Stress has different ways of debilitating people. Some are jittery and anxious when they are affected by stress and some because extremely shut off and lethargic. However, there is an ancient science known as Ayurveda that can help you determine your stress type so that you are more aware of your stressors and how you need to handle them. Even if three different people are under the same stressful situation they will respond to it very differently. In the West, the typical general response to stress is to find relaxers that are touted to help everybody, like a hot bath, brisk walk, or a trip to the beach. The difference in eastern medicine, especially in the healing system Ayurveda, is that it looks to reduce stress based on the individual. There are many stress-relief strategies that can be customized to what you need. This Ayurveda lifestyle uses individualized strategies based on dietary, herbal and yogic solutions.

Ayurveda is a healing system, related to Yoga that synthesizes physiology, emotional disposition, and spiritual outlook. It began over 5,000 years ago in India and is documented in ancient Sanskrit texts. Ayurveda considers all different kinds of stressors and responses. It recognizes seasonal stress and planetary changes that affect our bodies as well as physical tendencies and thought patterns. Although there are many ways to explore and study Ayurveda, the bare bones of the healing system is to race your stress back to the source and then find lasting ways to change the patterns that cause that stress.

Stress comes from disorder of the rajas (passion or undirected activity). How we respond to stressors puts us into different Ayurvedic principles like vata (air), pitta (fire), and kapha (earth). No matter what your imbalance of these elements happens to be, having a clear understanding of what is influencing you can help you understand how to deal with your stress and prevent it from happening again.