Why do we care about optimal health?
I believe that optimal health is our birthright and, with optimal health, we get to experience all that we came here to do and be.
If you have Lyme disease or know someone with Lyme disease, then you know that it has a profound impact on a person's quality of life.
For me, I missed countless family celebrations, including two weddings, because I didn’t have the energy to get dressed. Sometimes, I needed to be within 10 feet of a bathroom which meant not leaving the house for days at a time. I had such intense fatigue that I wasn’t able to walk to the mailbox. I wasn’t able to work as much as I wanted to or at all for long stretches of time. I was unable to think of simple words, like napkin, much less write a weekly newsletter.
And yet, compared to some, I am very fortunate. My husband, friends, and family have been, and still are, incredibly supportive. I come from a family with privilege. I’ve had access to financial resources when I wasn’t working. I had an education that showed me another way to heal. I've gotten excellent medical care.
I know people living with Chronic Lyme Disease who have lost jobs and partners. Who are bedridden or wheelchair-bound. People labeled hypochondriacs and met with skepticism and outright denial of their symptoms by friends, family, and doctors.
So, I’ll make my bold claim again: I believe that optimal health is our birthright and, with optimal health, we get to experience all that we came here to do and be. This bold claim is based on my own experience and my Āyurvedic education.
The enlightened people (aka sages) that created Āyurveda thought about everything.
And when I say everything . . .
They explained thermodynamics 30 centuries before Newton was born; they outlined logic 1,500 years before Aristotle was writing about it in Greece; they described atoms in 2,000 BC.
The sages were scientists but they were also philosophers. They asked existential questions like: how do we know the soul exists? How can we recognize a sentient being? what is the point of life?
To answer to that last question, these enlightened people developed Āyurveda’s Four Goals of Life which says:
We are here to
fulfill our divine purpose; to engage in meaningful work, to care for the people, plants, and animals in our lives and environment
accumulate enough material wealth for comfort and ease; plenty of food, clothing, a home, a bicycle or car, etc.
enjoy life and our worldly possessions and experiences; to lounge in a hammock guilt-free or go to France or do whatever brings us joy
attain spiritual freedom
The sages created Āyurveda to restore people to optimal health so that we might fulfill our divine purpose and enjoy life.
People living with Chronic Lyme Disease (or any chronic illness) often lack the mental clarity, physical energy, and emotional enthusiasm to experience divine purpose. Living without purpose leaves us feeling empty and unfulfilled, which only adds to our mental anguish and often has physical consequences.
“There’s only freedom in structure, my man,” said jazz legend Branford Marsalis. He was talking about music but the same is true for our health. Āyurveda and Yoga offer concrete and practical structures to get back to optimal health. Embodying optimal health sets us on the path to expressing our divine purpose. With optimal health, we have freedom.
Our life becomes the song of our soul.
Come sing, hum, and dance with me!
