Kapha skin
stays healthy when regularly cleansed to remove toxins. This dosha-based
skin care is a unique, practical way of solving skin-related problems that are
specific to you. Whatever your dosha type, one thing is for sure: your skin is a living,
breathing, pulsa ting organ. It is sensitive to outer stimuli, such as pleasure,
pain, and heat. New scientific evidence corroborates the Ayurvedic theory
that your skin actually “drinks ” what you apply on the surface — even
water . Think, then, what happens when it drinks harsh chemicals that
penetrate its delicate inner layers and mingle with the bloodstream. The Ayurvedic advice is to feed your skin the way you would feed your
body: never apply anything to your skin that you would not eat. In practical
terms, this means making sure that you use only skin-care products that are
perfectly pH-balanced, free of toxic chemicals, and therefore safe to apply . While you can certainly find genuine herbal products in stores, I invite
you to discover  some stellar beauty ingredients right inside your kitchen. Turmeric, milk, yogurt, peaches, honey , almonds — let these be your
cosmetics. Play with face packs. Try making your own; they’re safe,
inexpensive, and fun to make. They will purify your skin and make it
radiant as a dewy rose. To help you figure out the best ingredients for your type of skin, I asked
my vaidya, Ramakant Mishra of Maharishi Ayurveda, a company that
manufactures and distributes premium Ayurvedic formulations, to provide
some easy skin- cleansing face packs you can make at home. Here are the
recipes he created:
Cleansing Masks
for dry skin
2 teaspoons quick-cooking oats
¼ teaspoon almond powder
¼ teaspoon grated orange peel
¼ teaspoon lavender -flower powder (available in good natural health
stores)2 tablespoons yogurt
Stir all the ingredients together and apply the mixture gently to your face
with your fingertips. Let the mask set on your skin. Then, using light
pressure, flake the mask off into the sink. If the mask feels too sticky , use
warm water to rinse. Dab your face with a soft towel and apply a good
moisturizer . Instant oatmeal is an excellent skin exfoliant; oats counteract daily sun
damage and replenish the skin with vitamins B and E. Orange peel balances
the pH level of the skin and softens it. Almond powder is a protein-packed
exfoliant. Yogurt contains frien dly lactobacilli that pacify an aggravated
pitta. And the healing aroma of lavender powder makes this a soothing,
pleasant mask. for oily skin
1 tablespoon yogurt
1 teaspoon toasted wheat bran
¼ teaspoon almond powder
½ teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Mix and apply the mask in the same manner as for the Dry Skin Mask. Wheat bran is a very efficient cleanser , coaxing out grime with ease. Combined with cooling yogurt, it makes a gentle exfoliant. The vitamin C
in lemon juice promotes cleansing activity . for sensitive skin
Make the same mask as for dry skin, but substitute whole raw (uncooked)
milk for yogurt, and use rose-petal powder instead of grated orange peel. In
Ayurveda, the rose is held in high regard; it is soothing, healing, and
extremely nourishing. Caring for the Rest of Y ouThis safe, natural beauty care, should, of course, not be limited to skin
cleansers and moisturizers. Whatever other body-care products  you use —
shampoos, hair conditioners, makeup — be sure they are gentle and
nourishing, not enemies in disguise. But wait — there is much more to roopam than just cosmetic care. If
you imagine your body to be a house, then roopam is only the facade. Obviously , painting the house from the outside is no help if the interiors are
in ruin. In other words, no amount of moisturizer or nail polish can make
you look good if your digestion is upset and your mouth feels stale. Conversely , if your vital system s are in great working order , your face and
your skin will reflect that inner glow . The way to achieve true roopam, therefore, is to nurture your body
through good diet. This does more than help metabolism. It suffuses you
with ojas — that certain something that beautiful people radiate, without
assistance from cosmetics. Remember , you produce ojas in inverse proportion to ama. The lower
your body’s ama, or toxin content, the higher your personality’ s ojas, or
radiance quotien t, and vice versa. So keep toxin elimination as a priority in
your list of beauty to-dos. Two easy, pleasurable ways to shed toxins and
acquire ojas are daily self-massage and regular exercise. The Magic of Massage
Daily self-massage is called abhyanga. All it takes is fifteen minutes,
