The imbalance that is always behind anxiety…
Spinning and scary thoughts, feeling on edge without knowing why, and being worried all of the time are symptoms of anxiety.
Chronic anxiety is very uncomfortable to feel. You can feel like you are losing your mind and there is no escape from it.
Anxiety takes its toll on your entire being. It’s not just in your mind, anxiety stretches into your body making you feel restless, tense, shaky, your heart might beat funny, and so tired but not able to sleep.
If you look a little closer you might notice that you also have dry skin, suffer from constipation, and have muscle spasms or twitches
ALL of these symptoms are a part of a Vata imbalance, which, according to Ayurveda, is the culprit behind anxiety. Excessive vata settles in the nervous system causing you to experience this unpleasant uneasiness.
Vata is one of the three doshas in Ayurveda. The other two doshas are Pitta and Kapha. The doshas are the three energies that make up who you are. You need all of the doshas, but one is often out of balance which creates mental, emotional, and physical symptoms.
Vata is made up of ether, it’s cold, it likes to move, and it’s really dry. It’s also degenerative (consider osteoporosis: bones that are weakened and breakdown).
You need Vata in your body to move lymph, blood, muscle, and your food from your mouth and down your digestive tract.
Vata is responsible for many functions in your body including responding to threats in your environment. Like quickly moving your hand away from a hot stove or running from a predator.
You need healthy levels of vata to survive and thrive.
Vata also helps you come up with ideas, be creative, spontaneous, intuitive, energetic, enthusiastic, and a sparkly person who likes to experience new things, travel, and has lots of vitality.
But, an imbalance creates anxiety, fatigue, constipation, nervousness, restlessness, ungroundedness, and bloat/gas. You might come up with a million great ideas but are unable to execute them well or change your mind a million times. Your might will feel physically weak and your mind spins with uneasiness.
When I treat anxiety I consider the whole picture that my client presents and make recommendations from that information using Ayurveda’s philosophy of treating with the opposites. So if vata is cold, quick, degenerative, and dry. Think warm, building, slow, and moist:
Try things like eating warm, cooked foods. Including foods themselves that are building and warming like sweet potatoes, carrots, meats, and warm milk.
Sloooowwwww down. Notice when you are moving fast. Try to schedule your day so it is more spacious. Get out of the habit of overscheduling.
Take time to rest every single day. Y’all know how much I love a good nidra (check out my website to download what I have recorded).
Attempt a routine. Wake and eat at appropriately the same time every day.
Weight training in a slow, meditative way builds and pacifies vata.
Process emotions. Any experience of trauma imbalances vata. Vata governs the nervous system and the mind so what and how you think along with your experiences impact the overall well being of your body. Giving yourself the opportunity to express, feel, and process your emotions and experiences balances the vata dosha allowing you to feel more calm, at ease, and like everything is going to be ok, no matter what.
Above, keep it simple. If you feel like you suffer from anxiety, find one of the above ways to start pacifying vata. Learning to notice what is happening in your body and responding to what it needs is a great way to support your nervous system and overall health.
Namaste!
Nichole
PS: Never miss a way to regulate! Sign up for my newsletter here: www.nicholejones.com/newsletter
