I recently went through a few dives and stomach lurching corkscrews on life’s roller coaster. In August 2014, my husband of 27 years, Bob, passed away after a twenty month flirtation with brain cancer. His diagnosis shook all stability from our lives. In our search for answers about what we could do to help improve his quality of life, we discovered Ayurveda. Ayurveda helped improve Bob’s life those last two years by making him physically healthier, calmer, and more at peace than he had felt in years. A complementary medicine and sister of yoga. It literally translates as “the science and knowledge of age”. Ayurveda uses various self care methods such as exercise, diet, and breathing to help lead a healthy life. I love its logic!
After he passed, I continued going to yoga sessions at the same center. I also began reading and taking classes in Ayurveda. Then I studied the effects of different foods and exercises on different body types. Also discovered the importance of routine and self-care, and how to ease my anxieties. I realized that yoga as I knew it, as most of us know it, is only a fraction of the wider picture. There exists a whole world of health beyond what we associate with yoga, incorporating the mind and all of the body, not just our muscles.
