I've now completed two full days of my intensive! Day Two we focused on physical exam/structure and pathology (understanding the disease process from an Ayurvedic stance).. Although overall the topics were not quite as personally juicy to me as the philosophy and psychology (big shock) they were phenomenal. Here are a few notes about stuff I **heart**:
Yesterday I mentioned that we are made of the same elements as those in nature (earth, water, fire, air, ether). What you have more of helps you to figure out your dosha (and your dosha is determined at conception crazy enough). I personally have a mostly earth, water, and fire (kapha and pitta).
There are three doshas (vata, pitta, kapha) but infinite ways that these can mix and intermingle. Keeping yourself balanced and healthy in body, mind, and spirit so that you can pursue your dharma and bliss are the two goals of Ayurveda. Fabulous, eh?
The doshas also relate to the seasons and even time of day. Clearly we all see and feel the difference in the seasons. Summer is hot (pitta). Fall is windy and dry(vata). Spring is water (kapha). April showers do bring May flowers after all. Or so we always hope.
Depending on your dosha you want to be extra vigilant at certain times of the year. For example, right now is prime time for us Kaphas to get a "spring cold", as it's the Kapha season.
The cycle of twenty four hours also dances with and through the doshas.
Kapha time is from sunrise till the first third of the day, 6:00 - 10:00 am. It signfies the "creation" of the day when we're getting ready for our day to come.
Pitta time is the mid third of the day, from 10:00 - 2:00. This is the "productivity" time. Its peak is Noon, when the sun is blazing at it's highest. The world is on fire, the sun is doing it's awesome thing.
Vata time is the last third of the sunlight, from 2:00 - 6:00 pm. This is the time we begin to let go of our day, to be reflective, and begin brining it down.
Starting at 6:00 pm we work through this same cycle beginning again with Kapha. This dosha dance, this flow is happening regardless if you know about it. When we can learn the energies of the day (which is essentially us living more in balance with the natural world) we can literally go with the flow. And feel good. :)
**Of course these vary depending on where you live and the times aren't exact. It's a dance, a flow from one dosha to the next.**
On eating a big meal at night and going to bed. Food is energy. At night you are sleeping. Your body is resting, not working. We don't need the energy of the food. So instead of metabolizing we store. I think this makes perfect sense to me, is simple. Yet brilliant and powerful.
Not all cravings are intelligent cravings. When out of balance you crave the things that will keep you out of balance. Sigh. So true.
The goal again is balanced. The middle path. If we veer too far to the left perhaps we become rigid and ruled by perfectionism. if we veer too far to the right we just don't care. We're sleeping our way through life, complacent and dull. The middle road looks like a pretty amazing path to me.
**Photo above is where we are meeting. This is the "Lotus Room" and sits behind the main building for the college. It's set in a beautiful area. Within a ten minute walk to downtown (which is one of the cutest I'm encountered) yet nestled within a beautiful area. On my breaks I've been venturing off and walking among the tallest, most magical pine trees and enjoying blue skies beyond this world.**
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