Not quite feeling you? Maybe you are feeling a little “off”. Could be the beginning of an imbalance. What does it mean to be imbalanced? According to Ayurveda we are all born with our own Prakriti. As I have mentioned before, Prakruti is your elemental distribution. Your own personal mix or “amounts of” the elements. (ether, air, fire, water, and earth). This makeup is determined at birth and it remains with you your entire life. You will stay balanced as long as these elements stay to those particular proportions.
“Health is the state of perfect balance, not just the absence of defined disease.” This quote from Vasant Lad is a beautiful way of understanding how our American minds should work. We are accustomed to thinking that if we are disease free, we must be healthy. You may remember a time that you went to see your doctor because you weren’t feeling well, and after running many tests and labs the doctor could not find anything wrong. But just because we don’t “see” disease or just because the doctor has given you a clean bill of health, doesn’t mean that disease is not brewing somewhere in our bodies. We also have to remember the relationship the body, mind and consciousness have with each other. Sometimes anxiety, insomnia, constipation, backache or any pain for that matter may not show up on a report, but you know that you are experiencing them. The anxiety may be causing the constipation, or maybe the constipation is causing the anxiety.
So what is health? According to Ᾱyurveda, a person is healthy (svastha) if he or she is established in self. One who has balanced doshas (referring to vāta, pitta and kapha; the three psycho-physiological functional principles of the body), balanced agni (digestive fire), properly formed dhātus (tissue layers), proper elimination of malas (waste products: feces, urine, sweat), well-functioning bodily processes and whose mind, soul and senses are full of bliss is called a healthy person.
Your body in a balanced state reflects your true prakruti, but Vikriti refers to your current state, which in many cases could mean an increase in vāta, pitta or kapha attributes.
For instance, some of the signs and symptoms of increased vāta could be:
- Dry skin
- Constipation or hard, dry stools
- Gas, Bloating
- Cold hands and feet
- Light sleep or interrupted sleep
- Nervousness
- Experiencing fear, anxiety, or even panic
- Having a scattered mind or feeling spacey
- Too much thought
- Twitches or spasms
- Low body weight
- Fragile bones
Increased Pitta could show up as:
- Acne, rashes, cold sores
- Loose stools
- Nausea or acid reflux, heartburn, or ulcers
- Body always hot
- Inflammation in the joints or body
- Over training/need to compete
- Anger, envy, jealousy
- Judgmental, intolerant
- Perfectionist qualities
- Migraines
Increased Kapha may present itself as:
- Skin is moist and sticky
- Overweight
- Excess mucous
- Hard time getting up in the morning
- Sluggish, Lethargic, dull
- Thick tongue coated with white film (ama)
- Slow bowel movements
- Has attachment issues
- Possessive
- Overly complacent
- Emotional overeating
Recognize any of these symptoms or signs. Most of us do. So that being said, most of us would not be considered healthy, and these are just a few of the conditions that could have been listed. So as western medicine looks at these symptoms and tries to treat them, Ayurveda looks at the doshas and tries to balance them. In other words, Ᾱyurveda recognizing that the body, mind and consciousness are all interdependent treats the entire person. I think of this as instead of using a Band-Aid, let’s get to the source of the matter and see how we can stop what is causing the imbalance.
I will talk about some specific ways to balance the three doshas in upcoming blogs, or you may want to talk to me about an Ayurveda consultation. That way we can get specific to your imbalances.
But until then, below find a list of actions that, if practiced daily, would help you create balance in your life:
1. Get up before the sun comes up
2. Drink an 8 oz. glass of warm water
3. Use a Neti pot to clean nasal passages
4. Scrape your tongue
5. Rinse mouth with sesame oil
6. Yoga asana and Meditation for 20 to 30 minutes.
7. Take a walk or run for an hour, every day
8. Have a nutritional breakfast according to your body type.
9. Have your biggest meal at lunchtime
10. Eat without distraction
11. Relax for ½ hour after lunch.
12. Meditate in late afternoon before evening meal for 20 minutes.
13. Dinner should be the smallest meal of the day
14. Allow three hours after your dinner before going to bed.
15. Be in bed by 10PM
16. Practice Gratitude