Āyurmantraḥ
with Melissa Shah of Find Your Breath
Oṁ āyur dhehi prāṇaṁ dhehi
May life be nourished, may prana/upward movement of energy be nourished.
Apānaṁ dhehi vyānaṁ dhehi
May apana/downward movement of energy be nourished, may vyana/circulation be nourished.
Cakṣur dhehi śrotraṁ dhehi
My eyesight be nourished, may hearing be nourished.
Mano dhehi vācaṁ dhehi
May the mind be nourished, may speech be nourished.
Ātmānaṁ dhehi pratiṣṭhāṁ dhehi
May the soul be nourished, may I be grounded in that nourishment.
Māṁ dhehi mayi dhehi
May i be nourished, may everyone be nourished.
Rahu Yantra: The Innovator
with Sarah Tomlinson
As you enter the Fall, the creative currents are moving through and the drying leaves are floating and bristling in the breeze.
It is time to get grounded, juicy and warm to harness the creativity that ensues.
This is where the intersection of Yantra and Ayurveda happens. Ayurveda is the Science of Life. It tells you how to live in balance by living with the rhythms of the hours, the days, the weeks, the lunar months, the seasons and the seasons of life. There are many Ayurvedic remedies and practices to bring you into harmony with the present rhythm; from how you set your alarm clock, when you eat, what you eat, and who you choose to hang out with. Ayurveda primarily works with the well-being of the physical body. What the Yantras bring to complement this process are the frequencies that speak to the subtle body. The subtle body is where mental and emotional impressions first take hold. The subtle body is the bridge between the ethereal and physical planes.
When it is getting increasingly windy, cold and dry in the Northern Hemisphere in September, this is known as the onset of Vata Season. At this time you might want to cultivate some of the opposite qualities: stillness, warmth and unctuousness (think: oily, moist, juicy) for yourself. You may find yourself consuming warm tasty soups, giving yourself warm oil massages and taking short restful pauses during the day.
How to work with your Rahu Yantra:
Place this Yantra in your home in a location that makes you feel happy. You can place it in the South West Corner of the house if that is accessible.
Gaze at the central dot of the Yantra, the bindu, and recite the Mantra:
OM RAM RAHUVE NAMAHA
(Om Raam Ra Who Vey Naam Ah Ha)
I honor the energy of Rahu, of the innovation and creativity within me. I express my unique voice.
Recite the Mantra x1, x3 or x108 as you gaze at the bindu. Then close your eyes and settle into the feeling in your body. See where the sensations arise. Breathe into the sensations as they come and go. Savor the moment when all becomes quiet. When you feel ready, thank your Yantra and the connection it is allowing you to feel within, then move on with your day.
Continue this Yantra and Mantra practice every day for 40 days, preferably at the same time of day and in the same space in your home.
After 40 days, you will have had a number of internal shifts. Journal about the inner and outer changes that are taking place. You can place the Yantra in a part of your home that will benefit from the visual reminder of the beauty of your magical self!
As the Autumn turns into Winter, your meditation practice will become very solid, and you can bring the creative currents with you into your longer hours of darkness and your time spent indoors. By working with the enduring qualities of Kapha Season, the heavy time of year when Winter turns to Spring, you will be able to complete any creative projects started in the Fall.
Remember, being grounded, and rested, with a soothed nervous system helps you to tune into your creativity and empowers you to use it for the good of all. Rahu Yantra will have this wonderful effect of settling and soothing you. It will connect you with the unique vibrancy you have within to express.
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Balancing Vata
by Dre Giménez (@yogidelic)
Fall is here!
The crisp air, rustling leaves, gentle breeze that's got you feeling light and fluttery, like a butterfly taking flight 🦋 and that's Vata energy for you – airy, creative, but sometimes a bit scattered, too. Through gentle shifts, we can restore harmony. Like tending to a garden, nurturing the essential while letting go of what no longer serves. In this journey, remember self-compassion. As you navigate each phase, each breath, be kind to yourself. Here are three simple mindfulness practices to keep your nervous system balanced during Vata season.
Vaastu Shastra for Vata Season: Adorning the Home with Artwork
by Sherri Silverman, Ph.D.
Artwork for Vaastu Homes
Having vacant walls can create a sterile feeling and make life feel lonely and
unsettled. Place something on the walls and around your home—art and ornaments that
you find uplifting and beautiful. Remember that what you put your attention on grows
stronger in your life. Violence, misery, and depressing scenes are not supportive for
the home as a healing sanctuary; these subjects can be powerful social commentary in art
but are better suited for places other than your home. Avoid harsh, jagged images that
seem to attack.
Look for art that expands and enlivens your soul and consciousness, not
just your intellect. The Vaastu text Mayamata recommends putting paintings on interior
and exterior walls, specifically “joyous scenes and religious images.”
You may have read in some Feng Shui books that abstract art is not a good influence, but
this is a misunderstanding. Having beautiful, high-quality abstract art in your home will
not weaken it or yourself with amorphous, unfinished qualities. Instead, abstract art can
enliven you and your home with uplifting, energizing, peaceful influences of color and
subtle vibrational energies.
As an artist myself, I am acutely aware of the effect of art and consider it when creating
and when setting my sankalpa, or sacred intention, for the effect and final form of the
piece of art. Art should enliven and expand consciousness, energy, joy, and serenity for
both the artist and the viewer. Vaastu-appropriate art has an awakening effect upon us,
realizing art’s true potential: to enlighten, to wake people up. Swami Muktananda wrote,
“The artist must always be responsible for what he brings into the world; he must always
paint the highest. As well as acting as receivers of energy, the chakras also transmit
energy, as do works of art.”
