Kristine Backes

When you recognize yourself as part of nature, you also recognize your innate natural wisdom. Body-based practices from traditional healing wisdom support physical, mental, and emotional health.

We humans are not designed to be random. Our bodies are designed for order and rhythm, following the order and rhythm of life all around us. The sun is the most reliable teacher. It rises and sets in a predictable rhythm every single day without fail. And whether we are conscious and sensitive enough to feel it or not, our bodies, being creatures of nature themselves, are in tune with the sun, and the moon, and the seasons, and the weather.

We used to know this directly, before we moved into cities and created work schedules that ignore many of our physical needs. Many of us no longer have habits that align with our natural needs: to eat when we are hungry, for instance, or even to get hungry between meals. We have the technology to stay active well into the dark hours when our bodies are designed to sleep, or at least rest. Some of us even eschew the whole concept of a routine, believing that it interferes with our creativity and freedom, rather than supporting them.

Yet, the truth is that working in harmony with our innate natural wisdom can give us access to energy and creativity and well-being that, if we are lucky, we remember from childhood.

One of the unique aspects of the healing science of Ayurveda is it’s focus on rhythms: days, seasons of the year, even our lifetime has a rhythm. When we are in harmony with these rhythms, the body is better able to relax and de-stress. In fact, when and how we eat is as important as what we eat. One powerful way to increase harmony is through consistent mealtimes, with the main meal in the middle of the day when the digestion is strongest.

The concepts are simple, as is the actual practice of living in harmony. The transition, depending on how entrenched we are in ignoring our bodies, not so easy. Get up with the sun, wind down with the sun, eat during the daylight hours with the biggest meal in the middle of the day (the sun governs digestion), these are the basic principles of a long and healthy life.

There are more details, to be sure, but the simple and basic diurnal outline is the beginning of the road to better health. I have been practicing my simple daily routine for over a decade now, and I have no doubt that it has blunted the effects of many of my less-than-wise and harmonious choices through the years. Clients I have worked with have also found greater ease in their lives through increasing their alignment with the natural world.

If you find yourself intrigued and ready to explore how living in synch with nature could support your creative energy, health, and even simply waking up clear and joyful in the mornings, contact me. A twenty minute phone call to get acquainted is free.