Are you in balance or are you out of balance with yourself? For Ayurveda, health is synonymous of intrinsic and extrinsic balance aspects of our being. We bring you a quick and simple exercise that can help you examine some points in your life.
According to Ayurveda, we enjoy good health when we balance bioenergetic forces, strong digestive fire, nourished bodily tissues, regulated bodily processes, a calm mind, balanced emotions and heightened senses. From this, we can understand that being healthy goes far beyond the mere absence of disease, because it involves physical, but also mental and social full-being.
A good start for this exercise is to strengthen our connection with the flow of life and seek harmony with the cycles of nature, whether they are: the cycles of life itself, the seasons of the year, the day, the moon, etc. Nature is our greatest teacher, just look around to see how plants and animals live in harmony. How about getting to know yourself better and understanding which points of your life are out of balance and putting them back in agreement with you, thus preventing them from manifesting in future health problems?
Below, we bring you a simple and quick exercise that allows us to generally observe the balance of some points in our lives. This exercise is very easy, first we suggest you to print the image below, then choose a time when you are calm and, in a calm environment, carefully evaluate each of the 10 items and mark in each quadrant ("pizza slice") where you feel located according to your dedication to each of the subjects – consider that the further away from the center of the image, the greater your dedication to this subject, finally join the dots and see how your figure looks. The bigger and closer to a symmetrical circle, the greater your balance, the points where they deviate more to the center are indicators of imbalance, that is, they are points where you need to focus more attention and work on them more diligently. Periodically do this exercise whenever you feel the need to turn your attention to your balance.
Each item can be understood in countless ways, bearing in mind that the way each one of us interprets them differently. For those who feel the need, we will present below for each of the items some brief concepts in order to help you with the exercise. Note that the concepts we will present below come from our conception of the exercise, the reader does not necessarily need to agree with them, and based on each theme, he can establish his own definition.
Círculo do equilíbrio. NETO, Joaquim. 2020.
Espiritualidade (Spirituality): it has nothing to do with religion, although it can help here. Spirituality has to do with the dedication you give to your own spirit, which incarnates and disincarnates across different lives, and its connection with the greater force in which you believe (called by you as God, the Universe, Nature, the Divine, etc – as you prefer. Here we have decided to call it our Source, or simply Source). Keeping this in mind, how is your dedication to your own inner self? Do you spend time listening to you? Understanding you? To align yourself in love and harmony with the greater force that you believe in? Prayers, meditations and pranayamas can all contribute to this process.
Alimentação (Food): In Ayurveda healthy eating is essential to strengthen and maintain our health. Several points are important and must be taken into consideration for this balance, such as: strengthening our agni (digestive fire), choosing proper foods, especially those said by Ayurveda as sattwic (vegetables, fruits, cereals, fresh foods, natural sweeteners, spices, nuts, seeds, etc.), but also extrinsic factors such as: the ideal times to have meals; seasonality, quality, freshness and origin of food; the ideal amount of consumption for your biotype; the way you choose, prepare and combine all elements of the meal; your energy and the energy of the spacearound you when preparing or consuming food, among others. Therefore, we ask you: Have you been eating correctly, balanced and consistent with your needs? Understanding your Dosha(s), your needs and putting them into practice can help in this regard - to find out what your Dosha is click here.
Atividade Física (Physical Activity): Regular exercise can increase your strength, stamina and immunity. Our bodies were designed for movement which, according to Ayurveda, is essential for our vitality. However, we all have different body shapes and structures, so the exercises are also different and should be suitable for everyone. Have you been doing any physical activity? Otherwise, exercise.
Momentos Para Si (Self-moment): Do you usually take a moment to be just with yourself? To take care of yourself? Your presence must be your best company. To work on this, we recommend you take a day per week for yourself and take the opportunity to “flirt” with yourself, doing anything you like, for example: going to the movies, taking a walk on the park, reading a book, dancing, having a self-massage , traveling, taking care of your body, face, hair, in short, find ways and moments to be alone and dedicate time exclusively to your self-care. In addition to being very healthy, these moments help to break the emotional and physical dependence that many people have and leaves them hostage to the presence of others to feel good.
Saúde (Health): As we´ve seen, the concept of health involves many other issues besides the absence of illnesses, it transcends the physical, emotional and mental state. However, here in this exercise consider health as the manifestations of the body in its physical state, such as: Have you had recurrent colds, allergies or flu? Do you feel depression? Headaches, migraines? Any gastrointestinal problems? Etc. If you dol, or have recently felt a physical health problem, how about turning your attention to those problems and try to identify the cause? It can often be from your eating habits, or emotional or psychological issues. Always seek help from a medical professional, but also play your part in the process of trying to identify the source of this imbalance. Feel and connect more with your own body.
Vida Social (Social life): Spending time with your loved ones is good for the mind, heart and strengthens the relationships that are important to you, be present in the lives of the people around you, being either family, friends, colleagues, or any other person who makes you feel good to be with. With the rush of everyday life, sometimes a phone call, video call, or even a message can have an impact in this regard; of course, whenever possible try to do it in person because the energy that binds us becomes even stronger.
Lazer (Leisure): Are you engaged in any activity other than home or work? Taking the body and/or the mind to any other activity besides those is necessary for the health of both. To have a nice moment of leisure you don't necessarily need to spend money, it can be a walk in the woods, having a picnic in a place you like, reading a book, drawing, painting, dancing or relaxing in any other way, whether alone or with someone you want to be with.
Carreira (Career): Understand this topic not as the intensity or manner in which you have been dedicated to your work. See a career as a professional activity consistent with your life purpose, what you dream and long for, that makes you feel complete, good and happy to perform. If you are working but not yet pursuing your career, start directing your path towards achieving it. Planning your life plan well (also a topic for this exercise) is a start, although in small steps it is important to work on this topic. Being aligned with your career helps to keep you balanced.
Projetos de Vida (Life projects): Drawing up plans and projects for your life is an interesting exercise because it allows you to identify where you are in the present moment, how you view your life in a panoramic way, and from there, idealize the path you would like to follow according to its purpose. Draw your plans, project them and send them to that “Major Force” you believe in, but then forget about them, trust and let this Force Majeure work for you. We must not trap our mind and thoughts in any circumstances of the past or future since we do not have them under control, and both can bring a lot of frustration to the ego. Always bring your mind to "the now" - the present moment.
Doar Amor (Giving love): When we consider that we all come from the same "Source of life", we should leave our ego and individuality aside and realize that we are all part of a "Whole", therefore, anyone on this planet is also a part of you. Likewise, if we think that the essence and reason for this Source of life is love, what has it done to others? What have you done to the people around you? Are you dedicated to others? If you think you are not working on this issue, put it into practice. You can do it in small gestures, such as simply listening or giving attention to someone who needs to be listened to, looking with affection and smile at the people around you, dedicating time to someone who needs some help and care, among many other ways.
We suggest that you fix this image in a place where you can see it frequently and whenever you feel the need, redo this test. We hope it will be a useful tool for aligning and balancing your being.
Namasté,
Ayurveda Essentials