Practicing Detachment

There is a principle in yoga, which is referred to as detachment. This principle also exists in all major religions in the form of surrender to a higher being. 

I had first read about the concept of detachment in A Course in Miracles years back. When I got to the passage explaining detachment, I was distraught and immediately stopped reading. My initial reaction was that if we are detached from our lives, our loved ones, our jobs, and our material goods, it’s as if we don’t care. In my naive view, I saw detachment as apathy. If you ever meet me, you will know that I’m the least apathetic person on the planet. I care about everything and everyone. 

At times when we shut down emotionally because we are hurt. We detach ourselves from the situation or we declare that we are detaching. In reality, this is not detachment at all. By putting a barrier between yourself, an emotional situation and your own emotions, you are actually attaching even more to the situation because you are creating a deception with an attempt to feel the hurt less. However, when the feelings of the situation resurface or another related event happens, you will see this exaggerated attachment by your own negative reaction. 

Detachment, in the yoga sense, is about letting go of control. In Christian circles, the phrase is letting go and letting God. We tend to go through life orchestrating events, planning, goal setting, working, and playing and we have this concept that we are in total control. There is a fallacy in this belief because if you are in control and I am in control and we are friends, then, who is really in control, you or me? 

Many of us also believe the cause and effect of things to a fault. You may think, “O.K., if I’m nice to this person and treat him kindly, then eventually he will turn around and be kind back.” This may or may not be true. But if you adhere to the belief that he will, in fact, be kind in return, and he isn’t, you are left disappointed, upset and discouraged. Yet, if you approach this same situation with detachment, you might say, “I will treat him with kindness because that is the core essence of who I am. He may not return to me with kindness, but that is no matter because I can’t really control the outcome.” With this approach, there is no disappointment or sad feelings, only happiness because you know you are doing what is right regardless of the outcome. 

Detachment is also synonymous with surrender. We don’t always see the grander picture at work. If you believe in a higher being, your higher power is orchestrating events and situations beyond your wildest dreams. And if you don’t believe in a higher power, know that universal energy or Mother nature is keeping the planets aligned and the seasons on time. Can you do that by yourself? 

Sometimes when I think I’ve got it all figured out, God surprises me. Oh, yeah, I would have to say, this happens most of the time. 

When you detach, you can sit back and enjoy the show. Have you ever seen the person “running the show”? That person is often harried, stressed, frazzled and downright unhappy. 

Practicing detachment is difficult for most people. I have been embracing this concept for over seven years and it still eludes me. But when you do, you will find more enjoyment out of life. You will live more fully in the present moment. You will stop worrying about the future. Because you are being taken care of. Do what you can do and then let God, spirit, mother nature or the universe do the rest. 

Wishing you peace, happiness and love.

Michelle Fondin

Author of The Wheel of Healing: An Easy Guide to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle and Secrets of The Wheel of Healing: An 8 CD Audio Program with Workbook. 

www.michellefondin.com

https://www.facebook.com/michellesfondin

Michelle's Story of Learning Meditation: My Deepest Darkest Secrets...

Did you know, when it comes to meditation, you and I are very much alike? 

Before I learned meditation, I had a very chaotic mind. You might not even have recognized me about 7 years ago. For all intents and purposes, I was a bit of a mess. I was very anxious, had an intense fear of flying, even though I had to fly often. I was unhappy with my life at the time and wasn't sure how to change my situation. 

When I came to the Chopra Center in 2006, I only wanted to learn how to teach Ayurveda, not knowing how important learning and practicing meditation was to the process. My contact at the Chopra Center said I would need to start by learning Primordial Sound Meditation. I can't believe I'm telling you this....but in my mind, I was saying, "Yeah, I'll learn it, just to go with it but no one can make me practice it." 

I was thoroughly convinced that I could not sit in meditation, let alone sit in silence at all. I had never been able to do it in my 36 years of life and no one was going to be able to convince me otherwise. 

