The shape of the tongue helps to reveal one’s constitution. Vata tongues tend to be narrow and off-center. Pitta tongues tend to be medium width and pointy, and kapha tongues are wide and thick. The color of a tongue gives us information as well. When a tongue is purple, that indicates a vata imbalance.
Finding the delicate balance between what fuels you and what depletes you is essential for sustaining energy, yet this is something that can take a lifetime to learn. Investing time and self-study into better understanding those details is important, and there are some basic principles within Ayurveda that can help. Just as the three Ayurvedic constitutions are often interested in different activities, each dosha also has a varying capacity for sustaining and expressing both physical and mental energy.
Smoothies have become so synonymous with health and fitness that it’s hard to picture an exercise routine without a morning protein shake in hand. But when we consider what Ayurveda teaches us about digestion, along with what we know about our body’s response to exercise, we might change what we are tossing into the blender.
Ayurveda has a long tradition of utilizing fasting as a vital practice for maintaining and regaining health. In our society, fasting is often viewed as a type of denial or deprivation, but you can instead choose to see fasting as a gift to yourself: a much needed rest from the constant barrage of foods and experiences you take into your body. Welcome to the Ayurvedic approach to fasting.
As you recall from your elementary science classes, our heart and blood vessels make up the cardiovascular system. Its primary role is to carry blood full of oxygen and nutrients to our tissues and move waste for disposal to their proper sites for elimination. From an Ayurvedic perspective, there’s a missing layer that your science teacher may not have been privy to.
From an Ayurvedic perspective, energy burnout is a case of pitta-overload or an accumulation of a hot, sharp, fiery type of energy. While pitta imbalances can be seen in many forms, like inflammation, skin conditions, or blood conditions, the changes it causes in our endocrine system can be most threatening to our well-being.
There's a time to use Ayurveda (sniffles) and there's a time to go see a Western doctor (sinus infection). When accidents happen or serious health problems arise, go to Western medicine. While being treated by our Western doctor, we can still do all the Ayurvedic practices (routine, food, rest, natural remedies, and so forth) to promote healing and support health.
When you reach the point of adrenal fatigue, the stress you’ve experienced has been so great for so long that your body can no longer recover. Along with getting proper rest and food intake, one of the best and often easiest ways to provide support is through adaptogenic herbs. Adaptogens assist in our body’s management of metabolic systems during stressful times.