Latest and Greatest: HYPOTHESIS and EXPERIMENT

If I practice dry brushing (pre shower) and utilize medicated oil massage (post shower), I will be able to mitigate the uncomfortable symptoms of a seasonal pitta rash.

Materials used:

  • Bamboo dry brush with semi-soft bristles
  • Coconut Oil
  • Sesame Oil
  • Lavender Essential Oil

 

**Note: All oils used in this experiment were organic in order to avoid any chemical residues**

For a period of 21 consecutive days, dry brushing and medicated oil massage were practiced to help minimize the effects of a seasonal pitta rash. Dry brushing techniques were utilized by brushing toward the heart in order to stimulate the lymphatic system, provide light exfoliation to the skin, and aid in excreting toxins. This practice was done on the entire body, not just the affected areas. Immediately following the dry brushing a shower was taken using warm (not hot) water and a mild cleansing soap for sensitive skin. I do not use any shampoos or conditioners that contain harmful phalates, parabens, or sulfate/sulfites because they irritate my skin. After the shower, 3 -4 drops of lavender essential oil was added to a tablespoon of coconut or sesame oil, applied to each limb, and massaged gently for a few minutes. In the first half of the experiment coconut oil was used (10 days). In the second half of the experiment sesame oil was used (11days).

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Latest and Greatest: FINDINGS/CONCLUSION

It seems there are many factors influencing the frequency and severity of this seasonal pitta rash. I have been able to control/mitigate it using newly found techniques and knowledge; therefor my results support the original hypothesis. However, throughout the duration of this experiment I tried to focus on eating properly, drinking detox CCF tea, and minimizing the consumption of alcohol. There were a few instances during the experiment where a combination of stress, eating too much meat/gluten containing products, and drinking a few too many glasses of wine or beer caused inflammation of the rash. I know now that this seasonal rash is very influenced by what goes into my body, not just on it. I’ve always presumed this to be true and this experiment has confirmed this to be true. Going forward, I will practice a self-care routine that fits my doshic constitution and addresses any imbalances I may be having at that specific time.

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Experimenting in Gratitude

Achieving more happiness through gratitude is a well-documented concept these days. But that doesn’t make it any less worthy of an experiment. In fact, what an improvement to the world it would be if we all experimented with more gratitude in our daily routine. That is what this Axis Yoga Teacher Training student did for the Ayurveda portion of the course. Each student experiments with a chosen Ayurvedic concept to see how it effects their daily lives. While the results may not be surprising, they are certainly exemplary.

 

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Experimenting in Gratitude: Observation and Hypothesis

Observation: I have a tendency to rush, taking moments, meals and other aspects of my days for granted, which leaves me feeling stressed, impatient and out of balance.

Hypothesis: Beginning my day with a gratitude practice and weaving gratitude into my daily routine (with mindful eating and a bedtime gratitude practice), would help me slow down, appreciate what I have, and process experiences (including meals) in a more balanced way.

 

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Experimenting in Gratitude: Structure

I. Begin each day with the following prayer (from my spiritual tradition) by the Dalai Lama:

Every day,

think as you wake up:

Today I am fortunate to have woken up.

I am alive.

I have a precious human life.

I am not going to waste it.

I am going to use all my energy to develop myself,

to expand my heart out to others,

to achieve enlightenment for

the benefit of all beings.

I am going to have

kind thoughts towards others.

I am not going to get angry,

Or think badly about others.

I am going to benefit others

as much as I can.

II. Consider, before eating, what exactly I am eating (i.e ingredients, potential doshic impact, source, the food’s process of arriving on my table) and express gratitude for it. Chew thoroughly with awareness.

III. Before bed, consider my day and things for which I am grateful.

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Experimenting in Gratitude: Results

Daily routine, gratitude, and deliberate (i.e. mindful) eating are all prescribed in Ayurveda for helping create or restore balance. It felt important to me, in designing my experiment, to start at the very beginning of my daily routine and thread the experiment throughout my day, while keeping it simple and avoiding adding too much to my to-do list. I found the design effective towards these ends.

The Dalai Lama’s prayer, mentioned above, is one I find beautiful and manageable. In past years I would start my day reciting it, which helped give meaning and direction to my morning, but recently, until this experiment, I had fallen out of the practice. At first, resuming the recitation felt like reuniting with an old friend, bringing me joy and ease as I reconnected with the lines, but I noticed that it soon became easy for me to skim over the words. For this reason, I chose to deepen the practice by saying the prayer twice each morning, focusing very deeply (often pausing) on one line the second time through, and considering that section of the prayer to be my intention for the day. This was helpful in the moment as it helped me contemplate the words and their particular relevance to me, and to develop insight. For example, I felt an energetic longing to expand my heart to others. The effect of the intention throughout my day was much more subtle; sometimes I forgot it altogether. Most notably, the day I worked with letting go of anger towards others, I became aware of a choice, the moment after my anger sparked, regarding whether or not I would feed it; this was both empowering, and a relief.

