Skip to main content

Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

Palo-Santo-Candles

Reframe Seasonal Affective “Disorder” and Return to Balance with Ayurveda

Rosies Corner:

by Guest Contributor Tierney Farry

Studies show that up to 10 percent of people living in northern latitudes will be categorized with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) as the seasons turn toward the cooler, winter months. 

Unfortunately, modern living fails to recognize the cyclical patterns in nature that were celebrated for centuries before the industrial age. Why is it a disorder to feel a meaningful shift when winter comes? What if the classification of SAD is a representation of an evolutionary mismatch? What if the body’s rhythms for homeostasis simply haven’t caught up to societal and cultural ideas of hyper-productivity and detachment from the environment?

Ayurveda, often called a “sister-science” to yoga, is an ancient practice of individualized and preventative medicine that empowers one to balance the body, heart and mind. Ayurveda allows one to align themselves with the cycles of nature to optimize health by examining lifestyle choices. Often touted as a system of care that “prevents and treats the diseases of civilization,” a person can receive a wealth of wisdom from this lifestyle medicine in order to bring themselves back into balance with the environment during each and every season’s change. 

Ayurveda operates on the theory of the five elements and three doshas: vata (air and space), pitta (fire and water) and kapha (water and earth). These doshas correlate with seasons. As the autumn and winter seasons are considered vata, the accumulation of air and space can create a restless and overall spaced-out feeling that often mimics the symptoms of SAD.

Ayurveda prescribes meditation, movement, proper diet, herbs, touch and massage, detox, regulation of emotion and examination of sensory stimuli to help the body though this transition. One can help their immune system by strengthening digestion. To achieve this, try drinking warm lemon water first thing in the morning upon waking and eat the main meal of the day at lunch rather than at dinner. Rest well to help the body heal by going to bed before 10 p.m., during kapha time when the body naturally supports rest. This is the time of year to make time to enjoy a favorite yoga class with a focus on grounding standing postures, like tree pose, as well as seated forward folds that promote tuning in. Try practicing alternate nostril breathing, a grounding and vata-balancing breath practice that induces a relaxed nervous system response, each morning or before bed. Ground with sweet, warm essential oils, such as frankincense, geranium and clove. This fall season, take the time to explore a new paradigm of wellness.

Tierney Farry is a licensed professional counselor, yoga and Ayurveda health consultant and an essential oils educator.


Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

Follow Us On Facebook