Balance

Ayurveda for Autumn

Ayurveda for Autumn

Autumn is a transformational time. Nature sheds its summer colour and welcomes the deep, nourishing hues that mark the start of rest or rejuvenation.

In Ayurveda, autumn is a time of lightness; of airiness; of brittleness and change.

It holds the potential for creative inspiration and productivity — if you feel grounded and well.

Ayurveda for Winter

Ayurveda for Winter

Ayurveda is a close sister of yoga. It’s an ancient and holistic system of medicine, developed in India thousands of years ago. It’s grounded in the simple principle of balance — because with balance comes good health.

An extensive study by two health scientists in 2016 highlighted the potential of ayurvedic knowledge to influence contemporary healthcare. They defined health from an ayurvedic viewpoint as:

 

“a state of equilibrium with one’s self (svasthya) but which is inextricably linked to the environment.”

 

Balance means adapting to changes in your environment that affect your physical and emotional wellbeing. What works for you in the heat of summer will be different from what makes you feel healthy and nourished during the winter.

Nadi Shodhana: Breathing For Balance

Nadi Shodhana: Breathing For Balance

Nadi Shodana is a traditional pranayama practice — a breathing technique — which promotes free and flowing movement of energy throughout the physical and subtle bodies.

The nadis are the energy channels that carry prana (our incredible life-force-energy) through and around the body all the time. There are a lot of them: around 72,000! And Shodana means ‘to cleanse’ or ‘to purify’.

So Nadi Shodana does exactly that; cleanses the energy channels to ease out any blockages or imbalances so that we can benefit from all of the energy available to us. It’s particularly effective at balancing two of the main nadis (energy channels) in the body, called Ida and Pingala.