WiseWomanhood - Practice & School

Supporting You - Mind, Body, & Soul

Self Care

Loving Kindness Meditation

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At the recent NAMA conference I loved the workshop, Role of Ojas in Building A Healthy Family from Birth to Old Age. It reminded me of the importance of ojas. And one speaker suggested a good way to increase ojas is through Loving Kindness Meditation. ( 30% off all NAMA 2022 videos through June 30!)

This form of the Loving Kindness Meditation is what I use: I sit for meditation, focusing on the love I feel towards a person or deity. When this feeling is firmly established, I let go of the object and allow the love to be inward, filling my whole body and aura as I inhale and radiating outward from my heart like moonlight, as I exhale. This inborn love never is depleted.

Try it! You may find it renewing and also ojas increasing.

On Being Sick

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Weakened and recovering from hip replacement surgery, I have become (temporary) host for some kind of virus.

Tell-tale symptoms slowly unfolded, so slowly that I missed them as I focused on getting my repaired leg reintegrated and detoxed from the necessary drugs involved. Scratchy throat. Feeling feverish. Low appetite. Dry cough.  At first, I thought it was a resurgence of acid reflux, which could have similar symptoms, without the feverishness. I took some herbs to loosen the cough – grindelia with usnea and red root, a tincture of Colorado herbs that I’d made up myself. It worked, stimulating mucus production in this vata body living in a vata climate. For awhile the cough was worse.  I got some Serious Cough tincture by WishGarden Herbs, which has helped, along with sitopaladi. Eucalyptus essential oil,nasal rinses and heat to my sinuses to loosened them up. Herb teas and zinc lozenges helped with the tender throat.

Uncertainty of What It Is

Well, I took a covid test which was negative, but later realized that I’d rinsed my nose that morning so may have reduced the viral load. It feels like a bad cold, except in the early days of it, food tasted off for me. Not noticing it any longer, but also not eating a wide variety.  Eating rice and beans mainly, with some cooked vegetables.

Recovering Body and Mind

Day by day I’m becoming more myself, less a virus factory. Frustrated to have spent time with surgery recovery and then be isolated and low energy again. Sticking to my meditation practice and practicing bathing my body & mind with loving kindness helps.

I noticed how difficult it is to be a practitioner for myself when I’m sick. It’s a rare occurrence, without well practiced protocols for myself. Time to re-establish a relationship with another practitioner to depend on when needed. 

How about you? Who helps you remember how to take care of yourself when you are deep in sickness brain?

Why People Are Defying Logic And Having Big Parties And Gatherings During A Pandemic! And Some Personal Solutions…

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The Situation:

Under pandemic, we have become deprived of the crucial neurochemical, oxytocin.  This hormone is important for reproduction – from orgasm, to childbirth, for bonding and breastfeeding.  It is also crucial as a social reward for behaviors that can lead to passing on our DNA – hugs, touching, being in a like-minded group, and even being in a big party, concert, or sports event where everyone is on the same page. Even the social reward of seeing smiles has been covered up by masks. Handshakes and hugs are forbidden out of prudence.

This is even worse for single people or people living alone. Opportunities to socialize and perhaps meet a new partner are severely limited under the current guidelines – whether you want to meet in a bar or at church.

Trust busting pandemic practices…

And oxytocin promotes trust in those around us.  With low oxytocin, constantly trying to “Distance”in case others will make us sick, and people masking their facial expressions it becomes difficult to trust.  This only adds to the polarizing situation in our country.

To avoid taking drastic measures that can put ourselves and all we come in contact with at risk, try these:

