Stress
What is Stress?
Over the course of our species’ history, we have developed an instinct known as “fight or flight.” This is an ingrained physiological reaction to a dangerous situation, as for much of our time on earth we encountered significant threats in the form of predatory animals and other physically violent conflicts.
Our body and mind are typically programmed to cause us to feel hungry, thirsty, a need to urinate, a need to defecate, and a number of other instincts, and these instincts are managed by what is known as the parasympathetic nervous system. When we’re in a threatening situation, our sympathetic nervous system takes over and sends our body the message that we have to eliminate the threat by either engaging it in combat (fight) or fleeing from it entirely (flight).
We are better prepared to survive in this moment because our body has subdued the other physiological processes in order to focus all of its energy on working past the conflict. Ideally, when the threat has been eliminated, our sympathetic nervous system shuts off, our parasympathetic resumes its dominance, and we are able to follow the various instincts of our day-to-day life once again. Between getting to our job on time, keeping our boss happy, picking up our children from little league or dance class, making it to our doctor appointments, paying the mortgage, paying the electricity bill, paying the cable bill, finding time to call our parents, and doing a thousand other things that may or may not get done in any given day, living the type of life that most of us do has done a particularly troublesome thing: It has indicated to our body and mind that every day has the potential for conflict, and every day poses a potential threat to our well-being.
Every day is a source of stress.
This is modern living. The busy and hectic nature of our lives has caused many of us to experience stress, which is the toll taken on the body and mind when they are protecting themselves from potential threats. Instead of encountering predators in the wild, though, we’re encountering threats through missed deadlines and contentious parent/teacher conferences.
Western research has demonstrated to us that feeling continuous stress is not good for our health, as suppressing normal bodily activities decreases the functionality of our immune system, makes us more susceptible to pain, and causes us to feel negative emotions like anger, irritability, fear, anxiety, and lethargy.
Western culture’s solution to managing stress includes teaching the sufferer to avoid the situations that cause the stress in the first place. They’re also taught to utilize various relaxation techniques that make use of tools like visualization, getting massages, practicing yoga postures and other forms of fitness regimens, and even meditating. In extreme cases of stress, sufferers might be prescribed anti-anxiety or antidepressant medication to chemically balance their body and mind.
How Does Ayurveda View Stress?
Ayurveda considers stress to be the body’s response to excessive physical exertion, the sufferer’s environment being at odds with his or her constitution, the intake of difficult to digest foods, oversleeping, engaging in too much sex, overworking, and having repetitive thoughts that cause a heavy emotional reaction which then manifests in the body.
Ayurveda cites the main cause as being the kinds of thoughts a person has during their daily life.
Such as if worry, jealousy, desire, attachments, emotions and too much sense stimulation is present, we will be a victim of stress.
When treating a person who is experiencing high amounts of stress, an Ayurvedic practitioner will likely relate their physical and emotional symptoms to the nature of their doshic constitution.
If a person feels a lot of fear and anxiety, and their stress is causing symptoms like constipation and insomnia, then the stress has likely triggered or is based upon a Vata imbalance.
If a person feels a lot of anger and irritation, and their stress is causing symptoms like burning sensations, hyperacidity, and profuse amounts of sweat, then the stress has likely triggered or is based upon a Pitta imbalance.
If a person feels a sense of moodiness, lethargy, and heaviness, and their stress is causing symptoms like being overweight and congestion in the nasal passages and chest, then the stress has likely triggered or is based upon a Kapha imbalance.
Whether these symptoms are the result of imbalances inherent to the sufferer’s constitution and brought about by stress, or if the cause of stress is also the cause of the symptoms; it is often the sufferer’s job to determine what part of their life is causing the stress and work with an Ayurvedic practitioner to create a lifestyle that reduces it.
How Does Ayurveda Treat Stress?
One of the main differences between the Western system of medicine and Ayurveda is that Western medical processes typically treat symptoms and diseases once they’ve occurred in the patient’s body. Whereas Ayurveda aims to help the patient prevent contracting any sort of disease and instead live in health through balanced doshas.
Though the tools Ayurveda provides us with to accomplish this goal are extensive, this process is ultimately limited to regulating the physical body. It is its sister science of yoga that helps the patient to manage their mind and the many emotions that occur in everyday life.
