Hi friends! How was your week? I hope you're taking some time to enjoy nature and the longer days, all while continuing to support your seasonal routine changes.
Are you finding that making little intentional spring adjustments feels good? Remember, if you are new to the practices of Ayurveda, you are still learning the concepts and experimenting. It can take some time to find out what works for you when it comes to creating balance. My hope is that you are gaining a better understanding of how YOUR body works so you recognize its subtlest signs of imbalance. The way to staying well starts with this awareness followed by right action.
One way to keep strong and healthy is through exercise. This you know, but did you know HOW and WHEN you exercise is key to how effective or damaging that exercise is for you? Today, I'm sharing the Ayurvedic perspective on exercise.
Not so long ago, The daily life of a human was filled with movement, so "exercise" wasn't really a "thing" that had to be "done". Now, less and less movement is required. We could literally have everything we need delivered to us including, food and water. We have to make a conscious decision to move in order to stay healthy. We have to push ourselves to move our heart rate and re-teach ourselves how to breath correctly. I have a good feeling all of you do a pretty good job staying active. However, there is a lot of confusion about how much or how hard we need to exercise. It can be confusing.
THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS-IT DEPENDS!
Ayurveda says how and when you should exercise all depends on your constitution (Vata, Pitta, Kapha) your current state of balance, your age, the climate and even the season.
By nature, exercise has the qualities of light, sharp, hot, mobile, clarifying and drying. Remember, a key Ayurvedic principle is LIKE increases LIKE and opposites balance. It's OK if that doesn't totally make sense to you right now, try just thinking intuitively. If you want to exercise what do you need to do to not overly stress the body? Can you change your intensity? Can you work out earlier? Do you need to try a new activity?
Here's an example of working against yourself
You're a Pitta constitution in middle age (Pitta stage of life)
You had a stressful day, (you're mind is agitated-moving towards anger)
It's 2pm in July (Pitta season/Pitta time of day)
You decide to "run off" your frustration.
You "push" the extra mile - sweat pouring out everywhere
This is a classic example of Pitta disruption.
Ayurveda will point out that having elevated heat in the mind, exercising in the heat of the day, in the hottest season of the year, with heating exercise will not only overheat the blood and disrupt the balance of the body, it will ultimately cause a breakdown of the integrity of all the tissues of the physical body. Hence, dehydration, injuries, longer recover time etc.
This kind of exercise done here or there, while being disruptive, won't be detrimental, but exercising this way over-and-over-again, begins to act like poison to the body-not medicine. Also, more injuries happen when the body/mind are suffering by over use and abuse.
Ayurveda says we should exercise to just 50% capacity-a little sweat at the top and bottom of your spine, under the arms and to the first sign of dryness in the mouth. And, you should be able to breath through your nostrils throughout the entire workout. You will naturally build capacity and endurance overtime this way without "pushing" and you will not be hurting yourself to get there.
The ideal time to exercise is during Kapha time of day which is 6-10am or 6-10pm. There is more grounding, and stability available during these times of day. Exercise and movement counteract the qualities that are common during this time of day like; sleepiness, heaviness and mental fog.
There is so much more to share on this topic, like looking at how all the dosha types are affected by improper exercise, and the different ways to balance them, but for now, let this information soak in. I look forward to sharing more about this topic in an upcoming workshop.
If you're concerned that your exercise is not as effective as it could be, and you want help figuring out how to support your constitution, sign up for a personalized consultation with meand we'll work together to create the perfect balance of exercise to take you through the entire year!
My new website is LIVE! You can now book a consult online, buy a single class, find resources, links and free PDF's. PLUS, all these notes will be posted on the blog page for easy reference and sharing but, YOU will always receive them first.
Have a fantastic week!
~Julie