So I flew to California from France (a 13-hour flight) and on the same day, started my Primordial Sound Meditation Course with about 150 new meditators. I thought I had joined some sort of hippie-fest or cult. But I had this deep respect for Deepak Chopra, and that is the only thing that kept me there. The person who gave me my mantra was an American woman wearing a turban (not a bad thing in itself, just a bit odd for me) and I swear she had a crystal ball. My stubborn mind told me that she had given me the wrong mantra (no rhyme or reason to that one) and when I started the group meditation, I felt the whole ballroom was vibrating with the sound OM. (Maybe that was the jetlag.) 

But maybe it was the fact that I knew I had to be there for 8 days or the fact that I had spent $2,200 for the seminar, I stuck with it. And after the 3rd or 4th day, I began to love meditation. I don't know what happened. Maybe it was my fascination with Deepak or my love for the Chopra Center family. But I, the reticent one, who came into the practice kicking and screaming that I wouldn't do it, was transformed. The first flight I took, after the seminar went 100% smoothly. No fear at all came upon me. Coincidence or the power of meditation?  You choose. 

Now I know I cannot live without meditation or I will become that insanely chaotic person, I once was. Sometimes we don't realize how crazy we actually were until we get better and we can look back and say, "My goodness, I can't believe I was like that." 

Thank you for reading my story. Hopefully you can relate some and want to share in the joy (and sanity) of learning meditation. 

Namasté,

Michelle

Michelle S. Fondin, Founder of The Ayurvedic Path & author of The Wheel of Healing: An Easy Guide to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle

Why are we getting more sick as a society?

This is one subject that consistently baffles me. In the U.S. today, we are more privileged, more advanced in technology and just plain richer than most countries. And yet, we are a country that has more cancer, more heart disease, and more diabetes and obesity than most.

What in the world are we doing?

I have made it my life's mission to help the U.S. turn around its view of health, wellness and a quality life.

We are sitting on our butts all day. 

As much as we have gym memberships, home exercise equipment and fitness classes, most of us are sitting around for a majority of the day. Our bodies have not been developed over time to be sedentary. Sitting for long periods makes you more tired and causes you to sit more.

The workplace is probably a big contributing factor. 

If you have a desk job, it's probably killing you. I know that's a bold statement, but there is truth. Each week I see more clients who complain to me, that in order to keep up and not lose their jobs, they must put increasing hours at work. And guess what? That means more sitting.

We are overachievers. 

Unfortunately, in the U.S., if you are not doing more and being more, you may not feel successful. And that means, when you come home from your day job, you are probably carting your kids to baseball, soccer, dance or other activities and thus neglecting your own health. 

We are eaters. 

Since we live this frenetic lifestyle, we are often doing a "grab and go". We grab a Starbucks on the way to work with a pastry. We grab a bag of chips at the vending machine. We grab a soda to be able to work more. Our lifestyle does not allow us to sit and enjoy meals.

We reward ourselves with alcohol. 

Just like the "grab and go" mentality of our eating habits, we have a reward system for getting through our busy lives with a glass of wine, a bottle of beer or a martini. So you spend the day, not moving, eating unhealthy foods, stressing out over your never ending day and on top of it, pour alcohol into your already unhealthy body. Is it any surprise we're getting more sick? 

A Healthy Lifestyle Must Become a Priority in Every Walk of Life. 

As a society, we must turn our lifestyle around if we are to get better. It must be acceptable to exercise during work hours, to take breaks to meditate or have walking meetings. Employees should be able to work remotely and be able to clock their hours and not be threatened with job loss. Wouldn't it be great if you actually got rewarded at work for clocking in hours at the gym, taking a meditation class or organizing an at work "Walk and Talk" meeting? 

Just as being a non-smoker has been more the norm today than 30 years ago, not drinking alcohol needs to become socially accepted as well. Unfortunately, drinking and success in business tend to go hand in hand as business deals are often closed over a glass of something. 

Taking time to eat needs to become another societal norm. In many European countries, people take an hour or more to eat lunch and sit around the table for family dinners. 

Just say "no" to over-scheduling. You don't have to be everything to everyone all of the time. Your child doesn't have to get into Harvard to be successful. The best way we can teach this next generation of kids to live healthfully is to do it ourselves. They will never learn otherwise. 

This is just a bit of food for thought. Any suggestions on how we can live more healthfully as a whole? 