In other words, though balancing the doshas through a proper diet, herbal regimen, and other Ayurvedic tools is helpful for creating a body less susceptible to the consequences of stress, it is the science of yoga that more specifically helps a person to overcome the challenge of day-to-day conflicts in response to what they are thinking.
Along with a dosha-balancing diet and lifestyle choices, an Ayurvedic practitioner is likely to prescribe yoga postures, breathing practices, and various meditation techniques to someone who experiences a high level of stress. As a person begins to practice the above mentioned disciplines, they will understand what is in the mind and what type of a person they are. This is important for changing old patterns. Ultimately, a person who experiences less stress will be less susceptible to disease and more likely to utilize Ayurveda’s intended purpose of preventing disease from ever taking place.
Lifestyle Changes for Stress
When we neglect to establish the root cause of one illness, it can turn into another, stronger illness in the future. The first step in resolving a specific ailment or disease in the body is to assess the nature of our lifestyle and make general modifications. Living our day-to-day life with a deliberate intention to improve our health will help us to both resolve the disease we are suffering from and prevent further incidence of it and other diseases in the future.
Regardless of the medical system used, it is ideal to minimize the number of stimuli that may create a stress in someone and then enhance well-being through an Ayurvedic lifestyle. The following list of tasks can help to balance each of the three doshas if stress manifests as Vata symptoms (anxiety, fear, insomnia, constipation), Pitta symptoms (anger, irritability, hyperacidity, sweating, burning sensations), or Kapha symptoms (lethargy, heaviness, being overweight, respiratory congestion).
Vata
- Favor nourishing foods such as white basmati rice, barley, and cooked vegetables.
- Apply ghee to foods and mix the ghee with a pinch of ginger, licorice, black salt, and/or triphala.
- Take a tablespoon of ghee or sesame oil with half a cup of warm water.
- Obey all urges to move bowels as soon as possible.
- Avoid dry foods such as chips, cold cereals, cookies, crackers, granola, and nutrition bars.
- If possible try to get into a squat when defecating so as to emulate a more natural position for passing stool. This would mean the feet would need to be lifted onto the rim of the toilet.
- Enlist the help of an Ayurvedic practitioner to administer oil enemas and other treatments so as to stimulate the functionality of the colon.
- Create more stillness through the practicing of calming yoga postures.
- Avoid being in the wind.
- Avoid excessive movements through strenuous exercises.
- Avoid over thinking or talking.
Favor sweet, sour, and salty tastes. - Favor calm and peaceful television or reading material, which brings harmonious thoughts to the mind.
- Avoid excessive travel.
- Avoid continuous hours of computer or cell phone use.
- Take many breaks from these machines.
- Avoid excessive amounts of sex.
- Favor showers over taking baths.
Pitta
- Eat foods with sweet and cold qualities.
- Avoid eating spicy, hot, sour, and greasy foods.
- Avoid using too many hot spices such as garlic, hot peppers, and onions.
- Avoid drinking alcohol and other stimulants.
- Avoid frequent, continuous, and excessive amounts of eating.
- Avoid eating fewer than three or four hours before going to bed.
- If the body is strong, take 1 teaspoon of castor oil in a cup of warm water, or adjust the amount to be more or less as needed. This is a good purgation to relieve excess heat from the system. (This is best to do before bedtime or in the early morning, but not if you have to leave the house within 3 hours).
- Avoid laborious movements, lifting large objects, and aggressive exercise.
- Avoid speaking too much and emotionally investing in too many conflicts.
- Avoid the hot sun and letting it shine directly on the head and body.
- Avoid too many selfish and self-indulgent thoughts.
- Avoid excessive amounts of sex.
- Use the cell phone and computer sparingly.
Kapha
- Wake at the time of Vata, which is before 6am. This early activity will help dry up the mucus.
- Eat light foods and soups to help purge the congestion associated with the cough.
- Follow eating with a half cup of hot water.
- Keep meals to once or twice a day, without snacking. This will quickly relieve the body of excess food to digest and bring it back into balance.
- Take light walks and stretch the body daily so that it can release the excess, stagnant Kapha energy.
- Avoid eating dinner as it will create more mucus in the system as food remains undigested until the early morning.
