Weaving Ayurvedic Touchstones Into Life Today
By Rose Walsh
Pause and gift yourself a moment of gentleness. Taking a moment for breath by inhaling for 1,2,3,4 and exhaling for 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, and 8. Notice how you are feeling in your body at this moment. There is no need to change or define this feeling as we allow ourselves to arrive in presence.
As a yoga instructor one of my core goals is to provide every student with an opportunity to simply slow down and spend time with their body, but how can the values of connection to oneself and allowing yourself to slow down expand off the mat and exist in an actionable form?
From the years 2022-2024 I served in the U.S Peace Corps in Madagascar. Across this two year period I immersed myself in the Malagasy language and to the best of my ability, the rhythm of Malagasy life. Within the first few moments in the country I began to hear echoes of the phrase, “moramora” (mor=ah mor-ah), a phrase that’s meaning began to show its light in my first few months of learning the language. Moramora became a concept every volunteer became familiar with before having the language tools to fully comprehend its meaning. “Moramora” would be sing song hummed out to us as we rushed to training sessions or said with worry as we climbed our “large” bodies through small doorframes. Over time it was unveiled that the meaning of Moramora was an all encompassing phrase that expressed “move slowly” in multiple ways and contexts. The phrase itself was often used by Malagasy people to define the culture of the country and to pinpoint the main difference between American and Malagasy culture.
Across the two years of life that flowed with the rhythm of meals cooked over an ever burning fire, water whose worth was felt in the memories of its weight as your sore arms recalled the journey from the well, and the impact lack of electricity had on the time consumption of tasks such as washing and drying clothes I began to click into a thought process which naturally led to literature and study of the ancient practice of Ayurveda.
Ayurveda, an ancient wellness system that approaches wellbeing by acknowledging that the mind, body, and spirit should thrive to exist cohesively and be supported by movement such as yoga, diet based on one’s specific needs, and the use of herbs. Some important terminology within Ayurveda are as follows:
Dinacharya: daily routine/the following of the sun
Dosha: the breakdown of fundamental energy into 1-3 types: Vata-Air, Pitta-Fire and air, and Kapha-water and earth. Each type is based on one’s individual makeup and supplies a framework to understanding the physical, dietary, and sociobiological needs to best support one’s wellbeing at that time. An imbalance of the Dosha is an indicator of which health issues to anticipate and visa versa
Vikriti: a term that refers to your dosha imbalance
When living in Moramora there was a level of sacredness and connection that naturally clicked to the lifestyle of Ayurveda despite the ancient following not being a part of Madagascar’s history. Upon returning to the U.S and reacclimating to the quick pace of life, I found that dedication to Ayurveda became exceptionally challenging. Through my studies in the Ayurveda Wellness Ambassador program by The Ancient Way I connected to the teaching that Ayurveda is like a garden, one does not need to partake in the entire garden in order to experience the nutrients that are offered. Through the acknowledgment of the quote I began to weave Ayurvedic touchstones into my life in the form of starting each morning with a cup of tea, finding dinacharya through dedication to daily skincare, and prioritizing daily movement suited to one's specific body.
If you find yourself craving an opportunity to slow down, connect to yourself, or further explore Ayurveda I would be honored to have you meet me on the mat for 5:30pm Wednesday Slow Flow+Pranyama
SAMPLE MEDITATION
Oftentimes, I encourage meditation through focus on a sensory experience. The following is a meditation I lead once a month in Slow Flow+Pranayama for our self love dedication class.
We begin seated at the top of our mats and take a moment to prepare a place for rest, placing the bolster, blankets, and blocks in locations to eventually support our journey to savasana.
Now that we have created a place for rest lets come into a comfortable seated position, placing the small bowl which contains a piece of chocolate in reachable distance, familiarizing yourself with its location and then meeting me with one hand rested on your lower abdomen and the other over heart center
Closing your eyes, lets inhale together dedicating this first breath to noticing and acknowledging the feet and exhale sending gratitude to this area of the body (as we continue to breath we scan up the body inhaling with acknowledgment and exhaling with gratitude)
Reaching toward your bowl lets bring the piece of chocolate up to the nose, beginning to explore its scent. Noticing and acknowledging the notes you may notice…cacao, earth, sea salt…
We will remain here for the next few sets of breath just exploring the chocolate with our sense of smell
When it feels welcome in your body place the chocolate in your mouth allowing it to melt as you breathe through your nose now noticing and acknowledging the flavors in the chocolate, exploring the chocolate with your sense of taste and allowing the chocolate to melt
you deserve to enjoy
you deserve to indulge
you deserve this act of self love
When the chocolate has melted you may begin to mat your way all the way down to the mat, moving at your own pace.
The blankets, bolsters, and blocks are here to support your body and to welcome you to your most comfortable resting position.
lets inhale together dedicating this first breath to our feet, noticing and acknowledging any differences we feel in this area of the body from when we began today’s meditation to now and exhale sending gratitude to this area of the body (as we continue to breath we scan up the body inhaling with acknowledgment and exhaling with love gratitude and eventually coming into our savasana)
Meet the author: Rose Walsh
My journey to yoga began with ballet. After 18 years of childhood-early adulthood experience in ballet I began to feel a pull toward deepening my life’s alignment with movement. I felt a strong natural inclination toward yoga and after attending various practices as well as exploring my personal practice I pursued my 200hr certification.
I have been extraordinarily lucky to have gotten to share yoga across the world and incorporate yoga into my work with the Peace Corps Madagascar 2022-2024 when I served as an English teacher in Arrivonimamo, Fianarantsoa, and Manakara. I am passionate about working to increase the accessibility of yoga and my purpose is aligned with customizing my classes to the needs and desires of students.
I enjoy getting creative with my classes and love to pull in herbs, chakra work, and themes that honor and inspire Divine Feminine energy. My most recent chapter of my yoga journey has been beginning my Ayruveda Wellness Ambassador Certification through the Ancient Way.