Maintain Balance ~ Restore Health
Finding Balance
What is Balance
Work-life balance. Feeling balanced. Balancing life. Balancing work and kids. Balanced diet. Balancing finances. Everyone wants balance! How do we know when we’ve achieved it? Everyone has a different definition of what balance means to them. We can feel when our body and mind are in harmony and peace. On the flip side, we know when we are off balance, even slightly.
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Feeling imbalanced might include moodiness, frustration, exhaustion, anger, irritability, constipation, overly sweaty, scatter-brained, brain fog, physical pains, lethargic and the list goes on. Ayurveda says listen to the body! We often ignore the subtle signs of imbalance in order to get through to the end of each day. The problem is, there often is no end! If we understand what balance is and how we get imbalanced it will prevent us from getting there in the first place.
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Feeling “in balance” is having equal health emotionally, mentally and physically. In Ayurveda, Optimal health or total balance means that your unique combination of energies stays the same throughout life as it did the day you were born.
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We maintain our balance through multiple methods including diet, daily routine, exercise, breathing techniques, the five senses, herbal therapies, even the company we keep. These are the tasks that create our most healthy foundation and from there we can flourish and grow upward. If one of these things is ignored, misused or misaligned, we will go out-of-balance.
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Feeling imbalanced might include moodiness, frustration, exhaustion, anger, irritability, constipation, overly sweaty, scatter-brained, brain fog, physical pains, lethargic and the list goes on. Ayurveda says listen to the body! We often ignore the subtle signs of imbalance in order to get through to the end of each day. The problem is, there often is no end! If we understand what balance is and how we get imbalanced it will prevent us from getting there in the first place.
Feeling “in balance” is having equal health emotionally, mentally and physically. In Ayurveda, Optimal health or total balance means that your unique combination of energies stays the same throughout life as it did the day you were born.
We maintain our balance through multiple methods including diet, daily routine, exercise, breathing techniques, the five senses, herbal therapies, even the company we keep. These are the tasks that create our most healthy foundation and from there we can flourish and grow upward. If one of these things is ignored, misused or misaligned, we will go out-of-balance.
Restoring Balance
The first step in staying healthy is developing awareness of the potential causes of disease so you can avoid them or deal with them intelligently. The second step is taking action to modify causes you can’t avoid or control (such as the weather). The next step is to restore balance once it begins to be lost. The main method for doing this is to apply the opposite quality or qualities.
If you’re cold, have some hot soup or take something warm to drink. If you’re agitated or upset (perhaps you watched that violent movie against your better judgment), sit down and do some meditation to calm your mind and emotions. If your pitta temperament has been provoked and you’re feeling hot under the collar, take a swim or have some sweet cooling fruit.
This principle seems so simple and makes such good sense that it is easy to overlook it in practical daily life. But it is extremely powerful and effective. If you apply it, you will find that you can quickly and effortlessly restore balance to your mind and body.
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The first step in staying healthy is developing awareness of the potential causes of disease so you can avoid them or deal with them intelligently. The second step is taking action to modify causes you can’t avoid or control (such as the weather). The next step is to restore balance once it begins to be lost. The main method for doing this is to apply the opposite quality or qualities.
If you’re cold, have some hot soup or take something warm to drink. If you’re agitated or upset (perhaps you watched that violent movie against your better judgment), sit down and do some meditation to calm your mind and emotions. If your pitta temperament has been provoked and you’re feeling hot under the collar, take a swim or have some sweet cooling fruit.
This principle seems so simple and makes such good sense that it is easy to overlook it in practical daily life. But it is extremely powerful and effective. If you apply it, you will find that you can quickly and effortlessly restore balance to your mind and body.