Anxiety, though often overlooked, is a very serious problem.
For such a little word, it carries a lot of weight. And the conversations around anxiety can be confusing because while some may only experience it lightly, for others, it can have a struggling impact on their lives.
So, we need to ask ourselves this: Do we really understand what Anxiety is?
When some people speak of anxiety, more often than not, they refer to the feeling of being anxious, or dreading something in particular. For others, anxiety is a chronic condition that interferes with daily life. GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) is a serious condition that is experienced acutely and intensely.
And with one-third of Americans showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression, it can be easy to have anxiety even about our anxiety! It’s important to note that there are several manifestations and treatments for anxiety, many of which need clinical assistance. Today, let's take a look at how Ayurvedic practices can be incorporated into your regimen as a part of your self-care routine to help ease down the built-up feeling of anxiousness and to incite in you a blossoming feeling of wellness and bliss.
But first: WHAT CAUSES ANXIETY?
Many of us are tied to our mobile phones day and night. Sometimes our jobs or our families make it seem like life without constant phone-checking isn’t possible. But did you know that the average person checks their phone about a hundred times a day?! Excessive checking of anything promotes anxiety and worry. It places your body in a constant state of hyper vigilance.
Time away from your phone is essential. Creating boundaries around calls, messages, emails, and social media can help encourage balance in your mind and ease anxiety.
While some of us can remember back to a time when there were “nightly news”, the news now comes at us in an endless, aggressive, disruptive stream. We can’t escape the negativity, violence, and hostility.
Or, can we?
It all goes back to setting healthy boundaries. The news does not need our immediate attention, no matter how much the media would like to convince us otherwise. Remember, social media and news agencies are sometimes playing into our anxieties. They are designed to create a false sense of urgency and stoke feelings of insecurity or even fear.
You can resist by establishing healthy boundaries around phone usage and news consumption. Also, reading print news can be healthier than watching or listening to news that’s delivered in a frantic or aggressive tone.
One of the most popular jokes of the age is one that hints at our inability to “do it all” and our reliance on caffeine to help us try. But at the heart of this joke is a hint of sadness. Why are we trying to do it all? And for those dealing with anxiety, is caffeine really the safest option?
Unfortunately, coffee and other caffeinated beverages can trigger or heighten anxiety, depending on the person. While coffee definitely has some health benefits, if we overdo it, we might be in trouble. Remember, caffeine is a stimulant. It increases the heart rate, and too much caffeine can make already anxious people feel even more restless and unsettled.
If you are an avid coffee-drinker, you can try experimenting with consuming less caffeine to see if it has any positive effect on your anxiety. It’s all about balance and equilibrium - not necessarily elimination.
One of the disadvantages of living at a frenzied pace is thinking there’s no time for exercise. As busy as we are, much of our activity takes place in front of a computer screen, in a car, or at a desk. While our brains might feel like they’re going a mile a minute, our bodies certainly are not.
Unfortunately, a sedentary lifestyle is not healthy for anyone, and that includes people with anxiety. But you don’t have to become a bodybuilder to improve your life. Modest, low-intensity exercise and movement can boost your mental state and curb anxiety. Even if you’re pressed for time, a ten-minute jog or yoga session can result in noteworthy improvements.
Ayurveda is an ancient system of wellness that was birthed in India over 5000 years ago. In fact, it’s considered the oldest system of holistic health on the planet!
Holistic (meaning whole-body) is the idea that balance between mind, body, and spirit is the ultimate goal. Therefore, Ayurveda doesn’t focus on treating one symptom here or one ailment there. It looks at the whole person and plans accordingly.
As you can see, a holistic approach to anxiety is a helpful one. Because anxiety affects mind, body, and spirit, why not seek changes and habits that promote balance and harmony in the entire being?
While there are many approaches to managing and easing anxiety, massage with Ayurvedic oils and herbs is one that stands out as superior. Just the act of Ayurvedic daily massage is a gesture that defies the hectic, frenzied pace of the world. It can be combined with reading, music, meditation, or still sacred, a few minutes of silence and peace.
Ayurvedic daily massage is called Abhyanga, and it isn’t complicated at all. It’s a simple, full-body massage with a warm oil. For best results, Abhyanga should be practiced daily as a regular part of your self-care routine. By participating in this loving act, you aren’t just soothing sore muscles and a restless mind, you are carving out a portion of time to pause, reflect, and breathe.
