Daily Ayurveda: A Lesson in Mistaken Intellect...from a Tambourine

In Ayurveda, one of the three categories for imbalance is: wrong choices or mistaken intellect. 

Examples of this Ayurvedic philosophy (or should I say...daily life lesson) can sneak into our lives in so many different ways. But if you're unaware of it showing up, you might not learn the lessons.

The best Ayurveda is used daily and it's actually simple — you just need to know what to look out for. 

So let's bring some awareness to what mistaken intellect in Ayurveda really is, how to recognize it and how to correct it!

I've been traveling the past 2 weeks eeking out the last bit of summer before my daughter starts school on Monday.

For the second half of our trip I went Wisconsin to see my family and dear friends — I even taught an 'Ayurveda Made Easy' workshop for about 30 students at my friend's yoga studio! 

While prepping for WI, there was ONE main thing I kept top of mind and that was, "Avoid hurting your achilles tendon again..."

See, last year, my friend's husband played in a band a the Wisconsin State Fair from 6-10pm. As a good lil' groupie, I danced and bounced around for 4 hours straight...on really cheap, crappy canvas shoes!!

And, because I'm not 20, I injured my achilles. It was painful for the next 4-5 months.

SO!

This year, I decided to NINJA-prevent my bouncing/achilles problem and bought some sneakers perfect for 4 hours of jumping around.

YAY! Ready, set, band! *rock out* *bounce around*

Except this time...there was a tambourine on the stage. It was a PINK (!) happy plastic thing, so I grabbed it. Channeling my inner Stevie Nicks, I WHACKED that thing with my hand for I don't know how many songs. So FUN!!

Until the next morning. My entire hand was swollen and then it began to bruise.

Lesson: If you SMACK your hand with hard plastic for an extended period of time, you will injure yourself. 

omg lookit...so purple in places...



This was a classic example of Mistaken Intellect.

Mistaken intellect is one of the three categories in Ayurveda that cause disease/imbalance. It means, we mistakenly make a wrong choice because we don't know any better...until it's too late.

I learned from my mistaken intellect the year before, hence, bouncy shoes. But, because I had never played a tambourine before, I had no clue it would break my body. 

 This happens to us ALL the time. Maybe daily. There are little clues all over the place that tell yes, "Yes! You're on track!" or "Nope. Don't do that again." When we pay attention and correct our actions, we do better. When we ignore the signs or are unaware we need to pay attention to them, we don't do as well — they will keep showing up and getting worse until we cannot ignore it.

So here's where we can get wiser. LEARN the lessons and quickly make new choices. 

No you're probably not dancing for 4 hours or whacking a tambourine but...

...what are YOU doing DAILY that you already know is a bad choice?

Your power is right there. It's RIGHT there. *ping!* 

Here's where I turn into your coach: Stop making that wrong choice and that wrong action. Like, today, stop. Make a new choice and you'll stop breaking yourself.

Even if you don't get an instant result like I did (bruises!), those wrong choices wear you down over time. One day of skipping the workout leads to two and three, and til October.

This is your opportunity to self-correct those things you already know are a bad choice. 

Sorry this is so long, but I really SEE Ayurveda in every aspect of life. I see it, I feel it, I know it in my BONES.

However, you don't yet. I'm ahead of you on that curve, so I don't know exactly what you want to learn or where you often get stuck!

This is 'mistaken intellect' about my students, no? Yes. That's no bueno.

So that I can SERVE YOU, please do me a favor fill out this survey >> (3 questions, 1 minute).

This way, I'll know you better and can deliver the most impactful teachings to really make a difference for you. 

For reals, your feedback is SUPER important to my mission of helping people live better, so if you just answer 3 questions here, I'll be able to help you more. 

Thank you and keep bringing Ayurveda to life!