Michelle Fondin

Author of The Wheel of Healing: An Easy Guide to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle

www.michellefondin.com

Understanding the Law of Pure Potentiality

In our yoga classes at The Ayurvedic Path, we study The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga. The first of those seven principles is the Law of Pure Potentiality. 

This is a principle innately understood by babies and small children. Initially, everything is open and new. When we are young, all is amazing and the world is a realm of all possibilities. Then very quickly, through our upbringing, we begin to narrow our view of the world. This happens through no fault of our own. Our families, teachers and caregivers, help shape who we are and a lot of that includes setting limitations. 

Growing Up and Growing Out

While fitting into a mold was helpful as we grew up, staying in the parameters that were set for us, may not work in adulthood. I know a family who, through the generations, has encouraged their children to become doctors, lawyers or engineers. Understandably, these are fine areas of study, which often guarantee a good source of income. However, many children, even within the same family don’t necessarily fit into any of these areas easily. But, if you were raised in this family, you might think that you can only choose one of these career paths to be completely accepted and successful. 

Expanding your limitations into full potential includes overriding something you’ve been taught your entire life if it’s no longer serving you. 

Raising the Ceiling of Limitations

Some of us live with a ceiling so low that we frequently hit our heads on it. We are so used to living with our own excuses that we many not even hear our own voices anymore. “I can’t do this because...” “When I get more money, I will...” “If I was younger, I could...” or “I’ve tried that before and it hasn’t worked.” 

Pure potentiality calls us to open up and raise the ceiling to infinite possibilities. This means you must let go of disbelief. What you thought wasn’t possible before, now becomes possible even if you don’t see it right away. Small children dream and speak the impossible. You must have the innocence of a child if you are to embrace pure potentiality. 

Listen to Your Thoughts and Speech

Retraining the mind can be a challenge. One way to begin is to observe yourself. Observe your thoughts and see which ones are limiting. Notice which of those are regular in your thought patterns and write them down. Then make a commitment to yourself to rewrite those thoughts into ones which open you to infinite possibilities. Do the same with the things you say. Make an attempt to not speak limitations on yourself or others. 

You are a piece of the creative mind that orchestrates the world into existence. You have the capacity, therefore, to be limitless. Embrace this aspect of who you are and live the life you’ve always dreamed of living.

Love,

Michelle

Michelle S. Fondin, author of The Wheel of Healing: An Easy Guide to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle. 

www.michellefondin.com

Mastering the Basics Before Going in Depth

One thing I most often hear in my practice is, “What can give me the quickest results to take my practice, diet or health to the next level?” My response is, “Pay attention to simplicity. Master the basics. Learn to meditate and practice it. Start eating with awareness. Listen to your inner voice.” 

Typically this is not what people want to hear. They want a quick fix. They want to feel success right now. An Ayurvedic and yoga practice is not about “quick fix right now”. It’s about pinpointing with accuracy the change you need to make on a permanent basis to get lasting results for a lifetime. Anyone can sell quick fixes or in depth details on how to get results now. But that is not the goal of an Ayurvedic or yoga practice. 

When I was younger, I dated a high school art teacher. He was baffled at the arrogance of talented young teenage artists, who wanted to learn how to paint like the great masters, without understanding the basics of drawing. Yet, he made them go back to the basics by penciling basic sketches and shading. After parental protests he shared with me, “These students will never go on to be great artists if they don’t master basic drawing skills first.”  While I don’t know a lot about painting, I do know this; when you visit expositions on famous artists, you will always see many pencil sketchings before the great masterpieces. My daughter, who has natural talent in art, sketches for about eight to ten hours per day. 

In discussing the concept of Christianity with a friend a few weeks ago, he shared that grasping the concepts were very deep and difficult to follow. My suggestion was to start easy. I made the commentary that most people have difficulty following the life of Jesus by just being kind. Can you imagine? Kindness is a relatively simple concept. Yet, how many follow it on a regular basis? 

When the great yoga master, BKS Iyengar, was a boy in India, he got up every morning at 4 a.m. to practice yoga with his teacher for two hours before breakfast. After four years, he was tired of the basics and begged his teacher to teach him breathing techniques or pranayama. At my studio, I see yoga students who have been practicing for six months or a year who want to take their practice to the next level. When I suggest they learn to meditate or master what they have already learned, they become frustrated. What they want are more difficult yoga poses. What yoga teaches us is to want inner peace and the discovery of ourselves. 

