I'm An Ayurvedic Doctor: Here's How I'm Digesting The Lessons Of 2020

According to Ayurveda, every aspect of our lives—our relationships, career, daily routines, home environment, etc.—affects our health. It's from this place of connection that we can start to notice how everything that's outside of us sets off reactions within us.

By this logic, if we aren't processing our outer experiences, they can build up and lead to physical discomfort, illness, and even chronic disease.

This was especially true in 2020, a year like no other that was filled with so many new experiences...experiences most of us never dreamed we would have: wearing masks, social-distancing, carrying hand sanitizer everywhere, canceling travel, and postponing family celebrations. Virtual drinks, dates, coffee, work, and school.

And so as we move into a new year, I'm working to digest all the experiences that 2020 had in store. As I go, I'm considering what is worth keeping and integrating and what should be eliminated.

Humans are made from the same five elements as the rest of the Universe: space, air, fire, water, and earth. Thus, we are connected to everything in nature. The essence of Ayurveda is that when we start to live in harmony with the natural world, we will have optimal health.

In this pandemic, Mother Earth told us she's had enough...that she needed to rest and heal. And so the entire world came to a stop, quite literally.

As I mentioned above, according to Ayurveda, every aspect of life—including our relationships—affects our health. And indeed, studies have shown that people who have supportive, close relationships tend to have lower levels of inflammation1 compared to people who don't.

The breath and the nervous system are connected on many levels. In high school biology, you probably heard the example of a cave man running from a lion, which would activate the acute stress response or "fight-flight-freeze," which prepares the body to defend and protect itself by raising the breath and heart rate. When the threat is gone, the parasympathetic nervous system takes over and creates the "rest-digest" or relaxation response. The breath and heart rates slow down and the body begins to repair and rejuvenate itself.⁣⁣