Abhyanga Ayurvedic Daily Massage-Be Your Own Massage Therapist

Massage is really important as it opens all the channels of the body – making it clear and free from toxins.

Here’s a great read from Maharishi Ayurveda -

If getting on a massage table once a week is out of the question, you can practice the art of abhyanga, Ayurveda’s daily oil massage, on your own. It’s just a matter of taking however many minutes you can spare- from two to 20- to give your skin some love. It’s a powerful tool before or after a shower and has healing qualities. This gentle massage will increase circulation, loosen toxins, and stimulate nerve endings resulting in a sense of calm you can carry with you. Follow these how-to instructions the first time, and soon you’ll be a pro.

Place a small amount of Rejuvenation Massage Oil for Women or Rejuvenation Massage Oil for Men, from the Maharishi Ayurveda Products in the palm of your hand for each point listed below. Massage in a circular direction over joints and in a back-and-forth motion over long bones.

-Massage the face and outer part of the ears.

-Massage both the front and back of the neck and the upper part of the spine.

-Massage the arms, using a back-and-forth motion over the long bones and circular motion over the joints.

-Use a circular motion to massage over the heart and a clockwise motion over the abdomen.

-Massage the legs, using the same long motion over the leg bones and a circular motion over the joints.

-Last but not least, massage the feet. Use the open part of your hand to massage vigorously back-and-forth over the soles.

Rejuvenation Massage Oil for Women and Rejuvenation Massage Oil for Men is a precise blend of ayurvedic herbs and pure essential oils that penetrate quickly into the skin. A good time to do the above massage is right after showering. Using small amounts will help you avoid feeling too oily. After abhyanga you can use a natural bristle body brush with a vigorous motion upward toward your heart on the front and back of your feet, legs, arms, back and tummy. This is really easy and takes less than 5 minutes in the morning. It can be done before going to bed as well. A good time to do the above massage is either before or after showering.

www.seemasahani.com

Rose Water

Rose water is excellent!  I always have a bottle for on the go and at home.  It’s a great Ayurvedic formula to help with soothing, cooling and moisturizing the skin, especially the face.

You can use the rose water in different ways -

• if you have the spray – a couple of spritz on the face will keep you cool and fresh
• if you have the liquid in a bottle – you can take a cotton ball, dab some rose water on it and tap all over face
• you can also take the rose water on a cotton ball and massage all over eye area – this helps with releasing any tension around the area, keeping the area cool and toned
• rose is also known to be balancing the mind and heart – so you should feel just wonderful!
• great for all dosha types - especially pitta 
• best to spray on a hot pitta day - will keep you cool and refreshed 

www.seemasahani.com

Powers of Ashwagandha, Neem & Brahmi

Ashwagandha, Neem and Brahmi are just some of the most valuable herbs Ayurveda offers.

• Ashwagandha is great for balancing Vata, which governs all movement in the body.
• it is an adaptogen and promotes stamina and well-being
• supports all nerve impulses
• increases strength in muscles
• supports healthy functioning of the reproductive system
• helps with joint pain
• promotes a good sleep, memory and clear mind

Neem has been around for centuries and is very widely used in India.  In Ayurveda, it is known as a great herb to have a medical effect on the skin.

• Neem is great for balancing Pitta
• helps in the removal of ama and other toxins
• excellent purifier for the blood
• clears blemishes
• helps with psoriasis and other skin problems
• also very nourishing for the hair

Brahmi is one of the mot popular Ayurvedic herbs.  In ancient Vedic literature, it is known that brahmi was used by scholars and students to increase their memory and proper brain functioning.

• Brahmi calms the mind
• supports proper brain functioning
• increases memory
• promotes relaxation
• support consciousness and longevity

Powers of Ashwagandha, Neem & Brahmi

Quinoa Paneer Burgers

Here’s a great Maharishi Ayurveda recipe to try for the summer!

• 1/2 cup quinoa


• 1 cup water


• 1 tablespoon ghee


• 1 teaspoon of Maharishi vata churna


• 1 grated carrot


• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced


• 6 oz grated paneer


• 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley


• 3 tablespoons Almond Butter


• 2 tablespoons flour


• salt


• pepper

1. Wash quinoa thoroughly, add water and bring to a boil. Simmer on low for 20 minutes then cool.


2. Heat the ghee in a skillet. Add Vata Churna, carrot and celery and sauté over low heat until tender.


3. Mix the sautéed vegetables, quinoa, parsley, almond butter and flour. Season with salt and pepper.


4. Shape the mixture into burgers and fry them in ghee on both sides until they are brown.

Quinoa Paneer Burgers

Dr. Andrew Saul & Organic Food

Dr. Andrew Saul is known as the vitamin expert and he says -

“What would happen if everybody ate lots and lots of fresh organic food that was minimally processed?  I think we’d have an epidemic of health”.

