Author: Payal Khanwani

3 Stages of Mental Digestion 

Just as there is Agni (Digestive fire) for the food we consume, there is Buddhi (Intelligence) for mental digestion.If digestion is weak, even the best food can create toxins, similarly if the experiences we have need to be digested or understood to be released.Just as undigested food causes physical disease, experiences that have not been assimilated cause lack of ease in the mind.The process is similar :

1.Gathering of impressions in the Outer Mind (manas) through the senses.The outer mind and senses can organize what  impressions come in from the outside in our lives.

Continue reading “3 Stages of Mental Digestion “

Understand Your Mindbody Nature

Our health – physical, mental & emotional is very close to nature. Yet we humans often forget that we are part of nature, made of the same constituents present in nature. Matter, metabolism & movement are three principles that govern our bodies & minds. According to the wisdom of Ayurveda, this matter corresponds to the Earth element, the metabolism is the Fire element & the movement is the Air element. As unique as we are, these three elements are pretty much what we are made of. Once we know our own body mind type, we are empowered to make choices that support our health & lifestyle choices.

Our bodies are made up of solid & liquid forms of matter just like the Earth. And our body is literally made from the raw materials that we ingest in the form of food or inputs from our environment. The conversion of the food, processing of emotions and digestion of new ideas requires transformation which is supported by the Fire element within us. The movement of thoughts, breath, circulation of blood, movement of food through our digestive tract is all governed by the Air element within us. These three elements create vitality on the physical, mental and emotional planes if they are in balance. When there is an imbalance, then we end up with physical, mental or emotional upsets or dis-ease.

The knowledge of these really help us make nutrition choices that support our healing & strength. It helps us to pick the right kind of exercise for our body & mind. It helps not only for our health but also for all our choices in careers, relationships & the environments we expose ourselves to.

Continue reading “Understand Your Mindbody Nature”

The Grand Pause – A Call for Global Healing

Yes COVID-19 has disrupted lives. A virus that we cannot even see with the naked eye has got world on its knees. Everyone is at the suffering end of it some more directly affecting their health and many indirectly with a financial & job losses and definitely a loss of freedom. Many others are plagued with the anxiety, fear of loss and the unknown that lies ahead of us.Yes there is no denying of the suffering yet we can lean on to the fact that we all are in it together. #weareinittogether

This is a huge wave driving us to move from the Unconscious to Conscious. We as a species needed healing at all levels. The way we live, the way we work, the way our wealth is distributed, the way we treat the environment, the way we treat ourselves & others was perhaps not working. When we weren’t listening to the silent nudges of stress, burn-outs, health concerns, illnesses – the universe had to throw a huge brick or crash a wall on all of us collectively- that is COVID-19. We can give many references to ‘why’ this happened.We can blame China or their ways of life, but this is merely a reflection of the collective consciousness. And it calls not for blame, but brutal self honesty in knowing that healing this planet is needed. Perhaps the way we were working was not working.

Continue reading “The Grand Pause – A Call for Global Healing”

Healing & Wellness in the Modern Age

Good Health is the outcome of the on-going process of healing. WelIness has to become a way of life especially in this modern fast paced life. We often experience healing as complex, non-linear & sometimes not even logical .No matter how many systems exist – whether we talk about western medicine or we refer to holistic healing & energy medicine. There are so many modalities & frameworks many of them seem to work well. But every ones healing & wellness journey is quiet unique. It depends on our own mindbody constitution and often our habits & life experiences that have shaped us.

Continue reading “Healing & Wellness in the Modern Age”

Meditation – A Practical Tool

“The unexamined life is not worth living” – Socrates
Meditation refers to all the practices that we know of from contemplative traditions over thousands of years.Though it may have mystical connotations, how can we use it as a tool to know ourselves better? How can we translate the teachings from the language of these age old practices to a language that is understood & processed by highly pragmatic and sometimes even skeptical over stimulated minds of today? How can these practices be used to help people succeed in life or work?

Continue reading “Meditation – A Practical Tool”

Travel as a Spiritual Experience

Travel to me has immense potential for change, growth & inspiration. Travel always pushes us outside the familiar comfortable routines to electrifying spiritual experiences which may or may not be comfortable. It has the potential to create new impressions in our minds which inturn has a spiraling effect to what we create in our lives. It doesn’t need a pilgrimage for a spiritual break through that we may expect,whats needed is mindfulness and slowing down as we experience the process of travel.

Continue reading “Travel as a Spiritual Experience”