Featured Yoga Journal Article:
Know Your Stress Type!
Does
stress leave you too anxious to eat or too lethargic to get off the
couch? Using the ancient science of Ayurveda, you can determine your
unique stress type and take skillful action to bring your body and mind
back into balance.
By Jennifer Barrett
Consider
this scenario: Anne, Janeen, and Stuart arrive at the office one
morning to find their boss waiting, pink slips in hand. Profits are
down, she says. Effective immediately, the company needs to downsize.
She tells them to gather their belongings, wishes them good luck, and
escorts them to the door. The news comes as a terrible surprise to all
three, but in the days that follow, each reacts in a markedly different
way.
Anne
feels anxious; her worrying distracts her from getting anything done
during the day, and insomnia keeps her up at night. Janeen becomes
consumed by anger and blames her boss, coworkers, and clients. As her
resentment mounts, so does her blood pressure. Stuart resigns himself to
the news, feeling powerless to change it. He stays home, snacking in
front of the TV. His lethargy leaves him with feelings of depression,
and eventually leads to weight gain and aggravated respiratory problems.
In
the West, we don't usually dwell on the distinctions between our
reactions to stress—we tend to focus on general coping solutions
applicable to all, such as a hot bath, a long walk, or a day at the
beach. But in the ancient Indian healing system of Ayurveda, stress
reduction hinges on a complex understanding of each person. Since no two
people handle setbacks the same way, everyone requires a different
stress-relief strategy: What might work for Anne could aggravate Stuart,
and what might work for Janeen could prove ineffective for Anne.
Ayurveda provides specific lifestyle, dietary, herbal, and yogic
solutions for each individual that can not only diffuse tension but also
help build a foundation for lasting peace of mind.
Ayurveda Explained
Yoga's
sister science of Ayurveda is a system of healing that integrates basic
physiology, emotional disposition, and spiritual outlook, then presents
all three in the context of the universe itself. Dating back 5,000
years to the ancient Sanskrit texts the Vedas, Ayurvedic theory takes
nearly every conceivable stress influence into consideration—from
seasonal and planetary changes that affect our well-being to subtle
bodily impurities that can precipitate disease. It also sheds light on
the thought patterns and physical tendencies that make stress either a
constant stumbling block or a nonissue, depending on how well we
understand ourselves. Comprehending such an exhaustive system may seem
daunting to those who haven't made it their life's study. But when it
comes to managing stress, Ayurvedic concepts can be boiled down to a
basic idea: Trace stress back to its roots, then find lasting ways to
change the patterns that cause it.
We
often speak of stress in terms of the situations we find ourselves
in—traffic jams, looming deadlines, getting laid off. But Ayurveda holds
that stress actually originates in the mind. "Fundamentally speaking,"
says Nimai Nitai Das, an Ayurvedic physician in Boston, "stress is a
disorder of rajas." Rajas represents passion or undirected activity;
it's one of three universal qualities, or gunas (the other two are sattva, or purity, and tamas,
or inertia). According to Ayurvedic texts, too much rajas shows up in
the mind as attachment, craving, and desire—by their nature, these
impulses can't be satisfied and therefore create a negative
psychological disposition.
While
overly stressed people might have excess rajas in common, how they
respond to the condition depends on their individual mind-body
constitution. Each Ayurvedic principle—vata (air),pitta (fire), and kapha (earth)—exists
in all of us to varying degrees as doshas, with usually one, sometimes
two, and, in rarer cases, all three predominating to create our
constitution.
Our
predominant dosha shapes who we are, what we look like, and how we
think; it influences everything from our career choices and favorite
foods to the style of yoga we prefer. For self-understanding, it's
crucial to identify our inherent constitution and which doshas
predominate. (Take our Dosha Quiz here.)
But for the purposes of stress management, our doshic imbalance can
prove even more revealing. In other words, it's not so much which dosha
most shapes our constitution but rather which one is out of whack.
