The Sacred Window: How to have an Ayurvedic Postpartum

Because the goal of Ayurveda is to bring the body/mind/spirit back into balance and maintain that balance, nowhere does this philosophy carry more importance than in the postpartum time.

Childbirth and postpartum are some of the most dynamic times of a person’s life. It can be a profoundly physically, mentally, and spiritually challenging experience to navigate. Common issues faced during this time can seem mystifying to new parents and because we pathologize so many aspects of the process, it can be difficult to gain context for the myriad new experiences postpartum.

Ayurveda can be a powerful lens through which to view the postpartum experience.

In many cultures, it is recognized that the 40-day period after the birth of a child is a sacred window. Meaning that the nourishment and support of the mother and baby during this time is vital for the long-term health of the duo.

Sadly, in our culture new parents are often left with little support at a time that was historically centered around community involvement. All mothers need support during the postpartum time. Whether there are specific health concerns arising during the prenatal time or childbirth, or whether the process is relatively easy, Ayurveda is particularly well-suited in supporting the restoration of the mind, physical body, and spirit.

It’s best to plan for your postpartum before you give birth so you can feel confident that the necessary support, foods, herbs, and supplies are on-hand to maximize calm and rest. Rest is paramount during the postpartum time and with the addition of an Ayurvedic postpartum plan and doula new parents will find they are able to regain strength and stability during this hugely transitional time.

GroundWork provides education around food, herbs, simple breathing exercises, and pelvic steaming practices after childbirth. Postpartum steaming has been practiced around the world for thousands of years because it supports the functions of clearing material in the uterus, reducing the likelihood of infection, restoring normal blood pressure, and promoting vaginal tone and tissue repair.

Doula services and Ayurvedic Postpartum services are offered together of separately.

In The Field | Vol. 6 | What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is often called the “sister science” of yoga. The two sciences utilize practices and concepts from each other’s philosophies though they come from different texts in the Vedic system.

Ayurveda is focused on cultivation of health, elimination of disease, and rejuvenation of the body and spirit through the use of nourishing food, herbs, and lifestyle practices. Ayurveda also utilizes therapies from the yogic tradition such as asana, mediation, and breathwork, to name a few. In this way, we address the physical body while simultaneously cultivating health in the mind and spirit. Health becomes compromised when there is an imbalance in one or more of these areas.

The Science of Ayurveda

Ayurveda is a science first and foremost. It is based on careful theory, observation, and thousands of years of application. There are countless published contemporary studies on Ayurvedic herbs and practices (benefits of breathing exercises, yoga, Turmeric, Ashwagandha, to name a few).

Ayurveda is an earth-based tradition that utilizes the understanding of nature’s qualities, cycles (daily, monthly, seasonal), and movements to gain insight into imbalances in the body/mind/spirit. This is a very important component of Ayurveda and one only recently being studied by Western medicine in the field of Circadian Medicine.

The Importance of Digestion

Nutrition and diet are among the most important aspects of Ayurvedic medicine. In Ayurveda, the digestive fire (agni) must be properly supported for overall health. A perspective that is well-supported by western science. If the digestion and assimilation is not functioning properly we begin to see a cascade of issues arise-IBS, joint pain, skin issues, irritability, stress, or lethargy to name a few.

Western medicine acknowledges the importance of the gut microbiome and the gut-brain connection for overall health yet the bulk of this research is only about 15 years old. Ayurveda had a sophisticated map of this process over 5,000 years ago and integrates this knowledge across many systems.

Beyond Online Dosha Tests

Folks who may be, even slightly, familiar with Ayurveda have gotten to know the concept of the three doshas-vata, pitta, and kapha. The doshas (translated as ‘fault’) are a combination of qualities in every living thing. While the name suggest something negative, when in balance, our doshas give rise to wonderful aspects of health and personality. When out of balance…that’s when we encounter discomfort and disease.

