ayurvedic ways Archives - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Vata Pitta

Vata Pitta can sound like a strange spice like ones I like exploring…

Or maybe it sounds familiar like a rock band you know…

Vata is the wind and Pitta is the fire element that catches on fire as the oldie Earth, Wind, and Fire band.

(To complete the metaphor, earth represents Kapha in Ayurvedic terms).

Vata, Pitta, or Kapha body referenced descriptions may also sound like something strange you’ve never heard of…

…Kinda like hourglass ⌛️, apple 🍏, or 🍐 that I remember reading about as a teen in magazines (…maybe you remember getting those happy mail moments?)… Yay magazines! 🎉

But Vata, Pitta, and Kapha are more than body types.

In full circle, they’re also a description about the mind that together make up the mind-body connection.

And where many people get this wrong…

Most people don’t actually know what that means other than our mind and bodies are connected.

…Connecting the dots, understanding that the pimple on your face is caused from the stress (learned about from magazines 😊)… and the mind-body connection that are thrown around buzz words.

That starts the initial connect-the-dots conversation…

Because well yeah… our minds are living in our bodies.

And that is the reason why you can stay stuck in areas.

Our body symptoms are outward expressions of what the mind is still carrying as baggage from the past.

And until you or I are made aware, we unknowingly drudge up the past, no longer serving mindset ways, and old traditions that should stay in a box.

it can be an endless cycle.

…Until we choose growth as our mindset path that always looks for a better way.

I know this through my life journey existence as a Vata Pitta. And this informational article is all about Vata Pitta, so you can learn more about yourself and others around you.

…And as a Vata Pitta, moods teeter between Vata anxiety and Pitta anger when feathers are ruffled.

Earlier on, expressing anger was my choice and one that I kept to myself.

…And back in those baby internet years, no one spoke of anxiety like they do today openly as explanation of what they’re feeling.

And today out of the private dark ages, you don’t see the same types of anger amongst the young on quest for a kinder world… and being the change that was so ahead of it’s zeitgeist.

Today we’re an aware society around the world and we embrace change in the new age.

Thankfully with the help of spiritual growth, I grew out of the anger phases. And now see situations as opportunities for something good or better.

There’s no daily peace management needed.

It’s an automatic for me that’s part of my transformational journey on earth living this miracle existence like all of us where we all have our own flavors of what we’re working on.

That we started out life with.

…Or were born with.

Like we can’t change our Ayurvedic predispositions.

And I can’t change that I was born a Vata Pitta.

I’m a Vata body with a Vata-Pitta mind… and you can learn more in this article about your dominant balanced Ayurveda ways (and what empowered you can do to help restore the triggered imbalanced moods).

And whatever that is, you can change your moods through the mind-body connection.

Before I didn’t know I could change how I felt… and now I know (and you can too) that it’s a choice.

You can learn that through your Vata Pitta ways that show up.

We all have some Vata Pitta in us even though that may not the primary way.

You could be a dominant Kapha, or one of the other combinations where commonly mind and body differ.

And if you feel some degree of daily anxiety, annoyance, or anger as a regular reaction in life, then those imbalanced Vata Pitta ways are not your best… and are unneeded.

But the good news is: you can change that!

Anger is the opposite of peace.

And peace is the desired way.

So if you have someone in your life you resent or can’t forgive, then you’re harboring resentment or other forms of anger…

But sometimes our brains trick us into believing that someone else is obviously wearing these staying stuck traits… when we adorn them (too) but we’re blind behind our own ego mind veil.

Finding ways to remove the veil blind spots are the best personal growth ways you can adopt today, so they don’t continue to blur how you see the world.

And if you have windy and fiery conditions like Vata Pitta running, then you can more clearly handle those daily weather conditions.

Pitta leads and starts the fire and Vata blows wind to creating wildfire conditions 🔥

A Vata Pitta dominance doesn’t just affect surrounding people either…

It can be a downright miserable situation to live in especially if it’s a load to carry for a season… or say, the moods are carried on vacation that happens.

Our awake minds never shut off and it will travel along with you no matter how exciting the new sights and sounds are exploring a new place.

To others around you, it may simply seem like you’re not present.

…Instead of fully relaxed in enjoyment in the moment, you could be 25-50% partially present (when 90-100% is a good goal)…

Remember, the gift is in the present.

But inside you could be present to the unproductive mind chatter creating chaos in the mind-body in the moment.

…If only minds could talk.

And sometimes they do… for better or worse.

So to prevent all of that, I’m gonna share a fun food way to learn more.

