It is always important to prioritize our heart health and in February we raise awareness of heart disease and how to prevent it. Also check out our series that highlights specific cardiovascular diseases and how yoga can be a useful preventative measure in our February 2022 series linked below.
ChayaVeda Integrative Healing Arts
Friday, February 14, 2025
February: American Heart Month
Sunday, December 22, 2024
Psychological Self-Defense
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The Science of Life: Ayurveda ∙ Yoga ∙ Physics Vedic Psychology |
The highest form of Yoga is Karma Yoga, which means, right action, and Ayurveda and Yoga explain we must do “right action”, meaning action that will not cause a reaction, so, in a world of people acculturated to scurrying to know what to do, and doing, when firstly, we need to know what not to do.
Ayurveda, Yoga and Physics are root cause systems looking at the mechanisms at play for how all things work through interaction and the root causes of disease, which explain their valid and legitimate responses. We do this from a state of Veda, to know the inner and outer landscape, understanding life and nature from the roots, and how to not do or suggest anything that would cause a reaction.
Ayurveda and
Yoga also explain Veda or true knowing beyond ordinary perception, that
comes from the experience of unity and the intelligent interconnection of all
things, which means there is always a reaction to anything, like the game of
dominoes, or throwing a pebble into the lake that creates ripples, and physics
explains that every action has a reaction, E=MC2, so everything you do in life
creates a ripple and when you are spiritually aware, it means you know the
obstacles to true unity and you also thereby know that you always have the
choice to cause a reaction or not. Reactions, in the moment, are most often valid, legitimate
and expected as part of the cycle of life and to stop them is suppression and to invalidate them is unjust and lacks empathy and awareness.
A narcissist
sees life through the perspective of themselves and their needs, wants and
desires without the ability for self-reflection or adjustment. They typically
blame others for a legitimate response to their selfish and dominating and
often damaging behavior, to anyone or thing not allowing them to do whatever
they want by steam rolling over anything or anyone that may be perceived to be in
their way, and then they flip the legitimate response of their perceived obstacle
into the scapegoat. Most targets won’t even realize the root of the situation at
hand and attempt to defend themselves, which is then also turned against them, using spiritual bypassing or gaslighting them into submission. The perpetrators
don’t give a hoot about the resulting confusion and self-doubt to their victims,
and that is part of the method of unraveling them. When their scapegoat has
finally learned the lessons and built healthy boundaries with legitimate
responses, it may just be the narcissists’ karmic moment, but the narcissist
will always invalidate it, turn it around and blame the scapegoat for taking
care of themselves in the jungle of the narcissist, this takes the form of spiritual
by passing, passive aggression, and gaslighting.
Spiritual by
passing uses spiritual ideology to gaslight and both are forms of violence,
which goes against the first and most important tenant of yoga, ahimsa, or nonviolence,
which is often misunderstood and over simplified and actually weaponized
against the fall guy, yet it is part of the modern day yogic culture, family systems, work environments and other places, due to culturalization or normalization within a group system, and when
a bunch of fish are all in the fish bowl together, none of them know they are
in water, except the one who jumps out and can then look in from afar.
They are
usually the “truth tellers” who become the scapegoats for all the other fish
who feel strong in their pact of fishery, following the one who is most charismatic
and resourced, though often like the wizard of Oz, only a few see behind the
curtain.
Jump out and join me in the real-world journey of natural healing by including self-reflection, not self-absorption, to the truth not deception, as the path to authenticity and long-term healing, for ourselves and each other, and let’s all live our best lives in 2025. Are you going to let another year pass you by?
Friday, August 23, 2024
Circadian Misalignment In Night Shift Workers
how these shifts may disrupt our natural circadian rhythms, affecting our overall health and
wellbeing. Specifically, night shift workers are forced to undergo abrupt changes in sleep timing
and light-dark exposure.
Simulated night-shift experiments and field studies indicated that the human circadian
system is very resistant to adaptation from day to night-oriented schedules. This is seen
specifically in the lack of phase shift and dampening of important hormone rhythms, such as
melatonin and cortisol. To understand how our circadian system is affected we must first
understand the molecular mechanism that makes up the circadian clock. The core lies in the
brain’s suprachiasmatic nucleus, which produces a set of autoregulated feedback loops through
clock genes that are expressed in a 24 hour cycle. From this, the body’s peripheral tissues are
able to generate self-sustained circadian rhythms, known as “peripheral clocks”. These molecular
mechanics allow for a general day-to-day flow of bodily functions and hormones to optimize
digestion and sleep patterns.
