“Who even said that health conscious foods need to be dull? We have an abundance of herbs and spices at our fingertips, ready to transform the tasteless into a sensory euphoria.”
I think the biggest misconception about healthy living is that we almost feel obligated to give up flavorful foods and adapt to this bland lifestyle. Going back a year ago, I would have endorsed that statement up completely. I remember when I started a fitness journey, I gave up a lot of the food I loved and tried to adhere to strict regimens where flavor was dead and excitement about eating turned into aggravation to complete a now frequent chore. After a while, I noticed how I kept slipping further away, reverting back to old habits. But who even said that health conscious foods need to be dull? We have an abundance of herbs and spices at our fingertips, ready to transform the tasteless into a sensory euphoria. Think of the food as a blank canvas now. You’re about to create art at least three times a day. And the best part about that, is that you’re creating it based upon you, how you’re feeling, and what you need. It won’t ever be the same, and if it seems the same, it’ll affect you differently each time creating a new experience.
“After twenty some odd years of living, I think it’s time to start LIVING and diving deeper into this human experience.”
The thing I’ve cherished the most through my learnings of Ayurveda is that our soul is encased by this intelligent vessel. That the body is aware of what it needs and communicates that to us. It’s up to us to listen and act accordingly. We need to be knowledgeable about how to administer the appropriate actions and be ready to allow the body to perform to its full potential. But I can’t say what is good for me, will be good for you. And your friend can’t say what is good for them, will benefit me as well. Every person is different, every body has different needs, and Ayurveda makes it possible for us to doctor ourselves. Due to the fact that it is so individualized, WE, as the individual, have to do the research and decipher our bodily requirements. Sometimes the symptoms are blatantly obvious, but other times it’s ever so subtle. Our bodies communicate through these symptoms, feelings, and emotions. We just have to be more mindful of that and more familiar with what helps keep the body and the mind in its healthiest form.
“After twenty some odd years of living, I think it’s time to start LIVING and diving deeper into this human experience.”
If you’re anything like me, the slightest pain, twinge, or minor sense of uncomfortableness sends you flying off the deep end, scrolling through pages and pages of “oh no, this is it, but it’s also this…and that”, coming up with the most outlandish situations. So now, I stray away from the internet when it comes to my symptoms. You want to know why? Because all it’s done for me was intensify everything I felt and gave me no solution to my supposed problem. And yet, I’m still here, writing this post about how in my head I am, being completely aware that I’m definitely overreacting, but also telling everyone to not overreact and get off the internet because it will almost every time make you more neurotic about something that isn’t really occurring. But now I know that I can help myself through a number of different things such as exercise, creating some routines, and food. Food is medicine and the earth has provided me with everything I need to nourish my body and to optimize this divine healing vessel I’ve been living in. After twenty some odd years of living, I think it’s time to start LIVING and diving deeper into this human experience.
“I imagine the grass, flowers, herbs, and vines sprouting from underneath me, completely wrapping around me binding me to the earth. In those moments, any aches or pains, thoughts and worries that aren’t serving me, kind of melt away and its silent, and its beautiful.”
My father used to run his own landscaping business. We called it “Down to Earth Landscaping”. For some reason, that name has always brought comfort to me. The business has been long gone, and I’ve thought about going to school and starting it up again, but then I talk myself out of it because an internal war wages between my mind and my heart for the reason that neither of them know what they want. But I guess that’s where I get my love for the earth, from my father. No one in my family does anything outdoorsy anymore, they’re all just too focused on work and making a living, but I’m definitely different. I think about this business, down to earth landscaping, and then I evaluate myself. I’m in my head too much, I have heightened anxiety often, and I feel that I’m lacking a sense of belonging. But down to earth, I need to ground myself down, grab a hold of my mind and my heart, tell them to get it together because the time is now, and I have to start making some life decisions! I’ve been acclimating myself more and more with nature. I started hiking, kayaking, gardening, even just laying in the grass and being more aware of the energetics bleeding out from the ground, into me. Then a sense of calmness takes over me and I suddenly feel like I belong to something. Sometimes I lay there and softly close my eyes. I imagine the grass, flowers, herbs, and vines sprouting from underneath me, completely wrapping around me binding me to the earth. In those moments, any aches or pains, thoughts and worries that aren’t serving me, kind of melt away and its silent, and its beautiful.
“Eating correctly can be rather exciting, it’s now something that I look forward to. Once you start to explore the realm of herbs and spices, you start to have a more profound look on what you’re eating.”
I needed to find a way to start bringing nature and herbology into my everyday life. What better way to do that then with my new ayurvedic outlook on nutrition and health. Eating correctly can be rather exciting, it’s now something that I look forward to. Once you start to explore the realm of herbs and spices, you start to have a more profound look on what you’re eating and the energetics of it according to how it makes you feel. It can be rather daunting at first, since the wide array of herbs and spices seem to be endless. But regardless, this is still an exciting time. A time to explore, a time to learn, and a time to familiarize yourself with the earth and how it impacts you as a person. Now, I haven’t started much gardening, just a few small flowers and plants, but its given me an opportunity to start the develop a sort of green thumb. Keeping in mind my natural constitution of Pitta, I decided the best kind of herb garden to start with would be herbs with the natural ability to extinguish this crazy pitta heat inside me.
“It’s this beautiful connection between the body and the earth. When you can pin point symptoms and use food to aid that, you start to see food as medicine, and that’s exactly what it is, Natural Medicine.”
But the vata is higher than ever with this season. Since I’m more aware of imbalanced vata symptoms, I feel like the season has hit me harder than ever, or maybe it hasn’t, maybe I’m just more conscious of how vata manifests within my body. Regardless, I’ve noticed excessive dry skin, feeling cold more often (which, as a pitta, NEVER happens to me), irregular digestion, and very scatterbrained throughout my days. Along with cooling herbs that I’ve been eating to keep the internal flames at bay, I’ve also been eating more cinnamon, ginger, and garlic for it’s heating qualities. Ever since I’ve been given the knowledge, I’ve been able to feel the qualities of food and herbs as I eat and digest them. It’s this beautiful connection between the body and the earth. When you can pin point symptoms and use food to aid that, you start to see food as medicine, and that’s exactly what it is, Natural Medicine.
“If we take care of the earth, then we will be taken care of as well.”
I feel that people aren’t as connected to this earth as much as we should be. If we take care of the earth, then we will be taken care of as well. Don’t drop everything in your life, quit your job, throw away all your possessions, start gardening and living in the wilderness just because I’m saying that there is a lack of an earthly bond. But I am, however, trying to show people that once, I was a skeptic. I gravitated towards nature here and there, but I never felt the connection that I have now. I started to hike and immerse myself within the environment, away from city streets and the materialistic possessions I owned and I’ve noticed a world of difference. A difference in my thoughts, the way I felt, and my outlook on life. So for now, I’ll be tending to my small indoor garden and keeping the always fluctuating levels of vata and pitta balanced with earths natural remedies.
