Namaste from Bali 🦎
In my most recent blog post, I stressed how important it is this season to pay extra care and attention to the nervous system! Taking the time to slow down, establishing an unwavering, solid self-care routine in the mornings, being selective with food choices, and other Ayurvedic tips for managing health in the Fall season! If you missed that, it's a must-read! You can read that here!
So adding on to what we discussed in September, I am here to offer more tips and suggestions for this current season! We are already into November, heading into late Fall and before you know it early Winter. Keep reading, choose a few favorites, and make it a strong intention to establish a solid routine around these tips. In doing so, you'll be ready and grounded as you enter the season of rest and reflection, Winter!
Just as a reminder, let me quickly list the common causes of imbalance and dis-ease:
Time of day & time of year (actual seasonal effects and changes, we already discussed).
Over or underuse of the sense organs (which we will get into in this post).
Crimes against wisdom: Actions or activities pertaining to body, speech, and mind.
Let's dig in a little....
☝ As discussed in our last post, each season comes with its own set of qualities. When we don't live in rhythm with these changes by counterbalancing the qualities of the season with our lifestyle and food choices, we fall sick or ill with common seasonal imbalances such as cold, flu, seasonal allergies, depression, and anxiety. Time of day implies the same idea, such as eating dense and heavy foods at night causing GI imbalance or discomfort, having caffeine at the wrong hour, causing insomnia or restlessness, etc. Remember ☝ Living in rhythm is about paying attention and responding to the changing qualities of the season to avoid or prevent mental and physical issues caused by the drastic changes in the season (whether in Nature or seasons in your life. It applies to both)!
☝ Over or underuse of the sense organs. I absolutely love talking about the senses because they are too often overlooked and not considered when discussing mental health management and regulating the nervous system, yet our sense organs directly affect the nervous system.
Soothing the senses is soothing to the nervous system. Overwhelming the senses is overwhelming to the nervous system.
Digesting too much information from the sense organs (eyes, ears, tongue, skin, nose) is taxing to the nervous system and usually takes a toll on the sense organ itself after chronic overuse. Example: red, dry itchy eyes after too much screen time, perfumes and scented lotions irritating the skin and even developing a sensitivity or allergic reaction, ringing in the ears after chronic overexposure to loud noises (tinnitus anyone?).
Here are some ways you can soothe your senses this season (hint: pick some faves and create a routine around them).
Ears:
Honor silence
Notice the quality of music you listen to, notice the quality of the news you listen to. Is it appropriate for the time of day and mental state? Angry lyrics that exacerbate irritation? Upbeat music feeding anxiety or too many lyrics in nighttime music making it hard to sleep or relax? Do you excessively or routinely follow disturbing news or partake in gossip, even if just listening?
Eyes:
The most obvious: decrease screen time.
Notice the quality of what you watch and what feelings or sensations the images you often look at produce in the body. Does it create a feeling of fear or doom, irritation, hate or disdain?
Everything you look at seeps into your subconscious and is stored. Everything you hear seeps into your subconscious and is stored.
Tongue:
Stick to natural and unrefined foods without added artificial flavors, white sugar, or excessive salt. Acclimate your taste buds to the lighter sensations of food in their natural form.
Speech: practice healthy speech and in moderation. Notice how much you talk from day to day, notice how much you criticize, judge, and/or gossip.
Honor quietude!
Skin:
Oil to the skin protects the aura AND is soothing to the nerve endings. Not body oil off the shelf from bath and body works, OK? Please avoid conventional lotions and moisturizers. Keep it natural. Here are some great oils to use this season, feel free to add a few drops of essential oil if you want a little fragrance or aromatherapy:
Sesame
Almond
Jojoba
Protect the skin from harsh wind and cold.
☝ Here are my top two favorites for this Vata season:
Nose:
Reduce the use of products containing artificial fragrances.
Minimize the consumption of onion and garlic in the diet to lessen the need for deodorant.
Keep your environment clean and fresh with herbs, incense, candles, sage, cedar wood, palo santo, cinnamon, maybe some plants, etc.
Perform Nasya and use a neti pot when needed
Here are the two Nasya oils love the most:
3. ☝ Last but not least, crimes against wisdom. This one is a no-brainer for us, yet we overlook it on a daily and because well, "easier said than done." Since you have fed the sense organ of sight by reading nourishing information pertaining to your wellness, let us give the ears some love! Take a listen to my recent podcast episode about 'crimes against wisdom 🎙'. Listening to a discussion or "talk" is a great way to awaken the self to information already known but forgotten. I invite you to eat with your ears and digest this divine reminder, take immediate action and accountability! Don't forget to congratulate yourself for noticing! Enjoy 🎧
Self guru'd,
~Shi 🛸