For instance, the peak of melatonin, and trough of body temperature and cortisol,
normally occur in the first, middle, and last thirds of the nocturnal sleep period. This allows for
more peaceful and deep sleep. Melatonin production is influenced by light, which is the most
important synchronizer of the central circadian clock in humans. When the SCN receives light,
melatonin hormone production decreases, while cortisol rises. In this same way, our digestive
patterns are influenced by the ebb and flow of our metabolism. The hormone Leptin reduces
appetite and signals the cessation of food intake, while the hormone Ghrelin signals for
food-seeking behaviors in the reverse pattern of Leptin. As seen in the Ayurvedic Clock, we
should eat our largest meal at noon, when our digestive fire is the highest. Our body reflects this
principle through hormones that work in harmony with our body’s metabolic processes to allow
for smooth and productive digestion during the day. In conjunction with highest metabolic rates
during light hours, Leptin and Ghrelin typically work together in a feeding/fasting cycle to
ensure food intake at the most optimal time for our body’s digestive system.
However, when an individual is working night shifts, the nocturnal sleep period is turned
into a wake period that involves the stress of work. This circadian misalignment dampens
hormone rhythms, meaning that the peaks and valleys are not as pronounced and affective. This
results in disrupted coordination of hormones that lead to a higher presence of disease and
disorder in night shift workers. For instance, laboratory circadian medicine studies demonstrate
that night shift work leads to a decrease in Leptin levels and a blunted post-mean suppression of
Ghrelin. This results in a cycle of disrupted hunger cues, high caloric intakes at odd hours,
unhealthy glucose spikes, and overall poor metabolic health. This contributes to higher rates in
diseases like Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome. In terms of the dampened melatonin and
cortisol patterns, we see that the quality of sleep is poor leading to high rates of insomnia and
daytime sleepiness that can persist for years in former night-shift workers. This is seen in
experimental results when comparing night and day-shift nurses. The night-shift nurses had a
scattered and dampened melatonin rhythm in comparison to the clustered and well aligned
hormone rhythms in day-shift nurses. This dip in melatonin is known to be dangerous, as this
hormone is protective against oxidative DNA damage. Therefore, when melatonin production is
suppressed, DNA damage may accumulate faster than it can be repaired, which may contribute
to an increased cancer risk observed among shift workers.
In addition, taking melatonin or digestive supplements that initially increase the hormones
needed to regulate biology, over time send messages to the body that suppress their
production and in the long term, reduce the body's ability to make them, and thereby weaken
and disrupt the system further.
Resources:
Download our Beneficial Daily Routine
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8832572/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5647832/
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Circadian Rhythms & the Ayurvedic Clock
Background on Circadian Rhythms
The emerging field of circadian medicine shows an intrinsic link between our body’s
biological clocks and the light/dark cycles of nature, as affirmed by Ayurveda. “Circadian
rhythms” refer to the physical, mental, and behavioral changes that flow in cycles within our
body over a 24 hour period. Specifically, a part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nuclei
(SCN) is synchronized to the 24 hour light/dark cycle. In the absence of light, the pineal gland
produces a hormone called melatonin, which increases our inclination to sleep and acts on its
receptors to aid in the synchronization of circadian rhythms in our body's tissues. This process is
referred to as “dim light melatonin onset” (DLMO), as it allows for an increase in melatonin
synthesis during darkness and slows production during daylight. While it is synced to the
presence of light, our feeding/fasting patterns are the main time cues for clocks in these tissues.
This creates preferred feeding times to fall in line with our metabolic changes throughout the
day. The circadian system prepares our body for daytime feeding with our gastric emptying and
gastrointestinal motility rates peaking during daylight hours.
