January 2025

Cycles

• Cycles Of Life
• The Sun Cycle – Circadian Rhythm
• Metabolic Cycles
• The Moon Cycle – Reproductive Rhythm

When I started studying herbalism, I repeatedly heard the saying, “We are connected to nature” or “Nature connection is your birthright.” I am here to tell you whether you like it or not, you are part of nature. The cosmic clocks and your inner clocks beat to the same rhytm. The cycle of the sun and moon and the pull of the Earth affect every single function in your body, from your sleep metabolism and energy levels to your stress and mood.

The Cosmic Clock & Your Inner Clock

All the cells in the body are bathed in a broth of hormones that constantly change to adapt to factors such as light and darkness, appetite and satiation, stress levels, blood sugar, and where you are on your moon cycle.  

For hormones to effectively convey their message, they need to enter the cell, meaning that cells need to be receptive to the message.

If cells, for some reason, are not receptive, they might turn the hormones out. For example, the role of insulin is to let cells know that glucose is available in the bloodstream, so cells open their doors, grab the glucose from the blood, and use it to produce energy. When there is constant excess glucose in the blood, the cell fears that if it keeps feeding its furnace with glucose, it will burn, therefore shutting its ears to the massage from insulin. The pancreas senses increased blood sugar (feedback loop) and further increases insulin production. The more insulin the pancreas produces, the less receptive the cell is, leading to insulin resistance and eventually to overtaxed damaged pancreas, AKA diabetes.

The inner and outer clocks

Hormone production is managed by the endocrine headquarters in the hypothalamus. When I think of the hypothalamus, I get a picture of Captain Picard’s bridge in Star Trek with Captain Picard gazing into the cosmos and the screens projecting pictures from all parts of the spaceship. The hypothalamus works in the same way as the controlling bridge of a spaceship; it connects the inner chambers of your body with the cosmos. 

Orders from the hypothalamus are sent via hormones to the pituitary gland, which, depending on feedback loops, stimulates or retracts hormone production in the adrenal, thyroid, pancreas, and ovaries.

The hypothalamus is sensitive to cues from cosmic forces, such as the sun and moon. It functions like an inner clock that produces hormones and initiates biological processes at specific times of the day, months, and seasons. The hypothalamus keeps our inner clocks in tune with the cosmic clocks.

Hormone production

Many hormones are made from cholesterol. For many years, cholesterol was blamed for heart disease, and doctors advised their patients to follow a low-fat diet. We now know that a low-fat diet can lead to a deficiency in hormones that use cholesterol as a building block.

Each hormone is essential on its own, but when they are in the right proportions, magic can happen. If you are struggling with an imbalance of any of the hormones, you need to create a care plan that addresses the entire endocrine system.

In the next couple of weeks, I will describe three types of cycles that, like clocks, tick within our body and determine the pace of all vital functions. These cycles are :

• The sun cycle – which follows the movement of the sun in the sky and the different wavelengths of sunrays as they meet the eyes, stimulating a series of physiological processes. 
• The metabolic cycle is involved in building tissue, breaking down and eliminating toxins, and producing energy.
• The moon cycle – which is the reproductive cycle in women. 

As I wrote, these three cycles are interconnected. One cannot understand one without understanding how they work together.