What Ayurveda Teach Us About Managing Anxiety

With the pandemic bringing forth new challenges every day, stress has become one of the most widespread problems. Not only does anxiety interfere with day-to-day life, it also triggers the onset of other disorders like allergies, cholesterol, and hypertension. Staying in a stressed state of mind also leads to an imbalance of the Ayurvedic doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha) in the body. 

Thankfully, the ancient science of Ayurveda provides us with useful insights about our body. It also teaches us how to achieve a calm state of mind through natural remedies and a healthy lifestyle.

In this interview with the Ayurvedic doctor Dr Sharad Kulkarni we discuss the underlying causes of anxiety and understand the Ayurvedic approach to calming the mind to enhance our quality of life.

Q1. What can Ayurveda teach us about anxiety? What is the root cause of stressful thoughts?

Sharad Kulkarni explains that anxiety is the result of Vata imbalance in the body. Vata dosha refers to the light and mobile element of our body. The imbalance of this dosha leads to psychosomatic disorders. When you feel real physical symptoms that arise from or are influenced by the mind and emotions, it means your Vata dosha is aggravated. 

Since Vata dosha embodies the element of ‘wind’, an anxious mind is also referred to as a ‘windy’ mind. You have a hard time feeling peaceful as your thoughts are not at rest. 

Imbalance in the dosha(Psycho and somatic) leads to flight of ideas and other disturbances in mind. Keeping them in balance is the key to good psychosomatic health. Proper diet, exercise, sleep, and digital detox can help us achieve this.