Radical Self-Love: From Ayurvedic Rituals to the Black Panther Party

The origins of self-care + how to create ‘dinacharya’ (Ayurvedic morning routine) [View this email in your browser]( A Brief History of Self-Love + What It Means According to [research]( published in Frontiers in Psychology, “In ancient Greek philosophy, oikeiosis (self-love) was considered the source of all good and radiated a circle of love, first for oneself, then for one’s children, then for one’s family, and even for all humanity.” The actual concept of self-love may have come into mainstream consciousness throughout the Western world during the 1950s, when Eric Fromm published The Art of Loving. In his book, Fromm explained that loving ourselves and loving others are not opposite. Rather, an “attitude of love toward themselves,” wrote Fromm, “will be found in all those who are capable of loving others.” It was the author’s belief that self-love is the essential precursor to being in harmonious relations with all those around us. Earlier in human history, around the 13th century, Rumi wrote: You are the fearless guardian of Divine Light. So come, return to the root of the root of your own soul With these words and many others, the Sufi poet emphasized the connection to the divine within each of us as a path to greater oneness with the universe. Likewise, the ancient Buddhist practice of cultivating compassion through loving-kindness meditation (metta) works to increase self-love in an effort to extend and radiate more love beyond oneself and into the greater world. In a 2023 [article]( in TIME magazine, the psychologist and Heal With It podcast host Maytal Eyal claimed that self-love could be making us lonely, perhaps because today’s iteration of it “veers from its authentic origin.” Eyal laments: “Chewed up and spit out by toxic consumerism, it has been drained of its relational potential. It is a force of isolation, rather than attachment.” While Eyal certainly has a point about how the concept of self-love has been manipulated in some pretty unhealthy ways, what if we embraced Rumi’s invitation and dug a bit deeper down into the root of the root of our own souls, into the ancestral tapestry of self-love woven over centuries, and explored the possibilities of incorporating simple, ancient self-love rituals into our everyday lives? While some of the Ayurvedic practices we’re highlighting this week require tools—a tongue scraper or an oil tailored to your dosha, for example—most require no financial investment of any kind. But before we dive into 10 Ayurvedic Rituals for Self-Love, Mood and Pleasure, let’s examine the radical Black roots of self-care in the United States. Self-Care’s Radical Roots The [BBC reports]( that self-care is now a trillion-dollar industry encompassing a plethora of products, tools, immersive and educational experiences, and retreats. As reported by the scholar Shahidha Bari, self-care’s philosophical roots include “often overlooked origins in feminist activism and the struggle for civil rights.” Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Associate Professor of History at The New School, told Bari that ““a lot of the power of the contemporary wellness moment derives from the fact that people whose bodies and ideas were long marginalized by a mainstream medical, commercial, athletic establishment, that a lot of those people’s ideas are what gave rise to this moment.” In the 1960s and 70s, women’s empowerment included “reclaiming their own bodily health and own bodily strength”, leading women to be the top consumers of wellness-centric goods today. “Particularly for women, who are so often expected to care for others,” explained Mehlman Petrzela, “the notion of taking time for yourself can be seen as selfish or indulgent. And I think that in that very basic sense, self-care absolutely can be a feminist act.” Audre Lorde, bell hooks, and Gloria Anzuldúa all wrote about “the necessity of women of color to practice self-care and self-love in order to deal with the daily onslaught of racism, sexism, homophobia, and class oppression” ([ISU](. Beyond feminism, the health activism and self-care focus of the Black Panthers were critical elements of their campaign against racial discrimination, which was most active around the same time that women’s liberation was gaining steam in the United States. Mehlman Petrzela says the Black Panthers were “putting bodily well-being and health at the center of their politics,” to which Alondra Nelson, Professor of Social Science at Princeton University, adds that segregated care at U.S. medical clinics made health a fundamental issue for Black activists and organizers. “The Black Panther Party, for a short time, created a national network of free health clinics,” Nelson explained. “So, by the time we get to about 1969, early 1970, any group that wanted to call itself a Black Panther chapter was required to sell copies of the Black Panther newspaper, but also to have a health clinic.” Bari explains that the Black Panthers’ health activism encompassed a broader idea of well-being beyond healthcare, and “naturally extended beyond traditional medicine too, because it entailed a wholesale reimagining of what being well could mean for African Americans.” So while self-care propaganda may be “making us lonely” (if we accept Eyal’s definition of how it is being misused in our modern way of life), self-care has always been crucial to the survival of marginalized peoples. For generations of resilient