If you think jewelry is meant only to be decorative, think again.  According to Ayurveda, there are significant energetic effects of gemstones and precious metals. Depending on your particular Ayurvedic constitution and your astrological chart, there is a prescription as to which metals and stones you should be wearing in order to lead a healthy and successful life.  Now that I finally have a yellow sapphire on my right index finger, I can tell you that there is definately a good reason to make your choice of jewelry an intentional one.

Ayurveda and Precious Metals

Ayurveda teaches that everything has a subtle energetic influence, including gemstones and precious metals.  Depending on your elemental constitution, you would benefit from either silver or gold.  Gold is heating and silver is cooling, so for maximum health benefits, Vata and Kapha people should wear gold, and Pitta types should wear silver.  I grew up in a suburban town where everyone wore gold.  So in my rebellious years as a young adult, I refused to wear gold and only wore silver.  Once I became a student of Ayurveda, Dr. Lad taught me that to balance my Vata constitution I ought to wear the warmer gold.  Not surprisingly, I began to feel less cold and more vital right away.

Ayurveda and Gemstones

Gemstones are powerful and beautiful natural creations.  According to Ayurveda, each stone has particular energies that are more healing for some constitutional types than others.  Cold Vata people benefit most from stones with heating energetics, such as ruby, garnet, and yellow sapphire.  Hot Pitta people receive healing benefits from pearl, moonstone, amethyst, emerald, and blue sapphire.  Cool Kapha people should wear ruby, garnet, or cat's eye.

Ayurveda and Astrology

While I barely understand Vedic or Western astrology, I do believe in it and have had insights from astrological readings that have blown my mind.  When I was 22 and a new student at The Ayurvedic Institute, my teacher Dr. Lad took my pulse and viewed my astrological chart and told me to wear a yellow sapphire on my right index finger. I understood only that it was because of Jupiter in my chart and because of my Vata constitution.  I observed Dr. Lad taking into account patients' astrological charts when determining a medical diagnosis, so I knew that there was an immense power in this science that I hardly comprehended.

Over the years I tried to get one from time to time, but either the stone wasn't pure enough or I didn't have the extra cash to devote to it.  Now 20 years later, a patient of mine who is a Vedic astrologer wasn't needing her yellow sapphire anymore so she slipped it on my finger so that I could test-drive it for a few weeks.  I began wearing it on a Thursday (Jupiter day) and within one hour I called her to say it was working.  Everything I had to do that day happened flawlessly and easily.  There was a grace to that day that was remarkable.  My son even said, "Mommy, I think the ring is working on me too!" 

As my patient explained, "One typical remedial measure for tuning and correcting subtle energies and counterbalancing negativity and weakness is the wearing of gemstones.  Wearing a Yellow Sapphire for Jupiter is recommended for general well being...Jupiter is also the significator for children and husband, as well as the Guru in general terms.."  You can visit her Vedic astrology website at www.astrology-east.com

That night I picked up Autobiography of a Yogi which I was reading for the third time, and I got the chills as I realized what page I was on.  It was the first page of the chapter entitled "Outwitting the Stars" in which Yoganananda's guru, Sri Yukteswar, teaches him about the importance of astrology and gemstones.  It is the best explanation of this topic that I've ever read.  He says:

"Astrology is the study of man's response to planetary stimuli.  The stars have no conscious benevolence or animosity; they merely send forth positive and negative radiations.  Of themselves, these do not help or harm humanity, but offer a lawful channel for the outward operation of cause-effect equilibriums which each man has set into motion in the past (karma).... The ancient rishis discovered many ways to curtail the period of man's exile in delusion.... Just as a house can be fitted with a copper rod to absorb the shock of lightning, so the bodily temple can be benefited by various protective measures.  Ages ago our yogis discovered that pure metals emit an astral light which is powerfully counteractive to the negative pulls of the planets.  Subtle electrical and magnetic radiations are constantly circulating in the universe...(the sages) found helpful not only a combination of metals, but also of plants and - most effective of all - faultless jewels of not less than two carats."

When I'm still, I can feel an energy radiating from the yellow sapphire ring along my entire hand and up my arm.  When I'm not wearing it, I don't feel the vibration.  Once I absent-mindedly put it on my middle finger and my hand felt very strange until I realized what I'd done.  It's been two weeks now, and I'll be "test-driving" the ring for a while longer, so I'll report back soon on how it continues to go.

If you're interested in reading more about this subject, an excellent resource is Harish Johari's book The Healing Power of Gemstones: In Tantra, Ayurveda, and Astrology

Do you have a healing story about gemstones to share? Leave a comment below!