July 25, 2022

Stability and wellness – the connection

Priya Birdi

FxMed Community Member & Ayurveda Practitioner

Mind loves freedom but…..

the body loves stability!

Let this be your anthem!! Repeat it every day, let it sink in and get to understand what this means.

What form of stability are we talking? Let’s focus on meal times to start.

In Ayurveda there is the core understanding that we come from nature, we should align ourselves with nature’s cycles…. but what do we do instead?

We get all mighty and feel indestructible and choose to eat whenever and however because you know …. we have other important things to do … WRONG!

I will be gentle and break it down.

Let’s appreciate for a moment the circadian rhythms, sunrise and sunset, the observable diurnal changes in our natural environment, key biochemical changes which drive our sleep and wake cycle… ok I think you sort of get the drift?

Eating off schedule not only causes indigestion, but also confuses the body’s biorhythms and let’s be honest it not very nice on the body when we keep snacking throughout the day either.

Keep it simple and follow:

Consistency in your daily meal times, preferably around 8 am, 12 noon, and 6 pm.
If you can’t follow these ideal meal times, at least eat at the same time each day.
Start the day with a drink of warm water, feet on the ground, allow mind and body to step into the day, one hand on the heart and one on the abdomen area and take 5 deep breaths.
Separate your fruit from main meals!! Yes that’s right. Eat fruit alone or leave it alone.
Eat each bite with awareness and gratitude (try ‘tech free Thursdays’ to supercharge this – click here to read).

Ayurveda teaches that it’s not always about what you eat but how and when you eat.

Eating with awareness and being grateful for whatever it is you are eating is a small but powerful technique for anchoring the mind and body in the present moment. In our culture and with our busy lifestyles, we often eat on the go, eat our lunch at our work desk, or dinner in front of the TV.

Ayurveda views meal time as a sacred experience, so embrace the gift of food from mother nature, eat slowly and feel the nutrients transforming inside of you, as this is what is going to nourish you with strength and vitality.

It’s a bit simplistic but imagine the body as a see-saw between two main functions. Nourishing and building; and rest and repair. And it can only focus on one of these functions at a time.

Here is a little Ayurveda secret – eat your largest meal at lunch, and smallest meal at dinner. (I can feel the shock and gasps, but hang in there!)

Ok again you ask why?

Our digestive potency is naturally and intrinsically linked with the circadian cycle. As the sun reaches its peak during the day, our digestion also reaches its peak, and therefore we have optimal enzyme and acid levels to break down the food. HAPPY DIGESTION!

The same is true for the end of the day, our digestion is slowing down, so taxing the digestive system with a huge portion of high protein food means that the body’s focus shifts from ‘rest and repair’ to ‘nourishing and building’ at a time when we need rest the most!

This in turn impacts, sleep quality, which diminishes the nourish and building function the subsequent day, and so on – it’s not an optimum cycle.

Look, you have to try it…. try it today…try it for a week

You will do your digestion and your gut a huge favour!

You have heard that saying Happy Gut = Happy Everything …oh no wait!!! I made it up and it’s TRUE!!

With gratitude

Priya Birdi

About the author

Priya Birdi is an experienced Ayurveda Practitioner based in Perth, Western Australia. She attained her nationally recognized qualifications in 2014, and now practices independently bringing together her experiences in natural health to provide a blend of tried and tested Ayurveda wisdom with the emerging field of gut microbiome science.

Priya is deeply passionate about empowering her clients to take ownership of their health and wellbeing through connecting with self. By instilling an intuitive understanding of the principles of Ayurveda, her clients leave the very first consultation equipped with an appreciation of their own unique mind-body constitution and how to apply this to achieve a state of balance.