There is a tendency, when something doesn’t feel right, to go searching for what is missing.
In the context of our health, this could see us asking:
Do I need more iron? Maybe it’s magnesium? Oooh more supplements? How about diagnostics? Maybe I need to learn more about…….😵💫
It’s like a wild fishing expedition. Before long, the tackle box is so full of lures, hooks and gadgets that we can barely remember what each one is for.
I’ve spent plenty of time in that place myself.
The late-night research, the rabbit holes, the hope that the next thing might finally be the thing.
But, the older I get and the deeper I go into Ayurveda, the more I find myself drawn toward a different question.
What if the body isn’t always asking for more?
What if it is asking for space? For room to flow?
The River Knows
Imagine a river.
When the water moves freely, everything downstream is nourished. The river carries what is needed to where it needs to go. Life thrives along its banks. The system works beautifully without force.
Over time though, debris accumulates.
A fallen branch here, a build-up of silt there and eventually the river narrows.
Nothing dramatic. Just small things gathering slowly over time.
Eventually the water struggles to move as it once did.
Pools become stagnant, algae blooms, other areas overflow and the river begins communicating that something needs attention.
The body speaks in much the same way.
Perhaps you begin to notice there’s a little less energy than there used to be. Maybe digestion feels heavier. You might notice a mind that struggles to switch off, or a cycle that becomes increasingly challenging.
There’s just an underlying feeling that something isn’t quite flowing as it once did.
These experiences are easy to interpret as deficiencies.
As evidence that we need to put something in.
Yet sometimes what I see is a system carrying more than it can comfortably process.
We are now asked to process more stimulation than ever before.
We carry responsibilities that spill into every corner of the day.
Our minds rarely get a chance to complete one thing before being pulled toward the next.
Life asks us to hold more than any one person was ever designed to carry.
Creating space for flow
The wisdom of Ayurveda has always felt beautifully simple to me in this regard.
Before reaching for the next solution, it invites us to observe the river.
To notice where things may have become congested.
To create space for digestion, elimination, rest, repair and integration.
To support the body’s own intelligence.
Because the river already knows where to go.
The current already knows how to flow.
The work is often found in creating the conditions that allow it safe passage.
Perhaps this is why the practices that have helped me most over the years have rarely been the most exciting ones.
A warm meal.
An earlier night.
A quiet walk.
A few conscious breaths.
Time away from the endless stream of input, with a cup of hot water.
Simple things that gently widen the riverbanks and allow life to move again.
I don’t believe the body needs to be controlled into wellness.
It needs to be listened to.
There is something deeply reassuring in that.
The body asks for support.
It asks for room to do what it has always known how to do.
Like a river finding its way back to the sea.
Patiently, steadily following the wisdom that was there all along.
North Star Question
What is asking to be cleared so life can flow a little more freely?
Until next time,
Bec x