So why do we hate the basics so much? Why do we loathe repetition and simplicity? I believe it’s because we are linear in our thinking. We see progress as a straight line. Progress should be seen more as a circle. As we develop and grow, the circle becomes bigger and wider. In our growing we don’t always see results on the exterior. But the workings are happening from the inside. 

Try grasping a simple concept for one day. For example, eat all of your meals without distraction (any) and in silence. Have your eating be a sensual experience. Taste, smell, touch, and feel your food. Make each meal a mini-meditation. You may find that this concept, as simple as it is, is difficult for you. 

Or how about mastering the concept of non-judgment?  Spend one day judging nothing or no one, including yourself. Try to stay neutral and rooted in the present moment. Drawing inferences for the future is still judging. Making assumptions is judging. It’s a simple concept, yet difficult to apply, even for a day. 

You can do this with anything and start today. Pick one simple concept and apply it for a day. Then tomorrow, pick something else and pretty soon you will realize that the road to mastery is not far away. 

Love,

Michelle

Michelle Fondin author of "The Wheel of Healing: An Easy Guide to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle"

www.michellefondin.com

Addictions: An Ayurvedic Perspective (Part 1)

According to the Merriam-Webster, an addiction is described as a strong and harmful need to regularly have something or do something. 

Addictions come in all shapes and forms. Some are less harmful than others. And some are more toxic. But they all have one thing in common, addictions trick the mind to think that a need is being fulfilled. I find it interesting that the dictionary chose the word “need”. 

A need is something we all need to survive and thrive. We have physical needs such as food, clean water, bodily comfort and shelter. We have emotional needs for love, security, safety, affection, acceptance, appreciation and acknowledgement. We have spiritual needs for peace, connection to others and/or a higher being, belonging, and a sense of purpose and meaning in life. 

But the object of addiction is a false replacement for what we ultimately need. In an instant, the addiction can fulfill an immediate need such as the need for love (sex addiction), the need for comfort (alcohol or food addiction), the need for security (a gambling addiction, where the gambler wins a lot then tries to win more) or the need for acknowledgement (internet, social media addiction). 

What is so attractive about an addiction or addictive behavior? 

1. They are a quick fix. 

Have you heard of avoidance therapy? We avoid dealing with the real need at hand, so we mask the need with the object of addiction. Fulfilling a need often takes a bit more effort of discovering the real need and finding healthy ways to fulfill it. 


2.  They have real appeal.

The object of addiction makes us feel really good for the time being, but makes us feel bad after the effect wears off. (i.e. overeating causes weight gain or diabetes, alcohol abuse causes depletion of finances, alienates loved ones etc.) 

3. They change our chemistry or neuro-associative conditioned reactions.

Drug, alcohol or food addictions literally change our bio-chemistry which causes us to crave them more, even though the addiction is not good for the body. Addictions like gambling, sex, internet over-usage, or excessive gaming give us an initial rush of excitement which condition our minds to crave that excitement. 

4. They temporarily fulfill an immediate need. 

As humans, we are needs driven. We will only do something if it fulfills a need. However, addictions seemingly fulfill a need, but in the end leave us more “needy”. For example, an addiction to internet and social media or gaming, may fulfill the need for significance and acknowledgement in the immediate sense. But when you realize you’ve been consecrating several hours daily to these activities, you’ve ignored a whole host of other needs, like working effectively at your job or spending time with your kids or spouse. 

But ultimately, addictions leave us weak, ashamed, sometimes broke, and with a loss of integrity and self-worth. Addictions leave us disconnected from our true selves. We forget who we really are and act as if we are alone. 

Ayurveda takes the perspective that an addiction is an extreme penchant toward object referral instead of self-referral. In the next blog post on Addictions: An Ayurvedic Perspective, I’ll explain the difference between object referral and self-referral .

