Easing Into Ayurveda: An American Perspective on Ancient Wisdom

By Bridget Leary

Is the world of one-size-fits-all not working for you?

 

Do diet and health fads fail you every time?

 

Then you owe it to yourself to explore the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda through this book. Through personal stories and her own learned wisdom, Bridget guides you through the basics of Ayurveda. Feel empowered with knowledge to reshape your life and your health. In this book you will learn:

• The importance of the three S's to create change in your life.
• How to use the 20 gunas to create balance in your body and life.
• The importance of your dosha - it's not as important as you think.
• The vital importance of agni and how to strengthen digestion.
• How to adjust your diet and lifestyle for the seasons.
• How to pacify your doshas when they become aggravated.

If you've struggled with your body, your nutrition, or processing emotions and past experiences, this book will help you learn about the ancient science whose major goal was to help you live a longer, happier life.

 

Easing Into Ayurveda is a perfect book to introduce you to, and help you make sense of, the nutrition and lifestyle teachings of this ancient tradition by someone who grew up in America and lives a modern life. Explore the philosophy behind Ayurveda and learn practical steps to ease you into this ancient wisdom and a healthier life.

 

Get it now.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ink & Print Publishing
• Release date: Sep 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781737936213

Book preview

1

MY AYURVEDA EXPERIENCE

A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP. - LAO TZU

Idecided to write this book because I often found, and still find, many texts and books about Ayurveda leave me overwhelmed by the material. From textbooks to cookbooks, I found myself resisting the content. I chose to write a book that would make Ayurveda more accessible. The intention of this book is to ease you into Ayurveda . Hopefully, this book makes your journey easier than mine.

I was first introduced to Ayurveda during my first yoga teaching training. It was an intensive two-hundred hour training that met every Friday evening from 5:30 to 9 PM, every Saturday from 9 to 5 PM, and every Sunday from 10:30 to 5 PM. By the time they taught the Ayurveda section, I felt completely overwhelmed, and introducing such new and seemingly strange concepts was too much for me.

The Ayurvedic portion was a couple of hours long, a very short time to cover the depth of Ayurveda. By the end, I knew one thing for sure. I wanted nothing to do with Ayurveda.

What did it have to do with yoga, anyway?

When I look back on myself in that moment in time, I shudder with chagrin at how little I knew and how closed off I was. I understood I wasn’t ready for Ayurveda. There was still a lot that I needed to do to prepare myself to open up and welcome it into my life.

I didn’t give another thought about Ayurveda, outside of rolling my eyes at it, until I did my second yoga teacher training about two-and-a-half years later. When the teachers covered Ayurvedic concepts, I had a surprising amount of openness. I must confess that I had no intention of incorporating any part of Ayurveda into my life. This may have contributed to my receptiveness.

Oddly enough, this mindset set me up to be receptive and curious. Instead of sitting quietly in overload mode, I engaged and asked questions. I tried to understand the concepts being presented. I even wanted more class time devoted to Ayurveda.

My 300-hour yoga teacher training spanned twenty-two months. Eleven months into the training. I realized Ayurveda was the missing puzzle piece I had been searching for in my life. I decided to study Ayurveda and entered the Ayurvedic Practitioner program at Yoga Veda.

I spent the first year plus at Yoga Veda, feeling quite lost as my teachers laid the wisdom of Ayurveda at my feet. I couldn’t absorb it and struggled to keep my wits about me. How was I supposed to not only understand all of this, but remember it all as well? Fortunately for me, I asked the right question at the right time during an Ayurvedic Anatomy class.

My Ayurvedic anatomy teacher was a very learned and experienced practitioner. I soon felt that familiar feeling of being overwhelmed. I asked him if he had any suggestions for remembering all the anatomy concepts. I don’t remember exactly what his words were, but it went something like this:

You won’t remember it all at first. You just keep learning, understanding, and remembering more each time you come back to it. I put together notes for teaching this class. I’m not doing all of this from memory.

I will always appreciate his answer. For the first time in months, I relaxed and believed that I was capable.

Ayurveda can feel overwhelming and strict, especially when you first learn about it. There are a lot of ancient texts, rules, and lists and everything can seem very dogmatic, but only if you apply Ayurveda on the surface level. Anyone can follow rules and lists, at least for a certain period.

To truly experience Ayurveda and reap the benefits of it, you must go deeper. You must go beyond the lists and the rules. You must make it a lifestyle unique to you. The texts, lists, and rules are flexible guides, not rigid tracks. Ayurveda is flexible as long as you don’t break the underlying theories and principles. There is a lot of leeway and forgiveness to be found on your Ayurvedic journey.

