Uncover the Connection: Ayurvedic Nail Assessment and Adrenal Health
Updated: Oct 8
What is Ayurvedic nail assessment? Here’s some important information and a question to ask ourselves--are we working our fingers to the bone?
Explore more on the Saumya Blog, selected top Ayurveda blogs and websites.
What Can Ayurvedic Nail Assessment Tell Us About Adrenal Health?
What are the Adrenal Glands?
Adrenal glands are small triangular endocrine glands that sit atop the kidneys. These glands make important hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones help control heart rate, blood pressure, regulate metabolism and the all important response to stress--the flight fight response.
How Do You Know If Your Adrenals Are Fatigued?
According to the Mayo Clinic, "Adrenal fatigue isn't an accepted medical diagnosis. It is a lay term applied to a collection of nonspecific symptoms, such as body aches, fatigue, nervousness, sleep disturbances and digestive problems. Your adrenal glands produce a variety of hormones that are essential to life."
How did Adrenal Glands Become Part of the Conversation?
There was a time, not too long ago, when people did not talk about adrenal glands. Can you imagine? Today, people have both interest in and concerns about their adrenal glands. Why? People are tired, exhausted and burn out. We reach for coffee (a central nervous stimulant) when we are already so over stimulated we feel tired and what we need is a path that provides us a way to restore good quality energy. We feel older than they are and are at a loss as to what happened to their enthusiasm, motivation, and vitality as they experience long term chronic stress.
Today we are aware of adrenal glands and we talk about adrenal fatigue in casual conversations. WOW! That’s says a lot doesn’t it? Life today is stressful and anxiety provoking and that stress leads to depletion and exhaustion. Are we working our fingers to the bone?
To regain balance and maintain balance, most of us benefit from a comprehensive yet manageable Ayurveda plan that addresses depletion through nourishment on all levels of our being, looks to the root cause of why we feel the way we do and provides a trio of treatment (food as medicine, herbal remedies and Ayurvedic lifestyle tools) to balance Vata, Pitta and Kapha dosha.
What Your Nails Are Pointing to About Your Adrenal Health?
Time to take a look. Get yourself into some good lighting again and let’s examine the nails. In our article, Ayurvedic Nail Analysis: What Your Nails Are Pointing to About Your Health, we talked about nail biting as a sign, acute or chronic, of high Vata dosha-- of stress, anxiety, worry and fear. It’s a cycle that needs disruption as anxiety affects adrenals and in turn, adrenals affect anxiety.
How do we begin to shift that cycle? In a word, breath. Yes, breath is the vehicle that connects the body and mind. Diaphragmatic breathing calms the flight fight and shifts us into rest, relax and restore. Follow our guided practices, 11 minutes twice a day, and you will begin to feel calmer and grounded--more like you. Give it 40 days of consistent use and the baseline of stress shifts and diaphragmatic breathing will drop that stress level within minutes. Go ahead-try it and see for yourself.
One of the many things assessed during our consultations is the nails. Each finger corresponds to one of the five elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether). Take a close look at your ring fingers as it corresponds to the element of water which naturally relates to kidneys (No surprise there, right? Think of urination) and the adrenal glands that sit atop the kidneys.
What do you notice about the nails on the ring fingers? Look at it comparison to the other nails. Are there lines? Ridges? White spots? Does that finger move more than the others?
If you observe differences in your nails, feel stressed, exhausted, burnt out, have poor sleep, digestive issues and just don't feel like yourself anymore--read and watch our client stories.
Ayurveda Lifestyle Tools to Calm and Rejuvenate
1. Learn diaphragmatic breathing. Breathing links us both to the mind and the body. And the more we pay attention to breathing by way of a gentle awareness, the more we can relax and find our mind concentrated. That’s where diaphragmatic breathing exercises come in.
Change my breath and it changes my life? It may seem an overly dramatic claim, yet it is not. Without breath, where is life? There are many sayings in English about breath, we lost our breath, we catch it, we hold it, we take a deep breath--yet the breath of life--meaning something one depends on, is among the most profound. Breath is not something we tend to connect with consciously yet is foundational in Ayurveda and to life itself.
2. Use Our Guided Practices Daily. Learn to create and carry a relaxed awareness with you throughout your day and into every part of your life. Within in minutes you will feel calmer, grounded and more refreshed. Practice daily 11 minutes in the morning and evening and in six to twelve months, you may be pleased to notice a shift in your stress level.
Ayurveda Herbs to Calm and Rejuvenate Adrenals
Which herbs are best for you depends on your prakruti (original constitution) and your virkruti (current state). Ayurveda shines in it's specificity and its holistic, systemic approach to your care. To know which herbs bring balance and do not further create an imbalance, a comprehensive Ayurveda consultation with an experienced Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner is advised.
Common Ayurveda herbs for adrenal support may include: Ashwagandha Brahmi Shatavari Shilajit
As with all herbs, the tenet of Ayurveda is that what works well for one person may be incorrect, unbalancing for another.
Please note: Saumya Ayurveda does not recommend using herbs as if they were over the counter or prescribed pharmaceuticals. An experienced Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner will create you a custom herbal formula, special nasya, and customized Ayurveda plan to support the whole you.
Herbs are not Ayurvedic because it comes from India. Nor it is correct for you because it is organic. Herbs become Ayurvedic when used as part your customized Ayurveda plan which is carefully tailored for your constitution. An herb that is balancing to one person for a concern, may be imbalancing to another.
"Ayurveda is gentle and effective because it is not a one size fits all approach. It is a compassionate look at the unique you-body, mind, and spirit, and gaining a clear picture of what is going on for you. Then, with clarity and specificity, providing you with the gentlest herbal remedies. It's not 'everyone take ashwagandha’, ‘it' is about you and only you, and what optimally supports your balance." - Veena, Saumya Ayurveda
“As a physician, I have always believed ‘Prevention is better than cure.’
I started working with Veena at a time when I was at the end of my tether, juggling my professional and personal aspirations. She responded to my desperate call and went out of her way to find ways to work things into my busy schedule.
I was encouraged to pursue a steady approach to create lasting changes. Now when I see my patients, I see so many sufferings from similar symptoms related to diet and stress.
I have routed several of my patients to Saumya Ayurveda. Veena is a blessing to have such a rich resource.
I am eternally grateful to Veena for anchoring me to my present state of health and peacefulness and for helping me to embark on a path towards the balance we all are striving for. Thank you so much.”
--Gauri Nagargoje, M.D.
“Veena has helped me so much! I had been struggling with fatigue for many years. I tried many things, read lots of books, advice, etc. Nothing worked, or very slight positive change over the years, but I was still struggling with the everyday.
Then a couple months with Veena, I was stunned at how ayurveda and her customized approach worked! Not only did the fatigue go away, but I actually have renewed energy and feel so physically and mentally energetic! I am so grateful. I feel like I got living my life back.”
--Michelle Cheuk, USA
Uncover the Connection: Ayurvedic Nail Assessment and Adrenal Health
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MEET VEENA: YOUR AYURVEDIC GUIDE
Veena is a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and meditation teacher, and monk.
She is President Emeritus and teaching faculty of the Meditation Center.
Veena fell in love with the traditional medicine used in her family’s home, learning herbal remedies at her grandmother's knee.
An experienced Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, Veena’s deep, intuitive knowledge of Ayurveda empowers her clients to reclaim their fullest, most vibrant lives –mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Veena individualizes treatment plans to each person, rather than offering a one-size-fits-all approach, so it fits your life and becomes woven in your lifestyle, naturally.
Learn more about Veena's work and book your FREE discovery call today.