with mental powers contributes to our spiritual growth and illuminates our consciousness. Neither of them alone can fulfill this purpose. No matter how powerful our thought processes are or how much fire fuels our life force, the intelligence of a complete human system lies beyond the sum of its parts. Refined interaction and synergy is required. Our overall health and wellness depends on that balance.
In our physical body, the sun and the moon can be interpreted as the two hemispheres of the brain. The sun is the left hemisphere, the sympathetic nervous system and the solar energy channel, Pingala nadi, which runs along the right side of the spine and conducts vital energy. The quality of this energy is outgoing and active, hot as the sun. The lunar energy channel, Ida nadi, runs along the left side of the spine and conducts mental energies. Its correspondence is the right side of the brain and the parasympathetic nervous system. Its properties are introversion and the subconscious. The lunar and solar channels conncect at certain points in our body where energy intensifies. These points are called chakras and run parallel to our spine.
In the concepts of Hatha Yoga, it is undestood that conscious breathing enables us to connect to these energy channels and regulate brain activity. In short, by breathing through the left nostril, the moon swara, we activate the right hemisphere of the brain, and by breathing through the right nostril, the solar swara, we activate the left hemisphere. Thus breathing exercises adjust the internal flow of energy and the activity in our brain.
When the respiratory current is steady and even in both nostrils, we are prone to transition to a meditative state. In meditation, both hemispheres of the brain interact without interruption, and then an experience of unity emerges. The sun and the moon are on the same page. There is a feeling of integrity and inviolability with oneself and an experience of being one with all that exists and is alive. That peaceful feeling is what keeps yogis in their practice day after day.
You know the nights when you can neither sleep nor focus on anything? The mind continues to be active even as the clock tells you it’s time to sleep. Physically, this may correspond to overly intense activity in the right hemisphere of the brain or unwanted alertness in the sympathetic nervous system. There are two very simple yogic techniques for these situations.
The first is to make your breath conscious and lengthen the exhalation so that each exhalation lasts approximately twice the duration of the inhalation. Let's say you count to four when you inhale and to eight when you exhale. Prolonged exhalation has a cooling effect on our sympathetic nervous system.
Another remedy is to roll over and sleep on your left side. That will move breathing through the right nostril and activate the left hemisphere, eventually helping to slow down the right hemisphere activity and the mental movement.
These techniques may require a bit of a learning curve, but if you've already tried other techniques, without success, why not give it a try? Although the problems that keep you awake may not have disappeared by the morning, you may have more clarity to deal with them the following day.