and look at the benefits you get:
•   When you massage your body , you lavish it not only with lubricant,
but also with love. Touch is a basic human need, and through
massage you give yourself a healing touch. •   Most of the day, your skin suffers in silence, feeling dry, dull, and
neglected. A regular oil massage gives it much-needed sheen,
moisture, and warmth. •   No matter what your dosha type, massage restores your balance and
makes you feel relaxed. •   Massage is an almost instant healer; the oils penetrate deep into
body tissues within seconds, nourishing you from within.•   Mass age is an excellent way to detoxify . The rubbing and stroking
actions dislodge accumulated toxins, which then move out of the
body through the digestive system. •   In the long run, regular massage maintains the youthfulness of skin,
keeping it lustrous and healthy throughout your life. Mmm – Massage: How to Give Y ourself a Refr eshing Rubdown
Begin by heating your massage oil to purify it (see the appendix for
guidance in selecting the best oil for your dosha type). Called curing,  this
process makes the oil easier to absorb and enhances its antioxidant
qualities. To cure your oil, pour a quart — which should last you about two
weeks — into a pan and bring it to a boil on a low flame. Then  drop a tiny
bit of water into the oil. If you hear an instant “pop,” your oil is cured. (If
there is no “pop,” keep heating until you hear one.) After the “pop” sound,
take the oil off the stove. Cool the oil a bit, then pour it into an easy-
squeeze, flip-top bottle. Take some simple precautions while curing the oil:
do not leave it unattended, do not heat it on a high flame, only drop a tiny
bit of water to test whether the oil has cured to avoid splattering , and do not
pour it into a bottle while it’ s hot. Now to the massage itself. Warm oil penetrates tissues faster and feels
good on your skin. Therefore, just before massaging yourself, reheat the oil
by running the bottle under the hot water tap for a minute or two — or, if
you have the time, heat a small amount of oil in a pan. When you are ready ,
remove all your clothing and jewelry and sit down on an old towel so you
won’ t make a mess. Start at the top: massage your head first. Pour a small quantit y of oil
into your cupped palm and raise  it to your scalp. Then, swiftly opening your
palm, let the oil kiss the top of your head. This is your introduct ion to bliss. Now move your palm in circles , rubbing the oil gently but thoroughly all
over your head. Part your hair from time to time so that the oil seeps right
into your scalp. Ayurvedic healers recommend spending maximum time on
head massage, and for good reason. According to Ayurveda, there are 107
vital points just beneath the skin. Called marmas,  they are believ ed to be
connecting points between the mind and the body . Thirty-seven of thesemarma points are located in the head and neck area. This is what makes
head massage so relaxing. After massaging your head, move down to your face, the outer part of
your ears, your neck (both front and back), your shoulders, and your upper
back. Be sure to rub gently on your face. Also, you will find that massaging
your ears feels particularly nice. Now dab some oil down the length of your arms, then rub the oil into
your arms using long back-and- forth strokes. Rub around your elbows and
knuckles in a circular motion, applying gentle pressure. Rub some more  oil up and down your chest, massaging your breasts in
gentle circular strokes. When you reach your abdomen, make sure your
strokes are in a clockwise motion, for that is the direction in which your
large intestine moves. Massage your legs in much the same manner as you did your arms: back
and forth along the bones, with circular strokes around your knees and
ankles. Lavish some time on your feet; they are often the most neglected
part of our anatomy . By now, you should be experiencing a unique feeling: that of being
deliciously reste d and wonderfully refreshed. You might want to allow the
oil to soak into your pores for a while, and that is an excellent idea. Now you can gently wipe excess oil from your body (to avoid clogging
your drain) using your old towel . Then, using a mild, oil-based vegetable or
herbal soap, wash the oil away in a warm shower . If you have the time, a
warm bath is even more relaxing. How much time should you spend on your daily massage? Ayurvedic
physicians recommend ten to fifteen minutes of daily oil massage for
maximum benef it. If you are rushed for time, give it five minut es, which is