Disruption of the Circadian System
While circadian rhythms are able to adapt quickly to our individual feeding, sleeping, and
physical activity habits, several of our peripheral tissue clocks (such as the liver clock), are
especially sensitive to the quality and timing of food consumption. This disruption of our natural
rhythms is a growing concern in our society as we are in the age of artificial lighting, jet lag,
night shift work schedules, and constant availability of energy-dense food. Because of this
sensitivity in our body's tissues, the disorganization of circadian rhythms caused by irregular
nutrition patterns is thought to play a part in the development of certain chronic diseases. By
using nutrition as a tool to align our energy intake with peak energy expenditure and metabolic
changes influenced by nature’s light/dark cycles, we can maintain a more healthy circadian
system. This concept is explained more simply using the Ayurvedic Clock, which directly
correlates with scientific research on the body’s circadian rhythms.
The Ayurvedic Clock & Nutrition Patterns
The Ayurvedic Clock recognizes our body’s synchronization with the light-dependent and
seasonal and daily cycles of nature. The 24-hour Ayurvedic Clock falls in line with our
optimal sleep/wake cycles, hormone-release cues, eating habits, and digestion patterns.
The Ayurvedic Clock can be categorized into six parts, which includes three cycles that
occur during the day and three cycles that occur during the night. Ayurveda’s foundation
is built upon the three Doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha, which combine the five elements
(ether or space, air, fire, water and earth) and govern our physical and mental tendencies.
Vata is considered the lightest dosha (ether/space and air), Pitta is the hottest dosha
(fire and water), and Kapha is the densest dosha (water and earth). The day/night cycle is
controlled by these doshas, which guide us on h ow to act according to our body’s natural
rhythms, as described in circadian medicine.
Day Cycle
KAPHA: 6 am – 10 am
In line with the daylight, Ayurveda suggests starting our mornings with exercise and a light meal
for breakfast.
PITTA: 10am - 2pm
The sun is highest in the sky, which calls for high productivity in light with our increased
metabolic rates and peak digestion. This prepares our bodies to have the largest meal of the day
for lunch.
VATA: 2 pm - 6 pm
Vata represents the time of transition, which is best-accompanied by creativity, deep thinking,
contemplative practices, such as yoga and meditation.
Night Cycle
KAPHA: 6pm - 10pm
Kapha’s heavy qualities dominate, which is used as a signal to wind down, have a light last meal,
and prepare for sleep.
PITTA: 10pm - 2am
Sleep governs this time in order for cleansing of our internal organs to take place.
VATA: 2am - 6am
This marks another period of transition, which makes this time block ideal for spiritual and
contemplative practices.
For more information on Ayurvedic Nutrition Education and Health Coaching, please contact us
for information or an appointment.
Resources:
● Potter, Gregory, et al.“Nutrition and the Circadian System”, National Library of Science
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4930144/
● Maibam, Punyakishore, “Role of the Ayurvedic clock in boosting the immune system”,
● Journal of Ayurvedic and Herbal Medicine, https://www.ayurvedjournal.com/JAHM_202392_08.pdf
● Douillard, John. “Circadian Rhythms 101: Nobel Prize-Winning Research Validates the
"Ayurvedic Circadian Clock”
● Chaya's Guide Book; Introduction to Ayurveda and Healthy Living, Chaya~Sharon Heller,
Ayurvedic Practitioner, Yoga Therapist, Holistic Health Educator, LMT
Sunday, August 4, 2024
August Featured Service: Ayurvedic Nutrition & Digestion ~ Blog #1: Mindful Eating
In a
busy world with stacked schedules, it is easy to feel as though it is more
productive to skip or grab meals on the go. However, changing our perception
around eating a meal can have extensive benefits on our mental and physical
health, including maintaining or achieving a healthy weight, controlling
diabetes, managing depression/anxiety, aiding digestion, and countering
disordered eating patterns.
We often mindlessly eat while watching television, scrolling, driving, or in the middle of work. As we multitask during mealtimes, we often neglect paying attention to our food and before we realize it, the plate is empty. This often leads to overeating, trouble with digestion, and long-term gut health conditions. To counter this habit, “mindful” or “conscious” eating allows us to form a deeper mind-body connection, better understand our satiety levels, and create a better relationship with food.
