Self care = self love: Conclusion

The more I learn about Ayurveda, the more I love it and it makes sense to me.  From growing up in a very scientific household, this has been a truly new way to view the world and people.  I really like the idea of trying to find balance and that the things we eat and do directly impact our health.

Though I didn’t do a dramatic cleanse or anything, I still feel that my experiment was a success.  I learned a lot and learned that taking care of myself should be number one priority.  The little things in life really do add up.

In moving forward from this, I plan on maintaining the warm milk and oleation routines and trying to build upon the meditation.  I truly struggle with meditation and introspection and maybe the advice I received during this experiment will guide me in the right direction to having a solid practice.

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Adapting to Vata

As part of their introduction to Ayurveda, Axis YTT students have the opportunity to design an experiment around their dosha. This student must make significant diet changes in an effort to be a better balanced Vata. And finds other Vata recommendations to be a pleasant addition to the daily routine.

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Adapting to Vata: Experiment

I have chosen to incorporate several self-care practices and to change my diet for this experiment. I am very Vata and everything I eat is not recommended for a person with a Vata constitution.

Self care

Meditation 30 minutes

Tongue scraping and Gargle sesame oil

Oil massage

Dietary changes

Cook all veggies

Discontinue dry foods, granola, crackers, dried fruit,

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Adapting to Vata: Diet

This doesn’t look like so much, but this is nearly all that I eat. For breakfast I normally eat granola and yogurt with strawberries so I could keep the strawberries, but the rest is out. Lunch was a salad all-raw and crackers dry. Dinner was a little better because I eat meat, or fish and vegetables sometimes cooked and sometimes raw. It has been a challenge and fun to find different foods to eat. I have even cooked a few times. It has been the house chuckle that I do know how a stove works. By the 3rd day of my experiment I could tell a noticeable difference in my digestive track, in the past I had never noticed pain but I did have bloating and discomfort. As a result of the dietary changes it has felt softer or easier and less agitated hard to explain. That 3rd day was Halloween day and I work with an 11year old autistic child so we went trick or treating. The people were so generous, they gave me candy too, and of course I ate it. The next day I had an upset stomach and loose bowels and while this got better, I continued to feel pretty queasy for the next 2 days. . I am not sure if this was related to the junk food or an intestinal virus. During those 2 days I ate vata foods but mostly soft foods soup, applesauce and scrambled eggs. I have been feeling well the last 4 days and since have been eating the Vata diet there is a definite improvement in my digestion. I was hoping there would be no difference and I could return to my old eating style. I will have to look at this and see how I can incorporate these foods into my diet. I still don’t like my veggies cooked and I love granola for breakfast. I hope over time my taste will change and I will grow to enjoy this style of eating.

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Adapting to Vata: Meditation

The self-care portion of my experiment has been much easier. I started meditating a short time ago so I included it in this experiment I think I am making some progress in settling my mind and not having constant chatter all the time. Over the last few months I have increased my meditation to 45 minutes and I meditate nearly everyday.  I have been meditating when I wake up: if I get started with my day it seems much harder to stop and meditate. I have used several different breathing practices and tried several mantras I also attend a Mindfulness meditation class so I have tried different things we have done in class. I have found that I can say a mantra and still have my mind jumping all over the place, I have only just begun and I am going to continue this practice for ever I hope. I think Meditation does help me center and prepare for my day.

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Adapting to Vata: Oral

Tongue scrapping and Gargling with sesame oil; This has been pretty easy to do the gargling with oil was a bit strange at first because it is so thick but after a few times I got used to it. The tongue scrapping was gross as my tongue is coated most mornings. I am not sure if it has improved is now because I didn’t check it before the experiment. This practice has become necessary for me now because if I don’t do it, I feel like I haven’t finished brushing my teeth. I will continue to do both in the future.

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Adapting to Vata: Massage

The oil massage is wonderful I thought it would be oily and messy but the oil soaks in to my skin by the time I finish the massage. This may change as my skin gets more hydrated but for now I plan to continue using the oil on my skin and hair.

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Atmanivedana

One of the lessons learned by Axis YTT students is that people find Yoga through a variety of paths. This student found Yoga through meditation. And when experimenting with the niyama, atmanivedana (or Ishvarapranidhana) the existence of both positive and negative aspects of any chosen path were evident in the experiment.

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Atmanivedana: Intro

My first experiment is focused on Atmanivedana. Atmanivedana is the concept of offering one’s life to god. I decided on this concept because I feel this is the reason why I began yoga and all of my life’s choices and crazy turns have led me to realize that this is the path for me. I have begun to realize over the past 10 years or so that this is an extremely difficult decision to make and to stick with. I have had multiple periods of great insight and constant practice overlapped with months of self loathing and pity. However, even in my darkest moments there is something or someone inside telling me that the right choice is to surrender to god and everything will be ok even when it appears that all of life’s normal structures that you have built up around you begin to crumble after a decade of construction. It is also quite relieving to find that they are not very missed.

I entered into yoga through meditation and a strong need to relinquish pain I was feeling as a teenager. I had a very sick girlfriend and lost multiple friends to drunk driving and drugs and my mind was at a very fragile state. I was lucky enough to realize this and found some great people to lead me to Zen meditation. The structure and intensity was a lot for a sixteen year old with no religious background of any kind and the need for long sittings was nearly impossible for me even though I was a very athletic hockey player at the time. The sittings were so intense that I could not even focus on meditation. Up to then I had never been able to even sit cross legged. I endured the pain for a few years not even knowing that there was a way for relief and there where systems designed for this very problem. Much of my practice was on my own, through books and lectures, because the sittings at the Zen center were just too much. Luckily one day I met Candess and she introduced me to asana practice.

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Atmanivedana: Experiment Design

I have had an off and on mediation practice for many years now. When I begin meditating I dive fully into it and try to meld it into every aspect of my everyday life, or fully surrender to god. When I am off, I am completely off with little attention paid to this crucial aspect to existence. In order to help me stay more focused and remain on the path I believe having multiple different practices  will ensure I can remain in the proper state of mind for longer, and the addition of a daily asana practice in conjunction with mediations would be a great asset and is the focus of my experiment. Another beneficial aspect to adding a daily asana practice is the fact that it will greatly help with the quality of my mediations because I will not be in as much pain.

To complete this experiment I will add a one hour asana practice every morning before my meditation or pranyama. My asana practice will begin with a joint opening series, and then followed by multiple sun salutations that increase in intensity. I will finish with some twists and inversions – mainly headstand and shoulder stand. I will then take a short savasana before my normal mediation practices.  I will keep a journal and make notes every few hours on the level of attentiveness I feel I give to a particular task. I do not have time to break down everything I do but will try to record my attentiveness for physical labor like tasks as well as some detail about relationships and general well-being. I will also make note of the pain level or length of time that I can meditate pain free seated in the cross legged position.

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