If you're feeling...
These are unprecedented, unknown times we find ourselves in. And unknowns always bring up and about imbalances in our systems. We can feel them in our bodies and in our minds. If you’ve taken our Ayurvedic Dosha quiz, you may be beginning to understand your constitution. But what about imbalances, when something knocks us off-kilter. What then? How do we counterbalance to find harmony again? Regardless of your prakruti (Your balance of the three elemental forces at the time of conception) these are three possible vikrutis (the state of elemental forces in the moment) you may be feeling at this moment. Keep reading to find ways to bring a bit more harmony to your mind and spirit…
If you’re feeling anxious, this is an indication of excess vata. Vata governs movement. So much movement of the mind comes with anxiety! When feeling anxious, practice presence. What exists in *this* moment? Try and focus on truths found in the moment. Any grounding practice can alleviate anxiety. Asanas with pelvic compression (think forward folds or garland) or flexion of the hips (supported bridge pose, half pigeon) Try blending basil, patchouli, cedarwood or juniper in sesame or almond oil. Eating grounding foods will help stabilize excess vata. Cooked grains, root vegetables, yogurt with seasonal berries. Wake up with the sun and soak up as much of its rays as possible!
If you’re feeling anger, this is an imbalance of pitta. There’s too much fire and heat in the mind. In times of anger, meet it by taking cooling, cleansing, long deep breaths. Maybe even curl and stick out your tongue as you exhale. In aromatherapy, try wearing lavender, rose or sandalwood essential oils. Or mix those into coconut oil and massage your skin with the blend. Try waking up at least a half an hour before the sun and sit quietly, or do slow asanas paying attention to details of how your body feels. Eating cooling foods also helps, such as fresh fruits, leafy greens, raw seasonal vegetables. Juicing is a fantastic way to keep your cool and build immunity. Drink it outside in bare feet for bonus benefits.
If you’re feeling stuck, numb, or depressed, this is excess kapha. It’s kapha season, so it may take a little extra effort to combat those feelings of heaviness, but it can be done! Try waking up one hour before the sun rises. Use that time to move. Anything that expands and opens the chest (upward facing dog, cobra, supported fish) and anything that flows (Sun Salutations) are great in these early kapha mornings! Spend time breathing--take giant inhalations, opening the muscles between the ribs and cleaning out the lungs which is where kapha can take up residence. Take a walk, take three walks, MOVE! Drink lemon water jazzed up with ginger, honey and cayenne pepper. Add black pepper to anything. Eat foods that are light--leafy greens spritzed with safflower oil, a squeeze of lemon, fresh cracked black pepper, dried fruit and sunflower seeds. This is a great time to cut dairy, it is heavy, and will exacerbate mucus and kapha buildup. Try an aromatherapy blend consisting of mints or camphor or sage.
One feeling you may not recognize that is expressed through all of the above emotions is grief. Grief happens anytime anything changes. And boy have we felt changes! Grief at the loss of a job, a routine, a vacation, a schedule, a false perception of control. Grief that we can’t see our friends, go to yoga class, eat out at a restaurant. Grief is to be expected in this time and grief during something like this is normal and unpredictable. Grief, elementally, is ether. It's the space that those people, places and things left behind in their absence. The best remedy for grief is to acknowledge it and allow for it. Then, fill the space with gratitude. That will change your perception from what was lost to what is still here. It changes your perception that good can emerge from ether. Space is from where all things grow. Also fill the space with creation. Create art, music, beauty, words--these expressions may not be lovely, they may be angry art and depressed music, but it's still creating, it's authentic, and it will begin to fill and heal the space of what had been, with a co-creation of the future story you are getting to write. So many of us will fill the grief with food, usually sugar because it is comforting. Sweets can be like a hug. And that’s ok. Eat a cookie or a marshmallow and savor it. Then don’t guilt yourself for eating to fill your grief. But also remember to eat to fill your soul and fuel your body. Don’t stuff yourself in order to not feel the grief, feel it, nurture yourself through it, and have the grace to know that we’re all feeling it in our own way, together.