Ayurveda’s Holistic Approach to Menopausal Wellness
A 4-Week Online Retreat
Our on-demand programs are great introductions to the healing power of Ayurveda. Discover the Ayurvedic Daily Routine, overcome insomnia, and more—whenever, wherever!
TRICK OR TREAT!
In this vlog, Tiffany Nicholson-Smith covers ways in which we can honor Halloween, this sacred and very old festival of the dead, by paying homage to death and impermanence itself and also offering love and nourishment in the form of healthier (perhaps even homemade) treats and gestures of loving-kindness to each other, to those who have left their bodies, and to the little beings who come to our doors dressed as cats🐱, witches and fairy princesses 👸🏽 .
Living Ayurveda can truly be discovered everywhere and at all times.
Welcome an Intimacy with Impermanence & Death
In many cultures, it is customary to make offerings to the spirits of those who have recently passed, to ensure they do not linger and try to take from the realm of the living. In this way, you can satisfy the hunger of any of their unfulfilled karmas here in this worldly plane. Offer the burning of a candle by a window or visit the gravesite of a passed loved one, and lay flowers, dried herbs, or food. Be sure to get your children involved.
Hit the Pause Button
In the pagan culture, as well as the Vedic system, it is believed that the day after Halloween, November 1, is a day in which the veil between the world of the living and that of the spirit world is thinner. It is also the day that separates the long days of summer and the harvest from the sacred days of winter’s rest. The Vedic tradition calls this a Sandhi, or a gap. This is an invitation to pause and recognize the silence that exists in the transitions between seasons and between life and death.
Kindle the Inner Fire
In Ayurveda, strong Agni—the digestive fire—is vital in the coming season of cold, when frigid temperatures outside contain the digestive fire inside our bodies. This strengthens Jatharagni and allows us to digest the heavier, oilier foods that we will need to consume to stay warm, grounded, and nourished against the cold. But if agni is already weak, we can struggle through the winter. Light a sacred bonfire outside, gaze into the flames, and imagine them burning brightly in your belly.
Give the Sweet Taste
In Ayurveda, the sweet rasa (taste) is called madhura. It is composed of earth and water, making it heavy, building, and cooling. The sweet taste is the most nourishing and vitalizing taste. Thus, it is a great gift (especially to welcome in the darker months) to nourish the receiver as well as the relationship between the giver and receiver. Give healthier forms of sweetness, in the form of homemade and healthy treats, kindness, presence, acceptance, compassion, and affirmations of love.
Watch Tiffany’s vlog below for more details and depth on all four of these invitations…
This article is reposted with permission from the author.
