When I was in high school, I remember finding an advertisement in the back of a magazine for an appetite suppressant tincture. This was an herbal supplement, marketed as “natural,” and promoted for weight loss. I was all in. I ordered it, without telling my parents, and started taking it regularly.
Luckily, it didn’t do much of anything.
If I could go back in time, I’d give my 16-year-old self a hug, throw away the magazines that had convinced me my body was a problem, and introduce myself to Ayurveda.
I had forgotten about the tincture until recently when I was taking a moment to reflect on the reasons I love connecting with people through Ayurveda. At its heart, Ayurveda is a holistic system of wellness that recognizes the wisdom you already possess. It is not about beating your body (or mind) into submission. That appetite I wanted to get rid of? That was my body’s way of communicating with my mind. Why on Earth would I want to suppress it, unless I subscribed to a belief system that located all wisdom, all knowledge, outside my body.
I’m just gonna hit “unsubscribe” to that belief system right now. I think you should too.
So without further ado, here are three reasons I am jazzed to share the beauty of Ayurveda with you:
It’s all about awareness.
Whether you are working with a practitioner or learning on your own, the very first step in beginning to apply Ayurveda to your life is to start to notice what may have been under the radar previously. How would you describe your appetite? What qualities are present in your mind, and in your physical body? What time of day does a certain symptom tend to present? What mental tendencies do you have when you’re learning something new, or when you’re in a difficult situation? If there is pain, how would you describe it?
The ability to pause and reflect, noticing what is happening in the present moment, is so valuable when it comes to living Ayurvedically. (Yogis take note-- this is why Yoga and Ayurveda go hand-in-hand so nicely.)
In Ayurjveda, we don’t suppress, bury or ignore any cues that our bodies are giving us. Those cues are crucial information.
2. It’s intuitive, not dogmatic.
Yes, there are rules. Some might say a lot of rules. But hear me out here: the rules are there to teach you how to listen to your intuition. The rules are not there to be followed without question, or to do just because you’re supposed to. What start out as rules--such as (for example) don’t drink ice water, go to bed by 10pm, scrape your tongue first thing in the morning-- become second nature, obvious as a way to preserve your health.
You brush your teeth twice a day, yeah? Me too. Do you feel like that’s dogmatic? Me neither.
3. Marie Kondo would approve.
Say there’s a food that is considered “bad” for you. Either by Western standards (it has a lot of calories and fat) or by Ayurvedic standards (it’s wrong for your dosha, or constitution).
Scenario #1: You eat it because it’s there. You don’t want to run to the store to get a different snack, you’re not particularly hungry, and you eat it while you’re distracted with work or watching Netflix. You feel a little guilty while you’re eating it.
Scenario #2: You don’t eat this food very often, but you lit up with joy when you saw it. It’s high quality (think, a jalapeño grown in your garden or full-fat organic ice cream from a local farm). You enjoy the heck out of it.
Which scenario leads to a better outcome, do you think?
JOY MATTERS.
In Scenario #2, you will digest the food better, your body will absorb its nutrients, and you will feel more satisfied.
We don’t need to eliminate the foods that spark joy. If there’s a particular junk food that you feel meh about, you eat it out of habit, you feel negative repercussions after eating, go ahead and Kondo that crap. Get rid of it. But that very favorite dessert that you have every Thanksgiving, or the tomatoes you lovingly grow in your garden every summer, they can be a part of a very healthy and joyful Ayurvedic lifestyle.
If any of these points inspire you to start learning how to incorporate Ayurveda into your life, I’d be honored if you contacted me for a consultation. I love working one-on-one with folks to further their goals of a healthy and balanced life.