- Avoid heavy foods and drinks at night, which will create more stress on the digestive fire.
- Avoid food until later in the morning, after 10am. This will help digestion become stronger.
- Avoid sitting around too much, which will make the body stiff.
- Avoid being out in heavy, rainy weather.
- Avoid sleeping in excess.
- Avoid too many emotional moments and thoughts that bring on attachments.
- Favor creative and inspirational reading or television, as it will bring a sense of movement to the mind.
Better Foods For Stress
Ayurveda teaches us that disease and sickness are derived from poor digestion and inappropriate food choices. We then have the opportunity to make deliberate and more conscious decisions as to what foods we do and do not put in our body, which increases the chance of resolving the body’s imbalance.
Food needs to be in season, in moderate combinations of one or two food groups, not too hot or cold, in a modest enough quantity to allow for room in the stomach later, consumed without too much liquid which hinders digestive power, and should be fresh and not left over for more than a few hours. The general intention of responding to stress with food is to eat items that help to reduce the aggravation of whatever dosha is manifesting in associated symptoms (constipation for Vata, etc.).
Ghee
Milk
Berries
Apricots
Figs(Fresh)
Peaches
Plums
Carrots
Beets
Zucchini
Sweet potatoes
Asparagus
Whole wheat (unbleached)
Rice (white basmati)
Mung beans
Ghee
Apples
Pears
Mangoes
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Brussels Sprouts
Asparagus
Barley
Oats (cooked)
Rice (white basmati)
Milk
Olive oil
Coconut oil
Prunes
Raisins
Cherries
Pomegranates
Figs(Dry)
Radishes
Onions
Sprouts
Brussels Sprouts
Vegetable soup
Barley
Millet
Ghee
Mustard oil
Foods To AVOID In Response To Stress
While some foods can help to balance an aggravated dosha, other foods can cause further imbalance. Dry and cold foods as well as pungent, bitter and astringent tastes will dry out the body and aggravate the Vata dosha. Sour, salty and pungent tastes as well as spicy foods will add more heat to the body and aggravate the Pitta dosha. Sweet, sour and salty tasting foods will add heaviness to the body and aggravate the Kapha dosha. The following foods are organized by dosha and should be avoided in response to whichever type of symptoms manifest along with the stress:
Apples
Pears
Watermelon
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Tomatoes
Celery
Eggplant
Corn
Oats (dry)
Barley
Most legumes including green lentils and garbanzo beans
Raw and cold foods
Grapefruit
Bananas
Cherries
Pineapple
Tomatoes
Garlic
Carrots
Spinach
Rice (brown)
Corn
Nuts
Lentils
Corn oil
Almond oil
Spicy foods
Sour foods (like yogurt, sour cream, and pickles)
Salt
Meat
Bananas
Melons
Papayas
Avocado
Plums
Sweet potatoes
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Wheat
Rice
Nuts
Seeds
Sweets and candies
Allergy-causing foods
Dairy products (except goat milk, in moderation)
Unnatural sugar
Cold foods
Beverages For Stress
Generally, Ayurveda discourages the consumption of too many cold beverages, as doing so hinders the strength of the body’s digestive fire. Instead, favors room temperature or hot beverages to encourage the strength of the digestive fire.
- Hot water, especially during meals and first thing in the morning.
- Avoid cold and frozen drinks.
- Avoid sugary or fizzy drinks that blend with the digestive juice and make it weak.
- Avoid alcohol, coffee, and black tea.
- Avoid fruit juice from concentrate.
Herbal tea of cinnamon, cloves, and fresh ginger.
Take hot milk with honey before going to bed. (Add honey when milk is warm but not hot–honey should never be overheated as it becomes toxic.)
Herbal tea of coriander, cumin, licorice, fresh ginger, and turmeric.
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Sour drinks after meals, including lassi (it should be very light and diluted well).
Herbal tea of cinnamon, licorice, nutmeg, and cloves.
Herbs For Stress
Herbs are used in the Ayurvedic system much like Western medicine utilizes drugs and vitamins and can be taken like tea 2 to 3 times a day. Herbs aid in the digestion of food, the breakdown and elimination of toxins, and help to strengthen the cellular structure of our system for greater vitality. Herbs become more potent once mixed with other herbs of similar properties. Mix together 2 to 4 different herbs from the below list by adding a quarter to a half teaspoon full of each, for a total of 1 teaspoon. Drink these in half cup of hot water.