Gradually, we all can change ourselves for the better in the way we eat and what we eat.

And in Ayurveda, food is the best medicine.

You are what you eat.

What are you all eating?

Your Dosha And Sleep

"The goal of the Ayurvedic approach is to create more Ojas, the finest product of digestion that provides energy, enthusiasm, happiness, clarity of thinking, better coordination between the heart and mind and immunity.  Only the deepest, most restful sleep, called Stage Four Sleep by researchers, creates ojas," says an Ayurvedic expert from The Council of Maharishi Ayurveda Physicians.

Ayurveda identifies 3 types of sleep disorders -

1 - Vata sleep disorder - this is when you find it difficult to fall asleep (this is caused by a vata imbalance or mental stress).  You tend to toss and turn a lot, mind is over active, tends to correlate with worry and anxiety of day to day stresses.

2 - Pitta sleep disorder - this is when there is intermittent awakening - you fall asleep fine, but wake up every 90 minutes due to muscle tension, racing heart, emotions, fear, anger, sadness.  Or there is another pattern where one wakes up between 2-4am and has a ton of energy.

3 - Kapha sleep disorder - this is when you sleep long hours and wake up unrefreshed.  You feel sluggish, tired and completely exhausted even though you had a full nights sleep.

Which one most relates to you?
Look out for tomorrow's post, I'll give you some recommendations for each of the doshas.

Did You Know - About Sleep

Did you know that the body heals itself during sleep?
Ayurveda recommends sleeping by 10 pm.
And by eating a light and well cooked dinner helps ensure a good nights sleep.
Your body knows best, listen to it!

Tip Of The Day

Make sure the Ayurvedic herbs you take are prepared in the traditional Ayurvedic way.

This is when the entire herb is used rather than the active ingredient.

This improves assimilation, creates holistic balance and prevents negative side effects. 

Why India Is The World's Fastest Growing Wellness Tourism

Even before the Beatles went on their famous pilgrimage to Rishikesh with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1969, India has been a popular travel destination for American tourists seeking serenity and spiritual growth. But in recent years, wellness travel to India has exploded.

Mia Farrow, Steve Jobs, and Oprah are just a few of the many Westerners who have flocked to India for life-changing trips to visit meditation retreats and spiritual sites. Now, the southeast asian country is the fastest-growing wellness travel destination, with a projected 22 percent annual growth rate. In comparison, the United States -- the leading country for wellness travel -- has an average annual growth rate of 5.8 percent.

Wellness travel -- any tourism associated with the goal of maintaining or enhancing one's personal well-being -- is now a $439 billion industry worldwide within the $3.2 trillion global tourism industry, representing 14 percent of all tourism spending. It's estimated to have a trillion dollars worth of economic impact.

"As more people embrace overall healthier lifestyles at home, we are now seeing those behaviors translate and be integrated into their travel and vacation habits," Susie Ellis, Chairman and CEO of the Global Spa & Wellness Summit, said in a statement. "For others, vacation provides an escape from the non-stop activities of their daily lives. As these two trends converge, we are seeing many people commit their vacation time and dollars to wellness travel, as evidenced by their increased spending and specific global destination choices."

Spa experiences, healthy eating, opportunities for personal growth, yoga and meditation, fitness, stress reduction and holistic health are among the experiences sought by wellness travelers, according to the 2013 Global Wellness Tourism Economy Report.

Ellis explains that the recent mindfulness boom may be playing a part in attracting more visitors to India.

"India's wellness offerings are very understandable -- they have yoga, meditation and Ayurveda," Ellis tells the Huffington Post. "Right now, those are things that are really resonating with people... the kind of things that people want and need are the things that India is offering."

Since the 2002 "Incredible India" tourism ad campaign, travel to the country has been on a fairly steady rise. The campaign sought to bring higher-yield tourists to India -- the country had long been attracting hikers and travelers staying at low-cost ashrams, but the tourism board knew that if they attracted wealthier tourists, the rest would follow.

And they were right: Using bright colors and promising "thousand-year-old recipes for eternal youth," the campaign generated a 16 percent increase in tourism in its first year.

The country's latest high-profile wellness travelers are Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, who are currently on their first nine-day tour through India. The British royal couple will be touring some of the holy cities and spending time at an ashram in Rishikesh.

Visitors going to India for wellness-based trips will often spend a fair amount of time visiting there, learning about the ancient arts of yoga and meditation, as well as Ayurveda (the Indian "science of life," a system of traditional medicine) on an extended week or two-long trip, according to Ellis.

