About a year and a half ago, I moved from India to Austria. And after just a couple of months, I stopped being able to sleep properly. Every night, I’d wake up around 2 am with a pounding heart and racing thoughts, unable to go back to sleep no matter what I tried. The following morning, I’d feel extremely exhausted and anxious. This made it even harder to sleep the next night.

Soon, I was trapped in a vicious cycle of anxiety and insomnia. I saw a few doctors who tested me and found that everything was in perfect order. But it clearly wasn’t – with just around 3 hours of sleep a night, I was growing increasingly anxious, fatigued, and depressed. My life had started to fall apart.

When I figured the doctors couldn’t help, I turned to Ayurveda. I spent time reading thoroughly about Vata dosha aggravation. I understood that I have a highly sensitive nervous system, a typical characteristic of high Vata dosha.

Balancing Vata

Since then, I have started eating an Ayurvedic diet for balancing Vata dosha. The difference in my body is instant – I feel nourished and grounded when I eat Vata foods.

I have started going to bed in the Kapha night phase (before 10 pm) and waking up close to sunrise. In the evenings, I eat a light dinner and switch off my gadgets by 8. My room is decorated in earthy colours that increase Kapha. I also have aromatherapy oils for balancing Vata next to my bed. My kitchen consists of many herbs and spices for Vata imbalance.

I try to meditate more often and do grounding yoga poses. Regular and slow walks in nature help me pacify Vata dosha – I feel my feet on the ground and breathe mindfully. Most importantly, I’ve been maintaining a routine and bringing more structure into my daily life.

Better Days

Ever since I started following a Vata balancing lifestyle, I sleep peacefully through the night and wake up refreshed. And I am a hundred per cent sure that Ayurveda healed me – because there were short phases in the past during which I didn’t follow the lifestyle, and the sleep got worse. When I got back to my Ayurvedic routine, I always felt better.

Every time I experience high stress, I know exactly what to do in order to ground myself and prevent Vata imbalance. I am now even grateful for my experience with insomnia – because insomnia brought me to Ayurveda. And Ayurveda brought me to my inner self. I am now able to lead a life that calms my mind, grounds my body, and nourishes my soul.