One of the foundational principles of Ayurveda is finding or restoring balance. It is easy to spiral into a state of high stress when overwhelmed by personal or professional challenges. Practicing Ayurvedic methods for relaxing and reducing stress should become part of your daily routine if you want to find calm and build the energy reserves you need for overcoming every obstacle.
Here are eight Ayurvedic tips for finding mental calm and balance:
Follow an Ayurvedic diet. In Ayurveda, there are three primary energies or doshas that make up each person’s mind and body. The vata dosha, the element of air and movement, is thought to contribute to having a restless mind and a nervous temperament when it is in excess. Grains that balance vata include brown rice and oats, while vegetables including okra, carrots, beets and green beans are also recommended.
Use Ayurvedic therapies. Ayurvedic tradition prescribes a number of treatments for easing physical as well as mental discomfort. These include hot oil treatments that use herbal infusions to rebalance the doshas. Speak to your practitioner about which massage or other treatment will be best for you, according to your dosha combination.
Take Ayurvedic Supplements. Besides having a soothing massage, you can take Ayurvedic herbal supplements that combine all of the best natural ingredients for relieving an over-active, anxious and stressed mind. Make sure that your supplements are obtained from a knowledgeable Ayurvedic practitioner. This will ensure purity and effectiveness
Learn a calming breathing technique. The breath is seen as especially important in Ayurveda. How we breathe directly affects our emotional and mental state. One of the first signs of elevated stress is shallow breathing. Learning a deep-breathing technique will help you use the most basic tool you have, your body, to find mental balance.
Practice Abhyanga (Self-massage). It is best to obtain massage from an experienced Ayurvedic professional who can provide a full, balancing therapy, but you can start each day in a balanced frame of mind by practicing Ayurvedic self-massage techniques.
Meditate. Mindfulness is central to the Ayurvedic tradition. Being focused on the present moment helps to reduce anxiety about the future. Meditation entails reaching a state of purified consciousness that makes banishing stress-causing thoughts easier.
Join a yoga class. The ancient movement form of yoga has long been practiced as a means for finding and maintaining mental balance. The added health benefits of keeping your body supple and your breathing and posture optimal make doing yoga all the more rewarding.
Improve your quality of sleep. Besides helping to balance the doshas, following an Ayurvedic diet and undergoing Ayurvedic therapies will help to increase your relaxation and quality of sleep. Try to get at least seven to eight hours of sleep every night. This helps to keep doshas balanced and gives you optimum energy.
Take our Dosha Quiz. Contact me for your copy or more information on attending one of our courses.
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