"To go to India and detox and spend a week and really feel what it's like to be in a state of mindfulness, that's life-changing," says Ellis. "And it would attract the people who have the time and resources to do that."

Several upscale destination spas in India that have become popular among such travelers are Ananda in the Himalayas (a palace that was formerly home to the Maharajah of Tehri-Garhwal) and the Soukya Holistic Health Center in Bangalore, says Ellis.

A growing number of wellness retreats and spas are cropping up across India, from Dharamsala to Mysore, to accommodate the growing demand for holistic health-based travel. Lonely Planet event ranked Sikkim, India one of the top 10 travel destinations for 2014.

Along with India, China, South Korea, Russia and Germany are some of the other top wellness tourism destinations. Still, the U.S. remains the top destination for wellness travel, with $167.1 billion in expenditures and a total of 141.4 million wellness trips taken annually (followed by Germany at 49.3 million).

Healing Water for Doshas

Water represents soma, the nourishing, cooling quality that is associated with the lunar energy.  Water helps with digestion, cools and balances the pitta dosha, supports kapha and counteracts the dryness of vata.

The council of Maharishi Ayurveda Physicians explains how the healing effects of water can be enhanced using Ayurvedic methods.

Vata Balancing Water -

• boil 2 quarts of water for 5 minutes
• take it off the heat and add 3 mint leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon of fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon of marshmallow root
• place the water in a thermos
• sip it throughout the day at a warm but not hot temperature

Pitta Balancing Water - 

• boil 2 quarts of water for 2 minutes
• take it off the heat and add 1/4 teaspoon of fennel seed
• 2 rose buds
• 1 clove
• store it hot inside a thermos
• before drinking pour it into a cup and let it cool to room temperature in summer
• in winter, it can be slightly warmer

Kapha Balancing Water - 

• boil 2 quarts of water for 5 minutes
• take it off the heat and add 3 holy basil leaves
• 2 thin slices of fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon of cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon of fennel
• place the water and spices in a thermos
• sip the water at a hot or warm temperature throughout the day 

Lemon Water

Drinking one tall glass of lemon water is very beneficial to the body.  And since Ayurveda likes to keep things rolling, purifying the channels of all toxins is very important.

Here are some reasons why drinking lemon water is important:

• purifies the liver
• stimulates the liver
• aids in digestion
• aids in bowels
• helps lower blood pressure
• maintains a higher pH balance in the body
• dilutes uric acid
• reduces phlegm 
• clears the skin
• helps with weight loss
• boosts the immune system
• freshens breath
• promotes energy
• helps with urinary tract infections

For better results - have a glass in the morning. 

Vedic Wisdom Behind Eating With Your Hands

An interesting read.

Eating food with the hands in today’s Western society can sometimes be perceived as being unhygienic, bad mannered and primitive. However within Indian culture there is an old saying that,  "eating food with your hands feeds not only the body but also the mind and spirit". 

In the Big Brother series some years back, an English participant complained about a indian participants use of her hands during food preparations and her eating habits, “They eat with their hands in India, don’t they? Or is that China? You don’t know where those hands have been.”  Within many Indian households nowadays, the practice of eating food with the hands has been replaced with the use of cutlery.

Have you ever thought of why previous generations in India ate with the hands? There is a reason for their this.  The practice of eating with the hands originated within Ayurvedic teachings. The Vedic people knew the power held in the hand.

The ancient native tradition of eating food with the hands is derived from the mudra practice, which is prevalent in many aspects within Hinduism. Mudras are used during mediation and are very prominent within the many classical forms of dance, such as Bharatnatyam.

The hands are considered the most precious organ of action. This is linked to the Vedic prayer of

“Karagre vasate Laksmih karamule Sarasvati Karamadhye tu Govindah prabhate karadarsanam”

(On the tip of your fingers is Goddess Lakshmi, on the base of your fingers is Goddess Saraswati; in the middle of your fingers is Lord Govinda), which we recite whilst looking at our palms. Thus, this shloka suggests that all the divinity lies in human effort.

Our hands and feet are said to be the conduits of the five elements. The Ayurvedic texts teach that each finger is an extension of one of the five elements. Through the thumb comes space; through the forefinger, air; through the mid-finger, fire; through the ring finger, water and through the little finger it is earth.

Each finger aids in the transformation of food, before it passes on to internal digestion. Gathering the fingertips as they touch the food stimulates the five elements and invites Agni to bring forth the digestive juices. As well as improving digestion the person becomes more conscious of the tastes, textures and smells of the foods they are eating, which all adds to the pleasure of eating.

