Ayurveda: a lifestyle
“Mind-Body-Soul medecine”
Ayurveda is a philosophy based on the 5 elements of our planet, defining our physical aspects.
Ether (space) governs stillness, peace and mental clarity.
Air controls movements, agility and lighness.
Fire manages heat, vitality and transformations.
Water influences flow, connections and emotional balance.
Earth provides structure, stability and grounding.
On the more subtil aspects, there are the gunas related to the state of conciousness which were developed previously (Blog 7) and will be part of the next blog. But for the moment, let’s stay with the physical-mental-emotional aspects of our personality such as mental tendency under stress, focus, general attitude, moods, decision making, philosophy, intimacy, speech, and how the ayurvedic routines can help us to connect to our individual Self and stay in balance.
Ahara, refers to a food regime specifically adapted to a person own constitution. It is based on the 6 tastes and has been developed in blogs 19 and 21. What we should remember is the link to the quality of tastes in regards to the ratio of elements composing our own physical-mental state. Tastes have an influence on the digestion, our moods and general well-being. They are a building block of our constitution, they participate in keeping it in balance and influencing our lifestyle (actions).
Vihara means the life style, the notion of movement, our actions, how we eat, where we live, where we work, our schedule, our activities, any parameter affecting body and mind. Our choices influence our equilibrium; the routines are like posts to help maintain the balance and the biorythmicity within and between the internal and external environment. Vihara is about practicing healthy life behaviours.
What are they specifically? They are conscious beneficial actions for body-mind-soul.
Morning hygiene – cure to clean the toxins accumulated during the night and to indicate the start-up of the day: tongue scraping, gandusha (oil swirling in the mouth), brushing the teeth, a cup/glass of warm water w/wo lemon juice and few stretching exercices. If you do not have time, start with tongue scraping, a cup of warm water and few or more conscious deep breath. One will remove the toxins accumulated on your tongue, the next will clean you digestive tract and the breath will reset your mind!
During the day, take a conscious walk, 10-30 min, find/create a calm environment for the meals, try to eat at about the same time every day, if you work at a computer, stop every 30 min. to close your eyes for a moment while breathing deeply and move to remove tension. If you are upset by some news or somebody, do not enter their drama, take a physical distance or use a let go breath ( letting go the shoulders with the exhalation) for a mental or emotional distancing.
At night, stop computer work/activity a couple hours before going to bed, enjoy a calm pastime or a fun game, or reading, take a relaxing bath and try to get to bed around the same time every night early enough to get your 7-8 hour sleep keeping 12 hours between supper and breakfast for a simple detox.
Do you realize that if you add some of those suggestions into your daily activities, you will find easier to maintain balance as well as benefit from a daily detox? The suggestions are an easy preparation for the 3 steps ayurvedic detox for body-mind-Soul. Limiting the stressors, following specific routines such as a monodiet, herbs to clean the digestive organs, being in an environment that induces quietude, joy, reflexion, a let go from the outside world/news and receiving ayurvedic therapies are at the center of a complete detox. Rejuvenation is the last step with a slow return to a less stringent schedule. The ayurvedic detox (pancha karma) brings a new level of mental and sensorial well-being.