Tag Archive for: Axis

The Ayurvedic Puzzle: Surroundings

the last part of my experiment was to spend time outside in nature. i now live near a wildlife refuge north of lake waneka. its about 45 min. to one hour at a brisk clip to walk around the lake and back to home. sometimes i sit and listen to the songbirds or watch the pelicans land gracefully on the water. this part was the easiest to maintain as i find i am super-highly motivated to be outside, watching animals, plants, clouds, anything without a silicone circuit, and simply enjoying it…the rain was such a gift the last few days!! how fresh and lovely she poured her gifts out in abundance over all the land!

being outside, away from synthetic structures, surrounded by the patterns, rhythms, cycles, impressions and details of an unselfconscious wilderness, this has always been a blessing, and feels like a gift to me. while i am still surrounded by suburbia here in lafayette, there is a bumper, a bit of space around it. any day i missed walking waneka felt very much like missing pranayama practice, or asana practice. i felt hard, sharp, ‘activated’. the days i walked, i found it was easier to spot and release a destructive thought pattern and easier to engage in new perspectives or ways of approaching challenges. in general, i am less grumpy when outside. i also realized that while i do practice self-massage in general, it is not the quality of massage that would counter the flighty effects of a vata constitution. i have not spent the time or energy on my own self as i would for another person. this was under my nose, but until now, not directly in my sight, so to speak.

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The Ayurvedic Puzzle: Conclusion

over all, i find there is ample reason to continue exploring the principles of ayurveda. i am curious what a delicious dosha-satisfying menu would do for my friends and loved ones…thank you for creating this particular opportunity for discovery.

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Example of an Ayurvedic Experience: Introduction

Prior to this experiment I had no idea of my specific dosha, let alone what a dosha is.  Upon completion of the self study Ayurvedic dosha matrix I determined my constitution to be primarily Pitta with some Vata and even less Kapha.  I know this is not a pure scientific analysis, however, it provided sufficient information for this self study (experiment).

Let me begin with a few lifestyle components that will lend credibility and explanation to this self study/experiment:  I am,

Vegetarian (no flesh), gluten free, alcohol free, no tobacco, no substance abuse issues, no sugar (specifically high fructose corn syrup), active lifestyle, clean diet, epsom salt baths, essential oils and regular yoga practice.  These are some of the essential considerations and not totally limited to these lifestyle equation components.

The experiment commenced on Monday, May 2, 2011 and terminated on Friday, May 13, 2011.  Needless to say the results were not expected to be dramatic, however, still insightful and interesting for personal review and evaluation.

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Example of an Ayurvedic Experience: Details

My daily journaling involved food consumption, essential oil application, nightly bathing (shower or Epsom salt bath), waking hour and self massage.  Not to be over looked I added fresh limes, room temperature water (not chilled) and a healthy dose of turmeric, cumin, curry and cinnamon to my daily diet.  As per Beth’s suggestion I did attend two restorative yoga classes during the self study/experiment.  Additionally, I did not attempt to understand or get agitated by any specific situations I found myself involved when the situation seemed somewhat ‘out of control’ or disconnected (ie: line at the bank, line at the grocery store, or any service situation).  Remain calm, breathe deeply and just observe.

Days of specific interest:

May 4:             First extra session taught by Santosh:  Epsom salt bath, essential oils, self massage and reflection on the information (subtle body vayus).  Much deeper meditation (pratyhara) after the class and the evening ritual.

May 6:             Yoga class taught by Santosh: Work prior to and after yoga practice, Epsom salt bath (very hot), essential oils, self massage.  Very hot and unable to cool off after the bath/oils.  Restless evening of sleep.  Not the typical result after the daily routine. No deep meditation.

May 11 and 12:           No caffeine (usually have an AM non-fat latte).  Decided to eliminate my token daily treat (one latte).  No real adverse effects.  No headaches, shakes, abnormal bowel movements or any other noticeable differences (perhaps a little sluggish).  Will decide if I eliminate coffee on a regular basis—stay tuned.  Just need to exercise moderation.

May 13:           Plan on attending Santosh’s 6PM yoga class.  No Epsom salt bath.  Will apply essential oils.  Will work prior to and after the 6 PM yoga class.  Will take note of the differences between today’s routine and last Friday’s evening experience.

The doTerra (www.doterra.com) essential oils used in my daily routine: Peppermint, Wild Orange, Lavender, Melaleuca, Balance (spruce, rosewood, frankincense, blue tansy), Aroma Touch (basil, grapefruit, cypress, marjoram, peppermint, lavender), On Guard (wild orange, clove, cinnamon, eucalyptus, rosemary), Deep Blue (wintergreen, camphor, peppermint, blue tansy, german chamomile, helichrysum, osmanthus) and Citrus Blend (wild orange, lemon, grapefruit, mandarin, bergamot, tangerine, Clementine, vanilla).