Each person is made up of a unique combination of these doshas and our bodies are governed by the interplay of the doshas. We are all unique and exhibit these qualities in various ways (fiery personalities, creative thinkers, dependable friends, etc). This also gives us the myriad physical body types we find in humans.

To evaluate each person’s individual make-up, we assess various qualities at the age of puberty (prakriti) as well as the current qualities that are being exhibited (vikriti). This gives us a snapshot of the of doshas in each person. It is easy to find online quizzes (you can even take one here) to find your prakriti/vikriti however the reality is (unsurprisingly) more complex. It is easy to make assumptions on which herbs to take and which foods to add/omit, but there are many other factors involved in Ayurvedic pathology that can’t be gleaned from a quick online test. These are great starting points, but for a deeper understanding of Ayurveda, it is best to consult a trained professional.

In The Field | Vol 3 | Ayurveda + The Seasons

Ayurveda + The Seasons | Part I

To most in the industrialized world, seasons happen in the background of jobs, homelife, and social obligations. Even so, most folks notice a shift that takes place at each turn of the season. Some experience a sense of excitement, maybe a change in activity level, while some experience an onset of anxiety or depression. 

What we can gather from this (and what Ayurveda and many traditional medicine systems teach us) is that when the seasons change we change. Not only from an emotional perspective but also a physiological one. We are, in fact, inseparable from nature. 

Ayurveda and Nature

Ayurveda is literally translated as the science, or knowledge, of life (ayu-life, veda-knowledge). It taught us, over 5,000 years ago, that the patterns of the seasons are reflected not only in the external environment but also inside our bodies, minds, and spirits. A concept that is difficult to remember in our modern lives sometimes. It can even be argued that this forgetting of our inseparable connection to nature is one of the reasons for the destruction of our earth and her resources. But that’s a topic for another day.

So what do the seasons have to do with our health and wellbeing? And how do we harness the power of each season to leverage our own healing?

On a cellular level, our bodies want to be in sync with the rhythms of nature. But our modern lives disrupt this process. In Ayurveda, we acknowledge that different times of the season and even different times of the day require different foods, activities, and practices to maintain health. We call this dinacharya (daily routine) and ritucharya (seasonal routine). These routines bring the body back to balance should we experience illness, and helps keep things optimally moving when we are healthy. The field of circadian medicine supports this idea from a western scientific perspective.

Before we can understand why it’s beneficial to do certain things at certain times of the day or year, we first have to understand the Ayurvedic concept of the gunas, or qualities in nature. Note: these are the gurvadi gunas as opposed to the mahagunas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas). 

Qualities of Nature

According to Ayurveda, all matter has certain inherent qualities. These qualities are grouped into 10 pairs of opposites. We can look at anything we encounter in our world (including man-made materials) and attribute these qualities to them (ex. Fire is hot, sharp, dry, and light). 

Very simply, we can think of Vata being associated with movement and motion (think peristalis and neurological activity), Pitta with transformation (think digestive juices, blood, and hormonal activity), and Kapha as form and structure (think bones, muscle, and lymph). These are just a few examples of associated functions of the doshas.

Connecting Gunas to Ourselves

From there, we turn our attention towards ourselves. Because, according to Ayurveda, all matter is made up of the gunas, we as humans are also made up of these qualities. If you are at all familiar with Ayurveda you have heard of the doshas, or constitutions: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.

These doshas and gunas can then be attributed to physical, emotional, and spiritual characteristics of any individual. These are three groupings of qualities and each of us is made up of unique combinations of them. Each dosha is also associated with certain gunas.

Seasons + Gunas

Now let’s go back to the seasons and take a look at the gunas of each season. Like the doshas, each season is associated with a few dominant qualities at any given time. Now, depending on where you live, the gunas may be different. This chart is based on the Northern Hemisphere and mostly temperate environments. If you live in a desert or tropical climate, the changes are much different from this chart. If you live in one of these climates, take a moment to think about note the gunas that you notice are most prevalent in each season.

