Managing this kind of chronic stress is very important to keep it from diminishing your health and happiness. Adaptogens are a variety of medicinal plants that are particularly beneficial for reducing stress in general, and improving the stress response when you can’t avoid a challenging situation. Adaptogens, also known as rasayanas in Ayurveda, are particularly prized in this tradition for their ability to increase resilience, longevity and vitality.
What are Adaptogens?
Adaptogens are medicinal plants that help the body to balance, restore, and of course, adapt. When we do experience stress, they have the amazing ability to signal our body to produce less stress chemistry, so that we don’t get exhausted, and we have more energy available to work our way through challenges we’re facing. They build vital energy reserves over time which makes us truly resilient. To get the best results with adaptogens, it’s important to make them a daily habit for an extended period, because their benefits multiply over time.
What is Ayurveda?
If you start to incorporate these three adaptogens into your daily routine, your mind and body will thank you! It varies person to person, but you’ll soon notice an overall sense of well-being and reduced stress within a few days to a few short weeks.
1. Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is a very unique adaptogen in the sense that it can be both strengthening and sleep supporting. It calms the nerves, making it a perfect adaptogen for all lifestyles. It also helps to improve endurance, support reproductive health, the adrenals, the thyroid, and more. When you want to operate or multi-task on an elevated level (hold the stress), this is the adaptogen to reach for.
2. Reishi
Reishi is known as the “elixir of immortality”. It’s truly a class of its own among all medicinal plants for promoting longevity, boosting immunity, calming the mind, and supporting various body systems, such as the liver and our respiratory and cardiovascular systems. It’s also great for gaining clarity, focus, and calm, and makes a wonderful morning drink ingredient to replace stressful caffeine with.
