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.

MODERNITY

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

Modern life is busy.

Endless commitments and duties, whether family and friends, work, hobbies or passions our time is expended at a rapid rate. A constant noise. Sometimes that noise is unbearably loud, sometimes a softer hum. Have you considered how much of that noise you create yourself? Do we have a button that we aren’t aware of or choose not to use?

I am a born planner, holidays and family events are booked, arranged and paid for way in advance, I love the excitement of choosing and the anticipation. I also like the feeling of having ‘stuff’ in the calendar. Or so I thought. More recently I have found this all a little bit taxing. To the point that last December I purposely planned for nothing outside of our traditional family gatherings for that month. November had been busy, I was tired and longed for rest and hibernation.

Since then I have become better at planning or rather at planning less.

My Ayurvedic path has shown me to how recognise habits and patterns and needs. It has also allowed me to slow down and to return to myself. To look inward.

The wellness space offers many beneficial modalities, there are always new opportunities and ways to deepen your understanding and practices ~ as a practitioner or as a participant. But I noticed that this in itself creates a constant striving in itself. Always chasing something new or different. The same addiction that is often felt in everyday life has now crept into the wellness space too. It seems the spiritual and wellbeing world is not immune to addiction. I, for one, had similar experiences when I graduated from Hale Pule. A feeling that I needed more training. Surely I would have more to offer with additional training? I considered Marma Therapy training (and have not written that off). I completed a Yin Yoga YT200 which was invaluable but I will be honest the transformational coaching program that I did was pretty pointless. Why did I think another badge would deepen my Classical Ayurvedic offering?

It was my determination to be 'good' that was driving my behaviour (my pitta dominance starting at me!). High achieving expectations along with my ego.

And when you follow a certain path it is inevitable that you will question your life’s purpose. Our Dhama. What is my Dharma? Am I doing it right?

Are my decisions taking me towards my Dharma? When will I get there?

I am sure I am not alone in this.....

The irony is that more often this constant concern and questioning takes us away from our true path. Often looking outwards rather than inward. We are already on the right track!. By letting go and not grasping we can move forward with ease and with less resistance.

What validation we are looking for? I remembered the brilliant quote from Mr Watts....

What a genius this man was!

Just to live!

Taking an honest look at our own habits and patterns is often rather revealing. The wellness space is full of ‘wellbeing’ obviously….but have you ever questioned what you are truly seeking? What does wellbeing mean to you personally rather than the version we are conditioned to seek.

How would your life feel if you had a volume control button?

"The meaning of life is to simply live

~ Alan Watts"

Everyone has felt that post event ‘high’. Whether it be the uplifted energy and renewed enthusiasm after a workshop, or a post retreat glow. maybe some grounded recognition from spending time with like-minded people.

The benefit in the moment is real and tangible. I am not disputing that. But often is can be just that…in the moment. We feel and enjoy the high and want more of that feeling. But technically that is addiction, particularly when you go back to normal everyday living and everything else remains unchanged.

Anyone else felt that before?

With Love

Claire

I am not suggesting that there is anything wrong with the events or treatments or experiences. Far from it. I love a soundbath, yoga nidra and learning and experiencing new things. My question is about intention. What are you seeking from these things?

Returning to Ayurvedic principles I am struck with the word balance again. All things in balance. Are these wellbeing events creating unnatural highs compared to everyday life? Is it rather that everyday life is where the work is needed?

It raises the question about what is to be ‘fixed’ in the everyday. If you are craving the high of more and more events it is worth assessing what is not being addressed. Slightly harder and deeper work maybe needed. The events shouldn’t be viewed as an escape from life, they should enhance life. Fluff is fine for some of us but I am not a fan of fluff. An odd escape is lovely but honestly you will only get happy if your daily life is addressed too. If a soundbath provides a couple of hours of relaxation then I am all for it. However, if you have a soundbath only to go home for half a bottle of wine or to eat ice cream then something else could well need some work. A four day retreat may feel wonderful but if returning home feels you with dread then it is time to fix what is going on at home. Do you return to a life and to choices that deplete you?