Artwork for a Vaastu home can be in virtually any medium you find appealing. Beautiful
photographs of nature uplift and soothe; for city-dwellers, these photos in additional to
live plants and cut flowers bring in that needed connection with nature that is so vital to
us. Paintings, drawings, and prints on your walls add color, energy, and decoration to a
Vaastu home. Your choice of sculpture should also be included for the rhythmic variety
of three-dimensional form in the Vaastu interior design of your home and for pleasing
beauty. Sculpture can be of the divine or of any subject matter, abstract or
representational, that evokes rasas appropriate in a Vaastu home.
Background: Indigo Source by Sherri Silverman
Reclaiming Our Time
Sidereal Astrology Forecast for Autumn 2023
Fall and winter are for death and decay. Every year around this time, we are called to confront the things within our lives that need to be released. Astrologically, this year’s death season is a perfect time to submit to these instructions. This is because both Saturn and Jupiter will station direct at the end of this year.
Saturn entered Sidereal Aquarius on January 17, and has been retrograde since June 17 of 2023. On November 4, Saturn will station direct. With Saturn representing time, and currently transiting its own sign, we are being asked to reimagine how we orient to time altogether. What things do you currently spend your time doing? What metrics do you use to determine when it is time to do a certain thing? Do you feel like you have control over what you do with your time? Noticing the control we do or don’t have over our time comes from Jupiter transiting Sidereal Aries. It has been there since April 21 of this year. Jupiter’s retrograde period while in Aries is from September 4 to December 31, 2023.
Aquarius is the sign of self-determination, and Aries is the sign of autonomous willpower. In the current sextile relationship between Saturn and Jupiter, we are tasked with severing from our old perspectives on how we should structure and manage our time. Now that we have spent several months during these retrograde periods teasing out what it means for us to have control over our time, Saturn and Jupiter stationing direct at the end of this year gives us the opportunity to fully embody a new schedule.
As I said earlier, fall and winter are for death, decay, releasing, and slowing down. But in a society that aligns itself with the Gregorian calendar, it is rare that we get this opportunity to follow the elements and fully embody our own much-needed deaths. Most of us have jobs or familial commitments that prevent us from being able to rest and go inward. In addition, this is a time of year when many of us are encouraged to “go out” for the holidays. Even though the cold and dark months are really for “staying in.” While we all can’t just drop everything and go on “do not disturb” until spring, we can still find areas in our lives where we can set boundaries around our time. Saturn and Jupiter stationing direct is a good time to really implement saying “no” to unnecessary engagements that will take up more of our time than we’re willing to give.
Use this opportunity to brainstorm different ways to spend time with others that support you in this season’s death process. For instance, maybe instead of taking on extra work projects that are not required of you (which is still a perfectly fine choice to make), you and some friends can get together to make a warm, nourishing stew to support everyone’s immune systems.
Jupiter in Aries encourages us to split from the status quo. How can you acknowledge the passing of time in a way that is different from everyone else around you, and leaves you feeling more empowered and in control? You could choose a different culture’s calendar to go by, or structure your schedule around the lunar or menstrual cycle. You could even play with setting an interval timer for your workouts or study sessions. Of course, actually slowing down and using winter to tend to your inner world is a very radical form of time keeping in this lifetime. If you’ve never done this before, don’t stress yourself out with the other options I mentioned. This will be enough for now.
Around November 25 (naturally, the weekend of Thanksgiving), Mars and the Sun in Scorpio will square Saturn in Aquarius. This particular weekend, our ability to set boundaries around our time will really be put to the test! (Forced family time and Black Friday shopping will do that.) How can you prepare for push back from your community over these boundaries? How can setting boundaries over your time strengthen your self-esteem?
Moon Milk
by Laura Plumb, author of Ayurveda Cooking for Beginners
Vata calls for less doing and more rest. Yet, in this bubbly time and our electrified world, rest can be elusive. According to Ayurveda, slumber-promoting foods are warm, unctuous and naturally sweet, just like the sleep you want to have. A warm, sweet tonic helps ground the light and mobile nature of Vata, fostering the heavier qualities needed for sleep.
Foods that may help are cherries, bananas, dates, grapes, whole grains, nuts, dairy, and healthy fats. Nutmeg is the best spice as it is considered a nervine, soothing to the mind and nervous system. Warm is the best temperature as it helps melt tension while encouraging digestion.
Ingredients:
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2 cups almond milk
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2 handfuls dried and pitted cherries
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1-2 medjool dates
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1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
Extras!
Option 1: rose water and cardamom
Option 2: chamomile and lavender buds
Option 3: flax seeds and coconut oil
Herbal add-ins: brahmi, ashwagandha, or triphala
Instructions:
Put everything in a blender and blend until well liquified. Pour into a saucepan and warm on the stove. Rinse the blender jug with about a cup of water and pour this into the saucepan with the tonic. Heat until it just reaches a gentle simmer. Pour the tonic into your mug and enjoy warm.
Adding in Extras:
Option 1: Add a spoonful of rose water and 2 pinches cardamom while warming.
Option 2: Stir in a cup of hot chamomile tea with lavender buds once warmed.
Option 3: Grind a teaspoon of flax seeds before adding the rest of the ingredients in the blender. Stir a knob of coconut oil into the pot while warming.
Option 4: Add a scant teaspoon of powdered herbal adaptogen to the tonic as it warms. Whisk and blend well. Serves 1-2 people.
Acknowledgements + Gratitude
Thank you to all the gifted teachers who have collaborated in the creation of the very first edition of VedaZine.