Cinnamon
Cloves
Ginger
Licorice
Black salt
Turmeric
Triphala
Bala
Guduchi
Trikatu
Coriander
Cumin
Licorice
Fresh ginger
Aloe vera with a pinch of turmeric
Sandalwood (white)
Musta
Lotus seeds
Gokshura
Pippali
Cinnamon
Licorice
Nutmeg
Cloves
Ginger
Sandalwood (white)
Calamus
Black pepper
Castor oil
Tulsi
Trikatu
Yoga Postures For Stress
When applied therapeutically to specific ailments, yoga postures provide an opportunity to strengthen the body, rid it of toxic matter, and restore balance. The postures included in this section can be practiced as part of a more general sequence or can be focused on in short sessions. When first exploring yoga postures, it is best to only practice them for twenty minutes or so per day and buildup from there once the body becomes more flexible. Yoga postures are considered to be a particularly beneficial tool for overcoming stress, and the following lists of postures are likely to be helpful in reducing the impact stress may have on the body and mind:.
Camel
Bridge
Plough
Shoulder stand
Knee to chest
Corpse
Easy seat
Cobra
Bridge
Shoulder stand
Knee to chest
Fish
Corpse
Hero
Boat
Bridge
Plough
Shoulder stand
Forward bend
Fish
Easy seat
Vata
Pitta
Kapha
Aromatherapy For Stress
Aromatherapy utilizes the fragrances of essential oils when applied to the skin. Essential oils can burn the skin and therefore must be diluted with a base oil such as sesame, coconut, sunflower, canola, or mustard oil. Mix 1 fluid ounce of base oil with about 12 drops of essential oil before applying to skin. You can also just mix 5 drops of base oil to one drop of essential oil if using on one spot.
Vata-related stress can be treated with basil, camphor, cedar, eucalyptus, frankincense, ginger, lavender, lily, lotus, musk, myrrh, patchouli, sandalwood, or cinnamon oil.
- Use a sesame oil base.
- Apply oil on the forehead or on the back of the neck.
Pitta-related stress can be treated with sandalwood, tea tree, rose, honeysuckle, gardenia, lily, iris, mint, or lavender oil.
- Use a coconut or sunflower oil base.
- Apply oil in the center of the chest in front of the heart.
Kapha-related stress can be treated with cinnamon, eucalyptus, sage, basil, musk, cedar, frankincense, or myrrh oil.
- Use a canola or mustard oil base.
- Apply oil on the skin between the navel and pubic bone.
Mantra Therapy For Stress
Ayurvedic tradition suggests that repeating certain words or sounds can help a person suffering from an ailment to restore subtle balance to nerve tissue and enhance one’s mental clarity. Different sounds are prescribed to either repeat mentally or chant outwardly. These sounds are also used and repeated in the mind for the purpose of spiritual growth.
For Vata-related stress, repeat the syllable “Ram” (pronounced rahm) for several minutes a few times a day and build more practice over time.
As a Vata-related disorder, it is helpful to inwardly repeat this syllable for the duration of time it is practiced.
For Pitta-related stress, repeat the syllable “Aum” (pronounced ohm) for several minutes a few times a day and build more practice over time.
As a Pitta-related disorder, it is helpful to both outwardly chant and inwardly repeat this syllable for the duration of time it is practiced.
For Kapha-related stress, repeat the syllable “Ham” (pronounced hahm) for several minutes a few times a day and build more practice over time.
As a Kapha-related disorder, it is helpful to outwardly chant this syllable for the duration of time it is practiced.
Breathing Practices For Stress
Controlling the breath is a central practice toward developing peace and stillness in the mind and body. When the breath is under our control, we are no longer at the mercy of the senses that are stimulated by everything and lead to greater fluctuations of the mind. When applied to the context of resolving specific ailments, the breath is used as a tool for developing lung capacity, heating and cooling the body and resolving mental afflictions like anxiety and stress. Like with the yoga postures above, breathing exercises are likely to be of significant benefit to those who suffer from considerable amounts of stress.
All Doshas
Vata
Pitta
Kapha