Ayurveda Medicine the Balance between Mind, Body & Spirit
Beauty of Ayurvedic Wisdom
Ayurveda is a beautiful detailed system of medicine that never ceases to amaze me. As the science model broadens and there is more research and awarenes on the mecahnisms of the body, there has never been an incident where I have had to reject what has been written so many years before the ancient texts. A timeless wisdom that continues to reveal it’s pearls.
Model of the mind and body
The mind and body and so closely inter-related that it still amazes me that the model for supporting mental and physical health has not changed more to adapt to it.
A simple task of how we view our food can demonstrate the role of the mind and body. 2 people eating the same piece of cake view it differently. For one it is a delicious slice of cake they are excited to savour, for another they see it as calories, high in sugar and fat, gluten and dairy to disrupt their gut along with their intent desire eat it all up.
Simply by viewing the cake as a potential threat the brain sends messages to the gut. There is a sense of heightened alert as we send signals of stress and threat. When we move to a more sympathetic nervous system dynamic, where we percieve the world around us as danger, the body manages our systems by turning up the ones that are useful and turning down the ones that are not. Whether I can digest a cake or not is not going to be of any use in a state of danger so my body suppresses the release of digestive juices to hinder digestion. Guess what happens? That piece of cake that I was worried about eating and disrupting my digestion now has less digestive secretions to break it down and so most probably does not get digested and causes me digestive issues! Simply due to my thoughts.
Ayurveda always incorporates the role of the mind in our overall health. It includes daily rituals of care as part of a normal day. From prayers of gratitude upon waking, to internal cleansing with mantras and meditation post baths. Meals begin with gratitude and prayers this allows us to connect our selves with the larger universe, to appreciate how for a meal to reach the table it has come due to the labour of love of so many others. The gratitude to God to provide us with the meal. In the prayers and gratitude we shift our bodies from a state of sympathetic stress response to one of relaxation. We encourage the digestion to become optimal. We have connected the mind, body and spirit.
Throughout the daily and seasonal routines the moments of care for our mind and souls and sprinkled throughout. Applying scents to our body, to stimulate our olfactory bulb and release neurotransmitters to support our mood, walks in nature, walking bare foot early in the morning. Bedtime rituals away from lights and stimulation. Massage techniques.
Ayurveda has so intelligently, to the point of perfection combined the importance of the mind, body and soul throughout it’s teachings. Connecting our emotions to illnessess and connecting our breath to our health.
The wisdom never ceases to amaze me.