Pandemic-Safe Ways To Have Some Hits Of Oxytocin Every Day

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  • Alone?  Try self massage to release some oxytocin.  It’s an Ayurveda practice to do frequent self massage with sesame or almond oil (or medicated oils for specific kinds of support).  It doesn’t have to be fancy, just do what feels good before a nice warm bath or shower.
  • You can also give yourself hugs or soothingly place your hand on your heart. This is shown to increase oxytocin.
  • Many people have learned the Zoom habit – meeting with video chats.  This is more rewarding than just audio phone calls, seeing the other person adds a stronger dimension of connection…and oxytocin.
  • Some research has shown that practicing hatha yoga can help with some oxytocin. This is in addition to helping reduce anxiety & depression and supporting healthy sleep.
  • Loving-kindness meditation, also referred to as compassion meditation, involves directing thoughts of love, compassion, and goodwill toward someone in your life and sending thoughts of peace and wellness toward them.
  • If you are living with someone else you like, you might try cuddling and hugging with that person.  And maybe you don’t have another person, but have a pet.  Petting your pet also releases oxytocin!
  • And if you are locked-down with your lover, having sex is a premier way of getting oxytocin. Of course, if you are not with a lover, you can have orgasms on your own!  Just be aware that too many orgasms can deplete your immune system. (Ayurveda has guidelines for different ages and body types as well as special ways to renew after sex to avoid this.) 

I hope this list gives you some ideas for yourself and some compassion for all those wild and crazy people gathering together during the time of COVID 19.

For more info:  www.wisewomanhood.com  

Ayurveda Self Care Support Group for YOU!

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Ayurveda self care goes to the heart. It is the framework upon which you can build a life in tune with Nature. Going to the root – it’s radical – and worthy of a support group . Changing your self care routine can change so much in your life. And Ayurveda offers healthy routines for eating, sleeping, exercising, meditating, and more. And I’m starting a free support group to help you get started.

What is your self care routine? Is it routine, locked into a list you automatically check off in your brain every day? How to make new self care part of your life is key.

Once automatic you don’t need willpower!

Getting to automatic is where social support comes in. It’s essential to have a special buddy and or a support group you can be accountable to and get help from in sticking to your routine. For that reason, I’m starting a free on-line Ayurveda self care support group.

Whether you are new to Ayurveda or a certified practitioner, you can use support to improve your self care and live in tune with your nature and Mother Nature. To sign up – email me. Do it today to join in to the weekly support group – we’ll start Wednesday, March 4 at 7pm on Zoom.

Know Your Daily Doshas to Choose Your Day Wisely

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Maybe like me, you wonder how to best choose your food and activities for today. I made up this little chart to share with students and clients to get in the habit of determining our daily dosha needing balance.

If you need to learn how to balance, choose my class series – Learn the Language of Nature – Ayurveda for a background which teaches you how to do just that.

Soothe and Ground for Autumn

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Autumn is Vata season.  Ayurveda teachings share a lot about adjusting to each season. How we eat, how we exercise, our lifestyles, can all help us be balance our personal physiology. By knowing your own balance (or imbalance) and the tendency of the seasonal change to disrupt you, the most individualized approach is possible. This article gives general info about the season. For more about your own personal balance, consult with me or another Ayurveda practitioner.

Of course where you live determines what the season is like.  I live in Colorado.  It’s generally dry, changeable, windy, high in altitude, so thin of air. These conditions tend to increase the Vata in our systems – more air and space.  Our Falls tend to be temperate moving slowly into colder temperatures – unless there’s a sudden snow storm, which is also possible. It can be windy.

In general, Autumn is a Vata season – when plants die back, crops are harvested, leaves fall from trees, nights become cooler and frost will begin to appear. It is a time of Nature letting go above ground, going down into the roots in preparation for Winter cold.

So to guard against the drying, changeable, cooling effects of Autumn, eating a cooked, soupy diet of seasonal vegetables is in order. Crockpot meals are handy and soothing. Avoid any foods that cause gas for you, such as beans or broccoli, unless very well cooked and spiced to increase digestion. That expansive property is too common in this season. Root vegetables are very grounding and balancing for Vata.

Protect yourself against the wind and cold by covering yourself, especially your head and neck.

Vata can agitate the nervous system. After the long days and activities of summer, it becomes time to guard against too much activity, electronics or other ways that can over stimulate us. We begin the inward turning, just as the sun recedes from our hemisphere as the Earth tips away from it.

Other Vata soothing measures that you may include in your daily routines include:

  • slow, gentle warm oil massages with sesame or almond oil before warm showers or baths
  • keep well hydrated to maintain physiology
  • drink warming teas – ginger tea is especially indicated
  • keep a routine for eating and sleeping times
  • moderate exercise and time in nature and fresh air
  • moderate sexual activity to avoid depletion
  • be settled, avoiding too much travel or moving your home or business

Autumn is a wonderful time to enjoy the harvest of food and memories from the summer work and play.