By understanding the qualities in each season, as well as the qualities within ourselves (whether they are innate or transitory), we can leverage the seasons’ power to aid in our pursuit of better health. From an Ayurvedic perspective, consuming foods that are out of season but otherwise considered healthy may actually be less optimal.

Simple Changes Make a Big Difference

Food for Each Season

We will get into specifics of foods for the Autumn season as well as constitution, lifestyle modifications to make, and more in Part II. For now, it’s always best to remember that eating whole fruits and vegetables that are in-season and local is best. This is one of the most effective ways to help the body align with nature from the ground up. Beneficial bacteria and nutrients from our local environment help to further align us to the changing or current seasons.

Get Outside!

Speaking of nature, get yourself out into the woods, a park, or somewhere where you can see trees and earth changing and observe the intelligence of the process. This can be very powerful especially for those who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. It not only gets you out into the sun but can also help to deepen an appreciation for the season.

Sleep

Getting to sleep by 10-10:30PM allows for the body and mind to optimize the complex processes taking place while we sleep. Liver and brain function are greatly affected by our sleep habits (among others) so it’s important to aim for this target bedtime. If you have trouble getting to sleep there are several Ayurvedic practices and herbal interventions to explore.

A Deeper Dive

So let the takeaway of this post be that the seasons are not only happening on the outside but inside of us as well. That pertains to the mind and spirit too. Helping your body align with the seasons by eating seasonally and locally, getting out into nature, and taking in the changes with all of the senses can help support physical and mental health and wellbeing.

In The Field | Vol 2 | Ayurveda + The Senses

Ayurveda + The Senses

Why The Senses Are the Root of Health

The health of the senses is an important part of Yoga and Ayurveda. All that we take in through our sense organs must be digested just like food. We often make the connection of “digesting” emotions or “processing” an event. It’s not an entirely intellectual pursuit but rather a system-based one.

Our nervous system is not limited to our brain (central nervous system) and the vast network splintering out from the spine to the outer edges of the body (peripheral nervous system). There are clusters of nervous system function in various areas that have wide effects systemically.

One such cluster is the network in our stomach and gut, known as the enteric nervous system (ENS). Ayurveda established thousands of years ago that the health of the gut gave rise to health in the rest of the system. With the inverse also being true. That an unhealthy gut equals an unhealthy system. Our diet plays a huge role in our mental health, an area that is being studied more and more by western science.

Maintaining Healthy Senses

Putting aside the effects of diet for a moment, sensory stimuli are brought in from various points in the body and in turn have an effect on the system. Through the various neural networks in the body, we see a range of effects trickle down.

So what are unhealthy sensory stimuli and how do we deal with them? Here is a breakdown according to Ayurveda on how various uses of the senses:

When there is overuse we may see an increase in anxiety, insomnia, and variable digestion. When we see underuse of the senses we may find the slowing down of the functions, the mind, and a dulling of the emotions. When there is improper use, agitation and aggression may increase. These are generalizations but we can start to think about how we get “wired” when we stay up and watch too much TV or that sluggishness that happens when we sleep in too late.

By keeping the senses stable and steady, we can have the best long-reaching effect on the mind and physical functions.

The Importance of Awareness

We need to develop awareness in order to maintain healthy sensory inputs and keep our nervous systems from unnecessarily overworking. Cultivating awareness allows us to discriminate on what, who, how/much, and when we expose ourselves to sensory stimuli.

Obviously, we cannot control everything that enters our field of awareness. But once we understand the degree to which everything has an impact on our senses we can then make more conscious decisions. 

That is where the practice of meditation comes in. Practicing meditation and mindfulness builds awareness and can help create space around habitual reactions and impulses so we can really hear what our body, heart, and spirit are telling us (“maybe I don’t need to have that drink” “I know I’ll feel so much better if I move my body right now”). Further, it bolsters our ability to regulate our thoughts, nervous systems, and emotions, when new, and sometimes overwhelming, experiences come our way. 

