This blog series is my offering to you, a chance to see how Ayurveda is weaved into my life & how you can apply these principles to your own life.

Welcome to the fifth edition of Ayurveda & Me!

Grumpy's line of questioning always makes me laugh! What am I and what am I doing is, however, a deep inquiry in to one's Self. So let's being...

I have dedicated this blog to just that topic. Self is one of my summer topics. A journey inwards, a journey of self discovery and a topic worthy of no other distractions. For only when we clear our minds of chatter can we truly focus our intentions and turn inward.

Now is the time for your self-led journey. To start a journey that is led by you and not by outside influence. It may be a tough decision to start, for simple isn’t always easy but what it will be is an immensely rewarding decision. If you are struggling to find the right time to start, one thing I can tell you….that time is now. Now is the only time you have available. There will always be something that stops you getting started but you are not alone in procrastinating or waiting for some future event or feeling. Always finding barriers and excuses to not start something new, always something to justify putting off a new habit. Hard truth is that the only time you have is now.

So get started – big or small, begin now….

What is a self-led journey? It is about owning your journey, being aligned to your core values and goals, having control and the freedom to make decisions that are beneficial for you. Progressing at your pace, listening to your inner guide, identifying your priorities and what matters most to you. Taking responsibility for your own health and wellbeing – this in particular holds huge weight for me. Handing responsibility of your health and wellbeing to someone else, it seems, is easily done, the outcome is not always what we are looking for but rather causes much damage. Where your health is concerned you are your best guide. That is not to say that seeking support has no value, the only caveat I add here is it that you must feel comfortable with said advice.

By handing over responsibility for our health to others, either individuals or institutions we lose connection with our Self. In modern times we have seen a massive increase in government overreach and society seems rather keen to trust governments, global organisations and big pharma on matters of health and wellbeing. This is a business model – a very profitable model - and not about you. Remember you are in control of your health and wellbeing, you are born to feel well and that is absolutely possible. Most of all you deserve it!

We are all influenced by the outside world, myself included. Experiences and environment have an impact on your views. Your upbringing plays a critical role in your beliefs, conditioning happens from a very young age. Now not all of this is bad news of course but modernity and all its trimmings has caused somewhat of a storm in our minds. Never before has there been this level of information overload and overwhelm, so much information and influence. Rarely are we encouraged to listen to our intuition, only within the realms of fitting within societal limits. Just the term influencer brings about an amount of mini sick for me! These are people paid to promote and in some cases confuse. Again this is a business model. So why listen to me? Well, you shouldn’t, all I am asking is for you to listen to yourself. To trust yourself!

My own journey has provided an opportunity to shed some layers. Letting go of expectations, some self-imposed and some external. I have never been particularly rebellious but I also never quite fitted the mould either! Modern society rinses out our uniqueness from an early age, being told to conform and to be measured by some arbitrary nonsense. I often felt that my views were slightly off centre but also hoped that others felt the same but perhaps lacked the confidence to express themselves more fully. My husband and I don’t agree on everything (that would be rather dull!) but we do agree on the things that matter the most to us. I admit that many years ago I lacked enough conviction to home school our daughters whereas my husband was 100% up for that. Do I regret that? Maybe – I don’t like to hold on to ‘regrets’. It is done now, both of our daughters are adults and are happy and healthy. But being honest, I never felt comfortable with them being in mainstream schooling. Being taught what to think rather than how to think. Perhaps I should have listened to myself. I have to trust that we did enough to balance the books outside of formal education giving our girls a rounded upbringing and encouraging them to question things when needed.

The conditioning we experience is a tough one to shed. The best question to ask yourself is ‘does this make sense’? Not in the moment but after sufficient reflection. I am often asked by clients if something is good for them, mostly supplements or ‘superfoods’ or new lifestyle trends. My response is to ask them why they think that is it good for them, what symptom is it addressing, has it resulted in any notable changes, is there an obvious benefit? It is easy to jump on a new trend or do something that has been recommended by friends or family but the bottom line is that we are all different. What works for you might not work for me – we are all different. And that is why I encourage you to let go. Be open minded, be ready to change your views and understanding but also be gently with yourself.

Like all new things, practice is how we make progress, perfectionism is not required but an open mind is a prerequisite. Old habits and patterns have taken years to build and settle so allow them to unravel slowing and gently. Don’t be hard on yourself. It is better to start than to not start at all.

Myraji, my teacher, always reminds us that when giving up something it needs replacing. Just like moving energy, the space you create by losing or eliminating something will need to be filled. This applies to everything, food, drink, drugs, habits or beliefs and even our own self-talk. As we mostly look outside for acceptance and validation, now is the time to go inward. By becoming aware of our thoughts and habits we can begin to unravel, replace and reap the rewards.

