Did you know that disordered eating patterns can stem from lifestyle and physiological factors?

• Excessively Low or High Agni
• Hormonal Imbalance
• Micro Nutrient Deficiency
• Blood sugar crashes
• Unconscious under-eating (too few calories for regular energy expenditure) over a long period of time
• Living out of sync with the circadian rhythm

Why I’m highlighting these factors is that they are common physiological imbalances that we have the power to change.

Before submitting yourself to disordered eating as a habitual, frequent unconscious/“out of control” behaviour, make sure these items have been assessed and addressed, and either ruled out or remedied to see if it helps to reduce or heal the apparent disordered behaviours.

As someone who has healed from a chronic eating disorder (and now help women heal covert disordered eating/addictive behaviours), I know for sure it’s complex. It’s never just ‘one’ thing, nor is it the behaviours themselves that are the cause or first point of call for treatment.

The behaviours are the symptom of an underlying issue, which may be physical, mental/emotional, or spiritual. In a lot of cases, all three factors are involved.

As a complex issue (and usually feels overwhelming when you’re in it), often the biggest barrier to starting the healing process is, ‘where and how to start?.’ I have found that an effective way to approach ‘starting’ is to chip away at the easy-to-change components (which are usually related to physical health), which results in making it easier to change the more complex and deeper issues that are of a psycho-spiritual nature.

If you fall into this category and would like to start edging towards taking back the reins with your mind and health, I suggest these 3 things, as they’ll help to regulate your metabolism and the knock on effect *should* (albeit underlying disease) contribute to positive shifts in blood sugars, hormones, and mood > helping to regulate underlying factors that contribute to physical, mental and emotional imbalances.

1. Align with the circadian rhythm (observe Dinacharya). Align your sleep-wake cycle, eating times, and self-care regime with Natures rhythms.

• Supports balance in the mind and body.
• Helps to prevent the accumulation of imbalance, which may assist in the prevention or severity of the symptoms of disease/s and mental agitation and impulse.
• Supports longevity.
• Helps to develop self-discipline, patience, and respect for a higher-creative power and design.
• Assists in developing a connection with Mother Nature.

2. Exercise daily. Ideally, 30-60mins daily of steady-state cardio, and moderate-intensity strength training 3 x times per week. 

• Induces a sense of psychological wellbeing
• Enhanced work, recreation, and sports performance
• Enhances complexion, giving us a warm, healthy ‘glow’
• Promotes a balanced metabolism
• Helps to correct and regulate elimination
• Decreases risk of developing many diseases
• Increased endorphin and energy circulation (which generally makes you feel really good!)
• Reduce or maintain healthy body weight
• Promotes healthy tissues

3. Practice mantra meditation, daily. Start small with 15 minutes a day, and slowly build up, adding various forms of mantra meditation to your day (eg. Japa meditation, kirtan, mantra-breath meditation.

• Meditating upon sacred Mantras cultivates love within our hearts, which brings about peace and contentment (naturally reducing agitation in the mind).
• Helps us to minimize material cravings and gain control of our mind (making our mind our best friend, instead of our worst enemy).
• Reduces stress, helping us to cope with life in a more insightful, responsive manner (helping us to become less reactive and impulsive).
• Provides inner/spiritual nourishment
• Purifies our consciousness, helping us become more self-aware.

Ready to get started in transforming your mind and life with Ayurveda & yoga?

A simple next step you can take... sign up for my free course, Discover Ayurveda.

Start learning about Ayurveda & Yoga and get to the root cause of your issues. The course covers an in-depth explanation & practical examples of how to apply all three points mentioned in this blog post. It also covers an exploration of the mind-body connection & Ayurvedic Psychology (which will help you fill some gaps in how to change unhelpful behaviors).

And, of course,  please shoot me a message anytime for further assistance with your unique needs. I love hearing from you!

Well wishes,

Sami xo