Building Health: Mind, Body and Spirit

I was brought up to see medicine and going to the doctor as something I had to do when I was sick. I only understood diet in relation to weight loss, like being on a diet, and didn't learn very much about how to have a body, or how to create health. I certainly didn't learn about the interrelationship between mind and body, or how to understand myself as a spiritual being.

It wasn't until I was introduced to hatha yoga in college that I began to inhabit my body again. Before that, I had shifted from playing hard as a kid and young athlete, to objectifying my body: working it out, focusing on meeting the external standards of how a woman's body should be, losing touch with the "soft animal of my body" as Mary Oliver writes.

Learning about Āyurveda, several years later brought me deeper into yogic lifestyle (dinacharya). I came to understand that there is a way to live that promotes not only health and wellbeing, but self-knowing and inner transformation. In fact there's a whole community of practitioners embracing and living a yogic lifestyle, and reaping the benefits. Wow!

Like all things that make it into the mainstream, some of the deeper and even essential aspects of yoga and Āyurveda are often left out. We see this in how people confuse yoga with exercise or pilates, neglecting the larger fabric of yoga that is at its heart about transforming our minds.

Now that Āyurveda is becoming a bit more well known, there is a similar emphasis on superficial aspects, single herbs and doshas, but the foundations of it all, those essential aspects and deeper dimensions of Āyurveda remain unknown.

Āyurveda, the science of life, a complete medical system from India, describing those things which build and strengthen the body, mind and spirit, as well as those things that break them down. It describes the various individual constitutions (prakriti), and how those natures manifest both in a state of health and in a state of disharmony. Understanding one's natural propensities (prakriti) helps one know/remember what supports harmony in their particular system, at their particular lifestage, and what disturbs it (or worse).

But even before we get into the particulars, there are some general principles we can all learn that will support harmony in all beings. Just like in yoga class, everyone benefits from sitting or standing with a straight (naturally curved) spine. Whether large or small, male or female, young or old, learning to sit, stand and walk with good spinal alignment is essential to feeling good in one's body, and preventing structural problems later.

In Āyurveda, a general principle is the importance of aligning with Nature's rhythms. Often more important than what we do or eat, is when and how we do it. Waking with the sun, eating more mid day, sleeping at night, these are basics of aligning what we do with Nature's rhythms. Regularity in wake time, bed time and meal time is also key in enhancing harmonious functioning of the body and mind.

Modern research into how to optimize digestion and sleep show that Āyurveda had this right. It turns our that regularity trumps just about everything in terms of calming our organism so that we can digest our food and sleep well at night. Rhythm is essential.

At home, with so many choices, and often full lives, it's easy to fall out of rhythm and regularity, and that's when things start to go out of whack with the body--skipping meals, or eating at any old time, or all the time; sleeping in or going to bed late--this irregularity itself begins to cause problems. Sleep doesn't come as easily. Digestion goes out of whack. Elimination becomes irregular. Anxiety increases.

Some of us feel drawn to the word regularity, and some of us bristle Our need for freedom and spontaneity is also real.

But rhythm and freedom are not mutually exclusive. We can court regular meal times, but enjoy variety in what we eat. We can sleep and wake at regular times, but enjoy variety in exactly what we do for our morning or evening routines. We can commit to practicing yoga for a set amount of time (say 24 minutes), but allow freedom and spontaneity in exactly what practices we engage.

And Life is Life. We must adapt to all the wild cards (And if you've ever spent time in India, the home of yoga and āyurveda, you know what kind of good chaos/wild card energy exists in daily culture there).

So of course there is room for celebrations, a late night with old friends, random important seize-the-day kind of moments. But for the most part, say 80% of the time, living in alignment with Nature's rhythms is exactly what will give you the juice to enjoy those celebrations, without paying for them later.

Action Step:

• Look at your meal, waking, sleeping and exercising rhythms.

• Where is regularity present?

• Where would you benefit from a more regular schedule?

• Commit to one action you can take this week to restore a healthier rhythm.

• If you're already acing the rhythm section, give yourself a hand.

Tending our good health, body, mind and spirit  can be simple.

And like all things of value, it takes time, attention and consistency to see results. 30 days of attending to regular meal, wake and sleep times should yield results in better digestion, elimination and sleep. Make daily notes in a journal to track what's happening.

Dialing back the disease process through "right living" and building and maintaining health is what I'm here to help you do. Through understanding your unique nature and designing a life around the essential building blocks to caring for your nature, you can enjoy the vitality you crave and continue to give your gifts to the world through every life stage. It's the part of medicine that our allopathic system is NOT designed for. But Āyurveda brings in these other pieces to put you in the drivers seat of your deeper health and wellbeing.

I offer a complimentary tea date, over phone or zoom, to find out how an Āyurvedic approach could support you in whatever health challenge your're facing. This Spring I'm offering $100 off all of my services, which you can find right here.

XO.

Shannon