MY JOURNEY WITH AYURVEDA
I’m sitting here on my computer not really knowing how to start this blog post, but I keep telling myself to just write. Just write.
I want to share with you some things I’m experiencing, but struggling as to how to say everything I want to say in a precise manner. So if this post turns out a little all over the place, well, this is why :)
As many of you may know, over the last few years I’ve developed a series of sudden food intolerances, bloating, skin rashes, have a lack of appetite, indigestion, and several other symptoms that I will keep to myself :) You can learn more about my health journey by watching some of the videos on my Facebook page, listening to the first Light as a Feather episode or reading about it on previous blog posts.
You probably also know, that I recently returned from 8 months of traveling around the world.
Now that I’m back in the U.S., for the next few months anyway, and won’t be doing any international travel, I’m using this time to really focus on my health.
The reason being is that some of my symptoms, primarily the bloating and food intolerances have returned. I was doing really well in managing my symptoms in the fall of last year (2017) and was working with an Ayurvedic practitioner in Chicago who was coaching me through an 8 week program to help me “reset.” I felt wonderful when I was following the Ayurvedic lifestyle! But then I started traveling in January, and once that happened, and my body was out of its new routine, many of my symptoms returned.
The symptoms listed above would come and go, and I believe were reacting to the change in environment, foods, travel schedules and time zones and I’m sure other environmental factors (water quality, exposure to toxins, who knows what else!). I also believe I probably didn’t follow the regimen the practitioner had me on long enough to truly heal my gut and digestive tract.
Nonetheless, I’m ready to focus on getting my body back to a healthy and vibrant state.
So what am I doing?
I decided to go back to my Ayurvedic practices because it’s an ancient, holistic lifestyle, that resonates with me. Today I’m on day 6 of my new routine.
I was introduced to Ayurveda during my studies at the Chopra Center and have already incorporated many of the practices into my daily life (more to come later).
I could write a whole blog post explaining Ayurveda, but here is a great article from the Chopra Center that summarizes the practice.
I ended up getting connected with Dr. David Jameson who owns Blue Lotus Healing Center in Flint, MI when I moved home. We met a few months back, and when I returned from Europe he was one of my first calls.
I went in for a consultation and he confirmed that I don’t have strong agni (digestive fire) and that I have excess ama (basically toxins in my body). He was able to determine this based on the symptoms I told him I had, looking at my tongue, listening to my pulse and examining my nails. Our bodies tell a story, especially when it comes to determining what’s going on inside.
So what’s my regimen.
Ayurveda teaches that it’s important to keep our body in a circadian rhythm, so I wake up, go to bed and eat my meals at roughly the same time every day. I’m waking up at 6:30 AM everyday. Unless it’s an Ashtanga yoga morning. In which case, I get up at 5:08 AM for the 5:30 AM class. Very precise, I know. I go to bed at 10 PM and eat dinner before 7 PM.
The first thing I do after waking up is drink ginger tea (water “marinated” with grated ginger) + 1 tsp ghee.
Then I do my breathing exercises and meditate (this happens after yoga on yoga mornings). I do 7 minutes of alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana) and 200 Kapalabhati breaths.
I have a formula Dr. David mixed specifically for my symptoms which I take before every meal. I have two other herbal remedies I take at meal time as well. My diet consists of all warming foods. I only eat 3 meals a day (no snacking) in order to let my digestive system rest.
I dry brush about 4-5 times a week and then follow a practice called Abhyanga, or self massage with oil.
I’m using Nasya oil twice a day (This is when you put oil in your nostrils. Sounds kinda weird, but it’s a thing).
I do tongue scraping every morning. Here is the fancy contraption I use. This practice is amazing by the way!
I’m incorporating a lot of herbs and spices into my diet that are being used as my “digestive enzymes” vs taking supplements for this. For example, cumin, cilantro, coriander, cinnamon, mustard seeds, turmeric, cardamom and many more, are now my best friends.
Throughout the day I’m drinking the ginger tea and only warming drinks. Of course I can’t have caffeine or alcohol, but that isn’t hard for me to take out anymore.
No raw or cold foods right now (bye bye morning smoothie). I can technically have dairy and grains according to Ayurveda, but I find these don’t settle well with me, so I’m leaving those out for now, along with other foods that can aggravate my Vata imbalance (read more about the doshas here).
This probably seems overwhelming for anyone not familiar with Ayurveda, but honestly, I was already doing more than half of these things regularly and I’ve easily found ways to follow this lifestyle without making any major changes to my day (i.e. I meditate for 20 minutes in the morning vs 30 so I can fit in 10 minutes of breathing exercises).
I know I’ve bombarded you with loads of information, but I wanted to share my health journey with all of you in hopes I can encourage you to look at your health holistically, with the mind body connection in mind (assuming you aren’t already). So over the course of the next several weeks I’ll be including updates about my Ayurvedic journey on Facebook and my blog.
If you’re interested in learning more about Ayurveda and what I’m doing, please reach out! I can’t give you specific advice on how to achieve your health goals, but I’m happy to share my experience with you or connect you with an Ayurvedic Practitioner who can assist you. It’s really important you work with a professional when it comes to your health as each person is unique and will have a specific regimen for their symptoms. Please don’t try to follow my regimen verbatim as it might not work for you.
Here’s to living in vibrant health. Namaste!
P.S. The picture for this blog post is from my very first Chopra Center retreat, where my Ayurvedic journey began.