You may have noticed that elders in the family hardly ever use utensils to measure all the different type of masala, and would instead prefer to use their hands to measure the quantity instead. As each handful is tailored to provide a suitable amount for the own body. Overall there are 6 main documented forms that the hands take when obtaining a measurement a certain type of food ranging from solid food to seeds, and flour.
This is a prime example of how many things within Hindu culture may seem weird and unusual at first glance, but once a closer look is taken it is surprising, but a vast amount of knowledge is revealed.

Special Foods

Maharishi Ayurveda discusses some special foods that are considered to be extremely revitalizing to the body.  Although, it is recommended that each individual consume the specific foods and maintain the proper diet suitable to your dosha, or body type.

• Whole milk - should be organic, the cows should be well treated, this is important in the Vedic tradition
• Ghee (clarified butter) 
• Fresh mangos
• Fresh oranges 
• Almonds - best eaten in the morning
• Hot water - although technically this isn't a food :) 

Doshas - Vata, Pitta, Kapha

We all have a place of balance, our basic nature or constitution, which in Ayurveda is called Prakriti.  It is determined at the time of conception.  And by knowing your prakriti, obtaining perfect health is possible.  By knowing your dosha or body type, an Ayurvedic practitioner can tell which diet, herbal preparations, lifestyle changes, massages, yoga asanas and other Ayurvedic medical therapies can help you.  These three primary life forces - Vata, Pitta and Kapha are the doshas that bind the five elements down into a living flesh.

Vata, pitta and kapha are the fundamental principles governing the physiological process.  When imbalanced, they afflict the body of imbalances.  They act as basic constituents and protective barriers for the body in its normal physiological condition.  And when out of balance, they contribute to disease.

• Vata means wind or "that which moves things"
• It represents the force that governs biological activity
• The functions are transformation, movement and communication
• Main location for Vata is the colon

(Photo credit - http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-fulminant-colitis.htm)

• Pitta means fire or "that which digests things" 
• It represents the fire that digests all activity and experiences 
• The functions are digestion, metabolism and transformation
• The main location for Pitta is the stomach

(Photo credit - http://articletube.blogspot.com/2012/06/stomach-three-misunderstanding-patients.html)

• Kapha means phlegm or "that which holds things together"
• It represents the physical and emotional home in which we reside
• The functions are structure, cohesion and lubrication
• The main location for Kapha is the chest

(Photo credit - http://thoracicsurgery.stanford.edu/patient_care/malignant_pleural_mesothelioma.html)



Every cell in the body contains all these three principles.  Every ones body has to have Vata, or movement which allows you to breathe and circulate blood.   We have to have Pitta, digestion or metabolism which processes food, air and water throughout our system.  And kapha which is structure and which aids to hold the cells together.  This is how nature created us and to know your body type is essential to understand yourself.

Samadoshah samagnish ca

Samadhatumalakriyah

Prasannatmendriyamanah svastha ity

Abhidhiyate

He whose dosha are in balance, whose appetite is good, whose dhatus are functioning normally, whose malas are in balance, and whose consciousness, mind and senses remain full of bliss,

 is called a healthy person.

Sushruta Sutrasthan 15.38

Ayurveda - the science of life.

Ayurveda is a science which can be defined in many different ways but has one meaning - a holistic approach that takes into consideration all aspects of the body, mind and soul.  Ayurveda maintains the balance between the body and its own inner intelligence and between the inner intelligence of the individual, cosmic intelligence of society and the cosmic intelligence of the universe.

Ayurveda is a basis of intelligence or consciousness, rather than matter.  Ayurveda has its importance on mental, physical and behavioral factors.  Rather than looking for disease, Ayurveda uses a holistic approach to bring the physiology back to its normal intelligence. 

'Ayurveda Mritanam' - 

'Ayurveda is for those who desire immortality'

It is a completely natural, effortless and holistic approach that takes into consideration of the mind and body together.

'Sharira, Indriya, Sattva, Atma, Samyoga' - 

'The conjunction of the body, senses, mind and self'. 

As long as they are held together, there is life.

Ayurveda is now the world's oldest scientific system of natural medicine originating over 6,000 years ago in the ancient Vedic tradition of India and it is the most complete system of natural medicine which has helped man to cure disease and maintain perfect health.

Perfection of life is in complete clarity of experience in any individual.  An example of perfection given by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is of the sap in the tree.  The gardener waters the root, it supplies nourishment to the sap which therefore enlivens that sap and makes every expression enlivened or brighter.  Everything becomes better only if the sap is lively.  Like the sap in the tree, Atma or consciousness has a place in the life of everyone.  Perfect health means perfection in every field for everyone.  A perfect person is a balanced person, a perfect person always acts in the best possible way for himself and the society.  With the practice of Ayurveda, we all can achieve perfect health.