What Do I Want For Christmas - Ojas Please

Happy Holidays

So let's see if we following the world of sales and marketing-we have eaten our turkey, opened our presents, welcomed in the New Year and made our New Year's resolutions and it is only November. We have already unknowingly faltered on three of our resolutions, but don't worry there is a new exercise and diet that surely can help us out of this self created conundrum in January if we just hang on.

I would like to talk for a moment about our immune system and what can stress it out. Basically, most of the things that we allow ourselves to get distracted by during the holiday season.

. STRESS

. OVERWORK

. EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL

. POOR FOOD CHOICES

. POOR DIGESTION

. GUILT, NEGATIVE EMOTIONS INCLUDING SADNESS AND ANGER

The good news is we can support ourselves when we are aware. We can build ojas (more on that in a bit). But first - How can we support ourselves?

. LOVE

. LAUGH MORE, SMILE MORE

. DIET (NON PROCESSED FOODS - LOTS OF VEGGIES AND FRUITS)

. LIFESTYLE - RELAXATION, SLOW MOVEMENT, YOGA, MEDITATION

. SUPPORTIVE SPICES SUCH AS CARDAMOM, FENNEL, CUMIN

. GHEE, HONEY

. TURN OFF ELECTRONICS - GET IN BED BY 10PM. (DON’T JUST TURN OFF THE ELECTRONICS BUT ALSO REMOVE WHAT YOU CAN - LIKE YOUR PHONE - FROM THE ROOM.)

MOST IMPORTANTLY, KNOW THAT YOU ARE ALREADY ENOUGH. Turn inward, not outward to find what makes you passionate. Surround yourself with "good company". Find what brings you joy. At the end of each day keep a journal and write down your day. Observe what distracts you and what doesn't. Observe what you say to yourself and others - do you "like you"? Kindness goes a long way. Support through your words and actions what you do like and start with that word again "awareness" to change or modify the things you don't.

Now back to Ojas :)

OJAS

Ojas is a refined substance in the body. It works to protect and integrate body, mind and spirit. Good digestion of food and sensory impressions produces optimal amounts of ojas and then endows us with immunity along with strength, a sound mind and a joyful, compassionate heart. When our agni is poor creating ama and poor digestion our ojas declines in quality and amount.

Ojas is reflected in the radiance of skin, eyes, immunity and all things nourishing, building and supportive in our body's system.

Ojas can be built and maintained as we study in Ayurveda by Diet & Lifestyle. Know what can deplete ojas as well - you guessed it, improper diet and lifestyle.

There are seven stages in the body that we study in Ayurveda that our tissues (dhatus) go through to make supreme ojas. The stages are: rasa (lymph), rakta (blood), mamsa (muscle), meda (fat), asthi (bones), majja (nervve tissue), sukra (reproduction). Eash stage can and does affect the outcome of the next stage. The final stage "sukra" or supreme ojas nourishes the subtle body which affects our immunity.

What we eat and what we take into our minds as well can affect the quality of the ojas we produce. So the next time some website or social media maketing wants you to buy or get something, stop, breathe and come back to it in a day or so to see if you were drawn in by the hormones that are created every time we click and that subtle blue light they don't want us to think about or if it is something real to you. My suggestion, get out and go for a walk in nature. There are always answers I find on these walks, especially when we stop to take it all in. Answers such as how lucky are we to be alive and to try not to waste another moment on being distracted.

Ram Dass said "Be Here Now" - very wise words for this moment and this moment and this moment as that is the true gift and all we truly have.