INPUTS FROM AYURVEDA TO TRULY LOVE YOURSELF

1. Alone time.

Having always surrounded myself with people for much of my earlier life, I have grown to appreciate the value and importance of solitude more and more with time. As with any other relationship, we have to really spend quality time with our own selves in order to find out who it is we are, and to be able to access our own deepest reservoirs of strength, power and potential. I truly feel that all the healing and transformation that has happened is because of carving out the time and space for being by myself on a regular basis.

2. Silence.

I have found that the voice of my soul speaks most clearly to me in the space of silence. It is difficult to go inwards to access our deeper essence when we are constantly distracted by the sounds of other people, the radio, television, phone and more. In Ayurveda, silence is intimately connected with the element of ether, or space, called akasha in Sanskrit. Like space, I find silence to be as expansive as the sky.

Sometimes, when we are new to the practice of mindful silence, it can be scary.

All of my inner demons arise in the space of silence. So, too, do my deepest treasures, which I, and we all, have to dig deeper and deeper still to truly discover. Only in knowing what monsters lurk in the darker recesses of our psyches can we begin the process of loving them to death.

3. Waking up early.

It is not always easy to find time to be silent in the midst of family obligations, job requirements, traveling, and the myriad other demands of modern life. I have always found that the early morning is the best time to discover the power of silence, in its fullest bloom. That is because the atmosphere between the hours of 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. blossom with what Ayurveda psychology calls the quality of sattva, which is the quality of clarity, harmony, peace, wisdom, and inner knowing. It is for this reason that Yogis have been waking up during this time, called Brahmamuhurta, since time immemorial. Brahmamuhurta is considered the most auspicious time, in fact, for my next favorite practice.

4. Meditation.

Meditation allows us to see that eternal, ever-present aspect of our self—that which is unaffected by age, change, and all the many diverse cycles of life, including death. Through meditation, we can see what attachments we have (to our body and/or mind) that keep us trapped in our own internal prisons of sorrow and distress. As we delve deeper into our practice of meditation, we eventually can see that our so-called inner demons (our fears, worries, anxieties, anger or resentments) are not actually as real as we may feel them to be. I find that meditation is the practice that allows all that is not needed to naturally fall away and leave me to be more and more truly free.

5. Being in Nature.

Nature is one of the greatest healers. In Ayurveda, we strive to live as close to nature as we possibly can, through our daily and seasonal routines, foods, exercise regimens, and other lifestyle practices. The way to achieve a state of health and balance changes throughout the course of the year.

By spending time outdoors, we can start to observe how all of nature is in a state of continual change and renewal. We, too, undergo continual change in our human body suits, and have the opportunity, through living close to nature with Ayurveda’s wisdom, to continually renew ourselves with nature’s healing powers. I personally love to spend time with animals, particularly dogs. I find I learn and receive so much from them, as they are always in a state of Yoga, which is definitely not just about asanas (postures), but is rather a profound state of union and connection with all manifest creation.

In my silent time in the early mornings, I also cultivate my lifelong love affair with the sun in the sky, as a representation of the universal soul, present in all beings and situations, even and especially those that challenge ourselves.