Relationships

In the hustle and bustle of today’s fast-paced world, finding time to slow down and connect with your loved ones can be a challenge, especially as you go through the motions of some of the day-to-day responsibilities you tend to either individually or together. But, much like meditating on your own can bring a sense of grounding peace within. “Taking the time to meditate together can help you feel more at one with your partner,” says Jessica Alderson, a relationship expert and co-founder of So Synced, a dating app that matches compatible personality types.

Life is all about relationships. We are in relationships with our friends and family, the people we work with, even those we met casually in the grocery store or sit next to on a flight. We are in a relationship with our environment and the world around us and, on a subtle level, every cell in your body is in a relationship with every other cell. Considering ourselves as separate from other people, creates conflicts ranging from personal disputes to global conflicts. Seeing ourselves as separate from the environment, results in the current climate change issues. A breakdown in the body’s internal relationships creates the potential for disharmony and dis-ease.

After the traumatic experience of the pandemic lockdown, people felt relief at emerging into a more normal life, but during that time relationships had seriously frayed, and domestic violence rose. The result was a questioning about what relationships would look like in the future. Instead of a return to the status quo, there is room for renewing the inspiration that makes a loving permanent relationship so valuable in the first place.

One reason that Ayurveda is holistic is that the doshas permeate everything—every quality in Nature, including human nature. We need to look beyond physical health to apply the doshas to how our emotions work, particularly when it comes to relationships and love.

Have you ever had one of those apologies that left you feeling worse than before? Where the person says the words, “I’m sorry” but follows it up with something that negates it. Those apologies that have a but. The ones that spend a millisecond in responsibility and validation of your experience and immediately make a quick 180-degree turn to let you know that you are actually at fault.

We treasure our intimate relationships for an infinite number of reasons. With our partner, we experience joy, rapture, safety, friendship, and pleasure. We create a safe haven from the outside world in which we can nourish and be nourished.

I can feel the clear blue water around my calves. I can see the white sand that’s sinking my toes into its body. It’s cradling my stance as I look next to me and I see my grandmother and her mother standing in a line with all of my cousins, my father, my aunts and uncles, and my grandmother’s cousins. We are all in the water and the sun is shining, making priceless diamonds as it reflects on the blue-green ocean. The ocean water is carrying away the fears and the trauma of our lineage.

Relationships are a profound source of joy, support, and engagement in most people’s lives. Yet, over time, connections may fall prey to the monotony of familiar routines, busy schedules, and fixed mindsets, thus, losing their ability to bolster happiness. The good news is that with a little attention and intention, any relationship can be reinvigorated! Whether you are looking to add zest to a friendship, marriage, or family tie, the following tips will help bring vitality and enthusiasm to the forefront.

If you want to change the world, become an activist. If your goal is inner peace, become a monk. If you wish to know yourself, become a parent. Raising children uncovers aspects of a parent’s nature that otherwise might remain latent. A cooing baby is likely to reveal unfathomable depths of love while a defiant teenager has the potential to expose equal measures of anger. From proud to humbling moments, parenting is a sure way to acquire knowledge about oneself. When such knowledge is approached with the intention of personal growth, it has the potential to purify, awaken, and perfect a parent’s character as reliably as any self-development program.