On the drive home from my daughter’s piano recital in Denver today, my family got caught up intently listening to an NPR program on ‘The Logic of Rage’. Several mild-mannered people told stories of how they were triggered into pure rage. So much so, that they felt like an outsider watching themselves as they lashed out in one way or another. One female environmentalist, with a peace ecology flag hanging on her bedroom wall, saw her neighbor bulldozing trees down in his yard to make his driveway shorter. She described her instant reaction of jumping on his bulldozer to stop him stating, “…I have no idea where that [anger] came from, but I was in a complete wild red rage”. Like others, I myself have experienced acting out of rage. Such behavior can spiral into feelings of deep shame, becoming unprocessed emotions that circulates in the body, and turn into diseases such as hypertension, depression, insomnia, and burning out of the nerves.
The trigger for an angry reaction comes in the form of auditory, visual, or other sensory input that goes straight to the amygdala, bypassing our conscious, logical brain. When the amygdala senses one of our basic needs is not being met, then the animal or human reacts with a protective rage because it feels its life is in danger. For obvious reasons, a Rambo-style reaction is not healthy to ourselves, our loved ones, or society. Shankar Vedantam, the NPR broadcaster who reported this segment, said: “It’s taken millions of years of evolution to produce the human brain. It has an exquisite capacity for reason and logic”. This means there is a valid reason for the anger. By understanding the reason for our anger and having compassion for ourselves, we can dissipate future rage. Easier said than done, but we have to start somewhere. Starting the practice of awareness, self-love, and using Ayurveda can all help.
Per Ayurveda, pitta-anger “heats up the blood, liver, and the heart, creating internal fire” — David Frawley, Ayurvedic teacher and writer
Per Ayurveda, anger and irritability are both manifestations of excess pitta dosha (fiery personality type) in the channels of the mind. When pitta is balanced, the intellect is sharp, and the person is cooperative, enthusiastic, and non-judgmental. The person will also have good willpower, courage, confidence, and will be content, accepting, and without ego (able to surrender for the greater good). On the other hand, when pitta accumulates in the body and mind, it causes heat to build up, leading to anger, frustration, dissatisfaction, competitiveness, criticism, and unhealthy ambition.
The way to bring excessive pitta dosha back into balance is to use the two ayurvedic principles of like increases like and opposites balance. Since the qualities of pitta are hot, sharp, slightly oily, light, liquid, and spreading, it can be balanced by diet and lifestyle experiences (including relationships and emotions) that are cooling, pacifying (or stable), drying, heavy (or slow), nourishing and substantive in nature. These can be translated into eating foods that are sweet, bitter and astringent in taste and avoiding foods that are excessively spicy, sour or salty. Avoiding eating oily, heavy foods, especially on the run. Along with diet, incorporating adequate rest, appropriate exercise, and a spiritual practice in the daily routine. Also including practices to soothe the mind, such as meditation, mantra, breathing, and yoga will help nurture the parasympathetic over the sympathetic nervous system, allowing relaxation to ease the grip of pitta on the mind.
There are many ways Ayurveda can be incorporated into the daily regimen, such as doing a two-week gentle cleanse by eating easy to digest foods and lots of fresh ginger, fresh turmeric and drinking 6 – 8 glasses of warm or room temperature water daily; oiling the body; using medicated nose drops; taking herbs such as brahmi, bhringaraj, and amalaki; and drinking teas such as tulsi, coriander-cumin-fennel, chamomile, and rose that are cooling and balancing to the mind.
Starting with even one or two practices that help destress and detoxify the mind will slowly start pacifying the anger. It does not happen overnight. It takes time and commitment, but the results are the best evidence. We can start pacifying the anger of the world by starting with ourselves. If we treat ourselves more kindly and lovingly, this will then ripple out to our near and dear ones, and eventually to the rest of the world.
by Uma Hingorani
Ayurvedic Practitioner
References:
1. https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/the-logic-of-rage/
2. https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/ayurvedic-living/living-ayurveda/health-guides/the-channel-of-the-mind/surrender-and-serenity/
3. https://yogainternational.com/article/view/angry-ayurvedic-tips-to-help-you-calm-down