If we’re able to make conscious choices about what we’re doing at the moment, rather than perpetually reacting, we find we have so many more choices as to what the outcome of the situation may be.

Let’s look, for a moment, at the biochemical activities that meditation, mindfulness, and breathing exercises (pranayama) produce. It has been well-studied that these techniques increase the parasympathetic response (the calming, rest, and digest response) and decrease the sympathetic response (stress, fight, and flight). Meaning that our active engagement with mindfulness, meditation, and breathing exercises allows us more opportunity to prevent the harmful cascade of effects from stress (high blood pressure, digestive upset, anxiety, insomnia, muscle tension, etc).

Practice Makes…

NOT perfect! This is a common roadblock for many wanting to try mindfulness practices. Folks think that they need to have a clear mind to meditate. Actually quite the opposite is true: the mind quiets down through the practice of meditation.

So practice is key but there is no perfectionism here. It’s about showing up and becoming aware. Practicing the techniques when things are calm will set you up for success when practicing them under duress. The more you practice, the sooner you can see trouble brewing when it comes to sensory overload and the better chance there is of managing it both before and when things become overwhelming.

So find a class, an app, or a teacher to help guide you. Yoga and Ayurveda are not one-size-fits-all practices so working one-on-one is the most beneficial because different people require different practices. Knowing, and using, these tools keep the senses healthy and maintain a resilient mind, body, and soul.

In The Field | Vol 1 | New Growth

We are in that mercurial time of spring. It’s a time of change and, even with its ups and downs, the softening is happening. We are welcoming it (on so many levels).

With this new cycle, I am celebrating the start of new endeavors.

During my year in lockdown, I was able to study with the incredible teachers and vaidyas (Ayurvedic Doctors) of Narayana Academy of Yoga and Ayurveda. I’m thrilled to also be assistant teaching current Ayurvedic Counselor students at the college. I continue my studies for another year with this wonderful group of teachers as I move toward my practitioner certification. This deepens my clinical application of Ayurvedic therapeutic practices, herbal formulations, and principles behind disease and imbalance. (Still don’t know about Ayurveda? Read more about it here.)

I’m excited to be dipping a toe into the blogging world by launching In the Field to share teachings and principles of Ayurveda, Yoga, and pelvic floor health. ‘The field,’ in this case, is not only the field of Ayurveda and wellness but also the field of the body, emotion, and consciousness. It’s the field of physical matter as well as subtle senses. The monthly editions will include Ayurvedic and Yogic perspectives on lifestyle, digestive health, food, herbs, meditation, breath, and more. We will take a look at teachings from the Vedic texts, Western medicine, and scientific studies so we can practically apply these practices to our lives.

And, of course, with the advent of my new specialty in Ayurveda, a new name, brand, and mission have also sprouted. Suveren Womxn is now Ground Work Ayurveda + Wellness. My goals in supporting the sovereignty of women and those identifying as womxn remain the same but I felt that I needed to expand the field (as it were) to include the mission of supporting everyone on their journey of alignment with Ayurvedic Medicine, yoga, and pelvic floor guidance.

With this new mission also comes the acknowledgment that the core of these practices relies on reverence and investigation into the natural world. Understanding nature helps us take steps toward respecting the Earth and as well as our own health. We can't meaningfully protect nature until we realize that we are nature.

My Ayurvedic practice has come to fruition and I've welcomed new clients. In this short time, I’ve already started to see powerful shifts taking place. Clients’ are getting better sleep, finding relief from skin imbalances, and even shifting decades-long chronic conditions with just a few simple changes.

Join me on the journey by checking in and following me on social media. New classes, blogs, and free talks are on the horizon. I'm so excited about this new phase of sharing, exchanging, and growing together. It feels like the beginning of something exciting, far-reaching, and purposeful.

In health,

Franciska