In Ayurveda, the mind is one of the three pillars on which life rests and operates, along with the physical body & the soul. Just as there are TRIDOSHAS (three bio-physical energies) that govern the physical body - VATA, PITTA, KAPHA - there are TRIGUNAS (three energetic qualities) that govern our consciousness or state of mind - SATVA, RAJAS, TAMAS. [You can read more about this topic here]
The definition of health includes a pure and pleasant state of mind, or as it's called in Ayurveda SATVA: pure, light illuminating, and knowledge giving. You can think of the qualities RAJAS (hyperactivity, encouraging, changing) and TAMAS (inertia, covering, inhibiting, slowing), as vehicles for moving & stopping, or speeding up & slowing down, respectively. So these vehicles can cause the mind to be vitiated out of our baseline, which is a peaceful state of Satva.
People who are higher in Rajasic & Tamasic qualities in the mind are more prone to mental disturbance. The heightened state of these two weakens our Satva, making it harder to come back to homeostasis, which aggravates Rajas & Tamas even further. This leads to recurring recollection of negative memories, false perceptions, inaccurate analysis, irrelevant thoughts, mis-judgements, wrong decisions, inability to recognize truth and fact, and a failure to restrain negative memories and thoughts. These sequences repeat and eventually result in minor to major mental and/or physical illnesses, like anxiety disorders.
SO… how do we combat this very common and now normalized condition in our modern society?
Well, there are only 3 ways that the mind metabolizes:
Through our PRANA (breath)
Nourishment through food
Impressions from the sense organs (tongue, nose, ears, eyes, skin). When the mind comes into contact with external objects, it assumes the shape and form of that object.
So I've incorporated those, but also, I’m going to draw from the ancient knowledge of the 5 mindfulness practices that stabilize the mind (see #3 on the list below).
Here are my top 5 tips for calming anxiety, starting from the most important!
PRANA – vital life force.. our breath This is the most important of all the tips I will share with you. As someone who used to struggle with major panic disorder before studying Ayurveda, I used to roll my eyes at my Ayurvedic Doctor… how is me consciously breathing more going to help alleviate my mental problems? Ayurveda knows that the HEART is the physical seat of the mind. And the BREATH has a direct effect on our heart; and therefore, is the gateway to our minds. SLOWING DOWN the breath calms the mind. MAKING YOUR EXHALES LONGER than your inhales, and even pausing for a few seconds before the next inhale, has now been *proven via Western science* to agree with the ancient Eastern knowledge of this. It takes, on average, 3 months of consistent breathwork practice for 20 minutes/daily before you see significant changes… but those months are going to pass anyway, so you might as well try it ;) And if you are new to this practice, start with 2-5 minutes, working your way up a few minutes weekly, until you reach 20 minutes. If you have a day where you only have time for 5 minutes THAT IS OKAY – 5 minutes are better than none! These are the breathwork techniques I recommend to my clients with anxiety:
4-7-8 COUNT I recommend this one to all of my clients who are new to breathwork & meditation. Counting gives the mind something to focus on. Making the exhales longer and pausing after the exhale have shown to rapidly slow down the heart rate, calming the mind a lot faster by stimulating your parasympathetic nervous system (the one needed to rest & relaxation.. and digestion!). How lucky are we to have direct access to something so freaking easy?
NADI SHODANA: alternate nostril breathing This breathwork CHANGED MY LIFE1 It was the only type of breathwork that wouldn’t remind me of having a panic attack when I first started practicing. It specifically helps to balance the left and right hemispheres of the brain, so it helps if you struggle with other mental imbalances too.
BRAHMARI: humming bees breath / monkey’s breath This breathwork helps close off the senses to better promote concentration, soothe the mind, alleviate anxiety, and improve restless sleep. The humming also tones the vagus nerve! And there are no contraindications for this one – anyone can do it, at any time!
SHEETALI/SHEETKARI: cooling breath This soothing breathwork cools the physical body, which helps stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and move the body into a more calming state. Use it especially for when you are feeling “mentally hot” and experiencing frustration, irritability, anger, or even hanger.
