In today’s fast paced world of immense Internet Connectivity, the world we live in, seems to have shrunken into our fists, or fingertips! We reach from Sri Lanka to India in less than an hour whereas talking to our neighbours takes us months. Though we have all the conveniences, time feels like Sand, slipping away with each time we try to hold it. We want to achieve everything at the level of perfection.
In times when women were not given the right to educate, they had no choice but to be at home catering to just homely things Then came a time when education was prioritized thanks to our women leaders who started building up better generations. They evolved into financially inferior & largely stable human beings, yet juggling between home and work. There was more work & less support. This came to a point of severe discomfort as women started with developing glucose imbalance issues, PCOD, infertility, painful periods, weight issues, anxiety and depression. The struggle is real. Adding age-wise or stage-wise hormones issues into this chaotic pattern with disturbed sleep, more stress and imbalanced untimely diet became a global suffering.
This was the time, also around when Covid-19 happened, that women started looking back to their roots. They found majority of them written in an authentic evident-based medically researched textbooks of eastern medicine- Ayurveda. Ayurveda originates from India, a land where every State has a geographical and morphological variation. India is seen as the country of colours and you can see this great variation even in the fruits and vegetables that grow specific to Indian states. Every state has specific herbs which help in gaining life-balance through particular foods that help sustainability of life.
It is often overlooked that we work the best when we are relaxed. Unlike our primitive selves where humans needed to go to hunt, and work harder or sprint to catch food faster; now we live in time where technological apps to teach us to relax and take life slower. We are now struggling to find a balance between going fast & slow like- walking uphill a Monastery- exhausting yet exhilarating both at the same time.
With so much happening on the outside, women need to pause, and look inwards to find their centre of unwavering balance deep within them. We have heard of ‘Me Time’ which is usually taken as some time one needs to take away from their day to do something that they enjoy doing. Those hours are fully their own and they must focus on themselves doing whatever they like- be it watching a show, sleeping, reading, going for a walk, a hobby, etc.
I am introducing to you, a new concept of “Mindful Me Time’. Refreshingly this lets a woman focus on every task she does by pausing to take a minute to herself. In that minute she can decide, pause & turn inwards. Just to herself. Like a self-check in. She can access her emotions & well-being. If there are negativities built up, this 1 minute can provide her time to listen to her gut & take the right call. This minute can me used to the max if she takes deep breaths, or gets outdoor to see horizons or just close her eyes & sit comfortably just enjoying her own company. Her inner compass will guide her well when she willfully calls upon her power of intuition. Isn’t this amazing? Even while writing this article, I have goosebumps. I have used this technique myself, & this works miraculously.
Stress levels and Hormonal responses:
Knowing your own mind-body constituency, known as individualistic “Prakruti’ in Ayurveda, is a good place to start knowing your own body. You can then self-access stress levels and your own hormonal responses. Hormones talk to you, only if you are ready to listen to them first. These are not just mood swings, but internal chemical reactions that go inside our body throughout the month. Our responses to stress are often dependent on them! Let us accept that fact, foremost.
To feel intemally good tools such as Meditation, Yogasanas, Ayurvedic Seasonal Therapies and a balanced approach towards diet and lifestyle are essential. I saw my mother doing Yogasanas for maintaining her flexibility while we, her kids were growing up. Though I didn’t take it seriously back then, I realized that we often take the preventive aspects of health, for granted. This then piles up into a disaster & one day it starts digging holes into our pockets in the form of premium health insurance or heavy hospital bills.
Ayurveda has a very individualistic approach to understanding the physical, physiological and psychological aspects of a human being. For eg: eating a sweet laddoo, might give you mental happiness and instant glucose in the blood. It will also give your brain a gush of power and refresh your taste buds.
If you eat this laddoo at breakfast, it will give you more energy for the day. If you eat it post meal, it will make you feel more lethargic. So, Prioritizing, WHEN to eat certain things is more important.
3 Golden Rules for Maintaining Great Gut-Brain health:
- Curb your sweet tooth a minute before meals. Eat a small sweet just before meals. This will give you satisfaction, energy & not cause weight gain.
- Fill out your journal of gratitude by thanking your Heart first thing in the morning (as it worked the whole night for you). Thank your Brain last thing at night (as it was burning for you the whole day)! They both deserve it.
- Go for a walk or do any one of your favorite physical activity for atleast 20 mins in a day, out in the open! Breathe in fully, and get your happy hormones going.
I am born in a family of very strong women. My grandmother at the age of 85 still makes incredible artificial flowers out of anything! That is her Ikigai! She stays happily occupied for almost 16 hours a day! And sleeps for the remaining 8. She is the one who says-Women need to have hobbies that keep them happy throughout their lives. Once your career, family responsibilities and everything passes, you are left on your own. So ‘knowing your thing’ which is purely and I solely yours, and can make you happy forever.
Prioritizing that, I have seen my mother who is a practising Ayurveda doctor, often touches base with her jewellery making skills. Similarly, I dance my heart out. Be it any tune. This liberates me.
Posing a question to you – what is that one thing as a woman, that would YOU keep doing which exuberates happiness from within you? A woman’s happiness is her basic life need, not a luxury. And it starts when you prioritize your own physical- psychological- physiological health beyond anything. If you keeps well, the entire family automatically will. Choice is yours. Hope you choose wisely.
Dr Devika Deshmukh
MD Ayurveda (Panchakarma)
Medical Director: Kerala Ayurvedic Clinic
Vile Parle East, Mumbai.
drdevikakac@gmail.com
