Have you ever wondered what we could learn about bone health from our ancestors? Have. And I’m doing it now as I reflect on my recent interview with Ayurvedic master and best-selling author Acharya Shunya. In this interview, I ask Acharya to talk about the ancient Vedic perspective on the link between emotional stress, worry, fear, and osteoporosis. What I learn can help every part of us: our body, our mind, and our spirit!
Ayurveda is the 5,000-year-old health science of India and the subject of Acharya’s award-winning book, Ayurvedic lifestyle wisdom. As a teacher of Ayurveda, Acharya confirmed my decades-old clinical observation that stress, worry and fear weaken bones. And, going a step further, Acharya introduces into our discussion ancient, profound yet practical solutions to calm fear and restore balance. She graciously offers several time-honored mind-body self-awareness practices to calm our worried and fearful minds, promoting physical, emotional, and mental balance throughout the body. My interview with Acharya will calm, encourage and inspire anyone who is worried or outright afraid about osteoporosis.
This inspiring interview with Acharya Shunya was broadcast on October 5, 2023. I offer it to you, sure that you will find many pearls of wisdom useful in strengthening the bones of the ancient science of Ayurveda. Let’s set the stage with some cross-cultural observations, so you can get the most out of this interview.
Fear, worry and bone: flashes of ancient wisdom
Thousands of years before contemporary neuroscientists like Dr. Candice Pert discovered the “molecules of emotion,” the ancient health sciences of India and China codified the impact of emotions on health.
Through keen observation of Nature and deep spiritual awareness, ancient wisdom-driven medical systems such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) declared that Mental stress and negative emotions, particularly childhood fear and worry, created an imbalance in the entire system. Negative emotions, they declared, weakened the entire body system and, specifically, eroded the strongest tissue of all: the bones.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (traditional chinese medicine)
As renowned Qi Gong Grandmaster Dr. Nan Lu once told me as we stepped into a crowded elevator in his New York City office: “Susan, you will never solve the problem of osteoporosis because osteoporosis is directly related to fear and fear abounds in this culture.”
It turns out that ancient traditional Chinese medicine, such as Ayurveda, developed a medical system based on five basic elements of life. In TCM these are fire, water, metal, earth and wood. Each element has its own set of qualities and responsibilities, each interacts with all the others and each governs a particular meridian energy path.
This theory of traditional Chinese medicine, which encompasses and explains life, was known as the “five element theory.” What I find interesting about this complex medical model is that these ancients considered fear to be the most bone-damaging emotion. This negative impact was due to the deleterious effect fear had on the kidney-adrenal meridian system, the energy system that controls bones. Even today, most traditional Chinese medicines for bones are herbal formulas that treat kidney imbalance.
The ancient health science of Ayurveda
And then there is Ayurveda, the ancient medical system that fascinates me the most. Ayurveda, like traditional Chinese medicine, considers the body-mind-spirit complex as an integrated unit. Like Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda is based on the principle of balance and harmony of the body, mind and spirit. Altering any part of the system affects the whole. As you will hear in my interview with Acharya Shunya, Ayurveda also links osteoporosis to fear and worry.
The Ayurvedic model also contains five basic elemental pillars of life. These are space, air, fire, water and earth. When talking about human health, these five elements are grouped into three “doshas”, that is, three different energy patterns or types of constitution. These “doshas” or constitutional types are “Vata”, associated with the elements air and space, “Pitta”, associated with fire and water, and “Kapha”, associated with the elements earth and water.
As Acharya and I discuss the link between fear and osteoporosis, you will see that one body type in particular, Vata, is more prone to developing osteoporosis. Composed of elements of air and space, Vata moves quickly, dries and changes like the wind, and is prone to worry and anxiety. (That’s why the title of my blog refers to the “winds of worry.”)
Having a degree of “Vata” imbalance, when I step back and quietly observe my thoughts, I notice flashes of worry. I feel the “winds of worry” and I have noticed that if I pay attention to them they become stronger. However, if I relax and take a few deep breaths and then consciously direct my attention to more pleasant thoughts, the winds of worry fade. I have realized the power of choosing what I want to put my attention on. How about it for you? Have you ever felt the “winds of worry” and, if so, how do you handle them?
What is your constitutional Dosha balance?
In preparation for this interview with Acharya Shunya, let’s return to the topic of “doshas” or constitutional types and lay some groundwork for the interview.
Below is a chart listing the typical qualities of each constitutional type of dosha. Most of us have some qualities of each dosha, with one predominating. Those of us who manifest more “Vata” qualities are more likely to develop osteoporosis. In preparation for the upcoming broadcast of my interview with Acharya Shunya, you can take a minute and check out the chart below. How many characteristics of each body type describe you?
If you are part of my “lean and worried tribe” or are concerned about bone health, Acharya’s talk on the ancient health science of Ayurveda will give you simple practices to chart your journey from worry and fear to empowerment. free from fear. enhanced mindfulness. I’m charting that path for myself, why don’t you join me?
More information about Acharya Shunya and Ayurveda:
Your website: awake.com
His books:
- Ayurvedic lifestyle wisdom: A complete recipe to optimize your health, prevent disease and live with vitality and joy. Rings true, 2017.
- Sovereign I: Reclaim your inner joy and freedom with the empowering wisdom of the Vedas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. Rings true, 2020.
- Roar like a goddess: Every woman’s guide to becoming powerful, prosperous and peaceful without complexes, Rings true, 2022.