Ayurveda means life knowledge. ¹ Having life knowledge is one thing; being able to apply that knowledge is another. To me, Ayurveda is gathering life knowledge and learning how to apply it with wisdom. Having wisdom is not blindly following lists, charts, and theories. It is knowing what is right for you and having the flexibility to adjust, change, and flow with the vibrations and rhythms of nature and life.

There are two things in life that are set for every person born on earth. You will be born and you will die. What happens in between can be the subject of different debates, theories, and forces. Ayurveda wants to extend the time between those two events. It wants to keep you as healthy as possible during the time between your birth and death so you can achieve personal growth while living your life’s purpose.

Ayurveda’s goal is to help you live as long of a life as you can in the greatest health possible so you can work towards spiritual liberation.

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH

Within this book, I use a lot of Sanskrit words. The first sages who documented the wisdom of Ayurveda and other ancient philosophies did so in Sanskrit. As there is no standardized method for translating Sanskrit, there are also many spellings. I will do my best to be consistent.

Language is sometimes challenging for me. If it is for you, don’t get hung up on the Sanskrit. If you want to know more, you can check out the glossary for a better definition of these words. You don’t, however, need to know or even pronounce these words to make Ayurveda work for you.

There are also many schools of thought on Ayurveda. I was blessed to have many teachers share their knowledge with me and support my expansion into yoga and Ayurveda. Some were very traditional, and others were very integrative and modern.

I am very integrative in my views and believe that Ayurveda incorporates more than what the ancient sages wrote in the sutras. I believe Ayurveda is inclusive and ever growing and my teachers have supported that view. Other modalities of care and treatment, including modern medicine, can be used Ayurvedically.

I also have a deep respect and appreciation for views other than my own. While this can be a challenge, I believe the differences and conversations surrounding those differences are where growth and advancing knowledge occur. Each person must decide for themselves which path is best for them and continue to shape and cleanse their lens as they see fit.

I have only one lens through which I experience life. It is personalized, limited, and ever changing. What I will share with you in this book is Ayurveda through my lens.

This is by no means an exhaustive or complete look at Ayurveda. It is much like an onion. There are always new layers to discover. To introduce every concept of Ayurveda in depth would be an insurmountable act. There is always more to discover and learn.

As your wisdom grows, you will be able to reach new heights and find new depths. This book is a jumping off point, a way to wiggle your toes in the water. This book is about helping you ease yourself into the ancient traditions of Ayurveda.

2

THE THREE S’S

IF YOU TAKE CARE OF THE SMALL THINGS, THE BIG THINGS TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES. EMILY DICKINSON

WHAT IS NEXT?

One day I was chatting with a friend. He shared an insight that struck me as so true. He felt the most common error he saw people make in their professional career, was understanding what’s next.

He told me that most people overlook what is actually next and instead focus on what the goal is. While having goals is a good thing, it’s much easier to achieve them if you focus on what is truly next.

He told me the tale of a man who was rebuilding a car in his driveway.

One day, a friend walked by and stopped to chat. He asked the man what was next for his project.

The man replied, Next, I’m putting tires on.

The friend thought that was exciting as the man was getting close to driving the car so he asked when he would install the tires.

The man replied, I don’t have the tires yet.

This intrigued the friend. What kind of tires are you going to get? Do you know where to buy them or how much they will cost? Will you need to purchase new tools to install the tires or need the help of others?

The man was quite flabbergasted and replied, I don’t know. I haven’t looked into any of that yet. ¹

Putting the tires on wasn’t what was next, but it was what the man was focusing on. And his focus on the goal of putting tires on kept him from seeing the steps that needed to happen first in order to achieve that goal.

What is next is the small things, not the big things. Eventually, the big things come, but they typically come in a series of small events. Rare is the life-altering event that comes out of nowhere. Those things do occur, but most of the time if we look back and reflect on what came before, we can see that small things lead to the big event.

AYURVEDA IS HARD. OR IS IT?

The most common feedback I hear about Ayurveda is that it is hard. Whether it is specifically stated or implied, that seems to be the biggest deterrent to implementing Ayurvedic principles.

As I work with clients on a one-on-one basis, I find they often fall off when they can’t implement everything, or feel life is too busy. There is too much going on.

I completely understand that there is only so much time in a day and only so many things you can apply your time, attention, and energy to. My question is, are you applying your time, attention, and energy to the rights things?

We often sacrifice our sleep, diet, and overall health for things that only deplete us more. Work, activities, and the daily business and stressors of life typically take priority. We can’t go to bed early because we are worrying about the stresses of the day and the to-do list for tomorrow.

