Vata is the big daddy of doshas. It has a ridiculous amount of diseases associated with it compared to the other doshas. It is the most vitiated dosha of this hustle and bustle time. That means many are suffering from vata imbalances. Including me, of course! Let me share...
My body is tiny, delicate, dry. It wants to wiggle and move. My mind is constantly bombarded with creative ideas. It's very intuitive and knowing. I learn quickly. I can change on a dime. While I'm great for entertaining and solving problems, I burn out quickly, can't finish things and change my mind. All. The. Time. I have to really manage my time and activities because I can hardly keep up with myself.
First, let me tell you about the perks
Strengths:
• adaptable, change is easy for me - I have moved a lot in my life and love the change and starting over with a new canvas
• get a lot of shit done during the day
• intuitive and knowing
• learn quickly
• super creative, designing, writing, strategizing
• full of ideas - although I never have the ability to finish any of them
• figure things out, resourceful
• don't take things too seriously, life is fun, optimistic
And then there are the struggles
Weaknesses:
The key theme here is too much
• overdoing it or forgetting to take breaks and rest...or eat
• staing up late
• overcommitting
• staying focused
• finishing something
• being decisive or really caring about something for very long, lack of commitment
• overly cleaning / clear quality, yet everything is still chaotic and all over the place
• not taking things seriously, wanting to play
• getting stuck in the details rather than seeing the big picture
• sticking to a budget and saving
• taking risks
• can't keep a routine
• getting confused easily, remembering things accurately
• anxious and worried about things
• dryness
There are remedies
Stay calm and don't worry!
My goal is to feel stabilized, nourished, and peaceful.
I am at the height of all my vata issues gone wild. I have spent my entire life running around doing all the things I have wanted, chasing this, that. Starting new businesses. Trying everything. And the icing on the cake is that over the last 3 years I just remodeled an entire house on top of a move across the country and aging into the second half of my life, and losing 2 dogs. So literally no stability. No comfortable home and still living out of boxes. No routine. Body and mind completely changed. And somehow still running my design studio full time, (which if you have ever had your own business, you know what a time suck it is).
So what this looks like is complete mental burnout. No focus, no memory of my day's activities - it's all a big blob. no focus because the overwhelm of what needs to be done is harrowing. I race around all day doing work, not remembering what I do. It takes me until 6:00 pm to be able to really sit down at my laptop and do real work. This throws off my sleep schedule, and then the next morning everything else is off schedule. There are days where I'm physically shaking the entire day from stress.
I am going to share my remedies for this crazy vata energy, but then I will wrap up with my biggest takeaway for this entire situation. Imagine if I didn't do these things, what a true mess my life could be! Ayurveda is our best friend and can hold our hand through all situations.
Since I can't seem to keep a routine, which really is the best answer, I try to alleviate my dryness and I try to keep my head working and focused.
For Mind
- I meditate twice a day. - purifies the nervous system
- I do yoga/pranayama - gets the prana flowing in the channels, hopefully the correct way
- I chant - this builds sattva
- I study Sanskrit - this also builds sattva
- I attend a weekly philosophy class to stay engaged with all of the tools
For Body
- I TRY to go to bed early. (for digest and dryness)
- I use oils - morning and night
- I eat a pretty clean diet
- I sip hot drinks during the day
- I try to get enough nourishing food - like dairy, eggs, proteins (lentils and whole grains)
- I walk every day (instead of run, climb mountains or intense exercise)
- I spend time in nature, slowly - I hike, garden, go to the beach, go to the farm
Baby Step Ayurveda
Old habits are hard to break. The solution is take an important habit and work on it. Once it's comfortably in the routine, move on to the next. Rome wasn't built in a day. And trying to change everything at once is a recipe for disaster, plus it will stress the system. More vata. Meditation is always my priority over everything else.
I feel like we all have our blinders on to some of our own tendencies. I know I don't always see the crap that I'm doing to sabotage myself. But ayurveda builds awareness of things! For example, I start to check in with how I feel after meals. I notice how I feel after an activity...do I feel energized? Peaceful? Or am I triggered, exhausted or heavy?
Ready for the big takeaway remedy?
Saying no is my weapon against the overwhelm.
I suffer from a thing called "eyes bigger than your stomach". I think it's a total vata thing. We are full of energy, ideas and potential. We just don't have the stamina to do anything with it all.
So here is my big takeaway. Just. Say. NO. Put it all in the inspiration journal...all those fabulous ideas, epiphanies and potentials. We live in a world that moves quickly and empowers us to think we can do it all. NO will be your best friend.
- I never schedule more than one appointment per day so I can stay in my routine as much as possible
- I reduced my to do list to no more than 3 items a day (rest goes on master list)
- I try to stay focused. What are my goals? For me right now, it's finances, so I make my daily decisions around what will best support that.
That being said, the main person I say no to the most is myself. I don't take action on new ideas. They must sit in the idea journal for well over a year before I even consider them. That way I can "outgrow" the ones that weren't meant to be. Sometimes it takes everything I have in order to find the willpower not to make that call, or not to send that email. It all just goes in the notebook. The most important thing for me is avoiding depletion and stress, which is all that I care about right now.
That is my story. And that is my dosha. If any of this sounds all too familiar, please know there are remedies and they work! Ayurveda can balance just about anything, so start to notice what is going on. What is in your head? What is your body doing? Build the awareness so you can see how your own tendencies take over and sometimes sabotage your well-being. Once consciously see them, then you can create a plan of action. And get some well-deserved relief and happiness.
- Your vata girl, Maria
xo