We know our bodies have a certain rhythm. The biological rhythms we experience are inherently a resonance of the rhythms of the earth and its relationship to the entire cosmos. Fundamentally, there are four rhythms of the universe that subtly guide our body — daily rhythms, tidal rhythms, monthly or lunar rhythms and annual or seasonal rhythms.
The rotation of the earth on its axis takes earth 24 hours to complete. This is the simple phenomenon we studied in grade five that explains day and night. Now let us think about how this has an effect on the human physiology. All ancient schools of thought say that as soon as the sun starts to set, our bodies start producing melatonin, a sleep inducing hormone to enable us to start winding the day down.
Fundamental processes of the body are affected when the circadian rhythm or the natural sleep cycle is disrupted. A study shows that the disruption of the biological rhythm of the body disrupts the rhythms of about one-third of our genes!
According to Ayurveda, waking up before sunrise, more precisely, an hour thirty six minutes before sunrise, a phase known as “Braahmi muhurta”, is an time ideal for receiving knowledge, the most effective time to meditate.
In doing so, we can create subtle changes in our body towards transformation and synchronise with the universe’s rhythm. Similarly, tidal rhythms caused by the gravitational pull in the planetary system on the earth’s oceans also have an effect on our physiology, our bodies being 60% water.
The lunar rhythm or the moon cycle also has an effect on our bodies, an example of which being human fertility and menstruation cycles. The revolution of the earth around the sun, which takes 365 ¼ days, creates variations in temperature and weather creating seasons, as we know them.
The seasonality affects not just the bio-chemistry of humans, but also our behaviour, emotions and mood. We feel a certain way in the spring and another way in the winter. It’s not just humans that respond to the seasonal rhythm.
We’ve heard about the phenomena of synchronous fireflies sparkling their magic during their mating season or how millions of tulips blossom at the same time each year in Holland or when the hump back whale knows when it’s time for it to turn around or how and when the Arctic Tern knows when it must begin its arduous journey of 44,000 miles per year, the longest migration undertaken in the animal kingdom migrating from pole to pole, witnessing two summers per year.
“We are made of star stuff”, famously quoted Carl Sagan. The universe is a symphony of the stars. When we are in sync with this symphony, life explodes through us effortlessly, ecstatically. To lead a life in sync with nature’s intelligence is to live harmoniously. Our body-mind has the inherent ability to flow with nature.
When this process is disrupted, our human physiology will give us clues of discomfort or uneasiness. This is our intuitive intelligence, which creates the space of living consciously, allowing us to dance to the rhythm of the universe. It is important to listen deeply to our intuition, to the conversation the universe is constantly having with us, whether we choose to listen or not.
Nurturing the mind and body is a way of tuning in, eating well, sleeping well, moving, meditating to find ‘the gap’ between our thoughts and doing what we do with unhindered passion are processes that help manifest the soul of the universe through us. It is this magical sense of connectedness with the cosmos, of wholeness, of the universe dancing through us that makes us conscious of our magnificence and glory.
The writer is a Yoga Alliance Teacher
