Drains & Radiators - know thyself!
“Drains" and “radiators” - Know thyself!
Reflecting on recent events, I have been reminded of a conversation with a dear family friend when I was 12 years old that has stayed with me to this very day.
If you are struggling with energy management right now... you may want to read on.
One afternoon, when I was a young girl, a wise family friend talked to me about “drains” and “radiators”.
To be clear - she wasn’t talking about building maintenance and infrastructure to my 12 year old self!
No no no… she was sharing her simple rule of thumb regarding life: relationships with self, others and ALL things.
In essence:
Drains :
People, places, things that TAKE energy from you.
Equally this could be one's own behaviours that deplete and suck you dry.
Radiators :
People, places, things that impart energy and help build, strengthen etc.
Equally this could be ones own behaviours and choices that AUGMENT and support.
Her closing words to my 12 year old self:
Be vigilant about who you share time and space with.
Be vigilant about who and what you offer your energies to.
Regularly ask yourself this:
Overall, is this person, place or thing a drain OR a radiator; and furthermore
Am I behaving as a drain or a radiator in this situation?
Brahmana & Langhana - the ayurveda mumbo jumbo!
In Ayurvedic and Yoga practices - there is Brahmana (meaning to augment, build, support) and Langhana (meaning to extract, reduce and also cleanse in some instances).
In Ayurveda an appropriate balance needs to be found.
We don’t always want to be BUILDING up, radiating, expanding. If we are trying to learn something new, for example a teacher training where we will naturally have to face some deeper self doubts and issues within (because that is what the practices of yoga do as part of helping one move beyond the things that are keeping you stuck and in a contracted state of living) there is going to be some stripping back (langhana) where we make space for something new and more augmenting to come in.
Neither do we want to be continually stripping things back (longhand), reducing and depleting ourselves. Things need to move in an appropriate cycle. The seasons in nature beautifully illustrate this.
These concepts of Brahmana and Langhana can be applied to ANYTHING.
When I consider situations, relationships, activities in this way I am more able to deduce whether this is something that is worth investing time in.
60:40 ratios - An Ayurveda perspectives on diet, lifestyle
My teacher Myra Lewin of Hale Pule Yoga & Ayurveda suggests its a fine balance when it comes to diet, treatments etc. This would align to balanced nutrition and healthy digestive capacity.
The 60% augmenting and 40% extractive ratios are key to creating balance int he digestive system.
I recently gave a talk at Vaidyagrama, Ayurvedic healing village in Tamil Nadu regarding the augmenting and extractive dualities that support healthy digestion of food AND thoughts, experiences, emotions.
If you want to find out more about working with the 60:40 ratio contact me today.
