March 6th, 2017
Affirmation: I experience and express my emotions freely.
Word of the Day: fusillade (n):
_____
Know Your Khavaigunya
Say what?
Given that I am read a ton about Ayurvedic medicine, I've seen Ayurvedic doctors, I've received Ayurvedic treatments, and my mother is a certified Ayurvedic practitioner who trained under Deepak Chopra, I am surprised that I haven't written a post about Ayurveda-related topics yet.
Don't worry - I intend to change that!
Though I feel like my first post on the subject should talk about doshas or other fundamentals for readers who are unfamiliar with this ancient science, I've decided to write about Khavaigunya today.
In simple terms, Khavaigunya is an Ayurvedic word that refers to the place in your body that is the weakest. This "space" within the body is usually caused by past physical or emotional injury, illness, trauma, genetics, or familial patterns. Khavaigunyas are particularly vulnerable to recurring or chronic imbalance because they tend to attract ama (more on this in a later post, but ama is essentially the buildup of toxins and impurities in the body) and excesses in the doshas (again, much more on this in later posts, but doshas are Ayurvedic mind-body types that express unique blends of physical, mental, and emotional characteristics).
I wanted to introduce the concept of Khavaigunyas today because when it comes to physical - and mental and emotional health - we all have clear patterns and tendencies to develop rather predictable imbalances in fairly consistent locations in our bodies and in our lives.
For example, do you develop digestive difficulties in response to stress? Breathing difficulties in response to sadness or grief (according to Ayurveda, the lungs are the seat of unresolved grief and sadness, which may create a Khavaigunya in the lungs)? Headaches in response to anger? Maybe you get recurring ear infections but don't seem to understand why. Or perhaps you always find yourself attracting the same types of people in relationships. Or you yourself always seem to react in a certain way.
Whatever it is, it can help to get in touch with your body as a starting point, and then make your way into taking stock of your mental and emotional states. It is also helpful to think of your Khavaigunyas not as enemies to be fought or obstacles to be conquered, but rather as information - maps, so to speak - that point towards different forces and events that have shaped you. By taking a curious stance towards your Khavaigunyas, you are more likely to uncover deeper insights into yourself as well as the ability to "lean into" discomfort (thereby softening its blow) rather than developing further tension and resistance.
Remember, even Achilles - a Greek hero and the greatest warrior in Homer's Illiad - has his vulnerable heel. We all have weak spots, and part of taking care of ourselves and accessing our fullest potential and lives is identifying and understanding these areas.
Once we know what we are dealing with and why, we are empowered to both come to a place of acceptance as well as find solutions. At the very least, we can come to know what to expect and plan and take care of ourselves accordingly.
So, tell me, what are some of your physical, mental, and emotional Khavaigunyas?
From where did these weaknesses arise?
What have you found to be helpful (and not helpful) when dealing with these Khavaigunyas?
How have these patterns affected your life? How do you plan to address these issues in the future?
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Affirmation: I experience and express my emotions freely.
Word of the Day: fusillade (n):
1. a general
discharge or outpouring of anything: a
fusillade of questions.
2. a simultaneous or
continuous discharge of firearms.
3. to attack or
shoot by a fusillade.
The Milk of Millenia
I am part of the load
not rightly balanced.
I drop off in the grass
like the old cave-sleepers, to browse
wherever I fall.
For hundreds of thousands of years I have been dustgrains
floating and flying in the will of the air,
often forgetting ever being
in that state, but in sleep
I migrate back. I spring loose
from the four-branched, time-and-space cross,
this waiting room..
I walk out into a huge pasture.
I nurse the milk of millenia.
Everyone does this in different ways.
Knowing that conscious decisions
and personal memory
are much too small a place to live,
every human being streams at night
into the loving nowhere, or during the day,
in some absorbing work.
I am part of the load
not rightly balanced.
I drop off in the grass
like the old cave-sleepers, to browse
wherever I fall.
For hundreds of thousands of years I have been dustgrains
floating and flying in the will of the air,
often forgetting ever being
in that state, but in sleep
I migrate back. I spring loose
from the four-branched, time-and-space cross,
this waiting room..
I walk out into a huge pasture.
I nurse the milk of millenia.
Everyone does this in different ways.
Knowing that conscious decisions
and personal memory
are much too small a place to live,
every human being streams at night
into the loving nowhere, or during the day,
in some absorbing work.
_____
Know Your Khavaigunya
Say what?
Given that I am read a ton about Ayurvedic medicine, I've seen Ayurvedic doctors, I've received Ayurvedic treatments, and my mother is a certified Ayurvedic practitioner who trained under Deepak Chopra, I am surprised that I haven't written a post about Ayurveda-related topics yet.
Don't worry - I intend to change that!
Though I feel like my first post on the subject should talk about doshas or other fundamentals for readers who are unfamiliar with this ancient science, I've decided to write about Khavaigunya today.
In simple terms, Khavaigunya is an Ayurvedic word that refers to the place in your body that is the weakest. This "space" within the body is usually caused by past physical or emotional injury, illness, trauma, genetics, or familial patterns. Khavaigunyas are particularly vulnerable to recurring or chronic imbalance because they tend to attract ama (more on this in a later post, but ama is essentially the buildup of toxins and impurities in the body) and excesses in the doshas (again, much more on this in later posts, but doshas are Ayurvedic mind-body types that express unique blends of physical, mental, and emotional characteristics).
I wanted to introduce the concept of Khavaigunyas today because when it comes to physical - and mental and emotional health - we all have clear patterns and tendencies to develop rather predictable imbalances in fairly consistent locations in our bodies and in our lives.
For example, do you develop digestive difficulties in response to stress? Breathing difficulties in response to sadness or grief (according to Ayurveda, the lungs are the seat of unresolved grief and sadness, which may create a Khavaigunya in the lungs)? Headaches in response to anger? Maybe you get recurring ear infections but don't seem to understand why. Or perhaps you always find yourself attracting the same types of people in relationships. Or you yourself always seem to react in a certain way.
Whatever it is, it can help to get in touch with your body as a starting point, and then make your way into taking stock of your mental and emotional states. It is also helpful to think of your Khavaigunyas not as enemies to be fought or obstacles to be conquered, but rather as information - maps, so to speak - that point towards different forces and events that have shaped you. By taking a curious stance towards your Khavaigunyas, you are more likely to uncover deeper insights into yourself as well as the ability to "lean into" discomfort (thereby softening its blow) rather than developing further tension and resistance.
Remember, even Achilles - a Greek hero and the greatest warrior in Homer's Illiad - has his vulnerable heel. We all have weak spots, and part of taking care of ourselves and accessing our fullest potential and lives is identifying and understanding these areas.
Once we know what we are dealing with and why, we are empowered to both come to a place of acceptance as well as find solutions. At the very least, we can come to know what to expect and plan and take care of ourselves accordingly.
So, tell me, what are some of your physical, mental, and emotional Khavaigunyas?
From where did these weaknesses arise?
What have you found to be helpful (and not helpful) when dealing with these Khavaigunyas?
How have these patterns affected your life? How do you plan to address these issues in the future?
"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." - Aristotle
Lol to the comics. I think Khavaigunya is an amazing idea - to protect a vulnerable part as a pre-emptive approach. It requires a lot of self-awareness and ability to view patterns in one's life which usually comes with experience (or not). Great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Did you study Khavaigunya as part of your Ayurvedic studies? I would love to hear more about it because what I have read is pretty limited but it is a powerful concept.
ReplyDelete