I’ve recently started an Ayurvedic journey with the help of Haylee’s Seasonal Stromme: Skadi. Before this course I had never really known what Ayurveda meant. I only ever came in contact with the word when it was on the back of a tea box. Though, I knew it was an alternative medicine system and that peaked my interest right away. Flash forward to now, and I still have much to learn, but I already feel like I’m living my life more consciously. I’m beginning to work with my body rather than against it. And the best part of Ayurveda is that it's simple! You don’t need any new resources, all it is is listening to and doing what feels best for your body. Today I’m going to share with you my experience of the first intensive session. Ayurveda has provided me with knowledge that I’m excited to implement in my life, and to share with others, so now I’ll share with you guys!
Throughout the course we dive into the doshas, the three energies that the world is composed of, and how we can alter our lifestyles to match the seasonal flow and our personal makeup of them. This knowledge allows one to adapt their routines and interactions with the world to create optimal balance between themselves and the elements.
For our first class we began to unpack what the doshas exactly are. The doshas are kapha, vata, and pitta. For a quick overview of what these energies embody, they can be thought of by the following archetypes. Kapha is warm, dense, and compassionate. This can be thought of as an elder, wise grandmother with big, comfy bosoms to nestle your head into. (Laying on my grandma’s bosoms sounds oh so comfy right now). Next, we have vata. Vata is spacey, creative, and light. You can envision this as an artist at an art gallery who is fluttering from person to person, talking to nobody but to everybody at the same time. Lastly, we come to pitta. Pitta is hot, spicy, and quick. Pitta embodies a boss lady in a white pantsuit who's hopping into the CEO position. That real “ready to get stuff done” attitude. Our interactions with these doshas affects all of us very differently, hence the importance of understanding them! The more we understand the doshas, the more we can understand ourselves.
I was personally really excited to learn about the doshas! I think it’s fascinating to break down life into three main energies, and then alter our lives simply with the awareness of them. I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of imbalance in my life, so getting one step closer to creating that balance is nothing but excitement. With the help of Haylee’s dosha quiz, I discovered that I’m vata-pitta. This made a ton of sense to me! Vata can lead to anxiety and/or depression due to the constant stream of thoughts that comes with its bouncy nature. Vata conflicts with pitta as the spaciness of vata takes away from the focus of pitta, the energy that just wants to get stuff done. This is exactly my problem. I have tons of daily ideas and goals, yet it's hard for me to stabilize myself enough to actually get them done. Not to mention I also struggle with social anxiety, which has vata written all over it. Seeing this connection was comforting to me, for it made sense of issues that I’ve been struggling with for a while now. It offered some relief by understanding why I react in that way and how I can best aid myself in the future. I began thinking about how the doshas represent themselves in my life and the people around me. I saw too much kapha in my morning routines, hence my struggle to get out of bed. I saw lots of vata in my cat, explaining his antsy behavior that results in random sprints down the hall and jumps to the top of the fridge. I saw way too much pitta in my never ending to do list and abundance of phone reminders. I also saw a ton of vata in my clothing and decorations as my space is filled with all kinds of colors and patterns. I even quizzed all of my friends on their own dosha types! Once you make sense of the doshas, you’ll notice them everywhere!
One of the biggest takeaways I had from the session is the importance of attention to detail in ayurveda. We typically go throughout life on autopilot, not really stopping to think about how things make us feel. Being aware of how different activities, foods, scents, etc. make you feel is a level of consciousness that we’re not taught to care about. Life can be more than just survival. We can design our days to accomplish what's needed while also providing optimal comfort for ourselves. Luckily, ayurveda is not a practice that requires any additional tools, rather it guides you on how to use what's around you to your advantage. This could look like getting up earlier to avoid feeling sluggish in kapha time, or adding more warming spices to your foods in the winter. It's the slight changes we can make in our routine that will make all the difference.
Stay tuned for more updates as I experience the Seasonal Stromme! Maybe you’ll be inspired to join the Ayurvedic journey.
Written by our lovely intern Hailie from inside our Seasonal Stromme: Skadi - click to learn more about our seasonal workshops and programs!