Once again, this has been a very interesting component of the Axis Yoga Teacher Training program.

As an aside, prior to the Axis YTT program I did complete my certification in the Aroma Touch essential oil massage technique (certified by doTerra, www.doterra.com).

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Panchakarma: An Experiment in Ayurveda

Students agree that one of the most valuable parts of the Axis Yoga Teacher Training program is the personal experiments. These experiments allow students to experience many yogic principles first-hand. This student practiced Panchakarma, a five-part purification process, for her Ayurveda experiment.

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Panchakarma: The Experience

I chose to practice panchakarma as my experiment, to try and balance my vata-pitta nature.

For the first three days I practiced internal oleation. The first day I used ghee, which gave me terrible stomach cramps. I contacted Beth, who suggested sesame oil, which was much better.  During these 3 days, I also practiced tratak meditation using a ghee flame.  This I found very calming and beautiful.

On the fourth day, myself and three classmates practiced Vamana Dhauti, with instruction and guidance from Santosh.  This was quite an experience.  It was fairly intense, yet left me calm and feeling in somewhat of an altered state for the rest of the day.  I took a 3-hour nap this day, which is very uncharacteristic for me.  I did have, what I believe was, a somewhat delayed effect from this practice.  On days 6-9 I developed what I believe was a vata aggravation.  I had a constant, mild-to-severe headache, which after looking in the Ayurvedic Home Remedies book, I found was a vata-type headache.  I also became irritable and felt a general sense of imbalance.  This, I know, was also a result of me keeping up such a hectic pace in my life since this course began… typical vata-pitta.

On days 4-6, I ate kitchari.  On days 5-12, I practiced abhyanga using sesame oil, each night following a hot shower.  I did the foot and scalp massage with sesame oil each night as well.  I found this practice very calming and warming.

On day 12 I received a Marma massage from Beth, which was lovely and calming.  I felt a fairly dramatic shift in the pranic flow during and after the massage.  I felt like it really opened my breath and my heart.

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Panchakarma: The Results

While I enjoyed all of these practices, and felt like they helped to calm and balance my vata-pitta nature, I felt like I shifted too far at times.  During the second week in particular, I felt quite lethargic.  I took several long naps, which again, is uncharacteristic for me.  I slept until 10 am on several days, which is also very unusual for me.  I abandoned my 5 am sadhana practice, which I have been very consistent with since this course began.  If I did practice sadhana, it was much later in the day and fairly half-heartedly.

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Panchakarma: The Conclusion

What I have gained the most from, throughout this entire course, has been the daily sadhana practice.  This deep spiritual piece has been so transformational for me.  Having lost that during this Ayurveda experiment, has taught me just how important it is for me to try and maintain that piece as part of my daily practice.  If I’ve learned nothing else from this experiment, that particular lesson is invaluable to me.

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Back to the Basics for Better Health

Axis Yoga Teacher Training students have the opportunity to apply specific Ayurvedic practices to their daily lives and track the results of the experience. This student found that the process encouraged the ability to ‘stay conscious.’ And by doing so she was able to learn from healthy practices that had previously fallen away from her routine. Now she reaps the benefits on a continued journey of health.

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Back to the Basics: Introduction

Quite some time ago, I was introduced to ayurveda, the sister science to yoga, by wonderful teachers in the Denver-Boulder area.  But then life took over, and both my yoga and ayurveda practices suffered.  While asana stayed in my life much of the time, pranayama, meditation and ayurveda took a back seat, sometimes not even visible in the rear view mirror.  Rekindling these practices was a key reason for enrolling in the Axis Yoga Teacher Training program.

My prakruti, or inherent natural state, has consistently been classified as pitta dominant, and this was again confirmed by the questionnaire Beth Sanchez included in her YTTP materials: V2/P3/K2.  Pitta personality traits show up quite consistently, including a tendency toward anger (when stressed), perfectionism and successful when focused.  And I have many of the typical Pitta physical traits, such as medium build, smaller eyes, yellowish skin and teeth tones, and a metabolism that runs ‘hot’ making it very uncomfortable to be in temperatures over 85 degrees.  Even so, in my history, I have also been disposed to being vata-provoked at the emotional level (in terms of feeling personally ungrounded or indecisive), and being kapha-provoked in the form of weight gain.  So, there was a definite question as to what to focus on for the personal experiment and what dosha to pacify.

Just as the ayurveda module in the Axis Yoga Teacher Training Program started, an important professional opportunity came up in my legal practice.   I ended up spending almost every waking minute to hone my lawyer brain and skills for this engagement and then needed to play catch up on the ayurveda module.  So, when we needed to start our personal experiment, I grew weary thinking about the past 10 days and my ongoing tendency to extremes.  At first it made sense to keep the experiment simple, something like daily sadhana and abhyanga, self massage.  However, after receiving Beth’s input and catching up with the reading, I realized that such a limited experiment was at odds with my intention for this program.

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