The Body’s Digestive Patterns
Our
digestion is controlled by the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system. When
eating a meal while multitasking with watching a TV drama, for example, you may
feel mixed emotions like fear or anger as you eat your food. When this happens,
the “fight-or-flight” sympathetic nervous system is triggered. This causes an
increase in blood supply to peripheral muscles rather than the digestive
organs. As a result, the movement of food through our digestive tract is
slowed, causing discomfort and indigestion pains. This delayed digestion also
results in skewed hunger cues. Our brain needs at least 20 minutes to register
the digested food. Therefore, rushed eating often leads to us feeling hunger
very soon after a meal. This often encourages overeating that lead to metabolic
conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, and obesity.
However,
when practicing mindfulness while eating, the “rest-and-digest” parasympathetic
system is active. This aids in regulating the involuntary body functions while
you are at rest, which include heart rate and digestion. This strategy has been
shown to help treat those with binge eating disorders and depression. This is
largely due to forming an intrinsic recognition of emotional versus physical
hunger through deeper awareness and mindfulness practices.
Mindful Eating in Ayurveda
We
can create a heightened sense of awareness during meals by bringing more
attention to each sensation we feel while eating. This includes the flavors,
textures, and the positive energy we may feel after nourishing our bodies. By
creating a log of this sensory experience, we are often left feeling more
satisfied and grateful for how the food we eat is able to fuel the body.
The
concept of mindful eating has roots in Ayurveda, which places a huge focus on
the link between the mind and digestion. According to Ayurvedic practice, we
should eat as much as is enough to not feel hungry, rather than eating until
full. This means that ideally around ¼ to ⅓ of the stomach should remain empty.
A sign that this limit has been reached is the first full burp, which means the
stomach is likely three-quarters full and we should stop eating.
How to Eat Mindfully
To practice mindful eating, we can implement small changes to gain a greater sense of mind-and-body connection, and therefore a better relationship with food. Some changes we can implement include:
●
Taking a moment to be conscious of
why you are eating to avoid emotional/stress eating
●
Being present when grocery
shopping to buy nourishing foods, such as seasonal fruits and vegetables
●
Cooking your own food to create a
stronger relationship to the source of each ingredient and appreciation for the
time and energy you infuse into each meal
●
Favor cooked food with spices over
raw foods as it is easier to digest and strengthens metabolism and digestive
capacity
●
Avoiding “incompatible foods” that
may negatively impact digestion, adversely affecting your constitution
resulting in accumulation of ama, or
toxins in the body
●
Making lunch your biggest meal, as
this is when the body’s digestion is at its peak
●
Avoiding meals within three hours
of bedtime to give the body enough time to fully digest and wind down
●
Examining portion sizes to ensure
that we are not eating to much or too little
●
Eating without distractions or
multi-tasking to draw more attention to our food and digestion
●
Chewing slowly and taking
manageable bites to avoid rushed eating
●
Taking note of the sensory
experience of each meal, including taste, aroma, texture, sounds, and
aftertastes
●
Eating with gratitude to remind
ourselves of the strong value that food has to our physical and mental health
● Sitting quietly for a few minutes after eating to stay present and fully acknowledge each meal
Schedule the Food & Nutrition Package Program that includes an Ayurvedic Discovery and the Food & Nutrition Series and save $20:
SCHEDULE IN PERSON SCHEDULE ONLINE
If you've already done the Ayurvedic Discovery, schedule the Food & Nutrition Series and save $10:
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Reference:
●
Chaya’s Guidebook: Introduction to
Ayurveda & Healthy Living
Free
with an Ayurvedic Discovery Consultation with Chaya
Friday, July 19, 2024
The Life Of The Image Maker
Saturday, June 8, 2024
The Secret and Essence of Ayurvedic Marma Therapy
Marma Point Therapy is an energy healing practice that emerged within the 5000-year-old Ayurvedic system of healing. It is based upon an elaborate energetic matrix that is commonly believed to have been the foundation for later point therapies such as acupuncture, acupressure, and reflexology. Traditional Indian Medicine Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are the oldest systems of health care: the former mastering 5,000 years of documentations, the latter at least 3,000 years.
Marma Chikitsa or Marma Therapy, has origins in the
martial arts traditions of Kerala, India. Ancient Kalari warriors used
their knowledge of Marma for both healing and battle purposes. They were
also trained in Ayurvedic medicine and Yoga to strengthen their bodies and
eliminate obstacles.