Let us just live with our reality, messy food spills and all! Let us normalise, well, normal living! We have lost sight of what is really important and lost connection with true and meaningful happiness.

Something to remember is that we hold more control over the volume button than we realise.

When I left the corporate world my aim was to create a life that I didn’t need to holiday from and that principle applies here too. I accepted that life would be different but in a positive way. The work hard ~ play hard culture hadn’t sat well with me for quite some time. So I made new choices and slowly things shifted.

Through Classical Ayurvedic teaching I have been able to build upon that principle of creating a life that made me truly happy rather than superficially and materialistically happy. Sattva is the subtle energy of peace and harmony, Sattvic choices, food and thoughts take you closer to achieving a blissful life. That may sound a little too much like woo-woo for some but I can vouch for the impact this can have on your life. My world isn’t full of the modern spirituality that you find on social media. My world is grounded in a wisdom that provides a solid foundation, a deeper understanding of myself and the environment I live in. By no means am I suggesting it is a perfect world but it is one that I am happy and content with. A place where balance reigns, where my inner sunshine is brighter than the outer sunshine. My life isn’t about chasing the next high or the next trend. Santosha is a Sanskrit word that means contentment. Each day I work towards a Sattvic life and Santosha reminds me that I have everything I need.

Work towards everyday peace and happiness. You don’t need to chase an illusory or instagramable life, you need to get comfortable with your life and your path (not someone else's).

I come back to the same thing so often. Our awareness is raised when we learn to accept who we are and when we allow the noise to quieten. The awareness has always been there but we must tune into it rather than hide from it.

If your goal is to increase your consciousness or raise your vibration or become enlightened then you have to, essentially, let go. Let go of grasping for these things. You have an internal compass that helps you navigate life, learn to listen to it.

I am not perfect at this but there are a couple of things keep me steady each day. My morning dinacharya grounds me before the day begins. It’s simplicity makes this an easy practice, its impact (particularly over time) is incredible. Consistency builds a trust within yourself.

Another thing that I find helpful is to simply have cup of tea. I know us English folk think most things are solved with a nice cuppa! But what I am referring to is finding a simple act, to do it slowly and with intention. It could be folding the laundry or watering your plants. The act really isn’t the goal, it is the intention you do it with. Do it with full awareness, let it anchor you into that very moment, with nowhere else to be ~ physically or mentally. Just a simple, quiet moment to yourself. That takes more effort than booking on to a new program or signing up to a new wellness regime or activity but is more likely to transform your daily life. Try it!

An underrated activity is to be in nature. For me it holds you in any way that is needed at the time, it knows what you need. To walk or to sit, both offer something slightly different. As does the type of natural surroundings. There is the deeply grounding energy of woodlands and green spaces and there is the refreshing and expansive energy of a lake or coastline. One thing I know for sure is that I never regret a walk in nature. It soothes in a way that no manmade construct can. And if you must take photos perhaps this is the time to take a few shots!

Allow the ebb and flow of life to do its thing. Nothing is permanent, let go, flow and smile often.

So while there is a physical button to turn down the volume we can control our environment in other ways.

"Dharma is not upheld by talking about it. Dharma is upheld by living in harmony with it

~ Buddha"

How do you maintain that feeling at home? The answer is fairly simple but simple is not always easy to implement. It is also common to think that you can’t have that idyllic life at home. But what is stopping you? I would suggest that it is largely about perspective. Social media and mass marketing campaigns cause this constant comparison problem. Instagram is a manufactured view of life, one that doesn't include doing the dishes and picking up dog poop.

Most of us live in a reality that the Instagram aesthetic doesn’t support. I have done it myself, retaking a photo of food because I hadn’t wiped the rim on the bowl. What is that about? Would I do that serving my family their dinner? Of course not so what is the problem with posting that slightly messy bowl in social media?

Don't forget to subscribe below if you would like to stay in touch.