Samskara: Unearthing the Scars that Limit Us

In a previous post, I proposed meditation as a living practice, one that may be embodied in every interaction we undertake with the world. Finding beauty, connection, and stillness in the busyness that can often feel inseparable from our existence. Meditative moments are essential in stepping back and assessing, with clarity, the stories we have written for ourselves. Such stories can consist of anything from five-year plans to grocery lists and, once written, have the potential to dictate our lives.

For instance, let’s say I decide to become a “vegetarian.” Like others on this path, I have personal reasons for making this decision. I have written the story of my vegetarian identity, which I can use to explain my dietary preference to others. However, it is when I lose the true essence of my intention that I allow this vegetarian script to run on autopilot: I might think, speak, and eat in ways no longer because I consciously choose to, but because I have let them become prerecorded. I use the example of dietary choice, in particular, because of a comment a friend once made about his own food identity: “I don’t drink or eat meat. It might change, but that’s where I’m thriving right now. I’m not straight-edge or a vegetarian – I’m just a human being.”

Ayurvedic Tips for a Restful Night’s Sleep

When having trouble sleeping, the number one culprit– at least for me – tends to be too much thinking. From an Ayurvedic perspective, mental activity is vitiated not only by mental stressors (e.g. major life changes or decisions, anxiety, emotional disturbances), but physical ones, too.

Think about it: when performing more active, moderate- to high-intensity exercise, your adrenaline-ridden body enters its natural “fight or flight” mode. As with most benefits of physical exercise, this rush is healthful in balanced amounts. However, when we fill our schedules with activities that keep the body in this sustained “fight or flight” mode, our physical and mental facilities are not given a chance to properly rest. Mirroring the over-active body, the mind will sense that it, too, must remain in an alert state.

A Walking Meditation for Any Life Current

Recently, I wrote about my experience in Chiang Mai, Thailand. For that month, it was as if time didn’t exist; I was always grounded in the present moment. Unsurprisingly, when I came back to the wide streets and sky-high towers of Chicago, life became structured by public transit schedules, deadlines, and all the “should dos” that can quickly flood the mind, if you let them. Suddenly, I had difficulty maintaining the vibrant physical and mental energy that carried me along, like a gentle current, in Chiang Mai.

Nadi Shodhana: Breathing into Stillness

Feeling stressed? Anxious? Overwhelmed? Try practicing this simple breathing technique to calm and soothe the mind.

Nadi Shodhana, also known as Alternate Nostril Breath, is a powerful tool to find balance in any situation. Translated from the Sanskrit, nadi, meaning ‘channel’ or ‘river,’ and shodhan, meaning ‘cleaning’ or ‘purification,’ Nadi Shodhana clears the subtle channels in the body’s physiology.

From an Ayurvedic standpoint, this clearing is important, for it unblocks any places in the body where the flow of Prana, or the ‘vital life force,’ is hindered. If blockages exist, the more subtle energies, such as those expended in mental or emotional processing, not only become stuck, but accumulate in certain areas of the body. Manifestations might include tightness in the chest, weak digestion, or trouble sleeping, to name a minuscule few. In Western terms, we can think of it this way: when individual cells cannot communicate well – or a blockage in communication exists – the potential actions they intend to transmit will not be executed properly, if at all.