Are you one of those people who usually crave a quick trip to the beach, mountains, or forest? For some reason, your body longs to go back to nature to regain natural energy. No matter how tiring it is to travel from the city to the beach or climb the mountain, you find an unexplainable satisfaction when you are finally connected with nature.
Looking at it from an Ayurvedic perspective, this longing to nature can be linked to how our five senses look for natural ways to heal our being. Aside from appreciating life better, our five senses, such as sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch, also serve as our exclusive gateway to natural healing.
We usually take our senses for granted without realizing that it plays a crucial role in our health. We fail to see the bigger picture of why we have such a wonderful gift. We tend to misuse it to feed our earthly desires.
Inappropriate use of our senses
Overuse
We tend to overuse our five senses by exposing them to unnecessary activities. It includes listening to loud music, staring at electronic screens for hours, eating even when we are already full, non-stop talking about nonsense, using too many beauty products, and exposing yourself to harmful odors.
Underuse
We fail to use our senses' full potential by depriving ourselves of their proper use—for example, failure to maximize sunshine benefits by staying all day indoors. Not exposing our sense of taste to different flavors and only sticking to the safe side.
Misuse
We misuse our senses by watching violent TV shows, listening to provocative music, or speaking condemning words to others.
To help you appreciate your five senses, try this little experiment. Imagine having a line across your face, just below your nose and above your lips. Notice that all the senses above the line (sight, smell, and hearing) influence our state of mind, while those below the imaginary line (taste and touch) affect our bodies.
Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to say no, but your senses say yes? Then you have experienced your senses taking control of your life.
How do you use you five senses for natural healing
In this blog post, we will help you unleash your five senses' inner pharmacy in your daily activities.
Sense of sight
It is true when they say that the eyes are the gateway to the soul. What you look at every day influences the state of your mind. If you expose yourself to violent images and graphics often, you unconsciously become violent.
What you see is what you get. Exposing your eyes to beautiful things like arts, nature, calming colors, and other beautiful images will indeed create a peaceful, healing environment for your mind.
Have you noticed that looking at a beautiful bouquet eases your mood when you are having a bad day? Have you seen how you calm down when you take the time to appreciate the beauty of trees, flowers, or a sunset? It is because stimulating our eyes with uplifting images is like feeding them nutritious food. It cascades soothing neurochemicals in our body, allowing it to cultivate the power of our inner pharmacy.
Sense of smell
Our sense of smell has a direct connection with the memory and emotional center of the brain. That is why a particular scent can quickly take us back to a memory, place, or emotion. Our mood can instantly change when we inhale the smell of fresh rain, ocean air, and delicious food. It is because smelling pleasant fragrances makes our body absorb molecules, making it natural aromatherapy.
Aromatherapy or the alternative healing power using plant extracts has been practiced worldwide for centuries. The power of scents is used to cure different illnesses, from simple cough and cold up to treating depression.
Aromatherapy suggests that if you want to calm your mood, you should smell the scents of lavender, vanilla, jasmine, or sandalwood. If you're looking for something energizing, smelling lemon, orange, clove, or cinnamon will surely do the trick.
Unleash your sense of smell's inner pharmacy through the process or neuro associative conditioning. All you have to do is choose your favorite aroma and smell it when you are in your most calm or happy state. It will help your body associate this scent with a pleasant feeling. So when you feel anxious, all you have to do is use this particular scent to take you back to that relaxing feeling.
Sense of hearing
Imagine hearing the sound of chirping birds, waves, and wind waking you up in the morning. Wouldn't it be an excellent way to start your day? Every sound we hear has a positive physiological effect. That's why when you visit a spa, they play calming music as they massage your body. So aside from healing your body with massage, they also treat your mind using sounds that produce pleasurable chemicals in the body.
Prolonged exposure to unpleasant sounds can lead to stress or even depression. So instead of feeding your ears with the disturbing sounds of traffic noise, pumping beats, or noisy appliances, you should focus on soothing music that can make you smile or feel relaxed.
Sense of taste
Who does not love to eat flavourful dishes? Unleash your sense of taste's inner potential by letting flavourful yet nutritious food enter your body. It does not only add color to our meal but also aids digestion.
In Ayurveda, we recognize six different flavors; sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Adding all six flavors in one meal gives us all the nutrients we need and instantly makes us feel satisfied and energized. Failure to experience all six tastes in one meal or day will leave your craving for snacks.
Sense of touch
The skin is the largest organ in the human body. That's why it is essential to feed it with natural stimulants that will undoubtedly contribute to one's overall health. You can maximize your sense of touch by exposing yourself to a soothing massage (or self-massage). It will release a healing chemical that can improve blood circulation, immunity and promote restful sleep.