2. Nutrient dense & grounding foods
Healthy fats: There was this whole American craze to take fat out of our foods at one point because we thought it was “bad” for us. But really, the consistency of the physical brain needs nourishment from fat. In fact, the most similar substance to our physical brains found in any food is GHEE, and is therefore the most nourishing. This is my favorite brand, but any organic ghee preferably stored in a glass container works. If you are vegan or simply don’t like the taste, substitute coconut oil, but you can also include pure avocado oil and unheated olive oil in your diet. Ideally, per day, this works out to be 1TBS healthy fat/oil (~1tsp/meal), a handful (your own hand!) of soaked & peeled almonds, walnuts, or pistachios, and plenty of seeds!
Grounding foods: These would be your “heavier” vegetables and grains, in order to ground the physical body, which can and will in fact ground the mind. Root veggies like sweet potato, beets, radishes, carrots, etc., veggies with more water weight like zucchini squash & cucumber, and whatever grains your digestive system can tolerate (basmati rice, barely, quinoa, etc). Remember, the second way the mind metabolizes is with nutrient dense food. You can think of anxiety as most similar to the elements of VATA (air + space), and so we need balance by incorporating nutrition to keep Vata grounded. Healthy oils add in heat from Pitta to warm up Vata’s coldness, and the heaviness from Kapha to tie down Vata’s light & flighty nature. Grounding foods add in an Earthy quality from Kapha that help pull the energy back down from our anxious & spacious heads, into our more dense lower body & first few energetic chakras, which closer aligns our physical bodies to the calming vibration of the Earth.
Limit sugar: I know…. :( But hear me out. Sugar (refined sugar in particular) is the #1 thing that any functional neurologist will tell you to avoid for overall brain health. It can aggravate quite the number of symptoms & disorders. When I used to consume a lot of sugar (cookies because I worked at a bakery!), especially before bed, I was having TERRIBLE nightmares from my mind being unable to metabolize it. Ideally, we only want 20g of ADDED sugar a day for optimal brain health. Fruit and other natural sugars (maple syrup, agave, brown rice syrup, date syrup, stevia, monkfruit or coconut sugar) are generally more tolerable, as long as you’re not noticing any negative health effects (anxiety, sugar spikes or shakiness, energy crashes) from them during digestion (3-4 hours after consumption).
Reduce caffeine I don’t think I need to explain why caffeine makes people anxious? It’s an upper. It can make your cortisol spike, which can make you physically & mentally jittery. If you’re a coffee addict, try decaf and/or try mixing your daily coffee with half of a coffee substitute (like this one) to consume less, gradually. Black & green teas also seem to have less of an effect on people in this department, but pay special attention to see what works for you and your system.
Herbal Medicine Discovering the magic of herbal medicine was also a game changer for my mental health. I take adaptogens almost daily, and usually that includes something for mental stability, like this combination. Remember, the difference between an herb and a pharmaceutical is that herbs re-train your body what to do, versus an Rx overriding your system to do it for you. Please see your Ayurvedic Practitioner or herbalist before taking anything you're unfamiliar with. If you'd like to book a consult with me specifically, you can do that here.
3. Mindfulness
This is a general term for any practice or activity that slows down the mind (and often the physical body) in order to bring forth more conscious awareness. According to ancient Ayurveda, the 5 ways to stabilize the mind are as follows:
Through PRANA: breath (which is why I listed it first!)
Practicing non-attachment: not to be confused with DEtachment, this is the practice of not mentally clinging to people, places, things, ideas, etc to the point where it is negatively affecting our mood (and minds). Of course, we are all human beings, and we will naturally become attached to these things. This spiritual practice is more about finding peace and even comfort in life’s inevitable uncertainty.
Meditation (which includes breathwork.. again, why it was listed first) is simply the practice of WATCHING the mind instead of letting it run away with its constant story (thoughts about ourselves & others). There are so many types of meditations, from breathwork to chanting mantras, to walking meditations like Earthing (walking barefoot on the dirt or in the grass without electronics, amongst nature), to laying on a craniocradle, visualization techniques, Somatic body scans/Yoga Nidra/NSDR, etc. You could even bring conscious awareness to Somatic exercises like shaking or bilateral eye movements for a few minutes as your form of meditation. Again, if you’re new to this.. I always recommend starting with breathwork because it gives the mind something specific to focus on. Additionally, when there is something like a count (ie: 4-7-8 Breath) that’s even better for the mind to fixate on. Play around with different styles and see what works best for you!
