Awareness of the impact of modern life on eating habits

May 19, 2020 ~ Mayurveda ~ Leave a comment

One of the reasons why I decided to write this blog is that I’ve realized and experienced for myself the difficulties that people encounter in their daily life when it comes to eating habits. Nowadays it’s difficult to maintain a healthy attitude towards food, primarily because it’s hard to define what “healthy” actually stands for. On the one hand, there are a lot of “healthy food” trends, and on the other hand, we experience the consequences of the fast-paced lifestyle in which primary needs like food are sometimes neglected.

Food is a man’s primary need, something he could not live without. At the same time, food has been associated with culture and lifestyle since the very beginning, while eating habits very well outline the value system of each society.
We live in the information age. Nowadays, one of the causes of problems that come with eating habits is the inability to cope with the amount of information we encounter daily, making it harder to hear ourselves and our bodies. Modernization is making our everyday life easier but also causes stress due to the intensity and speed with which everything takes place. The modern way of life has given us accessibility and ease in preparation of food adapted to our fast lifestyle. It has made it possible for us to have our primary need, food, always met. However, due to the excessive amount of information dictating us what to eat and how to live our lives, we must turn inward and develop the attitude towards food primarily by listening to our bodies.

Some of us simply show no interest in food. We neglect our health, prioritize our careers, and disrupt our relationship with food and ourselves. We are often completely focused on the outside world, adapting to rapid technological changes at work or in everyday life, dedicating time to our family and loved ones, which leaves us less time, energy, and motivation to prepare healthy and nourishing meals. Sometimes we don’t let ourselves eat until we “get the job done”. We might have successfully completed all tasks in our stressful routine, but we have neglected our primary need – food.
Maybe we chose to eat fast food because we are overstressed and don’t have time to think about another obligation. Although we are aware that it negatively affects our health, it seems that our awareness is being overpowered by the advertising food industry, promoting exactly that type of product. In addition to eating fast food off our feet, we often skip meals, don’t eat enough, and then overeat when the time for us finally comes.

We are all subject to an instant culture that greatly affects our daily lives. Most people buy without thinking, providing excellent material to various companies that can entice people with their products. Faster food production requires more intensive marketing advertising. Such advertising is especially prominent in the trend of “fast” and processed foods popular around the world, precisely because of the accelerated lifestyle.
Thanks to the good knowledge of human psychology and consumer behavior, large corporations and media start to influence our preferences. We are all drawn to the messages that touch our primary needs, especially food, which often serves us as a comfort in our stressful everyday life. Combined with stress at work, we unconsciously put our health in the hands of the food industry.
However, not everything should be blamed on the marketing industry. We should consider the life priorities of a modern man who often puts his career ahead of his health, and sometimes unknowingly puts himself in a state of malnutrition.

On the other hand, some of us go to various extremes and experiments following “healthy” food trends – various diets, “detox” etc, which are not really about proper nutrition and can often create an imbalance in the body, mind or emotions. We become too obsessive when it comes to food and this affects other aspects of our lives.

In both cases mentioned above, we may develop an unhealthy attitude towards diet and towards our body which can negatively affect the quality of our lives.

Following the social conditions of a modern life with which we have identified with (e.g., career or a particular dietary trend), we begin to lose contact with ourselves and live detached from our cyclical nature. Under the pressure of the generally accepted belief of today’s society that people’s success is valued based on career or beauty, we fully dedicate ourselves to work, physical appearance or a certain trend and neglect a regular and balanced diet according to our nature, climate and seasons, which is the foundation of health.

We might recognize ourselves in the text and feel that we have reached some of the extremes mentioned, and we want to change something. From where to start?

Firstly, by not blaming ourselves, because just by being aware of the extreme we’ve found ourselves in, we will learn how to find the way to our own, unique balance.

Sometimes it’s enough to start with simplicity – being aware of what, how, and when we eat. A simple awareness of the impact of the modern way of life on our relationship with food can suddenly wake us up. Then the fire in us starts to awaken – we start being more present with ourselves, regardless of the hectic everyday life. We realize that we actually have the power and ability to choose, but because of the social conditioning, we often forget it’s on us. By focusing on that awareness, we awaken love, patience, and understanding towards ourselves, which is always welcome and necessary. Understanding our relationship with food and its impact on the body, mind, and feelings can motivate us to focus more on ourselves and our health, which can affect people around us and inspire future generations who will be faced with even more information and challenges of modern life.

