For many, a new year can stir up a lot of emotions. You may find yourself reflecting on the past year or making promises to improve your behavior for the new one.
There can be a lot of external pressures experienced at this time of year. We are told to do more, to be more, to change ourselves. We are served lists of things that we are doing wrong, which are presented as the root cause of all of our problems. This is followed by lists of things we need to do to become our optimal selves.
Whether it is a new workout routine, a new diet plan, or a new lifestyle hack, it seems like everyone else has all the right answers for you.
This approach to New Year’s resolutions makes it very easy to turn the opportunity for an honest self-check into perpetuating insecurities, low levels of self-worth, guilt for the way you are showing up in the world and overwhelm about what you should be doing. It’s no wonder these New Year’s promises are unsustainable.
Approaching New Year’s resolutions from an Ayurvedic perspective offers a unique framework for creating sustainable goals, for the next calendar year and beyond. The objective of this article is not to provide a lesson in Ayurvedic theory. It is to share with you how Ayurveda has changed how I understand myself and the world around me; and how Ayurveda has reshaped every aspect of my life including my rhythms and rituals surrounding New Years.
The New Year looks and feels a little different for me each year, just as it should. What remains constant is intentionally carving out time to honestly connect with myself. What is so beautiful about intentionally connecting with yourself is that it is an open-ended framework as opposed to a predetermined set of steps.
I intentionally check in with myself, with honesty and integrity, holding the unwavering truth that no matter what this last year brought up for me, I was enough, I am enough and I will always be enough. Sometimes this wavers but, the more I practice this, the more the false narrative shallows and the rebound becomes resilient. I celebrate my wins, including the small ones. I revisit the challenges, and reflect on what I’ve learned, where it brought me and how my perspectives have changed. I hold myself in love and gratitude for all of it. It is from this place that I set my goals – from an internal place of self-acceptance – of understanding where I have been, where I am right now, and where I want to go.
My New Year’s intention setting did not always look or feel this way. I used to only focus my intention on how to improve myself. My starting place used to always focus on everything that was wrong with me.
This story is just one small example of how Ayurveda can literally impact every aspect of your life. Ayurveda as a holistic medical science that considers each individual uniquely cannot be overstated. Like many, my introduction to Ayurveda was through yoga and its tangible benefits: balanced energy levels, less joint pain, and deeper sleep.
Ayurveda was introduced to me as the sister science of yoga and I was more than curious to learn more as I wanted to learn to manage Rheumatoid Arthritis flare-ups through diet. At first, I learned about digestion as a root cause of disease and experimented with Ayurvedic nutrition through food combination and healthy eating guidelines. (Read more about my health history and Ayurvedic treatment plan).
I already knew through personal experience that there was a direct correlation between my diet and my arthritic symptoms. Ayurveda taught me about food nourishment based on individual needs: cooked meals, healthy fats, sourcing organic and cooking with appropriate spices. Often, our relationship to food reflects our relationship to ourselves. Sourcing food, preparing food with your senses and mindfully eating requires connection and presence.
This was just the beginning. Nutrition is fundamental to nourishing and healing the entire being but Ayurveda also offers a vast array of tools for holistic health. Tuning into your needs from a place of connection deepens your connection with yourself. To expand on this connection, Ayurveda utilizes sensory therapies, such as color therapy, sound therapy, aromatherapy and self-massage techniques, to detoxify and tonify the body.
Examples of daily cleansing and nourishing practices that have contributed to my healing of Rheumatoid Arthritis, irregular menses, general anxiety disorder and overall wellbeing include tongue scraping, abhyanga, yoga nidra and alternate nostril breath. Some of the recipes I love to turn to for general balance and wellbeing include chia coconut pudding, licorice-spiced tea, and mung bean pancakes. All of these are tools and gifts that have helped bring me back to myself. In fact, the greatest gift Ayurveda has offered me is myself. For me, New Year’s is a time to reconnect to this remembering.
I hold so much gratitude for my journey and, most certainly, I have not been on it alone. Working with trained Ayurvedic practitioners makes all the difference. Given an individualized and contextual framework for the most appropriate recommendations for you is what results in sustainable changes. Self-implementing Ayurveda is a powerful and achievable start. Working with a practitioner deepens overall health and wellbeing.
Article authored by Chloe Chaput, who is dedicated to her role as a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist (CAS) to work with women’s health, male and female fertility challenges, parents/caregivers, and children to address a variety of clinical health concerns at the root of their cause. Contact Path Wellbeing today to set up your appointment with Chloe Chaput, CAS
The information contained within this article is for educational purposes only and should not replace the direct advice of a doctor or other qualified healthcare professional. Always consult a medical or other professional healthcare provider when considering a new health regime.
