Decrease Anxiety & Increase Libido by Cultivating Your Ojas

According to ancient Ayurvedic wisdom from India, the essence of vitality and immunity comes from a subtle internal quality called ojas… That juicy, content, and nourished feeling you get when you’re feeling vibrant, balanced, and full of life is the essence of ojas in you!

Imagine ojas like honey accumulating in a honeycomb as it nourishes and bolsters the strength and sweetness within our bodies. 

When you experience chronic anxiety, lack of vitality, or low libido, it may mean that your ojas is depleted.

The good news? Supporting or “building” your ojas is delightful, and can help to decrease anxiety and increase your libido so that you can experience your most vibrant self!

You can tell that you have healthy ojas when you feel (or have)…

•  Happy, cheerful, blissful
•  Loving and compassionate
•  Strong immunity
•  Good retention of knowledge
•  Eyes full of luster
•  Glowing skin
•  Shining hair
•  Clarity
•  Strength
•  Stamina
•  High libido and good sexual endurance (you know that feeling when you’re just all turned on, luscious and juicy… that is ojas in action!!)

WHAT DEPLETES OJAS?

In order to begin your journey, it’s important to understand what factors contribute to loss of ojas. Low ojas may be a result of things that wear your body down over time such as excessive screen time, lack of sleep, overwork, burnout, worry, fear, anxiety and grief. Prolonged fasting, alcohol, processed sugar, smoking, caffeine, and environmental toxins also deplete ojas in the body. 

All of these are highly prominent elements in our daily lives, so if you’re experiencing increased anxiety or low libido, depleted ojas may be part of what's going on for you.

BUILDING HEALTHY OJAS

You can source and build healthy ojas from small, simple shifts in lifestyle and nutrition to positively impact your sense of vitality and that juicy full of life feeling! 

Lifestyle

Establishing a nurturing daily routine that works for you is the foundation for cultivating healthy ojas. Staying warm and cozy, engaging in mild, grounding exercise (excessive exercise, especially rough activities like running deplete ojas), avoiding excess screen time, and less travel all create a soothing environment for your ojas to build and thrive.

Spending Time Outside

Ojas is specifically drawn in from the Earth — from the water, mountains and rocks. So take some time to sit by a flowing river, drink water from a spring, wander through the forest or go on a long hike. If these are not accessible to you, simply sit with your back against a tree or walk barefoot through the grass in a park. Doing so at night will give you the added benefit of soaking up the gentle, receptive and feminine energy of the moonlight.

Nourishing Foods

Because there is an element of depletion in low ojas, it is especially important to focus on a deeply nourishing diet of well spiced and well cooked brightly colored vegetables, whole grains, complete proteins, including...

• Honey

• Cow’s milk

• Almonds (always soaked and peeled for digestion)

• Mango

• Dates

• Ghee

• Saffron

• Cashews

• Pistachios

• Chicken broth

• Soup

Rest

Ojas is supported through adequate rest and deep sleep, so it is important to prioritize getting at least 8 hours of good sleep each night. To build ojas, avoiding overworking and iallowing yourself time to fully release into time for juicy rejuvenation is key. Lounge, and lounge hard when the workday is done, and invest in some loungewear that YOU LOVE! Allow this to be time in which you connect with yourself. All of this is vital to reducing stress and allowing the essence that is ojas to build within you.  

Read our guide — You Are Worthy Of Rest

Empathy, Love, & Compassion

Believe it or not, your internal attitude and outlook on life can actually help build the ojas supply within you. It is actually fostered by attitudes of love, faith, devotion, compassion, forgiveness, peace and silence. Yes, how you think about and treat others around you matters! Having a sense of empathy, and love in your heart, and acting with compassion will support you to build ojas. Give yourself the same sense of empathy, love and compassion that you strive to give to others. Immediately, you will likely sense a welling up of joy that lends itself to a profound resiliency.

REFLECT

Take a moment to reflect on what gives you pleasure, and make a list of at least 25 things.

Are these things that contribute to building healthy ojas?

Next, select 2-3 items from the list you made that you think align with ojas creation and make a plan for implementing them into your life right away.

By tuning in and noticing what makes you feel juicy, luscious, and vibrant you build the subtle essence of your vitality that can ground anxiety and depletion and stoke the flame of your most vital self! 

Sierra Brashear, MA is a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, DONA-trained doula, herbal alchemist, wellness educator and founder of Vibrant Souls yoni steams. Inspired by the rhythms and elements of nature, Sierra weaves her knowledge of Ayurveda into the products and lifestyle design programs she offers. She invites you to join her 16-week program, The Art of Fertility | Journey to Conception — to clear toxins and nourish your mind and body in preparation for an easeful conception and healthy pregnancy. Sierra is also co-founder of Cultivate Balance and Moon Bath, and lives in Boulder, Colorado.