That’s probably not what you expected… but lightening loads and moods is always better! 😀

Food won’t solve all your problems, but it’ll give you some entertainment in its truth. It’s one of my passions.

…And can help you have more balanced optimal day outcomes.

(Which btw, we need some not-so-good days so we can appreciate the great days.)

And we can learn this through the Vata Pitta existence that is something I know like the back of my hand.

…I’ve learned to use the pros and cons of Vata Pitta to my better day advantages.

Cons like feeling anger or anxious when triggered as already mentioned… where it’s easy to get lost in those moods and not recognize the lesser state taking over.

It can feel wrong… and yet so right in the moment when the mind is in the unhappy past or future worry thoughts.

BUT – it’s not healthy and IS wasted time.

…And I’m sure you ‘d avoid it when it’s put like that in clear view and not happening inside and to you.

Because being in-tune with the mind and body is an empowered way to live healthy and happy.

And when it’s not happening to you, then you can practice…

So, imagine going to a big event where your senses have changed from the usual day-to-day routine activities. You’re excited and calm that you’ll be seeing your role model who will be a guest speaker on stage… and that feels a bit like an out-of-body experience in a good way.

On this special day, you get to slip through the backdoor for a fun backstage pass with this big-to-you person instead of waiting in line outside and being around the rest of the entourage… oh, and it’s a sweltering hot day so you avoided all that.

…You’ve skipped the line and you’re inside, and seconds from meeting your role model.

And… like first-class service, you’re served catered foods and beverages.

How about that!?

…Speaks to my foodie heart. 🧡

But it gets better… you’re served juicy sweet fruits and appetizers like jumbo shrimp with a delicate cilantro dip.

And that pleases you because you’re Vata Pitta.

And there’s a perfectly paired cantaloupe with salty accompaniment. And a light mousse with delicate sweet and pucker up flavors.

And a refreshing cool watermelon mint drink.

You’re in happy food and drink heaven.

And you lavish each and every moment… and not looking at your watch-phone.

You also know you’re balanced because you’re present and aware in enjoying every bite and sip!

…Because those are the types of sweet and salty foods that Vatas love and drinks that Pittas love when in balance.

But if this is a work event you’re responsible for (like I was many times working in event planning for a decade), .then you can feel anxious and not relaxed.

In that case, then delicately prepared sweets and salty foods aren’t enjoyed. And warm comfort foods over cooling foods on a hot day may be the food dream desire.

…So basically you can tell by your food and drink preferences what’s going on with you!

It’s a fun game you can play with yourself in any event that allows you to know what your mood is before it has caught up to you (or blind to what you’re thinking).

And if you’re not a Vata Pitta, you can do the same game with your usual preferences.

…If you’re not a lover of ham and pineapple pizza, no foul, no harm. But we know you’re not a dominant Vata craving salty and sweet 😁

As famous television cook Ina Garten once said, “it’s physiological” (and part of our genes)… where cilantro tastes like soap.

All in good fun, then you can blame your Ayurveda (Kapha sides) as part of your born genes.

And as you get to know your own Ayurvedic born predispositions… you can also learn about others.

Like, I have a fun game I play while doing my hiking sport.

For strangers, I know their Ayurveda body story in one glance… those dreading steps are Kaphas… those dressed in cool fitness attire running up and down the mountain like they own it are Pittas… and finally those strolling and stopping every few seconds to look at a different view, taking a sip of water, or adjusting something are Vatas.

…And this Vata Pitta is dreaming of a cold fruit or strawberry milkshake. 💭

Using Ayurvedic Ways For Calm and Balance (Part 1)

living an Ayurveda calm and balanced lifestyle — …I was told 🙂 I should show my face more, so here I am checking in on my avocado plants They look good 🥑

…Ok, today I’m sharing about Ayurvedic ways and living, my favorite topic.

This is a longer blog post than I usually write, so grab a beverage and get comfy because today is about getting calm and balanced.

Because getting consistent daily calm and balance is achievable with Ayurveda… and I believe has never been more needed in our world.

And yet in America, calm and balance are seen as nice-to-have intentions that aren’t built into our busy lives.

We’re used to running into stress, and at times have grown numb to our underlying stressful ways of living… despite short-lived self-care practices, unwinding on weekends, and happy hour-type fun that aren’t enough for our health and wellness.

Finding daily balance is dismissed in priorities and daily noise. It’s often seen as unobtainable or overmentioned. Plus living sustainably whole and healthy is not excitingly trendy …But when you’re 100, it will be!

And getting mind-body balance is part of the Ayurvedic ways, and what most people need to be the best version of themselves that would transform the daily stress and busy overwhelm into healthy and happy lives. That’s a mouthful that says it all.

