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A practice tied to the lunar cycle asks something of you four times a month rather than every morning, and for a certain kind of person that is the difference between a practice and an intention.
What these sessions are
The four sessions are genuinely different rather than lengths of one thing. The new moon session works with beginning and with what is not yet formed. The waxing session works with building. The full moon session is the most expansive of the four. The waning session works with letting go and with what is finishing.
The tradition associates the moon with the cooling, receptive side of things, and the lunar channel in the body is named for it, which is why alternate nostril breathing has the structure it does. The phases carry the arc from beginning to completion to release.
Nothing here claims the moon affects you. There is no good evidence that lunar phase influences mood, sleep or anything else, and this app does not assert it. What the cycle provides is a schedule, which is a much smaller and more defensible thing.
What people commonly report is that a monthly rhythm survives where a daily one did not, and that the four themes give a practice somewhere to go rather than repeating. That is the case for it, and it does not require believing anything about the moon.
The sessions
4 sessions, 16 to 20 minutes. Every session in this collection needs Premium. Four other meditation collections have a free session in them, and the free tier covers twelve guided sessions across the app.
| Session | Length | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Full Moon | 20 min | Premium |
| New Moon | 20 min | Premium |
| Waning Moon | 18 min | Premium |
| Waxing Moon | 16 min | Premium |
Which one to start with
Take whichever phase the moon is actually in. That is the whole design, and there is no introductory session or order to work through.
If you are starting and the phase does not matter to you, the new moon session is the natural opening one, and the waning session is the one most people find unexpectedly useful.
If you want a practice attached to the year rather than the month, the seasonal meditations work the same way over a longer arc, and the two combine without competing.
How to use them
Check the phase rather than guessing. A calendar or a phone will tell you, and using the wrong session takes the point out of it.
Keep it to four sittings a month rather than treating it as a daily practice. The spacing is what makes each one land.
Practise in the evening if you want the association, though nothing requires it and a session at any hour is the same practice.
Let the theme be the object rather than a subject to think about. Beginning and releasing are states to sit with, not topics to consider.
What usually goes wrong
Expecting the moon to do something. It does not, and the practice does not depend on it. What the cycle provides is a schedule and four themes.
Doing all four in a week. The spacing is the design. Four sessions in seven days is four meditations rather than a cycle.
Treating the full moon session as the important one. It is the most expansive and it is not the most useful. Most people get more from the waning session and skip it.
Thinking about the theme rather than sitting with it. Reflection on the idea of release is not the practice. Sitting with the state is.
Four sittings a month
PanchPrana keeps these to the four phases, which is a rhythm most people can hold when a daily one has already failed. The seasonal meditations work the same way across the year.
Who should take care
These are seated attention practices with no physical demand, and the cautions are the general ones.
If you live with PTSD, complex trauma or a dissociative condition, take care with the waning session in particular, which works with letting go and can surface loss. Keep it short and practise with support rather than alone.
If you live with psychosis or have a history of it, take care with imagery-led practice generally and get clinical advice before taking these up.
Stop if a session leaves you unsettled rather than steadier. If your sleep or mood changes in a pattern you cannot account for, that is worth a doctor rather than a lunar explanation, and nothing here is diagnostic.
See our full Health & Safety Disclaimer.
Common questions
Does the moon actually affect us?
There is no good evidence that it affects mood or sleep, and nothing here claims it does. The cycle is being used as a schedule and a set of themes.
Which session do I use?
Whichever phase the moon is in. A calendar will tell you, and guessing removes the only structural thing the practice offers.
Can I practise more than four times a month?
Of course, using anything else in the library. The point of these four is the spacing.
Why is the moon associated with cooling in yoga?
The tradition pairs sun and moon as warming and cooling, active and receptive. The lunar channel in the body is named for it, which is where alternate nostril breathing gets its structure.
Is this astrology?
No. It uses the phases as a calendar and makes no claim about influence on anyone.
