Looking towards the skies for answers has been a recurring theme throughout history, documenting planetary bodies’ rise and fall and trajectory across the skyline. Cycles are a natural aspect of our existence and the environment in which we live. The list is extensive and deeply ingrained in many cultures, traditions, and philosophies, from the moon’s phases to the four seasons, our circadian rhythm, and the female menstrual cycle. When did we forget or break away from these cycles? If we recognise and return to them, do we select which ones fit best or embrace them all as equals?
It was nearly halfway through my time in the classroom when I began to pay attention to the cycles of nature and the life force within myself and my students. Initially, it was only the moon. I noticed that my energy felt depleted during these times, and ordinarily, good students would behave entirely out of character during particular moon phases, especially around the timing of a blue moon. (A blue moon is a full moon that lasts 2 nights due to the timing of the rotation and moon rise) Once I understood the Kinesiology balance, which addresses parasitic energy, host environments, and dormant pinworm life cycles, this made more sense and fell under my broader understanding of external cyclic influences—questioning both the moon’s rotation and the pinworm’s processes.
Once introduced to Steiner’s philosophies, particular aspects stayed with me in the classroom. Although I have never taught in a Steiner school, if I were to return and teach full-time, this is where I would end up. The concept of development was first explained to me through teeth. My understanding was that children losing teeth and gaining teeth had to do with cranial shifts, space, and, correspondingly, their brain size and development. Adult teeth will come through when there is space for them, plain and simple. But it is a little more complicated when you consider his teachings together. Steiner’s teeth theory was accurate for my own two children. My firstborn was a milestone rusher; he rolled, crawled, and walked much too early for my liking. It made sense when his tooth came through earlier, too. This continued as he was losing teeth during his first kindergarten moments before all of his peers. He was a learning sponge, easily retained information, and enjoyed every moment in the classroom. My youngest was the complete opposite. We had to shield her from negative feedback regarding her learning. It was clear to me, based on my educational experience, that she was not ready to learn in such a structured educational way and was still very much in creative play. She loved school and was socially prepared but lacked the confidence to push herself academically. I remember the moment vividly, a later milestone than others, but the flood of teeth loss was accompanied by a significant development leap and expansion. She is empowered when she learns and has made up for her lost time.
Steiner’s philosophies go deeper than just teeth. That was the little gold nugget I walked away with during that moment, but there is a lot more to it than just the loss of teeth—the whole physical structure of the jaw and cranial bones changes during the developmental stage discussed above. Changes to the brain’s space, shape and size change its capabilities—the ability to function cognitively and maintain and control hormonal function to build brain matter. Steiner presents the importance of recognising the stages of brain development when teaching students so that content and direction are appropriate. Teaching students the scope of thought of an abstract nature before their time can often lead to overwhelm, adaptive strategies or disconnect from education.
Children’s and Adults’ brain waves change constantly, and there is still so much we are learning about our brain wave frequencies and how they benefit the body. Most commonly, it is understood that dropping into theta (4 to 7Hz) or delta (0.5 to 4 HZ) frequencies is beneficial to restore and heal the body and is often met through meditation. At the same time, there still seems room to explore the benefits of reaching 30Hz or about and recognise that children naturally have a higher hertz within their earlier years. Babies’ brain frequencies focus on essential survival and are generally believed to be connected directly to their Mother’s frequencies. They absorb information, emotions and language from their environment within the first two years and then spend the next five years assimilating it into their understanding, interpretation and development with the people and environment around them. Our body’s innate healing process and ability to connect with consciousness occur within these higher-frequency states. When experiencing the external environment from a heightened state of consciousness, it becomes more common to see individuals’ energies, have spiritual awareness, and receive blocks of thought depending on your culture; this could include remembering past life experiences, out-of-body experiences, or remote viewing. This becomes more important when linking the brainwave frequencies in children and how the natural level of hertz experienced changes with the coming of age or teeth.
