Many factors can bring our lives out of balance “addressing the big questions, loss of loved ones, stress from work or family, or serious illness. From the Ayurvedic perspective, imbalances cause illness; bringing oneself back into balance helps restore wellbeing. It is the Ayurvedic path to balance that I explore next.
I arrive at the Chopra Center on the grounds of La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, truly out of balance, in part because of questions raised at the Zen Mountain Monastery, but primarily because I have missed one day of my scheduled Panchakarma and Perfect Health sessions due to snow storms in the Northeast and have been struggling to get myself on the earliest flight west. Some of the stress melts when I’m shown to my luxurious suite, with its deep soaking tub and separate shower. Thoughtful details also help, such as candles, live orchids, and bonsai plants in the room, plus a large, inviting bed. I awake refreshed and eager to catch up with my cohorts at the Chopra Center.
I had prepared for Panchakarma as instructed; the previous week I lightened up my diet “minimizing or eliminating oils, nuts, vinegar, caffeine, sugar, alcohol, and prepared foods, I also ingested a mixture of sesame seeds and golden raisins (for internal oleation, or lubrication), drank ginger tea, and took detoxifying Ayrurvedic herbs sent by the Chopra Center: triphala, guggulu, and neem. Additionally, I completed a medical history and mind/body questionnaire to determine my dosha, or constitution, and identify any imbalances.
My truncated week begins with a gentle yoga class, which focuses on one of Deepak Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws of Success each day. Tuesday is The Law of Karma, or cause and effect. We chant Om Kriyam Namah, my actions are aligned with cosmic law, as we consider the choices we make throughout our yoga practice, and what their consequences will be. After class, the group heads to morning meditation while I have a private mind/body consultation with Dr. David Simon, co-founder and medical director of the Chopra Center.
After an interview and physical exam, Dr. Simon’s identifies my dosha as kapha/vata (earth/air) with a vata/kapha imbalance. He explains that my racing mind reflects an imbalance in vata, the principle of movement and expansion, resulting in anxiety, stress, and lack of focus “which my body addresses by remaining overweight “an imbalance in kapha, the principle of structure and lubrication. He prescribes twice-daily meditation to quell my mind, which would enable my body to release extra pounds. He also recommends a kapha-pacifying diet (which I’ll learn about later that day), ginger tea to stimulate digestion, a daily routine, and vata-pacifying aromatherapy.
Then it’s time for my first Panchakarma treatment: Srota massage with dosha-specific herbalized oil. After I’m blissfully oiled and kneaded before my therapist, Grace, sprinkles me with herbs and wraps me up for Oshadi. This massage/wrap treatment is designed to clear my body’s circulation channels and, like the other bodywork I receive throughout the week, promote relaxation and eliminate toxins. I’m so tranquil from the treatment that I don’t even tense up as Grace administers my first daily basti, or herbal enema, as part of the purification process.
After Grace provides my daily dose of triphala, I head into a private catch-up session on Primordial Sound Meditation, which involves sitting comfortably, eyes closed, and focusing on a mantra. My personal mantra represents one of over 100 primordial sounds, or vibrations of nature; it reflects the sound of the universe at the time and place of my birth. Participants receive their mantras in a private ceremony; we are encouraged to keep them to ourselves. After a brief solo meditation with the instructor, we meditate as a group for thirty minutes. While my mind remains restless, somehow this practice is easier for me “perhaps it’s the closed-eye method, the freedom to shift position, or having the mantra as a focus. Or it could be that my thirty-five-minute zazen sessions prepared me to sit comfortably for a half-hour. Or maybe it’s the relaxed state induced by daily massage and yoga.‚
The week proceeds with morning and evening meditation, yoga, deep bodywork, and two daily lifestyle classes on finding balance “and health “through Ayurveda. The central aim: enhanced digestion of the nutritional, emotional, and sensory stimuli of life. Strong digestive energy, called agni, aids efficient elimination of waste, creation of healthy tissue, and production of ojas, an essence that Ayurveda views as the foundation of strength, immunity, and clarity. When agni is weak, poor digestion produces toxic residue, called ama, which obstructs the flow of energy and nutrients, leading to disease. This physical model is replicated in the mind; negative emotions such as fear, anger, guilt, and stress produce mental impurities, and undigested experiences become toxic, blocking the flow of positive feelings and mental clarity, which often results in emotional and psychological problems. Elimination of ama in mind and body, plus prevention of further build-up of toxicity, depends on identifying dosha imbalances and modifying diet and behavior accordingly.
We ten participants, all female, learn that all food is characterized by six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. A balanced, satisfying meal includes all six tastes, but my kapha nature dictates an emphasis on the latter three. Ayurvedically, my ideal diet is high in hot spicy foods, leafy greens and most other vegetables, legumes, and berries, while minimizing starches, citrus, salts, meat, and dairy. Classes also cover behavioral issues, such as eating seated, on a regular schedule, in a calm environment, only when hungry, and while paying attention to sensation and satiety. Foods should be freshly prepared, with an emphasis on lightly cooked rather than raw or overcooked foods. We’re instructed to avoid FLUNC foods: frozen, leftover, unnatural, nuked (microwaved), and canned.
We also learn about establishing a daily routine in synch with nature’s rhythms, creating a positive sensory environment in accordance with our doshas, and dealing with difficult emotional situations. The week lays the groundwork for our quest for balance beyond the Center’s doors, but the effects of detoxification emerge then and there. One of several in the group facing severe health challenges releases her emotions “for the first time “about her husband’s failure to support her during her fight against lung cancer last year. She addresses her unspoken anger toward him, and guilt about the anger, since he developed cancer in the midst of her treatments, blamed her for his illness, and died last summer. Another, who required a wheelchair to traverse the airport en route to the Center, finds herself full of energy, able to do 30 minutes on the treadmill at La Costa’s gym after a full day of lectures and mind/body activities. At day’s end, when fatigue customarily sets in, I, too, find myself unusually energetic. I hop on an elliptical trainer at the gym and feel as if I could tread for hours.
As at the monastery, the emphasis is to be present in all we do. Once again, that message rings clear in an arts-related session. Offered crayons and the freedom to draw whatever comes up, everyone remains single-mindedly focused. Not surprisingly, given the soothing background recording of waves, most draw peaceful beach scenes.‚ ‚ ‚
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