better than skipping it altogether . Walk Those T oxins Off
There is a good reason why athletes and cyclists never suffer from
cellulite: they keep moving, so ama never gets a chance to build up inside
them. But most of us would not want to — and cannot hope to — do such
strenuous exerci se. The good news is that Ayurveda does not demand thatyou work out so hard. Ayurvedic wisdom favors walking as a form of
exercise because it is nonstrenuous and calming. Moreover , unlike several
other forms of exercise, walking gives your body a complete workout,
improving circulation and eliminating ama without putting strain on any
one group of muscles. The three dosha types have different exercise requirements, and walking
fulfills all these needs. For example:
•   Vata people, being energetic but restless, will plunge readily into
exercise but tire quickly . For such people, a brief brisk walk is the
ideal solution. •   Pitta people , who are so dynamic and intense that they tend to
overexert themselves, find walking a moderate alternative  to
aggressive competitive sports. •   Kapha peop le, by nature laid-back and lethar gic, enjoy the easy
pace of walking. a beautiful mind: gunam
Good digestion, sparkling eyes,  shining hair — yes, these are indicators of
beauty . And yet they are meanin gless if your favorite expression is a scowl,
or your dominant mood blue. Of course, it is stress that causes most of our scowls and blue moods. But I recently read somewhere  that “Life is one percent what happens to
you, and ninety-nine percent how you respond to it.” Ayurved a embraces
this truth; change the way you respond to life’s demands, and you will find
inner beauty , or gunam. The best place to begin your quest for gunam is, again, to refer to your
basic nature. This means turning to your dosha types once again — but this
time to doshas with a difference. You might be surprised to learn that, just
as you have three physical doshas (vata, pitta, and kapha), there are three
doshas of the mind. V aidyas call these doshas gunas,  or qualities. These are:
rajas, tamas,  and sattva.The qualities of these behavioral doshas do not correspond to those of
their physical counterparts — vata, pitta, and kapha. That is, rajasic
behavior doesn’ t have vata qualities, tamas is not the mental aspect of pitta,
and sattv a doesn’ t have kapha qualities. Rajas, tamas, and sattv a have their
own distinct qualities, which will be clear from the following simple
example. Three men are traveling together in a train when their comp artment
catches fire. W atch their reactions:
•   The first person has a dynamic nature, which spurs him to take
immediate action; he starts hunting for the nearest fire extinguisher
or exit. Such people are said to have a rajasic mind, which naturally
relies on action. •   The second person panics, then faints. Such people, whose minds
are dull, weak, or tamasic in nature, find themselves unable to act or
react in a manner suited to the needs of a situation. •   The third person is blessed with a sattvic mind. Being calm and
steady , he takes a moment to analyze the situation and acts only
after weighing the possibilities and determining the right response to
the situation. All of us possess all three gunas, but some of us have more rajas, others
more tamas, and, perhaps fewer of us, more sattva in our nature. But this
doesn’ t mean that we cannot change the proportion of these gunas in us. From the example above, it is obvious that sattva is the highest guna,
worthy of cultivation. You can increase your sattva quotient  if you set
yourself some day-to-day behavior guidelines:
•   Indulge in activities that bring you pleasure. When the mind is
happy in itself, it wants to spread that joy among others. •   Conversely , do not indulge in activities that build up toxic thoughts
and feelings. Don’ t watch viole nt movies or read crime fictio n in
excess. Don’ t harbor a grudge. •   Take time to do a good deed: make a child smile, spend time with
an aged person, plant hope in an unhappy heart. •   Take a balanc ed approach to your relationships; love, but don’t nag
or cling. Give without expecting in return.•   Treat yourself gently . Don’ t set yourself impossible deadlines and
goals. Rememb er, when you look at life through the glasse s of
materialism, you don’ t get the true picture. •   Let there be moderation in every aspect of your life, be it diet, sleep,
sex, exercise, work, or ambition. These are habits that cannot be cultivated overnight. But if you are
mindful of their sattva-enhancing value, you can make positive changes in
