resetting my system

Do you ever feel like you are out of balance? As though your operating system needs an update and a reboot (I can't believe I'm using computer lingo!)?

This past weekend I certainly felt like hitting the "reset" button. I think that I've been feeling this imbalance that has been slowly building up over time as a result of some not-so-great habits.

I've been reading a little bit about Ayurveda (translates to "the science for longevity"). I'm not reading any particular books, just websites for now - such as this one and this one. I've always wanted to study Ayurveda a bit more systematically, but my "main" area of study has been my priority. I have a feeling I'll just be a perpetual student of life. After I get those elusive three letters behind my name, I'd like to study yoga more fully again, as well as Ayurveda, and photography, a new language, and....

Ok, back to my imbalance. As I wrote about in this old post, I believe my predominant dosha (mind-body-state) is vata. Lately, I've been feeling very distracted and unable to focus, both during work and rest periods. I toss and turn at night, thus affecting my energy level and alertness the following day.

I also started thinking about times in which I felt my system was in balance - when I felt energized, alert, creative, and rested. As I reflected more, the list below started making more sense to me...

Source

I would say the second bullet point has been difficult for me: maintain a consistent daily routine. As I no longer have a regular 8-5 day job and work at home most of the time (except for 2 days on campus), structuring my time productively has been a challenge. When I did work a regular job, I was busybusybusy and yet I made time for movement and creative outlets as well as social activities and volunteering. My life was full.

It's because I had a consistent schedule. Consistency is grounding. This tip sounds like a no-brainer, but it's amazing how much of a lifestyle change working at home is. On some days, I have tried to actually get dressed in the morning as though I were going to work, even if it was a work-at-home day. I've heard of other work-at-home folks who really get dressed in corporate attire, have a separate physical space for working at home, and only get out of their home office to take a scheduled lunch break and scheduled breaks in between. And they swear by it as being effective. Wow - that's a lot of discipline! With my work-at-home situation, it's been all too easy to lounge in comfy yoga pants with my messy bed-head while working... and it's been all too easy to get distracted.

Keep exercise gentle and regulated. I have been thinking about this one too, especially after reading a friend's blog post about exercise (a great read!), particularly on increasing stimulation and exercise intensity to stay challenged and continue strengthening muscles. But I suppose I can still challenge myself and increase intensity in gentle ways. Especially thinking about how I'm (a) already in my thirties and losing bone density right this minute, and (b) osteoporosis runs in my family - I do need to incorporate more challenging exercises into my routine, while listening to the needs of my body. I've been doing the 21-day yoga challenge to keep myself inspired and motivated rather than sticking to my same old routine of only favored poses. It truly is important to mix it up and practice poses you don't like as much (as long as they are still safe and appropriate for you) to stimulate other muscles not otherwise challenged, and to challenge the mind as well (hello, revolved triangle). Last weekend's yoga challenge video was a lot of core work (it felt more like Pilates!), and boy did I feel it the next day - only goes to show how much I've neglected my core.

On sleep... Last week, I was also on a better sleep schedule. I got 7-8 hours of good sleep and started my days earlier than usual. And then the weekend rolls around... and I slept in both days, resulting in a lot of tossing and turning the following night. I'm feeling the effects of that now. I think that there's room to be forgiving in terms of my sleep schedule on the weekend, but sleeping in for maybe 30 minutes later than usual is probably more reasonable than sleeping in for 2 hours past my weekday wake-up time. 

"Express your creativity in focused and satisfying ways and allocate space and time for this." I like this piece of advice. I know I do better overall when I have a creative outlet - whether it has to do with food or photography, or even just home design/improvement and rearranging things at home in artful ways.

"up at the trees" original print by this friend, printed in wallet size and arranged asymmetrically in multiples

How do you stay balanced?

mind on overdrive: vata imbalance

It happened again... I could not turn my thoughts off last night, despite often-used strategies of listmaking, breathing exercises, putting my legs up the wall, etc. Finally at 2 or so in the morning I felt a grumbling in my stomach, and went to the kitchen for a mug of almond milk. Went back into my bedroom, and I did the worst thing of all: I turned on my computer.

Well, I figured that if I was going to be up, I might as well do something. So I did two things: looked at recipes, and read about Ayurveda. The first thing led me to this wild rice recipe, and to this other recipe for wild rice rissoles (trust the French to make everything sound elegant) and to another recipe for raisin and spice squares. Mmmm.... fall cooking.

But back to Ayurveda. I've been reading quite a bit (the little I can do in my minimal spare time) to inform myself about my current state of imbalance. My search led me to take this dosha quiz. Your dosha is your mind-body state. You may have a clear dominant dosha, or a combination. Your dosha can also change depending on your current life circumstances. There are three types: vata, pitta, and kapha. Take this quiz here to find out. It may or may not be as good as actually going to a trained Ayurveda specialist, but it was, after all, 2 in the morning.

And these were my results:

It's starting to make sense to me.

The only thing I completely disagree with is the part about appetite: "often miss meals." Not this vata. ;-)

Most of it sounds pretty accurate, I'd say... especially the qualities of a balanced vs imbalanced vata. On good days my creativity flows freely... on imbalanced days, overplanning, overthinking, insomnia and anxiety definitely kick in.

So now what? Ayurveda, being a holistic, integrative system, also recommends daily life choices that keep your dosha in balance: food choices, exercise choices, and other daily routines. For my dosha, warming foods were recommended (cooked grains or oatmeal with warming spices like cinnamon; chai with cardamom, cloves, ginger, cinnamon; warm soups and stews.... all of which I love). Grounding exercise choices, such as yoga and moderate walking, were also recommended. Balancing poses, especially, provide a feeling of integration from the top of head, all the way through the body, and down to the feet. No wonder I love dancer pose and balancing sequences. More below from the website:

Needless to say, all of the above would be beneficial for anybody, I think.

This is certainly just the tip of the iceberg... there's so much more to learn. It definitely makes for interesting reading at 2 in the morning.

Thoughts on Ayurveda?