Concentrating on higher spiritual principles & self-study: WE ARE BUT SPIRITUAL BEINGS HAVING A HUMAN EXPERIENCE!!! To me, Spirituality has more to do with your values as a human being, living with authenticity & integrity of those values, alignment with your soul, and continuing to find the resources & tools needed that support your personal growth & self-study. But in the words of Eckhart Tolle, “Being Spiritual has nothing to do with what you believe and everything to do with your state of consciousness.”
Constant practice & renunciation to control the mind: like any strong muscle, the mind must also be trained. Practice, practice, practice!And remember that a sense of play is ALWAYS more important to overall longevity than any self-imposed ideas of “perfection.”
4. Sensory Stimuli
Going back to the third way we metabolize in the mind, tap into your senses! One of the properties of the mind is that it is minute – it can travel easily and be in more than one place at once (you could be somewhere physically with someone but thinking about your last vacation in Costa Rica).
External impressions from the sense organs (tongue, nose, ears, eyes, skin) allows the mind to assume the shape and form of that object and bring the mind back the present moment (anxiety is often worry about something uncertain in the future).
If you’re feeling anxious, ask yourself:
What can you taste in this moment? (Pro tip: something sour or a lollipop can stimulate your salvation glands will help soothe the vagus nerve). What can you smell? (Are there any delicious flowers nearby? Do you have access to essential oils like Lavender, or a combination like Stress Away for grounding?) What do you hear? (If you can’t hear much, humming also tones the vagus nerve!)
What can you see? (You could even practice some bilateral eye movements here)
What do you feel? (Splashing cold water on your face/neck or rubbing some ice on the wrists will help bring the vagus nerve back to baseline and calm the mind as well)
5. Reduce screen time !
I saved this one for last because I know it’s such a hot topic… Prolonged screen use, in general, causes minute eye strain, which tells the body to move into a sympathetic state. This increases our heart rate, shortens our breath, increases blood circulation - all of which tells our body (and mind) that we might be heading into a dangerous situation and putting us on the edge of our nervy nervous systems.
Blue light in the evening disrupts our circadian rhythm, which leads to restless sleep (falling, staying, or lighter sleep patterns). Social media depletes our dopamine and was specifically designed, like video games, to promote addictiveness. Specifically, viewing blue light/social media first thing in the morning spikes our dopamine, telling our bodies that we need more and more and more… affecting our ENERGY and more importantly, our moods. Dopamine depletion from social media has become a real issue in the mental health of our society, especially for the younger generations.
These are my personal rules that I have experienced to make a major effect on my mood when it comes to this:
“Dopamine Fasting”: avoiding my phone for the first 90 minutes of the day, and instead of blue light, opting for natural sunlight
Trying to be as mindful as possible when I am consuming media (TV/phone use). A good tell is, is it contracting or expanding my breath?
Wearing blue light blocker glasses around 8/9pm, putting my phone away an hour before my intended bedtime (and keeping my phone on DND, airplane mode, and at least 4 feet away from my head), and using red light therapy before bed (to balance the blue light by regulating cortisol production & ATP cells for energy production, as well as promote healing on the area it is being used). Sleep soothes the majority of mental health issues. I know for me I am a completely different person when I don’t get a sold night of sleep, and so it is one if not the #1 thing I prioritize for my health. Food is nourishment for the physical body. Sleep is nourishment for the mental body. It is where we allow our minds (and our hearts) to rest. It is the place where we process emotions, which can help alleviate recurring emotions, like anxiety. And it is how we allow ourselves to reset and begin again each day anew.
I am wishing you all ease, anxiety reduction, and all the mental stability on this rainy, winter evening. I hope you are taking good care of yourselves. Always feel free to shoot me a message on IG or email if you have any questions about Ayurveda, or anything else I practice.
I am sending you so much love,
Catherine
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