There are Ayurvedic doctors who specialize in working with patients with advanced diseases. Ayurveda can certainly be utilized to heal.
I use Ayurveda, and I teach my clients to use it, everyday. It’s how I feel what’s happening in my body, and see the patterns in what’s going on around me. It’s how I integrate body, mind, and soul in day to day life. It’s how I stay sane, stay connected to what’s true, as things shift around me (because you know what they say, the only thing constant is change.)
I am an action taker. A fixer. I want to know what I can do. So Ayurveda is helpful for me, because it’s so logical. And there are plenty of action steps.
Here is how I used Ayurveda, in the last few days:
- When I woke up with a tummy ache, and realize it’s gas, I make ginger tea and I feel better. Because I know that it is now the Vata time of year, and that gas is excess of Vata. So instead of choosing cold granola and milk, I choose ginger tea and eggs for breakfast. I am soothed. I feel better.
- When I wake up at 2:30am and feel clear and wide awake, I make a mental note that I will do more abhyanga this week. Because I know that in the rhythm of the day, that is Vata time of day. And again, it’s Vata time of year. And abhyanga (self massage) will calm down that excess Vata. The next night, after doing self massage that day, I sleep through the night.
- I feel the cravings for salty and sour foods. I buy pickles and stock up on my Himalaya salt. I crave meat, and buy a whole chicken from the farm, making soup and bone broth. I remember, that the qualities of heaviness and oiliness in meat balance Vata dosha, And that my craving for pickles in the craving for sour, which also brings balance to Vata dosha. And it’s that time of year, again. I listen to my cravings, because I know the helpful from the ‘unhelpful’ from practice over the years. And I trust that what my body says I need, I do.
I feel the spacey feelings I felt over the weekend settling, and I feel truly stable. I feel so satisfied by the meals I prepare from these ingredients.
For most of us, it feels good to know ‘why’ we are doing something. And it’s easy to have faith in something when you have the experience that it works. Like, I feel better, either pretty immediately, or I see results within the next day or two. That’s going to help Ayurveda’s patterns hit home. Going to help the language land in the tangible, from the cerebral.
One of my most influential teachers always reminds me “Ayurveda takes time.” I understand this on multiple levels now. Ayurveda takes time to learn because it is a vast science, ranging from astrology to pathology. It takes time because I live in a body, and it’s learning the language of the body. It takes time, because the self healing is done so in line with the seasons, it can’t all be done or known at once, or even in one year. It takes time to travel through different stages of life, where there are different needs, where the body and mind go through different challenges, to learn how Ayurveda fits in.
I started studying yoga 10 years ago. I started studying Ayurveda 3 years after that. Sometimes I truly feel like I can see two paths that branch off from those starting points – and the one without the tools I’ve learned is truly scary to me.
- Without yoga to help me stay present in my mind and body, I might have gotten caught up in alcohol and depression after a bad breakup years ago.
- Without Ayurveda I might have severe eczema up and down my arms
- Without Ayurveda I may not have found the work and job I love
- Without Ayurveda my pregnancy and post partum might have been full of a hellish depression
- Without Ayurveda and yoga my fear and anger might have taken over my body and mind
- Without Ayurveda I might have severe constipation and digestive distress
- Without Ayurveda I might have severe seasonal allergies, joint pain, etc, etc…
Do you see that there are two paths ahead of you? Do you feel like you’re at a crossroads, and it’s time to make a choice? I totally recommend deepening your study of Ayurveda. Study with me starting September 30th, 2017.
Do you have question about your “two paths”? Email me (adena at adenaroseayurveda dot com), or Apply for this Fall’s course today.
Love,
Adena