Wishing you a beautiful day and perfect health always,

Michelle Fondin

Yoga Sutras: Embracing Least Effort

Never before, have we led more busy and divided lives. In the West, we strive to arrive. From the time we awake until the time we crash at night, constant demands are put upon us to do more, to acquire more, accomplish more, communicate more and be more. 

It is no wonder that, according to Medco Health Solutions in 2011, one in five Americans have taken or are taking drugs for mental health. That is 20% of all Americans. Twenty percent! Can you imagine? Why can’t we cope today without medication? 

The reason is simple. Because we don’t respect the natural rhythms of nature. 

If we look at nature all around us, it unfolds with least effort day to day, minute to minute, second to second. A tree doesn’t sit around worrying all winter if it will bud in the summer. Deer, even though they are constantly driven from their homes with deforestation, simply move on and find new food and shelter. 

In case you haven’t noticed, we’re a part of nature. Our bodies change according to the rhythms of day and night, the changing of the seasons, the phases of the moon. The simple cycle of day and night equal a principle of rest and activity. 

What we’ve succumbed to is a cycle of activity, activity, activity, crash.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you that if you put batteries in a flashlight, keep it on 24/7, those batteries will die sooner than if you use it for a little while then turn it off. The same goes for us. 

We have a notion that if we don’t go out there and try as hard as we can to get what we want, life will slip away from us. However, when we are so out of touch with ourselves, we often waste time worrying, being ineffective or doing activities which don’t really help us get to what we want. 

Have you ever tried swimming up a river? I have. It’s pretty challenging. But if you turn around and let the current push you, you don’t have to do anything at all. You can simply enjoy the ride. 

How much are you enjoying this ride, called life? 

There is a yoga sutra, from a sacred Vedic text called The Bhagavad Gita, which is yogastah kuru karmani and translates to, “Established in being, perform action”. 

What this means is, wait until you are established in yourself, in the calm place that is connected to nature and ultimately to the universe to perform your daily duties. 

It’s no use running around ungrounded, ruffled and in a hurry if you are not established in self and connected. 

The way you can achieve this is by honoring least effort through meditation, prayer, contemplation, and/or silence daily. Take time to reconnect with nature and its rhythms. Make a vow to yourself to sit in silence some time each day. Take a class to learn meditation. Practice meditative movement like hatha yoga, Tai Chi or Qi Gong. Once you do this, then perform action, your life will be smooth sailing. Like a beautiful flower, each thing you desire will unfold effortlessly and easily. 

Wishing you peace, harmony, laughter and love. 

Namasté,

Michelle

Michelle Fondin

Founder of The Ayurvedic Path

www.theayurvedicpath.com

Ayurvedic Medicine versus Western Medicine

When I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at age 28, my first question to the doctor was, “Why did I get this?” And his answer was, “We simply don’t know why cancer occurs.”

Intuitively, this was not an answer for me. I knew, in my heart, that couldn’t be an answer. 

I began to do a lot of research and soul searching. When I came upon Ayurvedic medicine, it made so much sense to me. Ayurveda works on the basis of balance versus imbalance. A big part of Ayurvedic medicine is going to the root cause of illness to see where it originated. Ayurveda believes you cannot cure a disease unless you know the etiology or cause of it. 

The simple answer would be an imbalance in the doshas or Ayurvedic mind body types. An imbalance is most certainly the reason you’re experiencing symptoms or full blown illness but it’s likely that it’s not the root cause. 

The root cause goes much deeper. Sometimes it’s a weakness in the body which starts the doshic imbalance. Often it’s an unprocessed emotion or an accumulation of unprocessed food or substance in the body. 

Western or allopathic medicine works on the basis of pathology. Typically, you don’t go to the doctor unless something is wrong. You aren’t feeling yourself or you have the manifestation of symptoms. Your healthcare provider makes an assessment of your current state of health including symptoms and strives to provide you with some relief. The relief may be medication of some form, blood or urine testing to rule out various illnesses, or in the event that it’s necessary, a surgical procedure. At any rate, the idea is to rid you of symptoms so you feel normal again. At best, it’s a bandaid approach and one faceted. When you mask symptoms or force them to go away through medication, oftentimes, other symptoms or problems arise because you haven’t gone to the root cause of a problem. 