Of course, you can ask for help on a self led journey and it can be beneficial to have support and accountability. You just need to be clear on what your values and goals are before engaging with others to avoid being guided by their values and losing sight of what you want to achieve. And if the advice or support you are receiving doesn’t sit right then trust your instinct. This journey is about using your internal guide so let it flow naturally and don’t force anything.

The more you practice listening to your Self the better you will be able to recognise when it ‘feels’ right. Trust in your ability to make good choices, trust that you have the power to heal, trust that inner voice. It’s a complete cliché but ‘trust your gut’ really is a thing!! It is no coincidence that your solar plexus chakra is located in the abdomen area and is associated with your personal power and confidence.

Looking at ones Self can look different for each of us, the depth of your journey is in your hands. You may be willing to go all in on a deep journey of discovery or you may want to simply start tuning into your Self on a regular basis and to listen to your intuition. You may, like me, sit somewhere in between. Whatever your decision, just trust that it is the right decision for you.

My biggest tip. Remember that less is more….this isn’t about adding more things to the ‘to do’ list or having more things to think about. This is about stripping away the noise and the unnecessary pressure. If certain practices or modalities that you follow or adopt don’t feel aligned then perhaps it is time to release them. So yes, there is an upfront exercise to assess what truly works for you and what really resonates but the aim is to reduce the pressure on yourself and to be clear about what is right for you. To do less and cut the noise and chaos provides space and time to go inward. It is so worth it! And to add a cliché you are worth it!!

Being self-led will ultimately simplify your life. You will spend less time searching outside for answers. You will no longer be influenced by well, influencers! My guide is that if a product is being advertised you shouldn’t eat it or you don’t need it.

As I mentioned there are many layers with a self-led journey and if you feel that you would like some support then do get in touch. Otherwise, I would love to hear your take on living a self-led life, so do share your own experience. If you haven’t already joined my Facebook group – INNER NOURISHMENT then please do join us and please share. The more we talk about our own experience the more empowering this will be for others. What a beautiful world we could create being led by our own inner wisdom. Remember now is the time!

If you would like to chat generally about holistic living and healing or Ayurveda specifically do get in touch.

The Untethered Soul - Michael A Singer

Before I am - Mooji

This Is It: and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience - Alan Watts

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are – Alan Watts

Freedom: The Courage to Be Yourself – Osho

“What are you and who are you doing?” Grumpy asks Snow White

Join my Facebook Group - Inner Nourishment or follow me on Instagram

To get you started I have included some inspiration below. First up some of my favourite books for self inquiry and reflection:

Some thought provoking questions to either contemplate on or use as journal prompts:

• What in my life feels off, or not aligned to my goals?

• What thoughts or beliefs am I carrying that no longer feel aligned or natural to me?

• When do I feel at my best or most productive? How can I cultivate more of that feeling?

• How do I feel when I am in alignment?

• How do I feel when I ‘know’ something is right or wrong for me?

• How can I cultivate acceptance and trust?

• What would progress look like for me?

• When do I feel most like my true self?

• How can I be more intentional with my decision making?

• What would it feel like to make clear and conscious decisions?

Before I go, here are some quotes that I love:

Ayurvedic concepts support a self-led journey, one of its key principles is that we are all unique. Your individual constitution alongside your very own personal experience brings you to where you are today. Aligning with the natural rhythm of life and the universe, being guided by your own experience will support your journey. Ayurveda has presented itself to me so many times over the years it became impossible not to delve deeper. A holistic modality that looks at you as an individual sits right. There is no hidden agenda with Ayurveda, no one owns Ayurveda. It is simply an ancient wisdom handed down through generations. Based in nature and backed by 5,000 years of experience which I find rather impressive.

So how do we overcome this nonsense? How do we unsubscribe from the chaos and information overload? The answer is simple, listen to your inner wisdom, listen like never before. I have created this blog to get you started on your self-led journey with confidence and gumption but as I said don’t listen to me….

The first step on this path is to let go and for some this will be the hardest part. If you are already here reading this it is likely that you are open to learning new things and open to change, the trickier part is unlearning. We are all conditioned and programmed, letting that go takes courage and faith. That is not to say that you forget everything you know or that I have all the answers typed out below. It means tuning into to yourself, your unique Self. And that will look different for everyone.

And finally an exercise to assess your core values. What are your cores values? Do you truly live by them? Wivi-Anne Nyberg of Ayur Yoga Academy recommended a book by Brene Brown ‘Dare to Lead’, which provides an insightful and thought provoking exercise to identify your core values. Warning - it is tough! You choose just two values, you start with a larger number, say 12, but you have to get down to just two core values. It took me several days of coming back to my values to go from 12 to 2 (and if I am honest I was still stuck at 3 as I couldn’t lose ‘family’ from my list!!). If you are wanting to dive deeper in your values this was a fascinating exercise. I didn’t love all of her book but this piece was worth buying the book for.

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