stress less: top 5 ayur veda tips. hint: spiky plants do it with computers

“Ayur Veda is relationship.” Yogachaitanya dropped this insight, from Dr. Lad–one of the West’s hottest go-tos on holistic health system Ayur Veda–as the intro to his seminar yesterday evening. Known to his buds and students as Chai, Yogachaitanya walks the talk. He studied at the Bihar School of Yoga in India, mastered martial arts–he’s now a black belt–teaches yoga classes and courses, and lives an Ayur Vedic, yogic, holistically happy life with wife and Ayur Veda consultant Madhuri. The rest of Chai’s seminar delivered insight into what the heck Dr. L’s talking about: How Ayur Veda can help us understand how our relationship with our body, mind, and universe effects our stress level, health and life.

Chai’s Top 5 AV Stress Less Tips
1. Recognize that what might send us over the edge could be just plain ol’ exciting to someone else. What we consider a “stressor” doesn’t necessarily have to be stressful. The different Ayur Vedic doshas–neuro-physiological constitutions–can come into play here, with individuals falling into each dosha (Vata, Pitta, Kapha) sharing common stress reactions.

2. Stress is often due to a misuse of our body and mind. Whatzat? Basically, working our bodies and minds too hard, through too much physical exercise, overthinking, or too little down time, lessens our ability to handle stress. Same with getting too little exercise or mental stimulation. An Ayur Vedic practitioner can help you figure out what the right amount of mind and body work would be for you.

3. Sitting at a computer screen for hours on end sends excess energy up to our head–increasing mental stress. Take breaks from the computer: Do just five minutes of anything that calms your mind and your body. Apparently you can also pop a spiky plant beside the screen to help diffuse the harmful-over-time electromagnetic field. Don’t believe it? Isn’t it worth a shot?

4. Our daily routine, or Dinacharya is vital. Simply put: A healthy daily routine, involving a morning practice of moving our body and stilling our mind, means we’re in better shape to make sure the rest of the day is healthy, too. We’re better able to handle what might otherwise become a surprise stress attack.

5. Cool controlling impulses. This is a message we hear all the time: Let go; Don’t worry about what you can’t control; Life’s a big mystery anyway. Easier said than done, but if we can do it? Did you say my day just went bottoms up, with one complication after the other cutting into my careful plan? No worries, mate. It’s just the way life is.

p.s. pick up one of Chai’s newly released Ayur Veda lifestyle tool CDs to get your soul mojo moving.

Related
Top 10 Ayur Veda Tips: Vida Wellness Spa Director Colleen Fraser