Ayurveda is a multifaceted approach. Not only does an Ayurvedic practitioner take into account the symptoms a person is experiencing, but he seeks to find which dosha is most out of balance. In advanced, stages of disease, this can be tricky. However, that is only one piece of the puzzle. The Ayurvedic practitioner will ask the client about her lifestyle, family life, job, marriage, financial situation, eating and sleeping habits, current medications, herbs and vitamin intake. He will observe the client’s mannerisms while speaking, her tone of voice, and demeanor. The Ayurvedic practitioner will gather all these clues to determine the best course of treatment for the client. Often, in taking the time to listen to the client, the Ayurvedic practitioner finds that her fear is subsided and as a consequence, so do some of the symptoms. 

Finding the etiology or cause is not always 100% foolproof. We must understand that some disease is just left up to the powers that be. 

As for my diagnosis, I went over every aspect of my life in search of the root cause. In the end, I did find it. Let’s suffice it to say that it was mostly emotional,personality and family-life based. It wasn’t easy to correct but I’ve strived to correct it ever since. And I think 14 years post diagnosis, I’ve been successful. 

And now, I’ve dedicated my life’s work to helping others discover how to live in balance with the practice of Ayurvedic medicine. 

Wishing you love and perfect health always,
Michelle

Michelle Fondin
Founder of The Ayurvedic Path
Chopra Center Vedic Master
www.theayurvedicpath.com

Ayurveda and The Ayurvedic Mind Body Type

Now you’ve figured out your Ayurvedic mind body type or your prakruti. So now what? How is that going to bring you to optimal health?

Ayurveda and ayurvedic health works on bringing you back to a state of balance for your personal Ayurvedic mind body type. Think of your mind body type as your baseline. When you are at this baseline, you feel fantastic. You feel yourself. You feel vibrant and energetic. 

Have you ever wondered why you couldn’t lose 20 pounds when your friend could modify her diet and lose it instantly? Or why you need only 6 hours of sleep per night but your spouse needs 8-9 hours of sleep? Things like appetite, metabolism, sleep, mood, and energy level is mostly regulated by your Ayurvedic mind body type. Now if you’ve always been thin but in the past couple of years you can’t stop gaining weight, this may be a lifestyle change or a change from prakruti to vikruti. 

Remember your vikruti is your current state or your state of imbalance.

Our goal in Ayurveda is to get us back to our own prakruti or state of balance.

Here are the ways you can get back to your Ayurvedic mind body type:

1. Honor an Ayurvedic lifestyle diet
2. Begin a dosha specific diet for Vata, Pitta or Kapha
3. Follow an Ayurvedic daily routine.
4. Follow an Ayurvedic seasonal routine.
5. Learn meditation and meditate daily
6. Follow a dosha specific exercise program for Vata, Pitta or Kapha
7. Drink dosha specific teas.
8. Following the advice of an Ayurvedic practitioner, take Ayurvedic herbs to rebalance current imbalances.
9. Work on emotional clearing. 
10. Eliminate toxins and toxic substances from your body. (i.e. alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, unnecessary prescription pills, processed foods) 

If you don’t have the guidance of an Ayurvedic practitioner, begin by balancing your primary dosha. For example, if your Ayurvedic mind body type is Vata-Pitta. You would begin by balancing Vata. Follow at Vata diet, drink Vata tea, follow recommended exercises to balance Vata, follow a Vata Ayurvedic daily and seasonal routine. Usually, if disease or symptoms are not advanced, following this advice will make you feel much better within about two weeks. However if symptoms are persistent or you have been experiencing symptoms for a while, you may need to look further into your vikruti. 

The idea behind Ayurveda is preventive health. If we can catch a disease before full eruption, we can prevent it from giving you illness. In the next blog, I’ll explain the six stages of disease according to Ayurveda. 

Wishing you perfect health always. 

Love,

Michelle Fondin, Founder of The Ayurvedic Path

www.theayurvedicpath.com

Chopra Center Vedic Master  and Ayurvedic Practitioner 

Understanding Your Ayurvedic Mind Body Type

In the last post, we talked about the three different of Ayurvedic mind types called  doshas. Even if you read the description of Vata dosha and found that it described you completely, there are a few things you need to know about the Ayurvedic mind body type.