When you incorporate an Ayurvedic diet and lifestyle, you are focusing on your overall health for your whole life, not just this meal or this week or this weight loss goal. Ayurveda focuses on the long game, not the short game: eating for health, wellness, happiness, and vitality. The long game can seem very overwhelming, so focusing on what’s next is pivotal. Focus on the small things, the small adjustments. This will also help you stay present in your journey and attend to your current needs, helping you achieve your long-term goals.

Important Note: There are no absolutes with an Ayurvedic diet. The recommendations given in the pages that follow are just that, recommendations. Each person must determine what is right for them. It is important to listen to your body to determine what foods work best for you. For example, just because you have a pitta dominant prakruti does not mean that all pitta recommendations will be right for you.

Sometimes there are differences in opinion between Ayurvedic teachers and interpretations. What some teachers deem or interpret as pitta-pacifying others may not. This is okay.

Each person is viewing Ayurveda through their unique lens. Keeping the overall general principles in mind when making food, diet, and lifestyle changes is often much more helpful and beneficial than following strict lists of dos and don’ts. Remember, small shifts lead to big changes.

Give yourself some grace and know that there is no perfect Ayurvedic diet. There is only what is right for you in this moment. Your needs are constantly changing, and you need to be fluid in responding to those needs.

Anything can be medicine at the right time. Moderation and self-awareness are crucial when indulging. I’m a big believer in enjoying the pleasantries of life, but it is important to do so in moderation and with awareness. Ask yourself these questions when making a food choice, especially one that you know may cause you problems.

Why I am indulging?

How will my body react?

Are the aftereffects worth it?

Will I remain in control?

And so on.

WILLPOWER AND RUBBERBANDS

You can do anything you want with sheer willpower; you just won’t be able to do it for very long. Willpower can help us jump start life shifts by giving us the power to make changes. But if those changes are too harsh, restrictive, or unrealistic, we will not be able to continue.

When implementing changes, remember the three S’s: Small, Subtle, Sustainable. The changes we make must be small enough that they feel doable, subtle enough that they don’t disturb our lives or body too much, and sustainable so we can see results.

Take a rubber band, a pencil, and a protractor—that semi-circular piece of plastic with degrees from 1 to 180 marked on it. The protractor represents your life trajectory. It has a nice gradual curve which rises and then falls.

You are the pencil and the rubber band is your ability to shift and change. Ground the rubber band at the center bottom of the protractor and around the pencil.

When you want to change your trajectory, you start to move your pencil away from the edge of the protractor. Your rubber band is stiff and tight and will not allow the pencil to move very far from the edge of the protractor. You can’t physically hold that stretched rubber band for long.

We can see willpower as the brute strength and force you can use to stretch the rubber band to the desired location on the protractor. You may be able to use your strength to keep the rubber band and pencil at the desired location for a bit, but eventually, one of two things will happen.

Your strength, or willpower, will give out returning you to where you started and leaving you tired and depleted. Or the rubber band will snap, sending the pencil—you—flying into a direction you never intended to go.

If we take our time and make small, subtle, and sustainable changes, we can achieve the desired shifts in trajectory. We can re-work the tension in the rubber band slowly and safely.

Each shift we make in life affects everything else. Cause and effect. Changing one thing will have an effect on everything else. Past changes make new changes easier.

Deciding to go to bed by 10 PM makes it easier to wake up at 6 AM. Eating regular meals makes it easier not to snack.

SMALL, SUBTLE, SUSTAINABLE

If you can remember the three S’s while you ease into Ayurveda, you will have a much better chance at long-term success. ²

Small – Making small changes feels doable. Choosing to reduce your caffeine intake is a small choice that is much more doable than trying to eliminate caffeine completely. Remember, small changes lead to big results. Reducing your caffeine intake will eventually make it easier to eliminate caffeine completely over time.

Subtle – Choose changes that are subtle. Subtle changes are less likely to have drastic and undesirable effects on your life and body. Slowly increasing your fiber intake will have a much more subtle effect on your body than jumping straight into a high-fiber diet. By slowly increasing your fiber intake, you allow time for your body to adjust and avoid the displeasure of gas, bloating and belly pain.

Sustainable – Changes need to be sustainable. If they are not, you will end up using your willpower. Even if changes are small and subtle, they must be sustainable. The changes you make should be manageable and you should be able to incorporate them fairly easily into your daily routine. If changes feel too heavy, restrictive or time-consuming, they are not sustainable.

Remember, life shifts and trajectory changes are not effortless. If they were, we would have achieved them by now. Life shifts and trajectory changes are challenging by nature. They challenge us but should not be impossible or depleting.

Sometimes we are not ready for the life changes and trajectory shifts we attempt and that is okay. That just means we need to do a little more work somewhere else first.

I encourage you to journal about your goals and the changes you