Preparation for final and entrance exams, sessions … How to do without liters of coffee and other stimulants? In Ayurveda, traditional Indian medicine, there are simple ways to gently relieve stress and focus.
In the canons of Ayurveda – perhaps the oldest medical tradition in the world – the prevention of various disorders is no less important than their treatment. Translated from Sanskrit, “ayu” means “life”, and “veda” means “knowledge”. This “science of life” came to us from Kerala, from the southeast of India. It is as much a philosophy as it is a way of life that includes our daily habits, diet, hygiene, as well as yoga, meditation, natural remedies and even some forms of martial arts. In general, Ayurveda is built on the principle of maintaining harmony and balance between the three doshas (vata, pitta and kapha) – three types of energy that nourish each of us, combining in different proportions and connecting spirit and body. Dr. Unikrishan from the Kerala Yoga Therapy, Ayurveda and Rehabilitation Center offers us a few simple tricks to help you get through the stressful period of exams.
Upon awakening
Put your palms over your eyes. The nights before an exam are always too short. When the alarm clock has done its job, rub your palms together to warm them up, put them over your eyes so that your fingers rest on your forehead, and hold until the heat dissipates. Now, getting out of bed, you can look at the coming day with enthusiasm and without feeling “sand in the eyes.”
Massage as a gift
Masup – body massage using herbal powders – gives strength. Oil massages relax: dhara (stimulation of the third eye area) relieves headaches, abyanga (general massage) relieves muscle spasms and normalizes sleep. A cycle of procedures – from 3 to 7 – a week before the exams can be a real gift for a student weary with work and worries.
A glass of warm water on an empty stomach. Such a drink with a few drops of lemon juice and a drop of honey is a real balm for our digestive and excretory organs. Lemon, the only one of all citrus fruits rich in vitamin C, does not belong to the so-called acidic foods * and has a beneficial effect on the acid-base balance of our body, which is formed under the influence of nutrition and the environment. According to Ayurveda, such an “alkaline” drink perfectly soothes and cleanses the body of toxins formed during the digestion of food taken the day before.
About it
“Ayurveda. Life, health, longevity Robert Svoboda
The book on the history and philosophy of Ayurveda also contains practical recommendations. For example, it talks about the influence of spices, vegetable, meat and dairy products on our well-being (Sattva, Profil, 2012).
At the table
Chew slowly. Our stomach does a great job separating what feeds us from what needs to be removed – and in a broad sense: we are talking about both products and our emotions, feelings and worries. It is simply necessary to make the stomach your ally. How? Chewing and chewing again – according to Ayurveda, this is the key to balance! In especially stressful periods, an overloaded stomach is not able to fully cope with its work, as a result, toxins accumulate, and with them anxiety, fatigue, anxiety grow … The first piece is especially important: it is better to chew it to the state of jelly. Saliva contains substances necessary for digestion. That is why you should not eat in front of a TV or computer screen – it absorbs all the attention, and we send food to our mouths and swallow automatically, almost without chewing.
More turmeric and bananas. Like nutmeg, turmeric calms anxiety and stress, while banana, according to Ayurvedic dietology, refreshes the body. Fruits, fresh vegetables, and slow-digesting carbohydrates such as durum wheat pasta, rice, and other cereals will help you focus better. Avoid fatty, fried and especially spicy (wasabi, mustard, Tabasco sauce …), as well as coffee with milk: it takes a huge amount of energy to digest it, which is very tiring for the body.
Cumin helps fill memory gapswhich is so necessary to assimilate knowledge. And to cope with skin problems caused by stress and fatigue, you can add a little clove to the tea, which has anti-inflammatory properties.
During the day
Warm up the back of your head. Since the areas responsible for memory are located in the back of our brain, feel free to rub the back of your head more often – including during the exam. It is also useful to massage the whiskey in a circular motion.
Saturate the body with oxygen. You can just walk around, breathing deeply, stroke your palm or even hug a green tree to replenish your energy. Walk 5-10 minutes after eating, remembering that time is not wasted: the more oxygen the body receives, the better digestion and sleep.
Massage the scalp with sesame oil (in case of allergies, it can be replaced with olive oil) twice a week. Pay special attention to the point located in the center of the forehead, at the border of the hair – this will help restore clarity of thought.
Before bedtime
Meditation and foot bath. Add a handful of sea salt to warm water, dip your feet in it for 5 minutes. Relax, remember the pleasant moments of the past day. Remember and unpleasant – and “dissolve” them in water. During these minutes, allow yourself to think about something other than your studies – this will only make your sleep easier.
A glass of warm milk before bed with a few grains of cardamom and perhaps a spoonful of honey will help to avoid insomnia. Finally, with your hands, comb your hair back with soft, caressing movements … and the eyelids will drop by themselves.
* A list of acidic and alkalizing foods can be found, for example, on the ImWerden digital library website, imwerden.de
Learn more
- Center for Yoga Therapy, Ayurveda and Restorative Medicine “Kerala”, t. (495) 646 1331, kerala-ayur.ru
- Spa-club “Orient Express”, t. (495) 933 7101, orientexpress-spa.ru