I'm doing really well! Do not do it. I take a close look at the curved neon sign on the wall of the house. "I'm doing really well," I read again. Indirect, lime-green lighting gives the letters a 3D effect. If I just look at it vividly enough, maybe I'll believe it, huh? I think contemptuously. My mother and I grab our suitcases and leave the underground car park of the European Ayurveda Resort Sonnhof. At the reception we are greeted by the dominant scent of incense sticks and two very young receptionists. As we get a little welcome introduction, I notice a man. He is Indian, short, dark, full hair, well groomed and wears a neatly fitting blazer. His name is Mr Sharma and I will make his acquaintance two days later. He will explain to me that it was no coincidence that I got cancer and advise me to plant a yew tree. But more on that later.

After we have moved into our spacious room, I begin my 10-day Rasayana cure. It's 3pm and that means afternoon snack. In the restaurant, small cake slices are lined up neatly one behind the other. A waiter serves coffee. He greets us as we walk by. "Ms. Enzmann, you're taking a cure, right?" he pauses. "Yes, exactly," I stammer, amazed. Wow, he knows my name. I tend to forget the name of my counterpart during the performance. "Then you can have porridge and steamed fruit," he explains to me, pointing to small bowls filled with gray mass and steamed fruit that are under a warming hood. "Ms. Zywietz, you don't take any cures, you're allowed to do everything. Would you like coffee?” he routinely asks my mother. I look at her in horror. She won't, will she? "No thanks," she replies with a smile, looking at me.

 

As we made our way through the mountainous landscape by car this morning, we missed the hotel entrance. "Sonnhof was standing there," I remarked. "The little thing?" my mother exclaimed. And I had to agree with her. We had expected a highly modern, glass building complex with a steaming outdoor area. At least that's what the price suggested. What we found was an inn, such as one could find everywhere here. The interior was a mixture of rustic Tyrolean charm and brightly colored Bollywood accents. As soon as we arrived, guests in hotel bathrobes and towel turbans shuffled towards us and we quickly realized that our huge amounts of luggage were completely unnecessary and that we had to leave them behind not only in a physical sense, but also in a figurative sense. And so we stowed our clothes in the closet and carried them unworn back into the suitcase on the day of our departure. On the other hand, we left behind completely worn-out, worn-out and worn-out thoughts. Because this small inn had managed to make a big difference. When I returned to my room after a few days in my hotel uniform, consisting of a bathrobe and slippers, and greeted the oncoming hotel guests in a friendly manner, one thought shot through my head: I feel like I'm in a cocoon here. No luxurious box with numerous "amenities" had ever managed to convey this feeling to me and so I had to admit to myself that my basic attitude was often not only judgmental, but even derogatory. The fact that the waiter knew my name on the day of arrival, that the menu took my anti-hormone therapy into account, that the doctor felt after less than five minutes of conversation that I was more comfortable with massage treatments from women, all of this was no coincidence, but served to let go and concentrate on oneself.

With a growling stomach due to the change in diet from a high-carbohydrate, occasional vegetarian and pastry-integrated diet to, well, vegan in a predominantly pulpy consistency, I am sitting across from the Ayurveda doctor and practitioner Gaurav Sharma in his office on day two of my cure . And what is happening now is happening very quickly. And I'm not saying that to build tension. While Mr. Sharma is still noting down my date of birth, a flood of questions, numbers, hints, food for thought and tasks rain down on me. On a printout that shows shakras, planets and tables, he calculates numbers from my date of birth that provide information about my person. Although I have to help him calculate it! I feel like I'm on an oral math test because he asks me to add up the numbers he's dictated and tell him the result. Oh, maybe that gives him an idea of ​​how I think now - well I hope not. "32?" I stammer sheepishly. He notes a 33. Oops. I think ashamed. "Everything is destiny" I snap. "Did you know these numbers get cancer?" he asks me, pointing to a series of numbers he's written on the piece of paper in front of me. Of course I didn't know that. He continues to calculate and writes down his results in a kind of matrix. "You, Ms. Enzmann, have two of these cancer numbers". gulp. Great. But I don't have time to mope, because he dictates a series of things that I should do right away. Plant a yew tree, for example, because I'm very down-to-earth, he says. I won't tell you that my violin fig at home wouldn't confirm that. In addition to a series of individual measures ("Don't eat anything that has a breast"), he also gives me a list of tips for a healthier life, which I want to share with you here.

Nutrition:

You should never eat food cold (5 G's: cooked, grilled, steamed, boiled, toasted).

If raw food or salad, then never after 3 p.m. Digestion requires too much energy and may disturb the night's sleep.

