When John Lennon sang, “Give peace and chance”, it conjured up big issues, such as war and civil unrest. But what about the unrest we often find in our own minds?
We live in a fast and changing world and we can often find ourselves under a lot of pressure. Whenever we encounter some stressful situation, our stress-response kicks in, our physiology speeds up and we become hyperactive. Often it can take a few hours for our system to calm down after a particularly stressful event. But sometimes we just don’t have the time to recover before we have to deal with another stress.
Day by day and week by week our system gets more and more wound up. Our over-activated system results in an over-active mind and this leads to unwanted mental “chatter” and anxiety.
We long to get back to that settled state of mind we once had.
Ayurveda recommends a variety of strategies that can help.
Peace strategies
1. Make sure you have a steady routine
Vata Dosha, the element of movement in our body, tends to go out of balance when there is too much movement and change in our lives. When Vata is out of balance, our minds becomes unsettled and we become prone to worry and anxiety. We also become more easily triggered by stressful situations.
Adopt a steady and predicable routine, such as having your meals at the appropriate time. When you do eat, don’t rush. Take time to eat and rest for 5-10 minutes afterwards to allow your food to digest properly.
2. Go to bed early and get plenty of sleep
The opposite of stress is deep rest and sleep is our in-built mechanism for removing stress. According to Dinacharya (Ayurvedic daily routine) the hours between 10pm and 2am are the best time for good quality sleep. So an early bedtime is highly recommended.
3. Oil massage
One of the main remedies for reducing excess Vata is oil massage. Cold pressed sesame oil, or Maharishi Ayurveda Vata Massage Oil are highly recommended. Oil massage is soothing to the nerves and protective against the stress of the day. The oil should be warm and it can be applied first thing in the morning before having a warm shower or bath.
4. Transcendental Meditation
Hundreds of peer-reviewed published studies have shown that regular practice of Transcendental Meditation is highly effective at removing deep-rooted stress. The relaxed and settled state of mind achieved through the practice lingers throughout the day. You find that those stress triggers have far less of an effect on you than they used to have.
5. Peace of Mind herbal preparation
Peace of Mind is a herbal preparation, created by Maharishi Ayurveda Products. It helps you maintain a calm mind without loosing the alertness and focus you need. It changes the way your body, mind and emotions automatically react to stress and supports a healthy emotional response.
How does Peace of Mind work?
Improving the way you respond to stress is vital for your health and longevity. Peace of Mind tablets support the mind’s natural ability to function in a calm, focused and decisive way.
The main ingredients of Peace of Mind are the renowned ‘Medhya’ herbs that not only calm the mind but also improve mental functioning. These are Aloeweed, Jal-Brahmi, Indian Tinospora and Liquorice.
This preparation:
- helps balance Vata Dosha. In doing so, it helps settle and balance all forms of movement within us, whether they are mental, in the form of thoughts and emotions, or physical, in the form of nerve impulses, circulation, elimination and respiration.
- supports a sub-dosha of Vata called Prana Vata. This helps promote mental energy, creativity, perception, consciousness and self-realization.
- supports the three types of mental ability: acquisition of information, the retention or storage of information and the recall of information. In Ayurveda the Sanskrit terms used are Dhi (gathering), Dhriti (storage) and Smriti (recall).
The science of peace
In 2002 a study was conducted at the University of California on the effects of Peace of Mind tablets (called ‘Worry Free’ in the USA) on patients with generalised anxiety disorder.
Generalised anxiety disorder is defined as excessive anxiety and worry occurring on more days than not over a minimum of six months. Patients tended to attribute the worry or anxiety to a number of events and activities, such as work, or school performance.
Those suffering from generalised anxiety disorder find it difficult to control the problem and the following symptoms can be experienced:
- Restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge
- Getting easily fatigued
- Difficulty concentrating or the mind going blank
- Irritability
- Muscle tension
- Sleep disturbance
In this study, people diagnosed with general anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to receive either Peace of Mind (Worry Free) tablets or a placebo.
After three months, those taking Peace of Mind showed significantly reduced general anxiety (trait anxiety), reduced anxiety in response to a challenging situation (public speech), and reduction in salivary cortisol (cortisol increases during stress).
You can find Peace of Mind helps
John Lennon’s “Give peace and chance” was a commentary on problems in society. But the lack of peace we see in the world at large is ultimately caused by the collective effect of the lack of peace within individual minds. To bring peace to the world we must first bring peace to ourselves.
To gain some peace, we don’t have the luxury of being able to run away to a tropical beach every time things get on top of us. We have to find a way of coping with the stressful situations we find ourselves in and this is vital for both our mental and physical health.
Peace of Mind can help improve the automatic and immediate emotional reaction you have to stress. You can be in the middle of that same emotionally charged situation that previously set you on edge, but feel calm instead of flustered. It can help you find that reservoir of peace within.
How to get Peace of Mind for yourself
Visit this page on our shop and try Peace of Mind for yourself.
