All of us have only 24 hours in a day during which we must work, spend time with our family, nurture ourselves, socialize and sleep. Some people lead very busy lives and seem to have little time for taking care of themselves. This poses a challenge for the practitioner of Ayurveda.
Busyness is one of the plagues of Western 21st-century life. Amid all of the technological advancements promising to provide more leisure time, people find themselves busier than ever.
There are several causes of time challenges however that don’t actually have anything to do with time. You could say that they masquerade as a time challenge. The first is the avoidance of stillness. In stillness, people become more aware of themselves and of their lives. As many people are unhappy, staying busy prevents having to think about it. Hence, even if more time becomes available, a patient may sabotage their ability to succeed by finding more to do.
The second cause of time challenges is having one’s priorities mixed up. With productivity and caring for others often held as the highest priorities, people often neglect themselves and forget that when they are healthy and balanced, they can better serve others and be more productive.
The third cause is that many people really are too busy to add anything new into their routines. This is especially true of single parents. When this is determined to be the cause of his/her challenge, the conversation between the patient and the practitioner must move to simplifying the patient’s life and finding community support. Until the patient’s life becomes a little simpler and less overwhelming, little progress can be made.
The role of an Ayurvedic Practitioner, be they a Counselor, a Clinical Specialist, or a Doctor is to support the patient to implement Ayurveda into their life. Giving medicines is easy. This is the real work.
The best practitioner is not the one who knows the most. The best practitioner is the one who is best able to help their patients to transform their life into a life of harmony.