UNLOCK THE AYURVEDIC ESSENCE OF MOTHER’S DAY

Happy Mother’s Day from UMA! Now more than ever, we celebrate and uplift the labor of mothers—and of women more broadly—whose commitment to themselves and others helps the beauty and vitality of life to flourish, in all of its forms. In Ayurvedic tradition, this respect for mothers, women and feminine power is an ancient one. The concept of shakti, for example, represents the divine feminine energy that is central to the creation and maintenance of life throughout the universe. Aditi is a Hindu goddess personifying both motherhood and the limitless creativity of the universe, the goddess Uma represents light, wisdom and the transformatively nurturing powers of womanhood and the goddess Kali represents fierce feminine empowerment and self-respect.

There are so many ways to celebrate Mother’s Day and the powers of womanhood, regardless of one’s status as a mother. For those looking to reflect or to learn different practices for honoring one’s womanhood, Ayurveda offers a number of insightful perspectives on women’s mental, physical and emotional well-being and health.

Celebrating Womanhood: Taking Charge Of Our Health

A big part of celebrating womanhood is also promoting and advocating for women’s health. As several studies have demonstrated, women face unique challenges when it comes to having their ailments recognized in traditional Western medicinal contexts; women are more likely to be misdiagnosed or to have their symptoms downplayed than men. Against these structural barriers, Ayurveda teaches women the importance of being attuned to one’s own body and advocating for one’s health. That may include researching specific Ayurvedic remedies for PMS, menstrual or menopausal pains, engaging in self-care practices that provide mind and body balance and relief to the business of everyday life or simply surrounding yourself with those who uplift and nurture you.

Here are a few blog posts unpacking both UMA’s commitment to women-centered wellness and woman-specific advice for maintaining one’s overall well-being:

An Ayurvedic Approach To Regulating Feelings & Healing Relationships

While they are often occasions for community-gathering and celebration, holidays like Mother’s Day can also be very challenging for people who have relationships to motherhood that don’t necessarily fit larger societal narratives. Some may be suffering with loss; others may find themselves in fraught or tenuous relationships with their mothers, daughters or other important figures in their lives.

Regardless of one’s circumstances or personal experiences, Ayurveda stresses the importance of staying connected to one’s emotional state, which is deeply interrelated with one’s external environment and physical health. It is central to process one’s emotions in a healthy way; if not, negative feelings can accumulate and cause emotional, physical and spiritual imbalance so that even memories from years ago can linger on to harm one’s holistic well-being.

While we typically think of agni in Ayurveda as referring to one’s digestive fire, agni also refers to metabolic processes that occur more broadly throughout the rest of the body. The Sadhaka Pitta agni is associated with the processing of emotions. When one’s Sadhaka Pitta is imbalanced, one is less capable of processing emotional experiences and more susceptible to distress, negativity and an inability to feel open to others. According to Ayurveda, these imbalances can occur for a number of reasons, including improper digestion, poor diet, negative external environments and exposure to harm inflicted by other people.

If you’re feeling an emotional blockage or stagnation, it’s important to take stock of yourself and to remedy your emotional imbalance. A balanced Sadhaka Pitta enables one to healthily process experiences, to let go of harm and to effectively recover from hardship without lingering bitterness or pain. To bring your Sadhaka Pitta into balance, you should try to determine where your biggest sources of imbalance are and begin there: if you have trouble maintaining a balanced diet, for example, you can try to eat more healthy, dosha-affirming foods. Other practices include meditation, self-massage, navel therapy, aromatherapy and exercise.

Here Are Several Blog Posts That Break Down Some Of These Strategies For Improving One’s Emotional Balance:

This Mother’s Day, we celebrate womanhood in all of its forms by encouraging one’s health, emotions and relationships. Whether it be by trying out self-massage, reconfiguring your daily routine or by checking in on yourself and connecting with your loved ones, we hope you feel encouraged to celebrate women’s empowerment this year—the Ayurvedic way.