The Art of Beginning Again: Yogic Teachings on the New Moon
Sometimes I look up at the sky and remember how impossibly perfect our solar system is ~ how statistically improbable it is that any of us even exist at all! How quietly extraordinary it is that our moon controls the oceans. Every month, as the sky goes completely dark, we get the chance to contemplate that mystery and to use it as a doorway into deep meditation.
In both the Vedic and Kundalini yogic traditions, this monthly pause is considered one of the most potent times to meditate, clear & set the tone for the cycle ahead. This is not simply for the sake of ritual, but because something genuinely shifts in our body and the mind when the moon withdraws its light.
The moon in the Vedic tradition ~ tides, prana & the inner sky
In Vedic cosmology, the moon (called Chandra) is revered as the queen of our emotions, the keeper of our mind and is the celestial body that represents the subtle life force that animates everything. The moon guides the tides of our oceans and the tides of our body just the same.
In fact, the Vedic calendar is lunar at its core. Many rituals, ceremonies and auspicious calendar days cohere to a moment in the moon’s cycle. The new moon, specifically, is known as Amavasya and is the symbolic in-breath before the out-breath of the Great Cosmos. During this time, the veil between the visible & invisible worlds is thinner … and so it is a day to go inward with that stillness, clear anything that has accumulated during this cycle and set our intentions for the waxing cycle ahead.
A potent practice to bring onto our mats is the practice of sankalpa ~ a conscious seed-intention set from deep stillness within. Unlike a goal, which lives in the mind, a sankalpa lives in the heart. It is not about what we want to achieve, but about what we are ready to align with that already lives inside. The new moon, when the ego is softer and the inner landscape more spacious, is considered the most auspicious moment to plant that seed.
We whisper it into the quiet, and trust that the returning light will carry it forward.
From a pranic perspective, the new moon is when prana is most concentrated in the lower energy centres of the body ~ the root, the earth, the foundation. Meditation during Amavasya is said to go deeper because the mind is naturally quieter, less pulled outward and naturally more willing to turn within. For this reason, any sound bath or soundscape I create during the New Moon concentrates more on lower, steady vibrations and/or the notes associated with the lower chakra centers.
The new moon in Kundalini yoga ~ the nervous system, the arc line, and the power of sound
In the Kundalini yoga lineage, the moon cycle is understood through the lens of the subtle body, the nervous system & the electromagnetic field that surrounds us. The new moon and the full moon are both recognised as high-energy windows … where the full moon amplifies & illuminates, the new moon quiets & receives. At this phase, the gravitational pull of the moon affects the fluids of the body and our glandular system … even inclusive of the cerebrospinal fluid, which bathes the brain and spinal cord. This subtle shift is said to support a natural turning inward of awareness, making the new moon an ideal time to work with the nervous system to reset and release accumulated stress.
In Kundalini yoga, particular attention is given to the arc line … the subtle energetic field that arcs from ear to ear across the forehead, and for women, extends across the heart centre as well. The arc line is our personal horizon, our first line of subtle perception and it is said to allow us to sense what is coming before it actually arrives. During the new moon, the arc line is especially sensitive and receptive, making practices that strengthen and clarify it particularly potent!
Furthermore, in the Kundalini Yoga lineage, we have sequences and meditations specifically designed to work with the New/Full moon, as they work with our glandular system and bring us into general balance. For the New Moon, many of the practices use longer and slower breath patterns + mantra (my favorite!) to draw awareness into our inner waters and stabilize any turbulence.
When we pair Kundalini meditation with sound, as I do often in our Lumina Sound Circle complementary monthly live calls, the two practices deepen each other so, so beautifully. The meditation settles and opens the nervous system while the crystal bowl frequencies then move through that openness like water. Kundalini is a practice based in sound current, so I find it incredibly powerful to integrate the yoga with the powerful frequencies of gong and alchemy crystal bowls.
If you'd like to explore these practices with a community, this is what Lumina Sound Circle is for. Each month we gather for sound, meditation and exploration of different yogic practices. On moon days, we go deeper into the lunar teachings, combining Kundalini meditation with an alchemy crystal sound bath. No experience needed.
Sat Nam,
Anna
