Welcome to the 5-Day Ayurvedic Spring Cleanse
Day 1
The 5 Elements - a brief talk about the 5 elements their qualities and how they make up the different doshas. We will also investigate the Ayuvedic Circadian Rhythms, the Ayurvedic Seasonal Calendar and the Three Stages of Life.
This video also includes a 40 minute yoga practice.
Day 2
Meditation with a focus on witnessing our thoughts, how repetitive thoughts become habits and how we can free ourselves from this to move forward with awareness.
After the meditation you may wish to journal about your experience. Some journal prompts might be:
How was the experience for you?
What did you notice?
When you were focusing on the pleasant experience what came up in the body?
When you were focusing on the unpleasant experience what came up in your body?
Was there a particular word, feeling in the body or emotion that came up for you in the meditation as a whole?
DAY 3
The Three Gunas
In Ayurveda all disease begins in the mind. So how can we cultivate a balanced state of mind? In this class we will explore the three gunas or states of mind, rajas, tamas and sattva and cultivate the clarity, balance, intelligence and compassion of sattva.
RAJAS - action, motivation, organised, creative, good at problem solving but with a tendency to try too hard and burn out, also quick to blame others and can be impatient. Rajas is expressed as movement, action, outward focus, ego, anger and fear.
TAMAS - Steady, focus, stillness, brings things to an end, destruction and ignorance. In excess it is depression and confusion, suppressed emotions, negativity, self-destruction, refusal to seek help or support, poor diet and hygiene, accepting disease and ill health as fate and refusing to seek opportunities to create a better life.
SATTVA - calm, clarity, inspiration, curiosity, all that is illuminating, intelligent, compassionate and pure. Harmonious and adaptable in nature, free from disease - has no negative sides, helps us strive towards balance and take good care of ourselves and others.
Go gently everyone…
Day 4
Habits and WOOP. This class starts with a brief seated meditation on the breath to cultivate present moment awareness. Then there is an introduction to WOOP (Gabriele Oettingen) a science based intervention technique to help us create new habits and achieve our goals.
Wish - First we will focus on one wish that you feel is achievable although it may require some effort
Outcome - Imagining the outcome when you achieve your wish. What will this feel like?
Obstacle - Imagining the obstacles that are standing in the way of achieving your wish
Plan - making a plan to help you overcome your obstacle. If (obstacle)…then (plan)…
For more information on WOOP go to https://woopmylife.org/
DAY 5
Restoring Calm For Healthy Digestion
This class is a 30 minute restorative yoga class to calm the nervous system. When we are calm (in a more parasympathetic nervous system response) our body can send energy to digesting and healing.
Many of us spend our lives in a state of low level stress which can become a chronic condition. When the body is stressed we activate our fight/flight/freeze or sympathetic nervous system. This sends energy to the muscles, accelerates our heart rate, widens the bronchial passages, raises blood pressure, increases sweating and slows down digestion. Overtime this can lead to ill health.
Yoga can be a wonderful tool for bringing the nervous system back into balance and restoring health.
Below is a 30-minute yoga class to help restore calm and promote healthy digestion of food, thoughts and feelings.
If you enjoyed the cleanse and benefitted from it in any way please make a donation here according to your volition and your means.
By making a donation you are paying it forward - your donation will mean someone else can take a place on my next course. In this way we can foster relationships and connections with others and send ripples of joy and wellbeing out into the world.