…And with the right insight, a whole and healthy lifestyle is attainable by this or next season. And even better yet, using consistent balance as a predictable strategy springboard for better things ahead in life! (More on this point below.)

…You know you can’t always trust the external world to come through for you, but you can count on your intuitive and intelligent mind-body that has better answers and insight to your health.

Your mind-body follows you along the ride of your life’s journey and its good health is the difference maker to your getting the life you want, that can free you from what’s holding you back.

Like, living with accumulated stress (linked to inflammations and aging) is not doing you and your mind-body any favors… even though that’s baked into the Western world culture, lifestyle, and the air we breathe.

And a common reason why two people at age 45 look like they’re decades apart in age.

In a 2018 study, an international group of researchers led by scientists at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that adopting 5 healthy habits could extend life expectancy by 14 years for women and 12 years for men:

eating a diet high in plants and low in fats
exercising at a moderate to vigorous level for several hours a week
maintaining a healthy body weight
not smoking
consuming no more than one alcoholic drink a day for women and two for men

Ayurvedic Ways For a Heatlhy Lifestyle

We know a healthy lifestyle that takes care of the body is necessary for longevity and to prevent debilitating diseases.

And having or starting a stress-free, calm, and happy life optimizes your health in the mind-body connection.

It’s never too late to prioritize your physical and mental health.

One way to improve your life is to pay attention to your daily moods and symptomatic flare-ups. And not just brush them aside. When you’re 20 that’s fine, but as you get closer to mid-life, the accumulated wear and tear shows up.

And moods are subtle beginning signs of your balanced mind-body drifting, and what’s impacting your health inside you.

The Mind-Body Connection and The Past

Ayurvedic ways is all about the mind-body remedies for balanced living. Your mind-body is a part of you, but you are not the mind-body. You aren’t your thoughts, your gut, or arm.

Then there’s the mind-body connection based on the concept that your thoughts can be connected to body symptoms and your physical health. Like acne sprouts due to stress.

But not so quickly obvious are your past thoughts or traumas that show up in signs of aging (wrinkles and aging maladies), and your inflammations. The dots are not so easily connected. But they play havoc on your calm and balance, and mind-body.

…All unbeknownst to you.

And when you carry baggage such as buried childhood wounds (thoughts), they overflow into and affect your daily current health and life, through the mind-body connection. They still show up in the workplace, in your current reactions and attitudes.

It’s invisible trauma you may not know you’re carrying, but your mind recorded and has not forgotten.

And if triggered, can show up when you least expect, and where you don’t recognize the link to past trauma.

And, then there are some past traumas that you are fully aware of, and you may have never felt comfortable sharing with anyone. Or you haven’t purged the feelings enough to get all the wound hurt out of your system yet, so you can scar heal.

TED Talk presenters who share a trauma story rehearse over and over, and in the process, they get the poison out even if their wound was decades ago!

While Shark Tank presenters are asked on the fly about their personal tragedies related to their business, where tears are shed on the spot and healing begins or continues.

And that can be part of what frees them when they’re present, let go, and let their guard down. When trauma is acknowledged, a person can heal back to their natural essence.

Your Natural Mind-Body Now

Now is the present. And the present is a gift. It’s where you can be most aware and find your calm and joy.

And if you add being balanced, then you’re unstoppable!

Being balanced in Ayurvedic ways means leaning into your natural and primary mind-body dosha. That’s the way you’re wired.

“Natural” here also means favorable to the mind-body.

Like your favorite foods that you naturally like. Or your desire to do a certain exercise. Those are natural to you, but not to everyone else.

…And here earlier I was leaning into my Vata for a late afternoon sweet snack (…you know it’s healthy! 😉).

A healthy snack like these Samoa Bars is an example of Ayurvedic ways. — I shared the recipe last week for my healthy, no-bake Samoa bars… and I made a new batch that I’m enjoying for longer than the 5-minute break it took to make 😊

And Vata could be your natural way too, but we all have Vata in us that can throw us off balance.

And same goes for the mind. One way to get off balance can be from what we think of as our natural thoughts. The negative ones are not helpful if you put energy behind them that impact your mind-body. You’re best to ignore or replace those ASAP if they’re not helping you noodle out a productive solution.

Like… a negative thought pops up in your head and you want to blurt out what you’re thinking, but in a professional environment or amongst strangers, you don’t do it when you’re unsure as you don’t know how it will be perceived.

And later on in reflection, you’re glad you didn’t say anything. Or else you wish you had said something and now have slight regret that you missed the moment.

