Well, autumn has arrived in New Mexico. The nights are cold, the colors are brilliant, but most days are still gloriously sunny! We had a couple days of heavy rain - made me feel right at home - but it's back to very pleasant, sunny skies again. Not that I've had much time to be out in it - school is keeping me very busy! And I love it. I look forward to every class and take great delight in applying what I'm learning into my own lifestyle. Ayurveda is much more complex than I imagined, yet so logical and so simple to implement. It is an absolutely amazing science.
I did have an opportunity to hike in the Jemez Mountains last Sunday with my housemate Carol. The landscape was so dramatic - brilliant gold cottonwood trees against a backdrop of bright red rock formations, wide open vistas - it was gorgeous! The landscape at higher elevation was very similar to hiking in Colorado - lots of ponderosa pine and rocky slopes. It was a great day! I'm going on another hike this Sunday with my classmates to a new area. No shortage of options for outdoor activities here! And the snow is already starting to accumulate in the Sandia and Santa Fe Mountains - yippee! I may need to find myself a pair of used snowshoes.
I had my first Anatomy & Physiology class on Tuesday. The instructor is very good - she had us finding organs and muscles and tendons on each other. I could see that this made some students a bit uncomfortable, including my partner for these exercises, a young guy in his 20s. He was sweating as he very gingerly went about locating my liver and pancreas. Pretty funny. We were told in orientation that if we are uncomfortable with body parts or bodily functions, we will get over that by the time this class is over. "By spring, you will know all about each other's bowel movements," one instructor told us, "because we're going to talk about them a lot." Sure enough, the other day a fellow student (one of the medical doctors) was asking a very pointed question about his own bowel habits. More information than I needed for sure, but I did learn something!
Dinacharya is the buzz word of the week. It is a Sanskrit term that means "daily routine". This is a vitally important concept in Ayurveda. Dinacharya is all about honoring and nurturing your body, mind and spirit. Because, afterall, "this is where you live," to quote our lifestyle instructor. And our bodies thrive on routine. There are many more recommended steps to Dinacharya than any modern day busy person could ever possibly fit into their day, but we are encouraged to experiment and find a sequence that works for us, and possibly extend it on weekends to include more practices. It starts with getting up very early - preferably by 5, but no later than 6 (depending on your constitution). I have been getting up at 7 and I justify that by saying that it is 6am in Oregon -- AND, when the time changes next week, I can start getting up at 6 without losing any sleep. Yes, perhaps I'm being a wimp, but I'm also not sleeping as well as I usually do - still adjusting to the new environment. The practices that I am finding that I'm not willing to forego are abhyanga - the whole body massage with warm sesame oil (absolutely luscious, and so good for you - soft skin is only the beginning...), a shower (of course) and meditation. Most days I manage to also fit in a home yoga practice, along with many other little things that make me feel so good. Dinacharya sets the tone for the day, and already I feel the difference if I skip too many steps. Ayurveda recognizes the natural cyles in nature - cycles in our lifetimes, in the seasons, and in a 24-hour day, and teaches us how to work with them. Dinacharya is very "morning intensive", and we use the analogy that the first few years of life are vital in forming the individual and setting the tone for the rest of his/her life. So too with Dinacharya; and what may seem like a sacrifice now becomes a joyful choice to care for yourself every day in a way that prepares you to go out into the world nurtured, centered and ready to face the challenges that come our way. Ayurveda makes so much sense! Now if I could only get myself to bed before midnight...
Time to study. Namaste.
whats new? this is the only newspaper i get....!!
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