Rules Are Chains For a Spirit That Yearns To Fly Free

I’ve often had my boyfriend say to me, “there are so many rules in Ayurveda”; and my response is always the same.

There aren’t any rules, there is simply wisdom, awareness, and choice. Wisdom to know what your unique body needs. Awareness around what we are creating, experiencing and doing. And choice, we always have the choice to say yes to something or to say no thank you.

As an Aries sun and Leo rising, you can imagine that I have never been a fan of rules. Combine that with my sharp pitta constitution and you get a cacophony of experience.

Part of me doesn't want to be told what to do.

Yet part of me wants to follow things to a T.

When I began to study Ayurveda it brought many wonderful changes into my life. All of a sudden I was cooking differently, eating differently, I was more aware of my emotional state around food and experiences. I was consciously starting and ending my day with rituals. Most importantly I was aware of my spirit. I experienced increased health and well being, as well as a deeper connection to my true self. Those are really beautiful things and I will continue to nurture that relationship for the rest of my life.

But I began to find myself becoming stiff, rigid, guilty, and sharp. I had become bound up in perfection and had fallen asleep to a deep truth I have begun to recover and rejoice in.

Its impossible to live a life free from celebration and the occasional indulgences.

Now perhaps a monk who has renounced all attachments to worldly indulgences could fall out of the parameters of the above statement. But for the rest of us, do you feel free from the wisdom of those words? Do you feel like you could fly to new heights and continue on your path to health with more spaciousness and ease?

Once I accepted all of me, the flawed part of me that every now and then will have an occasional indulgence to celebrate life, I felt like I had finally accepted all of me, the whole enchilada, and it felt wonderfully freeing!

The perfectionist lives within each of us. I lived most of my 20s by taking things away. It was a life of restriction for the sake of trying to be thin and healthy. This is not the path to health. That is actually another path to disease.

I also feel like it's important to note that not all indulgences are created equal, especially when it comes to your unique constitution. Each of us can tolerate the occasional insult to our bodies better than others.

But the delectable morsel I want you to hold in your mouth is this: you can live a healthy life and occasionally eat the cake too.