Ayurveda has a framework called Dinacharya — dina meaning day, charya meaning conduct. The idea is simple: your mind and body function differently at different times of day. Your physiology follows a rhythm. Work with it and things tend to go well. Work against it long enough and things quietly start to unravel.

Fighting your mind takes a lot of energy. So does pretending certain thoughts don't exist. What Ayurveda mental health practices like self-study offer is a third way: witness, receive, digest. The mind isn't the problem. How we relate to it is.