When
we act out our excess rajas, the resulting stress manifests itself in
the body as a vata, pitta, or kapha imbalance, depending on the person.
For instance, a person may have a strong kapha constitution, being
grounded, wise, stable, and compassionate. But at her worst, she may
display a classic pitta imbalance, being irritable, judgmental, and
quick tempered.
Constitutional Amendments
So
how do we know when we have an imbalance? Experts strongly advise
visiting an Ayurvedic physician who will make an assessment based on
pulse diagnosis, tongue evaluation, and your personal history. As
Ayurveda has many subtleties, it's hard for a layperson to do a
self-assessment; trying to reduce stress using an incorrect diagnosis
could make matters even worse.
That
said, doshic imbalances do have certain general mental and physical
symptoms, which we can often recognize in ourselves. Here are some
common stress reactions—and solutions—for each doshic imbalance.
Consider them a starting point for your own self-inquiry.
Vata Imbalance
At Their Best: Highly creative, quick thinkers
Out of Balance: Prone to distraction, anxiety, worry, weight loss, teeth grinding, insomnia, and constipation
Friendly Foods: Warming foods like rice, wheat, nuts, and milk products; avoid raw food like salads and dry, airy foods like popcorn
Healing Herbs and Scents: Ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom
Recommended Yoga: Slow, meditative practice, including Tadasana (Mountain Pose),Vrkasana (Tree Pose), Balasana (Child's Pose), Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend), and Halasana (Plow Pose); Focus on Ujjayi breathing to ground the mind
Other Tips: Add
soft music or a guided meditation tape to your meditation practice;
Massage warm oil on your body before showering and on the soles of feet
before bed
Pitta Imbalance
At Their Best: Focused, driven, and goal-oriented; naturally alert, intelligent, and perseverant
Out of Balance: Bouts of anger, outbursts, criticism, migraines, ulcers, inflamed skin, and burning hands and feet
Friendly Foods: Cooling
foods like cucumbers, melons, and dates; avoid spicy and astringent
foods, like chili peppers, radishes, tomatoes, cranberries, and
grapefruits
Healings Herbs and Scents: Jasmine, lavender, and rose
Recommended Yoga: Mild hatha, gentle vinyasa, restorative, or Iyengar Yoga; include twists and seated forward folds like Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose), Janu Sirasana (Head-to-Knee Pose), and Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend); Avoid yoga at peak-heat time of day
Other Tips: Cool down with nostril breathing (inhale
through the cool/moon/water channel on the left with the right nostril
covered and exhale through the hot/sun/fire channel on the right with
the left nostril covered)
Kapha Imbalance
At Their Best: Loyal, grounded, and patient; inner sense of stability and contentment shows up as compassion and warmth toward others
Out of Balance: Stubborn, lethargic, possessive, depressed, prone to overeating, and resistant to change
Friendly Foods: Artichokes, eggplant, broccoli, cherries, cranberries, and pears; avoid sweets and nuts; carefully monitor quantity of food
Healing Herbs and Scents: Rosemary and frankincense
Recommended Yoga: Heat producing, vigorous movement including Sun Salutations, backbends, and inversions; practice chest-opening poses, such as Dhanurasana (Bow Pose) and Ustrasana (Camel Pose), and heart-opening poses, such as Matsyasana (Fish Pose) to counteract depression.
Other Tips: Pranayama techniques can be helpful, such as Kapalabhati (Shining
Skull Breath) and right nostril-led breathing (breathing through the
right nostril and out through the left); Chanting may help fight
lethargy
Whether
we have a vata, pitta, or kapha imbalance greatly influences the course
we chart to address overall stress. Adjustments that work for one dosha
might leave the others more aggravated that before. Whatever steps we
take, our efforts toward balance represent an evolving process rather
than a static goal—one that changes right along with the doshic
fluctuations in ourselves and our environment.