Greetings!
This is my first attempt at sharing my interpretations, observations, and experiential wisdom about the ancient science of life, Ayur-veda, through the modern technology of a blog. It is my hope that my posts help bring awareness about Ayurveda into our collective consciousness, and that the details I notice and share in my life experiences help to transmit the elemental nature of our inner and outer realities to you clearly. May the importance and relevance of this wise science shine through each post into your daily lives, and help to show you the way towards balance and wellness.
As I sit and type this first post, the cold air of December creeps through my front door, chilling my body, making me aware of the changing elemental conditions outside in the environment, and reminding me of the shifts that will naturally occur within my own elemental suit as a result.
Each of our physical bodies and the environment are comprised of the 5 Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Ether. The seasonal changes bring shifts to the elemental makeup. This is my 6th year (and winter) living back in the Finger Lake Region in Upstate New York where I grew up. I notice now that as soon as the cold air arrives, so does dryness. My skin begins to show signs of dryness very quickly, as well as my sinuses, throat, lips, hands, and mouth! I immediately get colder, start noticing more people with viral respiratory infections, and I quickly shift into “winter, wet, warm,” mode, craving warming, spicy soups, teas, and foods, extra fluids, citrus, and warming, hydrating, steams, baths, and body treatments.
Depending upon your constitution, your doshas and gunas, or what elements affect you predominately and how they manifest within your body and life, can influence how cold or dry you get during the winter season. This information can also help you to determine what the best foods, spices, herbs, supplements, sweeteners, activities, and remedies, are for you and how to utilize them to achieve your wellness goals.
To stay in balance during the winter season, I work hard to stay on top of my self -care routine at home, using my organic gardens for nutrition, teas, baths, steams, netis, daily abhanghas, yoga, meditation, and scrubs. Dedicated daily, weekly and monthly, self care practices can accomplish much with respect to balanced emotions, general wellness, proper hydration, immune response, stress, sleep cycles, positive mental attitude, flexibility, healing, strengthening, transformation, and contentment. I enjoy making my own organic line of Ayurvedic Self Care products to help myself and others achieve our individual and collective wellness goals. I have learned over the years that self love = self care. I also look forward to trying to regularly visit local jewels for wellness like Greenstar, Greenstar.com, in Ithaca, the Rasa Spa in Ithaca, www.rasaspa.com, the Dharma Center in Cortland, www.dharmacenter.org.org, and Island Fitness in Ithaca, islandfitness.com, to compliment and reward my efforts. Ayurveda like many good things worth doing in life, is all about how much you put into it!