So, what is the best kind of oil for Abhyanga?
In Ayurveda, potent oils are thoughtfully crafted using only the best, all-natural ingredients. These oils are combined with herbs, essences, and fruit extracts that calm, ease, and nourish. Ayurvedic elixirs reject harsh toxins and chemicals in favor of clean, time-honored ingredients.
Below are some premium oils that can be used in Ayurvedic massage for anxiety.
Morning or night, when you take the time for a full-body self-massage, you adopt a practice that’s both relaxing and uplifting. It’s a truly holistic act because it engages all of the senses and delivers multiple benefits to mind, body, and spirit.
Our rich portfolio of nourishing iYURA oils are created for face, scalp, hair, and body. It is our promise to you that Ayurvedic iYURA oils are always:
Whether or not you practice yoga, this velvety oil can be applied to your entire body as an act of loving self-care. Many in our Ayurveda community use this oil in the morning before starting their day or in the evening prior to bath and sleep. This silky-smooth oil softens your skin, soothes sore muscles and joints, even as its divine aroma uplifts your spirit, imbuing a sense of beautiful calm.
Whether or not you practice yoga, this velvety oil can be applied to your entire body as an act of loving self-care. Many in our Ayurveda community use this oil in the morning before starting their day or in the evening prior to bath and sleep. This silky-smooth oil softens your skin, soothes sore muscles and joints, even as its divine aroma uplifts your spirit, imbuing a sense of beautiful calm.
Key Ingredients:
Another oil that is super effective in calming an anxious mind is Nidradi Oil. It carries a blend of time-honored ingredients such as Licorice, Tender Coconut Water, Chamomile, and Blue Water Lily. In addition to moisturizing and hydrating your scalp and nourishing your hair, this soothing tonic will relax and calm you.
A pre-sleep oil, the silky, smooth Nidradi oil massaged thoughtfully into the scalp can do wonders for your scalp, hair, and mind!
Nidradi Slumber-Time Head-Massage Oil is wonderful for:
Another oil that is super effective in calming an anxious mind is Nidradi Oil. It carries a blend of time-honored ingredients such as Licorice, Tender Coconut Water, Chamomile, and Blue Water Lily. In addition to moisturizing and hydrating your scalp and nourishing your hair, this soothing tonic will relax and calm you.
A pre-sleep oil, the silky, smooth Nidradi oil massaged thoughtfully into the scalp can do wonders for your scalp, hair, and mind!
Nidradi Slumber-Time Head-Massage Oil is wonderful for:
Another superb oil for a relaxing Ayurvedic body massage is the herbaceous, body-loving Rujahari Oil. This stunning, sensational elixir includes around 46 powerful Ayurvedic ingredients.
In Sanskrit:
Ruja = suffering
Har = liberates
Rujahari Oil is a potent oil that’s specially crafted to ease a distressed mind, body, and spirit.
While these massages can be a beautiful addition to your day and can help you calm and ease your mind in a really gratifying way, the Ayurveda Way of Life can do much more!
With results-oriented, habit-reforming steps, Ayurveda aims to help you deal with Anxiety, Chronic Stress, and Depression in a streamlined way - one that involves taking into account your everyday habits, diet, exercise, and so much more!
And to help you effectively and infallibly guide you through this journey of transformation, we have with us Dr. Akil Palanisamy - a Harvard-trained MD who specializes in the filed of Integrative Medicine.
Dr. Akil’s unique and effective approach of using Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine and his sophisticated, empathetic way of busting some of the commonly held misconceptions would make even a layman see reason by understanding the science behind it all.
Make your journey on the Ayurveda way of Life more seamless and fruitful, so that you can enjoy a better, healthier lifestyle, stronger immunity, and a holistic feeling of wellbeing.
Take the course, now!
A timely intervention to our busy, hustled lives, this course helps you take a pause to discover some unheard-of underlying causes of Chronic Stress, Anxiety and Depression, and address them naturally so you can keep stress-related disorders at bay and find the way to stay Happy, Upbeat and Energetic!
Purchase this program now and get a
free PDF text companion and instant access to the entire course in HD Multimedia (which means that you can watch the course online on your desktop or mobile!)
Course Duration:1 hour 40 minutes