First of all, we have all three doshas in our mind body constitution, but each of us has different proportions of the three. Secondly, most people have two dominant doshas with the third falling far behind. For example, a person may be a pitta-vata but their kapha score is twice as low as the pitta score. A small portion of the population is dominant in a single dosha and an even smaller portion it tridoshic, where all three doshas are more or less the same. So the possibilities for Ayurvedic mind body types are as follows:

Vata

Pitta

Kapha

Vata-Pitta

Vata-Kapha

Pitta-Vata

Pitta-Kapha

Kapha-Vata

Kapha-Pitta

Vata-Pitta-Kapha

Are you confused yet? If not, great. 

Your Ayurvedic mind body type is your genetic lot in life. It was the deck of cards you were dealt with at conception. So let’s suppose you were born with a fiery personality. You tend to have redness in the skin, are prone to breakouts, get irritated quite easily and are extremely driven. You were born with a fair amount of Pitta or fire and water in your mind body constitution. But let’s suppose you also move very fast, have difficulty gaining weight and have a racing mind. This means that you may also have a fair amount of Vata in your Ayurvedic mind body constitution. So your Ayurvedic mind body type would be Pitta-Vata.

Your natural mind body type is called your Prakruti. This is your nature. You cannot change it. Oftentimes, I get clients who say they want to be more of one dosha or another. You can only stay in balance when you are true to your prakruti. 

Now let’s suppose you read the description of the doshas and you said, “Oh yes, that’s it, I’m a Kapha type.” You have a lot of extra weight, you are tired and lethargic. You move a lot slower than before. You crave sweets. While it does sound like a kapha type (out of balance in some respects), you need to search into your past. When searching for prakruti, we look to all the years of life, since the time of birth. If in childhood, you were skinny, could eat anything, were very nervous and active, you may have been born with more Vata in you. But look at the rule above. I stressed that you cannot change your Ayurvedic mind body type. Right? 

The answer is “yes”. However, through improper diet, lifestyle, experience and life choices, we can get so out of balance that we no longer present ourselves as our true nature. That is called Vikruti or our current state. Vikruti or our state of imbalance can mask our pakruti, sometimes completely. 

So how then, you might say, do I discover my prakruti?

Self-awareness is the key. When you learn about the doshas and take a trip down memory lane, there are some consistencies about you. An Ayurvedic practitioner can also help you to discover both the prakruti and vikruti. 

In the next blog post, we’ll discuss what we can learn through our prakruti or Ayurvedic mind body type.

Wishing you perfect health always.

Love, 

Michelle Fondin, Founder of The Ayurvedic Path, Inc.

www.theayurvedicpath.com

Ayurvedic Mind Body Types: Doshas

Instinctively, over 5,000 years ago, practitioners of Ayurveda observed nature, including humans, and realized we are not all built the same. We are, however, made up of the building blocks of nature but we simply have different proportions of these elements in our bodies, minds and personalities. 

In other words, before the concept of genes was discovered, Ayurvedic medicine understood we have different bodies, minds and personalities from the moment of our conception. 

These Ayurvedic mind body types are called doshas. They are composed of the five elements: space, air, fire, water and earth. 

The first Ayurvedic mind body type is called Vata and is made up of space and air. Vata types are usually thin with angular features. They are quick to move and ever changing. They enjoy new things, and often change jobs, careers, interests or relationships. A Vata type is most often the life of the party and friendly. When a Vata type is in balance, they have burst of energy, walk fast and talk fast, are creative and communicative. A Vata out of balance becomes anxious, worried or even neurotic. They tend to have cold hands, feet and have delicate digestion. Do you know someone who paces while they talk on the phone? Or maybe someone who resists routine and is unpredictable? It’s likely that person has a fair amount of Vata in his or her Ayurvedic mind body type.