Specifics of a holistic approach to health: Ayurveda

May 11, 2020 ~ Mayurveda ~ Leave a comment

Before we decide to approach our health holistically, in this case, from the point of Ayurveda, it is important to note how alternative ways of balancing our health are specific in comparison to conventional medicine.

We cannot expect results if we are not living in harmony with nature.

The first and the most basic fact is that we cannot expect alternative treatments, which are often gentler on our body, to work – if we don’t live in harmony with nature and harmony with ourselves.

That would mean – we can eat “healthy”, organic food prepared according to ayurvedic principles, consume various dietary supplements or herbs, but still live under stress, drink too much coffee, smoke, be in a dysfunctional relationship, sitting most of the days and going to sleep late. Unfortunately, that type of approach will slow us down, or even block any return to balance, and the changes we have introduced will not be effective.

A holistic approach requires us to consider all aspects of our being – on a physical, mental and emotional level. Usually, everything starts with a routine in harmony with nature. When we catch the rhythm of nature, when we feel rested, calm, and safe – only then our physical body starts to relax and the fertile ground for changes is being created. Then, the changes we’ve implemented to our daily routine can truly bear fruit, from physical to more subtle levels.

“Illness” is not the enemy

When we start approaching our health holistically, we realize that all imbalances are calls for help. The body has formed a certain defense mechanism to protect us or warn us that something is wrong. Since in this case, we don’t want to simply put a plaster on the problem, but find the root of the imbalance – we must receive every message of the body with as much love and gratitude as possible, whether we like the message or not. By having an open mind and not putting labels on ourselves, we will be able to look at our current state from a broader perspective. Then any “illness” or imbalance can become an ally in finding harmony.

Nature is not in a hurry

It is important to note that Ayurveda does not provide instant solutions to all our problems. However, if we are patient and persistent in applying Ayurvedic principles in our routine, we can expect long-term results and changes on a physical, mental, and emotional level. Just as the imbalance (at the level of the physical body, emotions or mind) does not occur suddenly, but accumulates over some time until it manifests itself (e.g. at the physical level), so do the positive changes, and returning to balance, take time to occur – they don’t happen immediately; but gradually.
There is no instant solution in nature. Nature is not in a hurry. She is patient, changing through cycles slowly, safely and at her own pace – that should be completely normal.

Coping with uncomfortable feelings

The holistic approach towards health requires us to look deeply into our lives from every aspect. It requires our willingness to be honest with ourselves and sometimes, face uncomfortable feelings. We are the only ones who can discover the root of our patterns that sometimes hold us back and cause disbalance in the body, mind, emotions; even reflecting on relationships with others. These insights might be painful for us because we can see something that is difficult for us to face – which is completely normal! The very fact that we have stepped on the path of bringing our health into balance in a natural way is already a very brave move, it shows love for ourselves, faith in the intelligence of nature, in life.

Active involvement of both: the therapist/counselor and the client

If we decide to approach health holistically with the help of a therapist or counselor, we must be aware of the importance of the whole therapist-client relationship. This type of therapy requires the equal active involvement of both sides.

The point of an Ayurvedic counselor is not just to recognize the pattern, prescribe dietary supplements or ayurvedic herbs, tell the person how to live, and close the case. The very essence of a holistic approach towards health is that each case, or person – is unique.

For this reason, it is important that the client is very sincere, first with themselves and then with the counselor, so that together they can get to the root of the problem and the best solution at a given time. This type of therapy requires the active involvement of both sides. The client must be willing to open the mind and make changes in the daily routine, and the counselor must know how to listen, really hear the client, and gradually adjust the therapy to one’s needs. Sudden and drastic changes are not for everyone and are often not sustainable.

Trusting the body’s intelligence

The point of Ayurvedic practice is to educate the client in a way to remind the individual of the knowledge that he or she already has inside but often forgets. We are our own best “doctors”. For this reason, the client mustn’t expect a magical solution or salvation from the therapist. We must believe in the strength and power of our spirit, mind, and body; and always listen to ourselves first – but not from the state of mind that may have brought us to the problem in the first place, but from that deeper place within us, where we know that our truth lies.

Ayurveda is not against modern medicine

Although being firmly grounded in its roots, Ayurveda integrates and recognizes other aspects of healing, such as the modern conventional medicine we know. However, it still differs significantly from modern medicine – primarily because it is rooted in Vedic philosophy which does not limit human life only to physical experience. Ayurveda pays a lot of attention to the subtle levels of our being through which we discover our uniqueness and eternal connection with Nature.