The mindful/appreciative eating was the most challenging part of the experiment for me. I was aware that eating is an emotional process for me, but I did not anticipate the level of resistance I felt to mindful eating. I generally enjoyed feeling more connected to the ingredients and sources of my food, but I truly struggled to slow down my eating. In fact, I felt inclined to eat more and faster during the experiment, and often had the experience of “eating my stress”, so to speak. An exception to this was the day we did a vata-pacifying asana practice in class. I had a snack afterwards, and had no trouble slowing down—in fact, I preferred it. This led me to suspect that the more out of balance I am in the direction of vata dosha, the more inclined I am to eat emotionally. Interestingly, knowing this did not reduce my resistance to mindful eating during my experiment. I think that I tend to abuse vata imbalance to get things done when I get overwhelmed or behind on my obligations, and I am neurotically reluctant to let this go. In psychological terms, I use mindless eating to cope, and I need some replacement approaches as well as stress-reduction to help me relinquish such coping.

The evening gratitude practice was a simple and effective way for me to look back on my day, or even into the present moment, through the lens of appreciation, which felt good—grounding, relaxing and accurate. It also cut through some of the inane ruminating I was doing as I went to sleep at night.

 

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Experimenting in Gratitude: Conclusion

I feel that my experiment was successful in slowing me down in general and in increasing my awareness—one, of things I appreciate and two, of how I cultivate doshic imbalance. I plan to continue with the morning and evening gratitude practices and with cultivating awareness of the ingredients and sources of my food, while allowing for a gentle, gradual process of eating more mindfully.

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Exclusive Offer for a Better Life

With a flurry of media messages promoting “exclusive offers” and the next “hot item”, it can be hard to believe that we already have all we need to feel peaceful, content and balanced. But we do. And our breath is our greatest tool for achieving that life. The following paper, written by an Axis Yoga Teacher Training student, is an example of how our breath can significantly change the quality of our lives. Students have the opportunity to conduct experiments to experience the effects of Yogic and Ayurvedic principles to their own lives. This student’s experiment resulted in wonderful awareness of our own power.

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Exclusive Offer: Just Breathe

The Ayurveda experiment that I propose entails practicing diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing, regularly in the morning, prior to sleep and at times of stress or anxiety. I feel anxious and overwhelmed much of the time and I would like to feel more peaceful and serene. After taking the Dosha quiz, found in The Complete Book of Aryuvedic Home Remedies, by Vasant D. Lad, I understand that my constitution type is mostly Vata. According to Aryuvedic medicine, my anxiety and stress is caused by an imbalance of Vata. If I find ways to bring my Vata into balance, then I will feel less anxious and more peaceful.

My Hypothesis is that, by practicing belly breathing to start and end the day, at times when I begin to feel anxious or overwhelmed, will allow me to experience clarity and calmness and be able to balance my emotions and attain a sense of peace and serenity.

Because stressful situations and the feelings of anxiety can strike at any time and be quite sudden and unexpected, any methods that I employ to calm myself must be easily accessible, portable – requiring few props, and must be available to be performed anywhere at any time. I plan to start my day and end my day on a calming and positive note by using reflection and belly breathing. As feelings of stress and anxiety develop throughout the day, I plan to use belly breathing to calm my nerves and bring myself back to a sense of peace.

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Exclusive Offer: Keep Breathing

To start my day in a peaceful and grounding manner, I begin by reflecting on my intention for the day and consider what I would like to accomplish, what I have accomplished so far and what still needs to be accomplished. This helps to order my thoughts and to provide a plan of action for the day. I express gratitude for the people I care for, all of the wonderful things in my life and say a prayer for those individuals who are experiencing difficult situations and send wishes of good will and good energy their way.

Having a great deal of training in dance, belly breathing does not come naturally to me as dancers are taught to hold their core in and up. Allowing my belly stick out seemed very odd and rather difficult at the beginning. I practiced this breathing technique by lying on my back with a foam block placed on my abdomen over my navel. This allowed me to watch the rise and fall of the block as I breathe, to become accustom to the feeling of letting my abdomen pooch out when inhaling and to fall back when exhaling, and to allow this type of breathing to become natural and flow effortlessly.    Another exercise I use when sitting upright, is to place my palms over my abdomen with my index fingers barley touching. When I inhale, the fingers should pull apart and when exhaling, they should come back together.  This practice is helpful when at work or at other times when I cannot lie down.   When belly breathing, I focus on my breath, trying to extend my exhale to a count of six and then a count of eight, ten and so on. I have been able to comfortably extend my exhale to a count of twelve and am attempting to extend it further.

Before going to sleep, I practice another round of belly breathing and take some time to settle in and reflect back on my day, how it met with my original intention, what good things happened and what I would do differently. This practice has proved grounding and relaxing and I feel a sense of serenity when falling asleep.

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