Do this one thing to harmonize your life

I recently delved deeper into looking at yoga from an Ayurvedic perspective. Ayurveda, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, is one of the oldest medical systems, created over 3,000 years ago in India. Ayurveda is a holistic healing method which works to balance and harmonize the person as a whole, taking the entire self system (e.g. mind, body, energy) and how it relates to environmental changes into account. One very important concept stuck out to me when studying Ayurveda and yoga. When one imbalance is present, you will become naturally drawn to that which further contributes to the imbalance. For example, if you are amped up, and having difficulty sitting still, or calming down, you will crave yoga postures that amp you up even more, when what you might need are slow deep forward folds to calm and harmonize your system. This is also true for emotional imbalances. I see so many depressed people who naturally are drawn to stillness, laying in bed, isolating, all low energy activities which further the depression, further the imbalance.

If you are anxious, feeling restless, you may need to get still. If you feel like you have no time for stillness, you probably need it the most. If you feel like laying in bed all day, you might try getting out and going for a walk. Get the idea? Whenever you're feeling ungrounded, off balance, do the opposite of your current energy state and see if it doesn't harmonize your energy. I'm not saying, don't listen to your body, because I am a firm believer that if we listen hard enough, our body, mind, and spirit will guide us in the right direction. What I am saying, is take this concept into consideration when deciding what you need. Analyze your current energy state, and determine if you would benefit from shifting this state. If you need more energy, practice energizing activities. If you need calming, grounding, practice calming grounding activities. Listen to what you need vs. what you want and that may make all the difference.