But that also means that you should always cook grains! So goodbye to breakfast muesli with cold milk and hello to cereal porridge with steamed fruit! And you know what? It's really easy and tastes extremely delicious!

And how about the meat?

Meat is not demonized, but you have to know that Ayurvedic cuisine is predominantly vegan. But as Martin Luther King said? "You don't have to see the whole staircase, the first step is enough". What does that mean for our everyday life? If you enjoy eating meat, try to limit it to the weekend. It is important, however, that you eat excellent quality food and this does not only apply to meat and fish. Easier said than done, I know. But if we realize that our diet is directly related to our self-love, then you might find it easier!

Self love is the key

You have to look inside yourself and ask yourself if you're confident. Confidence has nothing to do with arrogance or pride. Self-awareness is what it is: are you self-aware? Or in other words: Do you actually know yourself? Are you able to relate to yourself? A deep friendship? And if so, what does this friendship look like? Do you constantly insult and berate yourself, or do you have faith in yourself and love everything about you? Would we want to be friends with someone who constantly criticizes and belittles us? No? Then start appreciating yourself now! It's best to start with your diet right away.

The VATA of Thoughts

In today's society, most people have a so-called Vata excess. Along with Kapha and Pitta, Vata is one of the three doshas in Ayurveda. These doshas are fundamental principles in Ayurveda that work in our environment, but also in ourselves. Vata stands for cold, roughness and movement. Due to our everyday life we ​​are constantly under stress and thus favor Vata, which then leads to a disturbance. It is therefore important to counteract this. But how do I do that? It's actually quite simple: calm down. Specifically, you can consider the following things to bring your Vata into balance:

Counteract the cold with warmth. That means warm food and drink (never drink drinks from the fridge or even with ice cubes. The body has to expend energy to warm them up to body temperature again!). Warm room temperature and clothes. Sauna sessions or warm baths.

Counteract the roughness with oil. Everyone has heard that oil is of great importance in Ayurveda. Oil is used externally and internally. For your everyday life, this means that you rub yourself with body oil after bathing and showering (almond oil, sesame oil or lavender oil, for example) and that you prepare food with ghee (clarified butter). Regular massages with plenty of body oil are pampering for body and soul.

cast the movement with quiet opposite. Most importantly, calm your thoughts. Not only your body, but also your head and your thoughts are constantly in motion. Vata makes us think. We find it difficult to switch off and stay in the here and now. What can you do there? Meditate! Well, how do you start something like this if you've never done it before? Importantly, there is no right or wrong in meditation. But if you're having a hard time getting started, here's an easy one Morning routine:

Start the day positive and relaxed. It is best if you get up before sunrise. Make a hot water bottle and dampen a small towel. Place the damp cloth on your right side, below the rib cage. Place the hot water bottle on the towel, directly on the liver (liver wrap). Rest another half hour.

Get up and take a warm shower to ground yourself. Then oil your body. Maybe make yourself some warm tea. sit on the floor Take a blanket to lie on so you're comfortable. Sit in a cross-legged or lotus position, making sure you sit as upright as possible. Why is that so important? Meditation is about breathing properly. Our body can rid itself of toxins when we breathe properly. The air can only flow deep into our lungs when we are upright. More importantly, we breathe out fully! So focus on your breathing. Conscious breathing also helps you to catch and control your thoughts, because you should listen to yourself while meditating. Now begin a journey into yourself. Realize who you are and how unique you are. Thank yourself and try to feel love for yourself. If you still don't want to succeed, just keep concentrating on your breathing. To help, breathe in deeply (say, 5 seconds) and out for the same amount, and repeat for a few minutes. Whatever your thoughts, make sure your thoughts are positive. Negative thoughts, drop them.

An Ayurveda cure guided by professionals is of course fabulous. But you can also bring your life into balance in small steps. However, the key message is: Be good to yourself and learn to love yourself! Bring positivity into your everyday life. You can do this through positive thoughts, but also by consciously turning to positive things. Specifically: rather comedy than watch nerve-wracking scary shocker. Better a yin yoga playlist than listening to a stressful radio. Better to read tearjerkers than crime novels. Etc...

Of course, one cannot and should not isolate oneself completely and live in pink cotton-wool-cloud-land. But in some situations in life, such a cotton candy break is quite appropriate. You know what I mean.

 Here are a few more book recommendations from me:

 Louise Hay - Health for body and soul

Louise Hay - Wisdom of the Heart

Rhonda Byrne-The Secret

Lisa, Christina and Johann Mauracher - I'm doing really well with Ayurveda