From the perspective of etymology, the word Marma is
derived from the root mri with suffix manin, meaning seat of life,
meeting place, secret or essence in Sanskrit. Marma Therapy is the most
subtle of all the Ayurvedic interventions, and the most powerful. Manipulation
of the vital points in the body which are the meeting junctions of two or more
types of tissues like ligaments, tendons, muscles and bones, they can both heal
and harm, and for this reason, the knowledge of Marma was kept sacred
and reserved only for the initiates who could be trusted with this knowledge.
Within the body there are 107 “energy points” called Marma Points or Marmani
(plural). These points are tasked with being used as a diagnostic and
healing mechanism that works to integrate the mind, body, and soul for deeper
consciousness. They are located at anatomical sites where tissues intersect and
are classified by the dominant physical regions muscle, vessel, ligament, and
joint/ bony regions. These points connect through physical channels called srotas
and energetic channels called nadis, which transmit to the tissues and
organs (dhatus) and energy centers (chakras), where they become
refined, opening the path for clear perception. This principle or role of Marmani
can be found in raja or higher yogic practices, that involve spontaneous
meditation with a focus on attuning to prana and yoga nidra on
the 18 Yogic Marma Points.
Marmani have numerous similarities to principal
acupoints in Chinese medicine, specifically having 75 corresponding points.
Both fields focus on energy points that are utilized to restore harmony within
the autonomic nervous system to provide therapeutic benefits to the body.
Marma Points have a correlation to the internal and
external features, doshas (constitution) and subdoshas governing all
of the bodily systems via the nervous system. According to Sushrut, a
pioneer within Indian surgical practices, there are six regions based on major
body parts: the four extremities, trunk, head, and neck. Which are then divided
according to the five tissue structures: muscle, veins, ligaments, bone, and
joints. From this basis we get the Marma Point classifications.
A few key points:
3 Maha (major) Marma Points: Staphani/ajna
(third eye), Hridayam (heart), Nabi (navel)
8 Sadyah (great) Marma Points:
● Adhipati/Murdhni
(crown)
● Brahmarandhra
(anterior to crown)
● Shivarandhra
(posterior to crown)
● Ajna/Stahpani
(third eye)
● Shanka
(right and left temple)
● Hridayam
(heart)
● Nabhi
(umbilicus/navel)
● Guda
(anus)
5 Special or extra vital Marmani, those that can
cause death or serious injury when traumatized:
● Kantha
(trachea)
● Griva
(back of the neck)
● Basti
(bladder)
● Vrushana
(testicles)
● Yoni
Jihva (clitoris)
Comparison of West/East:
Marma as a practice is described to have derived from
battlefield culture, as in Vedic times it was realized that attacking
enemies at Marma Points resulted in serious injury or fatality. This
knowledge was only preliminary until the Susruta Samhita, an Ayurvedic
classic, provided systematic knowledge of Marma. It provided 107
locations of Marma Points and their different classifications with
detailed anatomical information. From this point Marma found its way
into the medical realm and into Ayurvedic texts.
Coming from Ayurvedic practices and being born in
Southeastern Asia there are some confusions to the practice in the Western
realm. In the west there is the belief that there are 107 fixed points on the
physical anatomy and due to limited understanding of how Marma functions
there are few controlled trials on their mechanism. In comparison Ayurvedic
practices believe that Marma Points are flexible and adapt depending upon
the individual. Since Marma has been a key aspect of Ayurvedic healing
there are studies and implantations of it as a diagnostic tool and healing
modality. From this view Marma is said to be used for pain relief,
calming the mind and balancing emotions, balancing the doshas, channel
disturbances, organ dysfunction, enhances awareness, preventative care, and
rejuvenation.
To activate Marma Points:
- Use the tips of your fingers to gently or firmly stimulate each Marma Point.
- Massage each point in a clockwise or counterclockwise circular motion for up to 5 minutes with holdings.
- Optionally, use herb-infused massage oils, small hand stones and/or a tuning fork to stimulate or relax each point of the treatment.
- Motion direction, pressure and products used are chosen according to the constitution and condition of the patient and the desired outcomes
Resources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10382659/
Chayaveda Ayurvedic Massage & Bodywork Specialist
Training Manual