women and people of the global majority, self-care and self-love have never been trivial trends; rather, they are communal practices of resistance, fortifying entire groups of people to think, speak, and act from a place of deep love for the individual and the collective. To learn more about botanical Black history, watch [this short clip]( or read the [full article here](. The Ayurveda Way: Alchemical Self-Love Ayurveda combines plant medicine and lifestyle approaches to bring balance and harmony to one’s life. Homeopathy has roots in Ayurveda, and much of Western medicine's roots comes from Ayurvedic principles. Although much of its original teachings are lost, Ayurveda is a recognized and certifiable medicinal practice in India today. In Ayurveda, each person has a unique energy imprint, which creates one’s constitution. Ayurvedic medicine examines and ultimately treats each person through a deep understanding of their physical, mental and emotional traits, so they can adjust their health and regain mental, emotional, and physical alignment. According to Ayurvedic physician Dr. Manas S. Kshirsagar, “Self-love has been a principle tenet of Ayurveda for thousands of years. Ayurveda believes that your Self chose your body to fulfill your life’s purpose.” Your unique dharma cannot be fully realized without accepting yourself; therefore, self-love is the very first step in a lifelong journey to self-compassion, service and unconditional love. Viewed through this lens, self-love is a path to equilibrium. Rejecting our own temptations for self-judgment and acts of violence against the Self—even in the smallest form of an unkind thought or word—is a crucial tool to prevent excess ama (toxins) from building up and wreaking havoc on our emotional, physical, psychological, and spiritual bodies. We hope you can now better understand these Ayurvedic rituals for self-love, mood, and pleasure are not indulgent, costly or even complex. From both the Western and Eastern origins of self-care, we can see that it is a form of preventative medicine, a source of healing by turning our attention inward, and a gateway to sharing our purest intentions with others once we are fortified and ready to extend ourselves with open hearts. Ayurvedic Rituals For Self-Love, Mood & Pleasure 1. Maintain dinacharya (daily routine) In Sanskrit, dina translates to “day” and charya is a routine or practice, hence dinacharya is an Ayurvedic invitation to nurture yourself daily by balancing your doshas. In Ayurveda, the morning is an ideal time to practice these rituals to sync your natural rhythms with those of the Earth. Keep reading for some morning meditations to help you set daily intentions and cultivate more self-love. 2. Move with Earth’s rhythms Rise with the Sun (or better yet, wake up before sunrise), and try to go to sleep before 10:00 p.m. In Ayurveda, it is said that vata is transcendent at sunrise. Rising late may have us falling under kapha’s more weighty earth energy and out of harmony with nature’s light, which can offer us vata-like clarity and ether energy if we seize the moment. Vata dosha is especially beneficial for an early morning meditation practice. When it’s time to wind down around 6:00 p.m., you’ll be cycling from vata to kapha dosha, supporting a gradual transition to slumber. According to the Ayurvedic Clock, pitta dosha is most active from 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., a period of resting and digesting—a chance to recharge not just the body, but to recover from the day’s emotions and experiences. Late Winter and Spring is Kapha season, with the latter half encouraging us to move beyond the watery stagnation of built-up kapha and into a lighter and brighter season of shedding accumulated excess. 3. Eat seasonally Choose seasonal foods that help balance your unique constitution (dosha), and walk after eating to help digest your meal. Make lunch your largest meal of the day—that’s when digestive fire (agni) is at its strongest and pitta’s fiery energy is dominant. Follow with an early light supper as to not overtax your digestive system, allowing your transition to a restful state to be more peaceful. 6. Oil pulling & tongue scraping For optimal oral health, swish a tablespoon of coconut or sesame oil in your mouth for 10-15 minutes. Spit out the oil after use. After “pulling”, gently scrape your tongue with a tongue scraper to remove toxins and bacteria. For herbs used since ancient times for healthy teeth, [read this](. If you’re looking for a flouride-free alternative to commercially available toothpaste, try our [vegan tooth polish](. 5. Abhyanga: aka massage yourself Abhyanga (self-massage) with warm oil conducive to your unique dosha helps nourish the body. Massage in the direction of the follicles to rid the body of toxins, improve circulation, and ease the symptoms of mental and physical fatigue. It also helps prepare the body for digestion (see below for more on next steps), so drinking warm water signals the body that it’s time to wake. Be sure to bathe after so that excess oils are released from the skin, and enjoy some silent prayers of gratitude! For a step-by-step guide to lymph drainage self-massage, [keep reading here](. Ayurveda-Inspired Apothecary Picks The Mind Contains Ayurvedic powerhouses such as Brahmi, Mucuna, Goto Kola, Tulsi and other renowned nootropics such as Lion's Mane and Ginkgo. Like a mycelium network, let's connect! 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