Let’s talk about stress baby! (hummed to a Salt-n-Pepa tune)
Stress can look a lot of different ways for different people. Some feel it in their physical body with tight shoulders and a locked jaw. Others experience overwhelming anxiety and can’t focus on anything. Some are hyper focused and can never seem to “turn off” constantly distracting themselves with tasks. All of these different expressions relate to the doshas (combinations of the elements).
When we can identify which element is dominant for our stress experience, we can better decide which stress supporting activity will serve us best.
This year has certainly put us through the ringer, you may have experienced all these different forms of stress at different times. What I like to focus on is how to support ourselves best when we are burnt out, overwhelmed or simply exhausted. First, think about your favorite ways to de-stress. Maybe that is hiking in nature, maybe it is list-making. Every activity we do can be associated with a different dosha (element).
What we are striving for is our personal balance. Every human has each element in different amounts as their base level balance - and it is different for everyone! Once we know what that is (it is called our dosha) we can choose what is going to help us get back to that state.
You can discover your possible dosha through a Free Clarity Call with me!
Let’s return to those different experiences of stress.
Sometimes we feel like we are constantly going and going - it can be hard to sleep because our brain doesn’t want to turn off! After a few days of this experience we could feel burnt out or exhausted. This is a fire dominant experience. In Ayurveda we would say your Pitta is high (Pitta is fire & water) When you are feeling this way it is helpful to balance with earthy stress supports like spending time in nature, close to water would be ideal. Other earthy stress supports could be taking a nap or some slow yin yoga.
When we are too earthy our stress manifests in our physical body. Maybe you have a locked jaw or intense shoulder pain. Earthy stress can also look like extreme lethargy. This type of stress usually builds up over time. Supports that can be helpful are airy and light. This looks like doing something creative like dancing or painting. It could also be circulation boosting supports like massage or acupuncture. (air & space are the elements of movement) This helps to break up that condensed energy in the body and offers the stress a pathway out!
The most common type of stress I see is air & space dominant. This looks like overwhelm, anxiety and fear. To support this type of stress experience it is helpful to know what your dosha is to choose what will support you best. For some it could be a fiery stress support like list-making, cleaning or organizing. For others it will be the earthy supports like naps and time in nature.
An earthy support that I have seen work well for this stress experience is stomping into the ground to feel the earth beneath you. This helps drop our energy down into our body and out of our head (where we might be analyzing too much)
I hope this gives you more clarity and confidence about choosing the de-stressing activities that will work the best for you!
