May 4
You wake up a little foggy, and as the day unfolds, you feel more and more like a slug. Yet, when all you want is to let your body release into your comfy bed in the night, your mind decides to jump around or go for a sprint. Taken up by existential questions and obsessing over the heart-wrenching problems of the world, the mind doesn’t let you sleep!
There is an Antidote for Everything
This is, in essence, the teaching of the timeless wisdom of Yoga’s Sister Science — Ayurveda.
The medicine for an excessively stimulated mind is to Let Go.
However, we know that Letting Go can be nothing short of an ambiguous task. So, I share three of the straightforward ways I’ve been cultivating this skill this Spring.
I hope that this will both:
Help you bring to the surface some of the unique ways you already know how to use this skill of Letting Go.
Bring more of your attention and appreciation to these skills to regularly implement them.
Letting Go of The Body’s Build Up Impurities ~ A Mini Detox
Toxicity can’t help but accumulate in the body over time, even if I carve out a space for detox for just three consecutive days in a season!
Yet, I’m careful to do this in a way that is not depleting (as so many well-intentioned detoxes can be).
In a nutshell, this, for me, consists of the following routines:
I sip on warm water throughout the morning. It still surprises me how many benefits this simple habit can bring.
I eat Kitchari often. This is a unique soup that cleanses the system while simultaneously nourishing it. Stay tuned for a write-up on this topic soon.
I supplement my diet with half a teaspoon of Triphala per day. This herbal blend restores the optimal functioning of the colon. So, it is for anyone who struggles with gastrointestinal issues or is ready for a cleanse. Triphala has earned tremendous popularity because, like Kitchari, it can simultaneously detoxify and replenish the system. It does this in addition to strengthening immunity and so much more!
Letting Go of the unprocessed emotions ~ A Pause to Shed Loving Tears.
I recently had this privileged experience around a memorial for my beloved doggie. This ritual, which included releasing my Yoda’s ashes, provided me the nourishment of a soulful remembrance of our deep heartfelt fifteen years together. I wrote a note on this tender and healing experience HERE.
Letting Go of the accumulated excess ~ A Home Upgrade
Although I tend to approach my “tidying up” in a far more gradual flair than Marie Kondo, she’s served as an inspiration for releasing the accumulated excess this Spring. By carving out a window on my calendar each week to give my attention to clearing those intimidating drawers and closets in my home, I’ve so far removed five vast bags of things that were genuinely taking up space. Here too, my efforts are showing traces of “blooms.” While in support of the great guide and community of My Pocket Designer, a course on interior design, I’m confident that I’ll be cooking in a more spacious and functional kitchen before too long.
The Inspiration Behind these three: Body Detox, Shedding Loving Tears, A Home Upgrade
Aparigraha inspires all three — This is a Sanskrit word that means not grasping, not hoarding, or non-possessiveness.
In Yoga, there are five practices intended to cultivate greater self-awareness. Five tools for transforming those things that may be in the way of our inherent sense of peace. Aparigraha is one of these five.
To give my body a few stretches to free up its ability to circulate blood to all the places it needs to go, this is one form of Aparigraha.
To catch stagnating mind patterns such as the critical mind, so quick to dismiss a change plan, is another form of Aparigraha.
The examples shared on what I’ve been doing to Let Go this Spring: detoxing, freeing up my emotions, releasing the idea that I need to save an item that I’ve not put to use for some time, too, are forms of Aparigraha.
Your Antidote and a Solid Plan of Action will Quiet that Critical Mind.
The season changes are well pronounced here in ‘Eskimo land, aka upstate New York. This, combined with my two decades of Ayurveda immersion, can’t help but get me to notice that when the snow melts, as it finally seems to have done, water becomes more abundant. Evidence of this nourishment being received by nature is the blooming of new life. Of the Five Elements, Water is the one that FLOWS.
So, in case you were curious about my reason for having Aparigraha as my inspiration during this Springtime, now you know.
What inspires you to clear “the excess” in the way of life’s natural FLOW these days?
Get curious about this! Then follow up by making an effort to invite the wisdom of your antidote to collaborate with you on a solid plan of action. This will make the entire process more effortless.
For example, that critical mind, which tries to dismiss your inspired intentions even before getting started, will not have a leg to stand on when your antidote is in place. So, make a plan that you feel confident about following – eating nutritiously for a few consecutive days or enjoying a few stretches outdoors each day.
May your practice of Letting Go of that overactive mind bring you closer to your sense of well-being this season and beyond!
Thank you for reading,
Christianne