Your lifestyle

SLEEP

Sleep is important for the woman entering perimenopause or going through menopause, because both Vata and Pitta imbalances can cause sleep problems that will only make menopausal imbalances worse.

To keep both doshas in balance and to sleep more deeply at night, be sure you’re in bed before 10:00 p.m. and that you arise before 6:00 a.m. This is the time of night when sleep comes easier and is more restful.

If you stay awake past 10:00, it will be harder to fall asleep, and you’ll also increase any Pitta imbalance, because 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. is the Pitta time of night, when the body needs to be at rest in order to cleanse and purify itself.

OIL MASSAGE

The morning abhyanga or ayurvedic oil massage is extremely important for peri-menopausal problems. Use the Rejuvenation Massage oil for Women. This oil is designed to increase circulation, calm Vata dosha, and provide needed moisture to the skin.

REGULAR MEALS ON TIME

For both Pitta and Vata dosha, it’s important not to skip meals, and to eat your main meal at noon, when digestion is the strongest. Try to eat at the same time every day, and go to bed and wake up at the same time.

REST

Be sure to get lots of rest during your menstrual cycle as you approach menopause, because this will keep Apana Vata in balance and avoid the more serious complications of the peri-menopause.

EXERCISE

Daily exercise (gentle for Vata and not too overheating for Pitta) is also important for keeping all doshas in balance.

HERBAL SUPPORT

The Menopause Support Range of products are designed to prevent and treat the imbalances related to menopause. It provides both general support and targets specific imbalances that women experience before, during and after menopause.

The products help keep the body free of ama and maintain the balance between soma (lunar energy) and agni (solar energy)–a balance that is vital for health during menopause and beyond.

Ayurveda Approach to Stress Management in the Workplace:

Stress in the workplace creates a variety of symptoms, including anxiety, fatigue, increased anger, problems with relationships, inability to focus properly, stress headaches, insomnia and, over time, a variety of stress-related diseases.

Stress results when the mind, body or emotions receives an overload of stimulus, whether good or bad. Workplace stress occurs when the mind is not able to handle day-to-day events and challenges. Some people seem to handle daily challenges without any evidence of stress, while others are stressed by the varied activities and changes that the modern workplace presents.

According to Ayurveda, this lack of ability to handle daily stress is due to an imbalance, or lack of coordination of the three main mental functions of dhi (learning), dhriti (retention), and smriti (long-term memory).

Ayurveda offers many recommendations for supporting these mental functions, and thus gives the person more resilience to stress.

When Prana Vata, the subdosha of Vata that supports mental functions, gets disturbed, the coordination of dhi, dhriti and smriti breaks down and mental stress results.

When Prana and Vyana Vata (the subdosha located in the heart that supports circulation) together are disturbed, it affects not only the mind, but also the communication between the heart and the mind, thus creating mental and emotional stress simultaneously. Emotional stress is usually associated with an imbalance in Sadhaka Pitta, the subdosha of Pitta that supports the emotions and is seated in the heart.

According to Ayurveda, if you are unable to perceive the reality of life, which is blissful, that is an indication of Pragya-aparadh, or mistake of the intellect. Charaka Samhita, a major Ayurvedic text, defines Pragya-aparadh as the lack of coordination of dhi, dhriti and smriti.

Pragya-aparadh is the source of all disease, because disease originates when the heart, mind or body loses its connection with nature’s intelligence. When we lose the memory of bliss, the connection with our own true nature in pure consciousness, this is the source of stress and ill-health in the body.

The recommendations of Ayurveda aim to restore the balanced functioning of the doshas–of mind, body and emotions–and thus to restore the connection of every part of life to bliss consciousness, which is our true nature.