New Year, Real You
New year, original you.
You just don’t know her.
Yet.
The gut microbiome has flourished or diminished, the nervous system has gained synaptic connections or waned a few.
Why?
Daily life choices from birth to now.
Every day we opt to do this and not that due to our underlying energetic constitution. Even committing (or not) to a diet or exercise routine is based on our true selves. This can’t be found in a new year fitness, diet or style trend.
Knowing who you are requires awareness of your energy.
Identify and reset to start a new practice of lifetime habits personalized for your energy profile.
Dosha is how we eat, sleep, and feel. The digestive, metabolic and cognitive systems are linked to our energetic balances and imbalances. Personal energy drives our decision-making process.
An Ayurvedic approach personalizes science and medicine to determine the very basics of who you are. The things that make you succeed and those that hold you back from reaching true potential. Whatever those things may be, start finding the real you using these three straight-forward categories.
The $cience
Our lives are fundamentally eat, sleep and feel. Through work, of course. These tie together in every breath we take.
These are the 3 easiest identifiers of the real you. And, an attainable easy-to-stick-with way to start a new year of lifetime goals.
Taste of Life
Identify your leading dosha by your tastes. What do you grab for when hungry, stressed or tired? Are you a sweet-tooth Kapha or a red-hot chili pepper Pitta? Maybe potato chips satisfy you when deadlines lurk?
Salty and sweet snacks and meals are favored in western diets. These are perfectly fine to eat, but adding dosha-specific tastes rounds out the palate. Variety supports diversification of the gut-brain axis and metabolic activity through mitochondrial function.
Kapha prefers to snack on chocolate cake, but a low metabolic profile exacerbates rapid weight gain and diabetes. A switch-up to carrots satisfies a sweet tooth and comfort at the molecular cellular level and provides skin-glowing beta-carotene. Phenol-supplemented carrot juice prevent fats from amassing, thus reducing cardiovascular diseases and increasing metabolism.
Pitta enjoys cult favorite Flaming Hot Cheetos to address their spicy appetite (high metabolism) and emotions. Unfortunately, very hot foods increase the risk of inflammatory disorders like colitis due to their pungent property. Bitter melon or kale chips cool down that energy through anti-inflammatory processes of their extra-vesicular antioxidant properties.
Vata seeks fries when stress-related nervousness hits. The hydrophilic properties of salty foods make them a natural go-to because they increase heat, which Vata lacks. Fried food has the opposite effect as it adds too much airiness to the system and increases anxiety. Oatmeal or granola in warm milk are grounding because they facilitate micronutrient transport and anxiolytic activity through digestive optimization of GABA-producing microbes and nitrogen processing.
Sleep On It
The most exhausting moment of the morning is getting up. Characteristic rise times orbit solar shine times. Sleeping in and lying in languor indicate a Kapha-lead. Waking up two hours before sunrise reduces further impediment of innately slow metabolism.
Vata gets no sleep or wakes up in the middle of the night worrying about everything and anything. Stirring with the sun increases calming thoughts attributed to stabilizing Bifidobacterium breve gut levels and attenuation of HPA axis hyperactivity.
Eager beavers suggest Pitta-prone energetics. They cannot wait to get started on a long list of ambition goals. Rising one hour prior to sunrise tames overzealousness and reinforces executive functions needed for focused directive.
Feels Real
Mood and emotions speak volumes. Identifying reactive tendencies during regular activities and surprise attacks helps narrow down doshic composition. Based on the three basic emotions, anger, fear and grief, each leading dosha expresses one more than the other two. Anger-prone defines Pitta, fear-sensitive befits Vata and sadness embraces Kapha.
Escape head games by taking the right breaths or pranayama. Sheetali breathing cools the frustration felt by Pitta when control is out of their well-meaning control. Gloomy moods benefit from kapalbhati or belly breathing. This type of deep breathing increases cardiovascular function and gamma wave oscillations, thus stimulating the GBA out of an inactive state. Anxiety can be reduced with alternate nostril breathing, which decreases EEG beta amplitude and enhances focus during tasks. Each exercise can be done for up to one minute.
Bottom Line
New Years and new days are unnecessarily demanding. Knowing ourselves simplifies focus areas in goal-attainment.
We are comprised of all three doshic energies- Pitta, Vata and Kapha. The cardinal factor that distinguishes the Ayurvedic system is that the proportions of each energy type varies, thus lending to our unique constitutions. Healthful diets, activities and meditations are efficacious when tailored to doshic configurations.
Though more detailed traits unravel doshas, identifying eating, sleeping and emotional habits is a simple and quick way to start a new year with the real you. Spending a month on these eases accomplishing long-term goals.
