Ayurvedic Tips and Reminders- Three Ways to Get Out of Your Mind

Welcome to my weekly blog. Glad you took the time to be inspired, stay connected and engaged with your self-care.

I committed to sharing my inspiration and this is something I just started on Instagram- “Flower Notes.

I love flowers of all kinds, their colors, shapes, insides and outsides, and how they express themselves. I find inspiration and joy in looking and taking photos of them. I even offer flower arranging and garland making at a meditation center once a month as a service to the community. I always look forward to my turn. I often paint from my flower photos as it helps me stay connected to the joy I feel when I photograph them.Flowers offer a spontaneous love free from anything in return. Simply put, they share their bliss!

This past week our son Zack, 28 years of age, visited us from Baltimore Maryland for a  few days after Mother’s Day. We always seem to pack in our walks, cultural events, eating out, cooking in, and always a fun day trip. This time we visited Sautee Nachoochie, a village about 100 miles from Atlanta, once a ceremonial ground for Native American Indians. The rich fields of greenery, mountains, farmland, and a unique folk art pottery museum, along with listening to Zack’s favorite cooking podcast in the car, made our family day rich with fun and delight.  We stopped at an organic farm on the way back, watched the goats running across the field and picked up a dozen fresh eggs from the barn to take home. This flower was on a tree right on our hiking trail. I was drawn to the orange glow it emanated.

I am happy to share it with you.

In the west, we think of the mind as located in the brain. In Ayurveda and eastern philosophy, the mind is not only located in the channel of the heart but in all channels of the body( mind/body connection) or Sanskrit word “strotas”- bodily channels. As I press a point on my client’s leg and she cries, a memory is activated. How is that? Because she stored a sad or negative memory in her body/mind and when pressed it activated the emotion. Hasn’t this happened to you? You went for a massage and the therapist massaged your back for example and a memory was activated from when you were beaten as a child. That’s dramatic but very true in fact. Recently a client who came in for a Marma session had a swollen foot. She had enough with taking prescription drugs. The point most blocked on her ankle was the one related to ” prana” to the mind. After our session, we talked and through some questions discovered she had been very depressed- having stored deep grief for many years about her adoption and had a general sense of feeling ungrounded, afraid to take the next step. When I  reflected these possibilities back to her she cried ” in the truth” and her healing process had begun.Leading with fear was how she lived and she could not go on anymore like this she said. She was once a dancer and our hope is for her to be back to dancing within a month. When doctors look at an ankle as separate from the whole true healing cannot take place.

Every marma point along the front and back of the body offers a powerful access point for shifting the energy within the channel of the mind. And in this way, working with the marma points can be a very effective way of working with the “strotas” of the mind.

In his book, Ayurveda and the Mind: The Healing of Consciousness, Dr. David Frawley states, “Health problems, whether physical or mental, are not merely personal problems, but energetic problems in the mind-body complex. They are not so much personal or moral failings as an inability to harmonize the forces within us.”[19]

How can we harmonize these inner forces? The word “Ayurveda” means the science of self-knowledge. First, by knowing your mind/body type- vata, pitta, or kapha or any combination of two of them or even three of them. Learn your mind/ body type at my upcoming event- see below.

These are “three” simple tips (tridoshic- for all three types)- to get out of your mind and find more peace and joy:

1. The word meditation is scary for some. ” I can’t meditate, I have too many thoughts”. ” I have no time, my cat jumps on me, my kids get up early”. Do you know you are actually in a state of meditation all the time? Your consciousness is aware of what you’re  thinking what you are doing as the witness of your mind. That awareness is pure, timeless, eternal without thought. Meditation is such a healing process- it strengthens your connection to your own self-awareness, your own heart. It allows you to heal emotional pain by giving you the strength to simply be with it and acknowledge it- in that space there is compassion. You may try it out on this app- Insight Timer. It’s not only free but it has meditations to suit anyone’s needs, time or sensory preferences. This valuable practice gives your mind a broader view than the narrow glasses it is used to seeing the world from. There is a bigger picture you can tap into.
2.  Walking in nature with the wonder of seeing it for the first time is miraculous for the mind. It nourishes your entire being with colorful light. For me, it’s a time I cherish daily so that I can listen to my inner voice and receive guidance. Some say ” it’s  taking a shower that does it for me”- usually the pitta types. Think of something you do that creates ” no mind” and make it part of your daily life. It could be daydreaming, or walking through the mall as one woman shared, gardening, dancing or listening to music. A fun game of mahjong works too- A playful walk with your dog.
3.  The act of creating brings a certain distraction to the everyday repetitive thoughts that rattle through our minds. A fresh canvas or paper offers endless possibilities and opportunities. You don’t have to paint to be creative- simply having fun with putting together a new outfit or arranging some fresh flowers, painting a room a new color or taking photos and posting on Instagram is a time where you may leave your normal thinking behind and open to a more playful and fun space. Creativity has been documented by various psychologists to reduce feelings of grief, loss, anxiety and stress and even help people to get off antidepressants.

‘The quality of our life depends on the quality of our mind,’ writes Sri Ravi Shankar. We can’t control what happens on the outside but we do have a say over the quality of our mind. No matter what’s going on, if your mind is OK, everything is OK. Right now.”

Can you imagine the world where we think from our hearts- with virtues such as compassion, kindness, service, generosity? Yes maybe I am an optimist but it sure beats negativity. I didn’t arrive here without going through the darkness.

I think this is why Nike is so popular… “just do it”.

If you’d like to share your inspirations please post on Gedalia Healing Arts facebook page… thanks,  http://Gedalia Healing Arts. I would love to hear from you or see what you’ve made.

I would love to hear from you or see what you’ve made.

UPCOMING EVENT:

Please join me Sunday June 11th from 11am -12pm at Lululemon Perimeter Mall

Gedalia Genin