…Which can then turn into a negative thought that turns into negative energy.

Holding onto negative energy no matter how it sticks, spills into the mind-body and can cost you time and energy. That can turn into an attitude, mood, and imbalances that show up in the mind-body.

So it’s best to just nip it in the bud.🌹

Restoring Our Mind-Body Imbalances, Moods, and Ayurvedic Ways

If we’re lifelong learners, we’re constantly wanting to grow and improve, and recalibrating our balance makes good sense.

With those intentions, you can ask yourself:

Do I have… repeated anxiety, anger, burnout, tiredness, lazy mind or body tendencies, irritation, or excessive worry? …holding onto these types of moods and feelings can cause stress.

As a habit, we can check in with ourselves often and daily to see what’s off, just like checking the daily weather in our own part of the world keeps us on our toes …it was actually hailing small ice chunks in my neck of the woods over the weekend (in May!). 🌨

…And if we zoom out of our world, we see a bigger global world in organized chaos and crisis that affects us.

Gradual shift is omni-present happening everywhere and all the time, even when we can’t see. And that grows into stressors on earth, and to us and our mind-body.

For example, take a framed wall photo that you’re constantly straightening. Over time, it naturally shifts and becomes crooked. And in a new house especially, when the living earth below is still shifting.

But you know how to easily straighten the photo frame with a light touch tilt to bring it back to alignment the way it should be.

Or, you could “permanently” iron-clad anchor the photo to the wall, so the framed photo doesn’t shift again. But then one day, you decide to take down the photo to paint the wall behind it or to change the picture… or you completely move to a new house.

The framed wall picture is just one change away from its original “permanent” state. And like life, we don’t know what will happen next that can be stress-causing, or when our life could use some healthy adjustments even when we don’t have awareness.

Stress comes in all shapes and sizes, from earth-shattering situations to slight tilts, like slowly growing bored.

And change can help spice it up. But we also need some permanence for balance and alignment. Even if it’s temporary.

Balance is the natural desired order of this world and of your body, and mind-body.

And adopting Ayurvedic ways (the science of life) as a healthy way back works to bring back the order in us.

It works in the modern Western world to restore, prevent, and bring back natural balance. And it works for those who live in noisy cities as well as slower-paced towns, as all roads can lead to a desired healthy life taking different paths.

And that’s what I did and do. And you can too!

It doesn’t have to be just yoga or meditation… those are just a couple daily common practical household practices. 🧘🏻‍♀️…and maybe you didn’t know those were Ayurvedic ways 😉

Ayurvedic ways could be new or foreign to you, as it may sound like an ancient mystical or woo-woo set of Eastern healing practices. And it was to me too in the beginning.

But how I powerfully use it today, is as a West meets East approach to healthy living, with the West running the show in our busy American lives.

And that’s just scratching the surface on the description for all the benefits it adds.

One simple health benefit that’s achievable, is to change the course of our annoying mind-body symptoms daily through our lifestyle choices. That could be our higher standard goal and preventative norm so long-term stressors and symptoms don’t settle in.

And doing so helps your health and teaches your mind-body you’re on the same team 😊. That’s integrating Ayurvedic ways into daily balance.

Always Invest In Yourself (You and Your Mind-Body)

Another way you can help yourself is not accepting “just getting through the season.” That’s not effective ayurvedic ways in practice. You can do something today to start restoring or help along your natural healthy self as best as it can shine.

Only when we’re not conscious, do we not have a say in our lives.

Instead, adopt the norm of living each season blissfully, and enjoy daily!

Remember the old saying about your life isn’t a dress rehearsal. 🎬

You can be joyful and find joy every day (and not just some days!) even amongst the chaos. And while you’re going through difficult times.

Each year can have its challenges, but that’s part of growth and change. As you become more resilient (feeling less stressed about situations) that will help your health, balance, and calm.

When you get daily balanced health, you get the opportunity to show up as your best self, and unleash creativity every day that you may not even know you have today.

…And, find your purpose and true calling, that will give you your greatest life satisfaction and lead to your best foot-forward life.

And that can also lead to your leaving a miserable day job for a better-chosen life that fits you uniquely where work doesn’t feel like work, if that’s what your heart desires. You don’t end up where you started or in an unhappy middle.

…So, that’s what I have for you today to hopefully inspire and encourage you this season and the upcoming ones that will be your best ones yet (in your belief).

Next week I will share part 2 about how you can learn more about Ayurvedic ways (and even if you’re not sure exactly what it is today), and how you can start uniquely implementing mind-body restoring techniques into practice if it suits you. Talk then! 🧡