How to Work With Planetary Cycles for Healing and Growth

If you’ve ever felt like life was moving in slow motion — or rushing forward at a breakneck pace — you may have been sensing the influence of your planetary period, what Vedic astrology calls a Mahadasha.

Unlike the quick daily movements of the planets we often hear about in pop astrology, Mahadashas stretch over years or even decades. They’re long, textured chapters of your life that quietly (and sometimes loudly) shape your inner and outer landscapes.

But here’s the key:

These periods aren’t cages. They’re invitations.

Understanding the Energy You’re Swimming In

Each Mahadasha carries the energetic flavor of a planet — Mars, Saturn, Venus, the Moon — each bringing its own qualities, challenges, and gifts.

You might experience a Mars period as a time of boldness, ambition, and action. Or it might spark restlessness, frustration, or fierce independence.

A Saturn period could be an era of discipline, hard work, and the slow building of structures — or a stretch where patience, humility, and faith are rigorously tested.

The planetary influence isn’t here to punish or reward.

It’s a curriculum uniquely tailored to your soul’s evolution.

I have a really fun workshop on how to tailor your wardrobe and jewelry choices to support your planets! Find that here: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/courses/harmonizing-with-the-planets 

Healing Through Alignment, Not Resistance

When we don’t know the nature of the energy we’re moving through, it’s easy to push against it, feeling confused, exhausted, or discouraged.

But when we begin to recognize the current — to know we’re in a Mars river or a Saturn ocean — we can choose to align rather than fight.

For example:

• During a Saturn period, focusing on small, daily efforts (and letting go of instant results) can feel much more sustainable than pushing for rapid change.

• During a Venus period, nurturing relationships, beauty, and art can feel surprisingly natural and abundant.

Healing happens not because everything is easy, but because we learn to dance with the tempo of time, rather than trip over it.

Your Free Will Still Matters

One of the beautiful insights Roma Kapadia shared on the podcast is that while planetary periods offer a certain set of circumstances or tendencies, they don’t remove your free will.

The planets provide a landscape.

You choose how you walk it.

Knowing you’re in a Saturn period might encourage you to adopt supportive habits, seek mentorship, or pace yourself through a slow-building project.

Recognizing a Rahu influence might help you stay grounded in your values while still reaching for bigger dreams.

The invitation is not to surrender passively, but to partner actively with the energy at play.

Practical Ways to Tune Into Your Planetary Period

• Track your patterns: Notice emotional themes, repeating challenges, or new interests that emerge over a span of months or years.

• Consult a trusted Vedic astrologer: Personalized guidance can help you map the broader movements affecting your unique chart.

• Practice compassion: Some periods are meant for growth through challenge. Holding yourself with kindness is part of the practice.

• Honor small rituals: Simple choices — like wearing calming colors during a fiery Mars phase, or focusing on stability during a Saturn stretch — can help you stay aligned.

Above all, remember:

Planetary periods aren’t about resigning to fate.

They’re about growing with intention inside the rhythms of a much bigger life.

And that, to me, feels like a beautiful kind of freedom.

Don’t forget! I have a really fun workshop on how to tailor your wardrobe and jewelry choices to support your planets! Find that here: https://courses.ayurvedicliving.institute/courses/harmonizing-with-the-planets