Melanie helps overworked and exhausted professionals navigate through draining life changes. She helps them find mental clarity, physical strength and emotional balance by them to reconnect with their personal truths
It amazes me how the mind, body, senses with emotions are all linked together, with the science of Ayurveda* acting as a bridge of knowledge, bringing them all together.
Following the principles of Ayurveda, Scent is believed to relate to our sense of survival. When unsure, we smell the food before we eat it. We smell the food to check if it is fresh. We smell the flowers to create wonderful internal sensations. We smell the environment to sense if it is a pleasant place to be or not.
In this article we’ll explore how the scent of smell links with the 5-element theory of Ayurveda for our personal inner wellbeing, with daily ritual to guide you at the end of this article.
How the sense of smell stimulates past experiences and memories
The sense of smell connects us to the root energy of fear and survival. So much so that we can tell the difference of around 10,000 different aromas. Each scent invokes a memory, feeling or activates our innate sense of survival. This may be because the ability to smell is related to the evolutionary development of humanity and is considered to be the oldest of the senses. Hence, its ability to invoke memories, experiences and association.
As the sense of smell is associated with survival it connects us to the root of consciousness represented by the element of earth – in particular the soil which creates the foundation of earth energetically links to the root chakra ¹ to help bring about stability and security within the mind, body and soul. Thus a ritual based on using the sense of smell to witness stress related triggers is useful to clear the unsporting thoughts and experiences.
The anatomy of the nose
The sense organ is of course the nose with the nasal cavity assisting in respiration, and the condition of the inspired air. The nose also acts as an immune defence.
The cilia in the nostril creates a slight turbulence as we breath to help guide the air in and out of the bod.y They also keep pollutants from entering and expels inner toxins from the body. It also warms and moistens the air is we Inhale.
During our practices of conscious breathing, we manage air flow into the body by manually opening by manually reducing the opening of the nostril as a practice in managing the subtle energies around us.
The emotions and memories triggered by our sense of smell is activated via the olfactory nerve which is the first cranial nerve connected to the upper inside part of the nose. Many conditions can affect this cranial nerve 1, including COVID-19, diabetes and Alzheimer's. ¹
During the covid epidemic, many people found that the loss of smell also affected their appetite and part of their living experience. There are even studies which explore the sense of smell to neurological problems.
A ritual to release the sense of fear and invoke a sense of inner calmness
Prepare your space so it feels comfortable. You will need a timer, your preferred aromatherapy oil, cotton pad, water and an object which represents the emotion or feeling that you no longer wish to experience.
Set your timer and infuse the water with your chosen scent.
Sit comfortably.
With soft your eyes, ground yourself by becoming aware of how your body feels.
Enjoy 10 respiratory rounds of conscious breathing to clear your mind and body. ²
Ceremonially, infuse the cotton pad with the scented water.
Keep the cotton pad in your hands and bring close to your nose as you rest your eyes. You can close them only if it feels comfortable.
After a few breathes, remove the hands from the nose and revert back to your conscious breath.
Within this time of relaxed conscious breathing become aware of memories or other sensations within the body – from a place of ‘that’s interesting’, non judgement and without developing the story behind the memory or sensation. It’s just interesting,
Repeat 3 time finishing with the reflection.
Slowly bring yourself out of the meditative state and perhaps take time to reflect of the memories, sensations in particular anything that was unpleasant.
Any unpleasant thoughts can be blown into your organic object – so the object holds the energy. You can add the mantra:“This is not mine. I release it from me with love and grace.”
We do not need to write anything down. Simply sit in the silence and stillness.
When you are ready, take the organic object and offer it to the soil or the rivers to be carried away or to be mulched down and transformed to nutrients for the bio system of the land.
Such a practice would be included in Step 1 of the Pathway to Peacefulness Programme ³ as a foundational practice How to Cope When Life Throws You a Curve Ball. ⁴
This ritual is created to help readers manage their symptoms of stress when feeling threated, or their stress response has been triggered so you can revert to a place of calmness and peacefulness.
Evolving Harmony.
Note:* Ayurveda is a way of managing the health of the body based on how the 5-Element of nature helps to understand the qualities that create life.
Melanie Ashley, Optimising Your Inner Well-being
Melanie helps overworked and exhausted professionals navigate through draining life changes. She helps them find mental clarity, physical strength and emotional balance by them to reconnect with their personal truths, purpose and motivations. Melanie does this by uncovering hidden gifts, building energetic practices and opening the realm of possibilities to create a unique practice for each person.
References:
Cleveland Clinic
How Breathing Optimises Your Overall Wellness
4 Steps to Reduce Overwhelm
How To Cope When Life Throws You A Curve Ball
The Secret to Transcend Chronic Stress?
Why Resilience Can Help You Fly Towards Possibilities with Passion and Purpose
How To Connect with Abundance to Embrace the Future
Further Reading
Download FREE PDF e-book Balance Your Breath, Transform Your Life https://www.clarity.yoga/lm-ebook1
Re-Connect To Life: How To Make Creative Choices - Everyday. Available on Amazon
Learn More About The Pathway to peacefulness Programme https://www.clarity.yoga/pathway-to-peacefulness
