Taking a Lavender Break
So many of us are struggling with anxiety. How could we not? Look at the state of the world, our political landscape, social injustice, and the daily demands on us in our personal and professional lives. It's so much!
In this 3-part series, I will help you ease your anxiety with small, important (but doable!) changes to your diet and lifestyle. Learn more about Ayurveda HERE!
Part 2
Taking a Lavender Break
This simple, 2-minute practice can change your life by re-training your brain. Add this breathing and self-massage strategy into your day to calm tension and stress in the moment, and also to aid your brain in developing new neural pathways over time. You'll soon become more "prone" to calm and focus, and less likely to always fall into anxiety and overwhelm.
The stress and worry in our lives inevitably manifest in our body, mind, and spirit.
You may feel it:
Physically as pain or tension in your body, or digestive symptoms
Mentally as worry, anxiety, frustration, or blaming
Spiritually, causing feelings of great existential turmoil ("What does it all mean? What is the point of this suffering?")
Or sometimes you may even feel all of the above
It's a lot to handle!
In Ayurveda, we would say these stressful times are aggravating to all doshas.
In Vata, it increases worry, fear and anxiety, and may result in constipation, stomach pains, or bloating
In Pitta, it spikes stress hormones, irritability, the urge to control, and may show up in the body as inflammation symptoms like cold sores, acid reflux, or hot rashes
In Kapha, it may be felt as a heaviness in the stomach, low appetite, lethargy, and even depression
Don’t know your dosha yet? Take my quick, free assessment here, and get diet and lifestyle tips to benefit your unique mind-body constitution.
While we cannot control the external world, we can tend and nourish our inner world. Ayurvedic self-care practices are one excellent and effective way to do that.
Watch this quick video and try it today. Maybe even right this moment... I love to do it 3 times a day. Every single day.
The basic outline is this:
Sit down with a straight spine and start to let your body and mind relax
Slow down and feel your breath and the small movements in your body
Drop 1-2 drops of lavender essential oil, or an oil of your choice (see video for your best option) into one of your palms
Close your eyes, and rub palms together and cup over your nose
Breathe deeply through your nostrils for 3 slow, long breaths
Then rub the oil onto your fingertips
With eyes still closed, start to massage your neck, starting at the top and working your way down
Then massage your temples and jaw, then move on to your scalp (make sure hair is down)
Massage for as long as you like, remembering to breath slowly and easily
Sit in silence for a few moments afterwards, feeling a renewed, calm and clear energy moving through your body
Slowly open your eyes and reconnect with your day and yourself from this refreshed space
Use this simple breathing practice with essential oil, any time you feel stress and tension arise. By doing this, you observe and mindfully reduce your stress several times daily. You stop it in its tracks, which mediates your stress hormone "spike,” and brings you (and your sympathetic nervous system) back to center.
It took your nervous system a long time to reach such a state of aggravation. But you can use this re-training to gently and consistently undo all that old conditioning. With practice, your brain will develop new neural pathways, and over time relaxation and calm will become more of your natural default setting.
Of course, life will still throw you curveballs. But you'll be so much more prepared with your new set of holistic self-care tools.
Try this daily for one week and see how much better you feel! Anxiety can be so hard, and make it difficult to manage even the simplest aspects of our day-to-day life. But you can manage it and thrive using holistic health strategies. You have nothing to lose!
Stay tuned for our next post: Ease Anxiety with Ayurveda Part 3: "Self Care and Self Love with Abhyanga" Together we can feel calm, centered, and strong, naturally.
What are you working on right now? Anxiety stress overload, and LIFE overwhelm? I want to hear more about it, and offer you some natural options.
Click HERE to schedule a fun, free holistic chat with me, and we’ll dive in together.
Living in alignment with your dosha is like unlocking your unique health code.
You can feel amazing - without resorting to pills, self-deprivation or endless doctor visits. My Beautifully Balanced program combines Functional Medicine with Ayurveda to help women transform their health and lives naturally - in just 3 months. I’d love to support you too.
