I don’t know about you but some days when I pause I notice that the list of things I need to do and be just to keep a modicum of sanity and a positive mindset seems to have gotten very very long. There’s my yoga, my breath work, eating well, making sure I get out in nature, my daily chat with the universe, my gratitude practice, journaling, making sure I get enough sleep…..the list really could go on and on and on……
And if you happen to be a woman (like me), who is a recovering perfectionist, or perhaps you’re a learned people pleaser, or you grew up having to compete for attention, you might feel like not doing ‘all the things’ every day is going to leave you disappointed in yourself and with life - not giving it your very best somehow.
This is why I continuously come back to the ancient wisdom of India’s 5,000 year old science, Ayurveda. Its central tenet, its foundational belief is that you don’t need to be fixed. Ayurveda reminds me that there is no perfect version of myself I’m striving to be, nor is there a perfect morning routine. Instead Ayurveda teaches me that by always being the truest version of me, I will find balance, abundant health and lasting happiness. And I can tell you when I start having a long list and lots of guilt about all the things I ‘need to do to be me’, well that’s the most unlike me I can be. Ayurveda is my guide to being a rewilded woman, to embracing my natural tendencies and strengths.
Ayurveda has taught me how to use easily accessible things like food, yoga, my breath and my routines to feel more like me. This Eastern science is based on the concept that we are all made up of a beautiful and unique combination of five natural elements - earth, water, fire, air and space. As long as I know which ones I have more of and which I have less of, I can make tiny adjustments in my day to day life to keep feeling more like myself each moment. It’s one lens by which we can get to know ourselves and even the smallest amount of Ayurveda knowledge gives us immediate power to return to the truest version of who we are.
I’m not one to gate keep wisdom that’ll help you rebecome you so here’s my top three favourite Ayurveda nuggets to get you started.
Start where you are - if you don’t like how you feel today then you can change exactly that. But rather than working on changing your mood, take the action that will change your mood. This could be anything from eating nourishing food, to putting down your phone, to going for a walk, to getting more sleep. You know deep inside what action will make you feel good so go do that and then watch yourself feel more like you.
Like increases like, opposites create balance - in Ayurveda not being in balance, not being ourselves is created when we have too much of something and not enough of another. But human nature is to give ourselves more of what we have. If you can tune into what you have too much of, (busy-ness, work, travel, appointments), and give yourself the opposite of that (rest, stillness, connection, nourishment), then in Ayurveda you will experience more balance. It can be a lot more complex in this ancient science but think of this as a great starting point to practice and play with.
Routine is your spiritual container - in Ayurveda we use the Sanskrit word dinacharya to describe your daily activities and it’s said to begin the night before. How you finish the day (feeling like yourself or someone else), is even more important than how you begin it because it impacts on your ability to receive rest which is one of the three pillars of Ayurveda. Create an evening and morning routine that is simple, supportive and helps you remember who you are and makes you feel like yourself - something that you can easily put on repeat every single day. Anything from a gratitude practice, to a moment just for you and your coffee, to journaling or gym - it’s whatever simple acts help you end the day well and set you up each morning to go be your fabulous self.
Think of Ayurveda as innate wisdom from the natural world on how to be yourself. For me it’s one of four bodies of knowledge I use to rewild on the day to day and to support women I work with to rewild and feel both comfortable and unapologetic being themselves. Keep reading The Rewilded Woman and its last three upcoming installments to learn more about the easy tools you can use to keep rewilding and enjoy being you.