Pitta is the second Ayurvedic mind body type. It is comprised of the elements of fire and water. Just like the primary element indicates, Pitta types are fiery, passionate, driven. They tend to be goal oriented, good leaders, enjoy education and factual knowledge. Pitta body types are mesomorphic or medium build. They have beautiful eyes and a warm gaze. Pitta types need to eat on time or they get cranky. When in balance, Pitta types are warm, intellectual, interesting, attractive. An out of balance Pitta can be quite scary to the receiver of the imbalance. They get angry, critical, judgmental. Do you know someone who’s skin is very warm to the touch? Does that person have eyes that melt your heart by a simple gaze or is completely goal oriented? You probably have someone with a majority of Pitta in his or her Ayurvedic mind body type. 

The third Ayurvedic mind body type is called Kapha. No one likes to be a Kapha when they read what a Kapha type is, but Kapha types have many great qualities. Kapha is comprised of water and earth. Needless to say, Kapha types are earthy and stable. Since water and earth make mud, Kapha types are grounded, more heavy physically than Vata and Pitta types and are slow movers. Kapha types have great physical stamina. They almost never get sick. Everything about them is slow. They eat and walk slowly. They adore routine. Kapha types are probably the most trustworthy friends you will ever meet. A Kapha friend might say, “I can look at a piece of cake and gain 10 pounds.” In balance a Kapha type is kind, trustworthy, affectionate and reliable. Out of balance, a Kapha type gains weight, can get depressed, can become possessive or become inert. Do you know someone who has struggled with his or her weight since birth? Does this person hold a record for being the most reliable person in your life? Does he or she prefer to stay at home and read a good book rather than go out? If so, you may know a Kapha type. 

We have all three of the doshas or Ayurvedic mind body types within each of us since we are all made up of space, air, fire, water and earth. We simply have different proportions of each. In the next blog post, we’ll discuss what it means to know your Ayurvedic mind body type. 

Wishing you peace, harmony, laughter and love each day. 

Namasté,
Michelle Fondin

Michelle Fondin is the author of The Wheel of Healing with Ayurveda: An Easy Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle  and Help! I Think My Loved One Is an Alcoholic: A Survival Guide for Lovers, Family, & Friends. 

Why Prenatal Yoga is Optimal Preparation for Labor and Childbirth

So you've just found out you're pregnant. Congratulations! It's such an exciting time of life. If this is your first baby, you're most likely in the "pregnancy bubble" where you only see pregnant women on the street, in stores or at the office. You fanticize about what it will be like to see your baby for the first time. You worry about your baby's health or your pregnancy. Or you're just plain tired and nauseated all the time. All of these feelings are normal and part of the excitement.

One thing you may find is that your significant other is not quite as excited as you are. He may not understand what's going on in your body or your facination with every change. He may not share your affinity to reading every single baby book or posting that's out there. As the weeks go on, you may begin to feel a bit disappointed with his lack of enthusiasm. After all, you both wanted a baby right? So, what's wrong?

For a Dad, the pregnancy is not as real as it is for you. You are feeling the changes from the very beginning. The surge of hormones give you the mothering instincts from the get go.

That's where a pregnancy class comes in.

What your prenatal yoga class will give you first and foremost is a chance to meet and share with other expectant Moms. This is a safe environment where women really care and understand first hand what you're experiencing. They can sympathize, listen and offer advice.

The second advantage is learning how to breathe. Labor and delivery is like running a full marathon. Runners never go into running 26 K without preparation, they would collapse or give up after the first few miles. Giving birth is the same way. It will require breathing properly to allow the muscles to relax and do their job. It will keep you calm, centered and prepared for welcoming your baby into this world.

Thirdly, pregnancy doesn't come without aches, pains and muscle discomfort. Your body is changing at an incredible rate. Growing pains are normal. Yoga poses help you assist your muscles in lengthening, strengthening and releasing tension to allow you to feel more comfortable.

And finally, you are taking time once or twice a week to truly focus on this miracle that's taking place inside of you. You're giving yourself permission to let everything else go for 75 minutes to create a memory and enjoy the process.

At The Ayurvedic Path, we offer Prenatal Yoga twice per week in Herndon, VA. Our students often come on both days Monday and Saturday. But we keep our classes small, under 12 students, to allow each Mom to share and learn optimally.

If you are in the Northern Virginia area, check us out: http://www.theayurvedicpath.com

If you are outside of the DC area, look up a Prenatal Yoga class in your area.

Wishing you a beautiful pregnancy,

Michelle