Ayurvedic Treatment for Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety are the two things disliked by everyone but have managed to affect our routine life even if we don’t want it. Constant stress is known as chronic stress that slowly affects your peace of mind and body for several reasons like issues at the workplace, relationships, family issues, or other life happenings.
Symptoms of Stress or Anxiety
Some of the most common symptoms of stress and anxiety include feeling agitated, tiredness, restlessness, problems getting asleep, irritability, or getting panic attacks.
Effects
Stress is no good for your body as it adversely affects your physique and peace of mind. At a very minute level, stress impacts your body`s chemical system and causes imbalances, and leads to changes in normal routine. Digestion, metabolism, cardiovascular, nervous, reproductive and immune, etc, are the systems that get severely damaged by stress.
Reducing stress with only popping pills is not the solution but needs a holistic approach involving your every life and health aspect like environment, diet, lifestyle, sleep, physical activity, etc.
Stress and Anxiety in Ayurveda
The Ayurveda is one of the oldest systems of medicine in India and relies on the principles of balancing doshas. According to Ayurveda, any imbalance in Vata Dosha, leads to stress and anxiety.
Stress which is also known as Sahas in Ayurveda, is the main cause of several diseases and results in loss of immunity of the body known as Ojakshaya in Ayurveda- thus making the body vulnerable to many susceptible diseases.
The Ayurveda says that stress is closely associated with three important doshas of your body viz Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Every one of us has one of these important doshas which defines our personality and the quantity of negative stress depends on the proper balance of these doshas. For better health management, it is very important to keep these doshas in proper balance.
Let’s look at these energies in detail.
- Vata – This type of energy relates to quick-thinking, creativity, innovation, and intuition. The greater amount of the dosha in you, the more prone you may be to anxious and panicked situations. An increase in Vata dosha leads to fear, anxiety, insomnia, isolation, etc.
- Pitta – Pitta energy can be defined as determined, intelligent, confident, and competitive and can be manifested through frustration, irritability, and anger. Sweating, heartburn, diarrhea, and hypertension are some of the symptoms that activate Pitta.
- Kapha – Being strong, steady, reliable, and rooted are the things that describe Kapha energy. Those who are dominated by Kapha, are more resistant to change, less flexible, and during painful situations leading to stress.
An increase in Vata lays a great impact on your Mano vaha srota- the body channels responsible for mental functions.
Home remedies for Stress and Anxiety
Below are some of the common tips that you can perform in your day-to-day life to relieve stress and anxiety.
- Breathing Practice
Practicing Breathing practices like Pranayam, or Sama Vritti can help you to release stress and anxiety. The process is quite easy and involves steps like sitting in a relaxed position and starting inhaling up to 5 counts then start exhaling on the count 5 making sure that the time for inhaling and exhaling matches. You will feel more comfortable, calm, and relaxed by continuing the process for a few moments. The process is best to do whenever you feel any kind of stress and can be performed in the office or at your home.
- Practice Shirodhara
According to Ayurveda, the term Shirodhara is the combination of two Sanskrit words Shiro meaning head, and Dhara meaning flow. The practice involves pouring warm oil over the forehead that soothes your nervous system and promotes healthy blood circulation. Adding some specific herbs gives relief from much chronic stress, anxiety, migraines, and insomnia. Many studies report that Shirodhara results in calmness and is very similar to the response observed in meditation.
- Diet
Diet plays an important role in your health and eating as per your Prakriti is highly endorsed by the Ayurveda. The Prakriti varies from person to person as everybody has their Prakriti. You should design the diet plan and follow it according to your lifestyle habits. Ayurvedic diet works are quite effective and work well for digestion, metabolism, and several other processes and will ultimately benefit your physical and mental health.
Common Herbs in Ayurveda that helps reduce stress and anxiety
Ashwagandha is an effective natural herb that boosts energy, stamina, endurance power and more importantly enables the body to adapt to stressful and emotional conditions. The herb also promotes brain function and helps to fight symptoms of anxiety and depression.
It is widely used to reduce stress and anxiety and helps reduce cortisol levels and stress hormones. Brahmi is also helpful in promoting concentration, revitalizing the brain cells, and giving a soothing effect to the nervous system that leads to a great memory.
- Bhringraj
In Ayurveda, The Bhringraj is considered a powerful ingredient that can be consumed as tea and is also used for oil massage. The Bhrinraj helps promote blood circulation and for relaxation and detoxification, ensures the blood flow towards the brain. The herb gives a relaxing effect to the brain and promotes calmness of mind thus reducing stress and anxiety.
Life Aveda Depression Care Pack to cure Stress and Anxiety
Life Aveda offers you a Depression care pack that helps you to get over this problem. There are two herbal supplements in the combo, one is De- Stress, and other is Brahmi.
Both this herbal supplement in combination helps to get rid of depression, anxiety, mood swings, irritability, and other mental disorders.
Brahmi capsule is beneficial for every person who is going through problems related to stress and anxiety. Brahmi improves locomotors’ activity in the brain and reduces oxidative damage. In this way it reduces anxiety. In addition, Brahmi also has some properties that boost your mood and reduce mood swings by reducing hormonal imbalance. The pure extract of Brahmi present in Life Aveda’s Brahmi capsules will support you in increasing memory power, concentration and protecting the brain from being diseased.
Premium De-stress formula has a unique blend of natural herbs Ashwagandha, Brahmi, Tagar, Jatamansi, and others that promotes resistance to stress and anxiety. It helps to calm emotional turbulence within the body which helps the mind to cope with stress and fatigue. This blend of herbs works as a potion for the brain which promotes general well-being and balances stress hormones.
Conclusion:-Stress and anxiety are the two things that adversely affect your physical and mental health and take a heavy toll on your day-to-day activities. In Ayurveda, several herbs and therapies are offering a holistic approach to dealing with your stress and anxiety. Making use of these herbs and formulations will help you to come out from stress and anxiety without any side effects and without making you addicted.
