Anxiety about  an exam or job interview; the anxiety of waiting and the anxiety of being late; the anxiety of not making it, the anxiety of the pressures around us; the anxiety that the day is too short or not to finish in time; the anxiety of the first few times and the anxiety of always having to prove something; the anxiety of not being good enough and the anxiety of just believing it.

A few brushstrokes of a very common feeling which, unfortunately, characterizes modern life in an ever more marked way. Deprived of what only a few decades ago were unshakeable certainties and with a dramatically uncertain future, we are all exposed to this unpleasant emotion .

There are many therapeutic proposals that can be trusted, both in traditional and alternative medicine. Less well known, probably, is the ayurveda approach : let’s find out!

Understanding anxiety from an Ayurvedic point of view

First of all, anxiety is not always pathological . On the contrary, it has the important function of helping us to face situations considered problematic and difficult in a more efficient way. As long as it is rooted in the motivation that triggered it, experts say, it is a natural emotion that is part of human life.

The problem comes when this state of mind becomes persistent and without an apparent cause: in such cases it is advisable to contact your doctor.

For Ayurveda, anxiety is a  vata disorder : this energy represents movement, instability, continuous motion . Our lifestyle, perpetually in a hurry, aimed at productivity, activity and stressful rhythms , enormously stimulates this dosha and therefore makes us more exposed to the imbalances related to it.

Do you know the Ayurvedic test to find out which dosha you correspond to?

Limiting the vata imbalance: some useful advice

The starting point, therefore, is to implement behaviors that can balance vata and that are preparatory to a healthy lifestyle .

First, to improve the situation, you can try to

• reorganize one’s daily routine by adopting positive habits with the aim of regularizing the day as much as possible;
• indulge in the right number of hours of sleep ;
• do not overdo the work, carving out moments of the day during which to relax;
• do not neglect physical exercise : you can range from  yoga  to various movement techniques ( dance therapy ,  bioenergetics , etc.), but also swimming or a healthy walk (in summer). The important thing is to keep faith with the commitment made by letting it enter into one’s day without saturating it with commitments;
• indulge in an Ayurvedic massage : the Abyangam type massage is fine, especially if practiced with warm oils and slow and deep movements that will promote relaxation and stability. Extremely relaxing is also the shirodara , that is a drizzle of oil that falls on the point between the eyebrows capable of unloading the nervous system and instantly relaxing from tensions;
• if you have the opportunity to access it, regularly treat yourself to a  sauna  often present in the most common gyms and beauty centers.

Live in the present

For the rebalancing of vata it is important to limit the “fluttering” of the mind : pay attention to what you do, learn to concentrate , be steadfast in the present without pindaric flights towards an unknown future . The yogic “here and now” who is worth as much on the mat as in life.