Steiner’s theory of human development continues throughout the lifespan at seven-year intervals and is closely linked to astrology and, therefore, the chakras. The first seven years are in close association with the Moon. During this time, a psychic force is working to transform a child’s body from what was genetically inherited from the parents to what represents the child’s personality and all their karmic contracts and ways of being. Through the child’s experiences, it begins to filter the external world and create order and meaning in what it perceives. This is the very beginning of the ego, and on some occasions, I often explain this to parents in the clinic as the child’s “Google filters”. As their body slowly connects and wires the brain to the body, neural pathways are formed, brain dominance and learning styles are reinforced, and success patterning is developed. This is when the child is easily connected to their intuition; they cycle and connect to parents at a higher level of consciousness, the amygdala processes information through their senses (mostly olfactory) and their language development will often not meet this complexity. So, in other words, they will have no words to explain what is truly going on or how they are feeling or perceiving the world.
The second seven-year cycle is linked to Mercury. The transition from the first cycle to the second is generally considered the most important transition. This stage or cycle is important for imagination and emotional exploration as they venture outside the parental and family unit for learning and support. They begin connecting with academic concepts and exploring language and music as they understand who they are and where they fit within the world. They no longer regulate their emotions parallel to those within the family unit but seek emotional regulation opportunities independently. This second cycle understands that stepping into the creative world is as much about creating with our hands as thinking creatively and using our imagination to expand our filters and perception of the external world. It is this cycle that the brain grows and frequency changes. Individuals will feel the pull of separation energetically for source and be able to hold the frequency with the parental energies around them.
The third stage of development is closely associated with transitioning into the teen and young adult years. The more complicated year is 8 or 9 years in high school or ages 14-21. Steiner talks about this stage connecting with Venus, the higher mind, sense of self-actualisation and development of the human psychic. Changes in hormones during puberty impact the brain again regarding growth, sleep, maturity, and decision-making, connecting us back to the cycles in nature and our cycles. I like drawing connections to this stage as often parents express concerns regarding their teens during the 8 and 9 years of schooling. Often assuming it is the transition from 12 to 13, it causes the most problems rather than the separation and independence resulting from the third transition in the conscious state a little later. Here, I have noted a slight difference between the male and female timing. The onset of puberty and the ability to step into and embrace the cyclic nature of hormonal release play an important role in the transition of stages.
The next seven years are associated with the sun, ages 21 to 28. During this time, we connect with elements of the soul, our intellectual and conscious souls. Here, life direction, drive and inner guidance will motivate the individual to reach for more and connect back to forces bigger than themselves. It can often be here that future direction, goals and lifepaths are formed while any earlier rushed decision may fall away and create space for more sustaining paths to arrive.
The Chinese Meridian theory is also full of cycles. And connects each element of the cycle within the cycle. It looks deeper into the influence each element has over another and balances the yin and the yang, masculine and feminine, nurture and control, expansion and contraction with themselves. We can compare the 7-year cycle from 21 to 28 with the fire element of life. The time we build heat and create action is most motivated to change our lives. At a time when passions run high, hormones are at their peak, and we are more equipped to cope with burning the candle at both ends. We will work harder, knowing that the fruits of our labour are still to come.
Connecting back to the cycles within a Kinesiology session is powerful in balancing the body and understanding how to move forward. Understand the changes that occur during the transition and support the body physically, biochemically, emotionally, and spiritually during these times. Knowing how we cycle and that our cycles vary depending on our environmental pressures is incredibly empowering, especially within the earlier stages of education and rapid change. Kinesiology balances will differ greatly within each step due to the individual’s different external environmental forces, focus and frequency. Within the first 7-year cycle, it is about clearing stuck emotions, giving emotional vocabulary and balancing the energies of the external environment, such as parents. In contrast, the second cycle is about deepening and developing individual independence and strengthening reflexes and neuropathways. It is not until the individual reaches 21 or above that lifepaths and self-sabotage come up to balance and clear.
If this article ignites your interest, I strongly encourage you to listen to the readings of the original Roudoff Steiner lectures. I found the recording on Spotify and thoroughly enjoyed listening to the wisdom within his lectures. When I first discovered them, I had no idea how spiritual his understanding of childhood development was. I felt like I had many ah-ha moments while listening and reflecting on my upbringing and learning journey.