This week is PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) Awareness week in the USA. I am not sure if we have such a day in the UK, I couldn’t find any information on it. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the synchronicity when I read this, as it felt that this week’s Ayurveda and Yoga theme aligns so well with the subject.

This week’s theme has been Resilience. We have practiced staying strong and stable by building our connection to the earth element:  mindfulness in our Yoga as a means to build resilience: and steadying the mind in the face of challenge.

There is much talk of trauma these days in the media, on social media and it feels like a good thing, right? Not only the bigger traumas, but also the impact of the apparently little traumas is being discussed, alongside guidance on how to heal and transform their effects upon our health and happiness.

I love this. For too long, so many of us have silently suffered, often unaware that we carry trauma/s.

It’s not my field, of course, but I’d love to point you towards the work of Gabor Mate if this is a subject that interests you. He’s wonderful. And I am very happy to connect you with others in the country and even locally who are working in this field. Please just message me for contacts.

There seems to be a considerable amount of research into the link between the in-built resilience a person may or may not have, and how she/he navigates traumatic experiences.

Yoga and Ayurevda teach us to build resilience in body and mind so that when the inevitable challenges of life arise, we can move through them with less adverse effect on our bodies, hearts and minds.

I’m sure we’d all agree that we live in particularly challenging times. Many of our familiar systems seem to be breaking down, or at least not functioning as we knew them. We have the cost-of-living crisis which is forcing many of us to cut back and/or change our ways. And I know many of you are facing various other challenges in your personal and professional lives: loss of work, illness, loved ones with difficult illnesses, even loss of loved ones.

It is in times of difficulty that we can really draw on all the varied and wonderful teachings and practices of Yoga and Ayurveda help us move through the situation arising, and we can prepare for such times by enhancing our resilience with Ayurveda and Yoga  for trials and tribulations of rise to meet us.

Yoga offers the following as means to better see ourselves through difficult times:

1. The capacity to maintain our grounding and balance when might otherwise have felt the rug pulled from under our feet. Posture, breath, meditation, pausing for relaxation/nidra all help to stabilise the nervous system and quieten the mind.

In the quietening of the mind, we are able to access our deeper wisdom and knowing and find ways to respond to the difficulties we face with a fresh perspective and intelligence. As Einstein said, “You can’t solve a problem with the same mind that created it.” We move from the turbulence of the surface waves of our mind into the deeper waters of our being where all is still and clear.

2. Yoga understands that we have different aspects to what we in the West call “Mind” and that each aspect has different functions. Through regular meditation and the practice of Inner Enquiry, we can come to anchor ourselves more and more in that more expanded, attuned state of our psyche with an incredible capacity to respond with a greater intelligence than the everyday, reactive conditioned mind allows. To explore the promise of regular practice of Inner Enquiry and Meditation, and how to go about it, please click below to read my blog on this. Or why not join one of our New and Full Moon Circles. 

3. In connecting with that wiser, more knowing dimension of our being, we find our capacity to rest in a state of Love and to be able to better extend that to ourselves and others, in the midst of challenges. This in itself may not absolutely change the situation but again it will help to defuse the pressure that can building within us and those around us in the face of difficulties. When we are stressed and triggered to react, our parasympathetic nervous system is activated and we can feel locked into one of two survival choices – fight or flee! When we are connected a little more to the Essence of our being, which is Love according to the teachings of Yoga and Ayurveda, we can extend nurturance to ourselves and to those around us. And this builds resilience. Think about a small child, and the different impact a nurturing home life on the one hand, and an unstable, unsafe environment will make to the child’s life on the other hand. Physical, mental-emotional and spiritual resilience are either enhanced or weakened and will impact the child throughout adulthood, unless healing work is embarked upon.

All these resilience-building practices of Yoga are complemented by the powerful guidance that Ayurveda offers us. Ayurveda shows us how to keep our individual metabolic and psychological nature in balance through the practice of:

1. Dinacharya

 Nourishing morning routines which keep the body energised and nurtured, the nervous system reset for the day ahead, and the senses calm but clear and awakened.

2. Ritucharya

Seasonal routines which help to combat any negative effects of the seasons. For example, we have been looking at the potential of the Summer Season to increase Pittta imbalances such as inflammation in the body, and Vata imbalances such as feeling wired, restless and speedy. Seasonal routines also show us how to expel excess dosha (humour) from the body at each season’s transition to keep body and mind in balance.

3. Cleansing and Rejuvenation

The following are the precursors to lack of well-being and the onset of disease states in Ayurveda:

1. Excess dosha (humour)
2. Impaired agni (the fires of digestion and metabolism) function

• Accumulation of ama (toxicity)

1. Wrong use of the mind, misuse of the senses and adverse effects of the seasons, inappropriate diet and lifestyle for your Ayurveda type

Regular cleansing and rejuvenation practices are advocated to keep body and mind strong and stable, and thereby to enhance our resilience not only to life’s challenges but also to infection and disease.

4. Right Living and Diet

Adapting our lifestyle and eating habits according to  Ayurveda type, age, season and climate.

5. Cultivating mental-emotional and spiritual well-being.

All the above supports this and in this way, enhances our mental-emotional as well as physical resilience, and Ayurveda also draws on the teachings and practices of Yoga to support this. The two sciences overlap nicely to create unparalleled and personalised whole-person protocols to support longevity, strength and stability.

You can learn more about these techniques on my Ayurveda workshop. The next is on July 8th, Ayurveda and The Spirit of Summer

To find out how any or all of the above might be combined in a personalised programme for you, why not book a no-obligation Discovery Call with me. There are various options for you such as an Ayurveda Consultation, Yoga Therapy Session, my Ayurveda Coaching Programme, or an Individual Rejuvenation Programme.

Please click the button below to be taken to booking slots so that you can schedule your call. 

If you are already feeling under parr or have symptoms in body and/or mind, let’s have a chat about a rebalancing and strengthening Rejuvenation Programme for you. You can click the button below to schedule your call.

Details of the programme are here. There are options to join an individual or group retreat-style  Rejuvenation Programme in a luxury setting in the Cotswolds.

Join me weekly for FREE Ayurveda webinars on the weekly Ayurveda and Yoga themes. For details of how to join, please Contact Me