your day-to-day behavior . And that is a great way to begin. lasting beauty: vayastyag
According to Ayurveda, true beauty defies chronology . It beats back the
forces of stress and refuses to age socially or psychologically . Such beauty
is vayastyag, and it comes when there is perfect samanvaya,  or balance,
between both roopam and gunam. In this state of balance, a person achieves
sat chit ananda,  or purity of soul and total bliss, which the Vedas say is the
definition of complete beauty . Believe Y ourself Beautiful
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons people fail to look beautiful is that
they don’t feel beautiful. Blam e it on the models and movie stars who
represent beauty  in these times,  but the fact remains: a society’ s ideals of
beauty can be damaging to a person with a less-than-perfec t figure or
features. Ayurveda considers this negative self-image a serious enemy of beauty . Like unreasonab le food cravings, this negative self-perception is also seen
as a mistake of the intellect, or pragya aparadh. Because your body hears
everything you think, the damage from this condition eats into your very
consciousness and shows up on your face. If this is how you have been feeling, start healing yourself by making
positive af firmations to yourself every day . For example:
I am one with nature, and natur e is beautiful. My body and mind are
like a temple; I won’ t defile them with chemical-laden cosmetics,lifeless foods, or toxic thoughts. I’ll be true to myself and to those I
love, for I am more than roopam (outer beauty), I am gunam —
beautiful from the inside. Say these words out loud to yourself once a day, and watch the
difference they make. What’ s more, these simple words put you in direct
contact with yourself — something A yurveda deeply encourages. The most revered Ayurvedic text, Charaka Samhita,  suggests a fun way
to look and feel young as long as you live: simply seek the company of
those who are young at heart . Their influence will bring laughter and
optimism into your life, bestowing you with youth’ s carefree spirit. This, then, is the essence of Ayurvedic beauty: a healthy mix of good
diet, sattva-enriching lifestyle, and positive thinking. Set aside that
antiwrinkle cream and drink some water instead. Whistle on your way to
work. Smile. Y ou will look gor geous and feel beautiful — lit from within. massage dos and donts
•   DO choose an oil that will balance your individual dosha type. Although sesame oil benefits all three doshas, the cooling
quality of coconut oil is highly  beneficial for pitta skin. Vata
skin will love the rich, moist quality of almond oil. Kapha skin,
being naturally moist, needs smaller amounts of oil; sesame oil
is ideal for kapha. •   DO use cold-pressed, chemical-free, or ganic oils. •   DO massage with warm oil. It feels and penetrates better . •   DO leave the oil on your skin for up to forty-five minutes. This
helps the oil heal and nourish tissue better . •   DO follow up your massage with a warm bath or shower . •   DO relax between applying the oil and taking a shower . Listen
to music, read a book, or simply think happy thoughts. •   DON’T skip your post-massage shower; oil retained on the
skin too long can clog channels.•   DON’T use harsh soap after your massage; the deter gent will
leach the oil from  your pores. Use a mild oil-based herbal soap. If your skin is not very sensitive, you can also use barley or
chick-pea flour to gently lift the oil — and with it, dead cells
— from the surface of your skin. OceanofPDF .comMCHAPTER 1 1
simply stress-free
Take r est; a field that has r ested gives a bountiful cr op. — Ovid
onday , 9:30 A.M. Traffic lights flash on the streets of Los Angeles. Horns blare. Cars streak along the freeway . Golden sunlight bounces
off the waves of the Pacific, but no one has the time to stop and gaze. Life
is on autopilot. Waiting in the reception area of a seaside office building, thirty-five-
year-old Meryl pulls at her cheek to calm a persistent twitch. Minutes later,
she sits across from a cheerful man who nods understandingly as her story
comes tumbling forth. That man, a vaidya, counsels dozens of angst-ridden men and women
every day. It does not surprise or alarm him to hear that the young woman
before him seems to be suffering from every conceivable problem, from
backache, headache, and wristache to insomnia, depression, and chronic
fatigue. Ninety percent of the patients he sees have similar stories to tell. The diagnosis: burnout.In a world incre asingly addicte d to instant solutions — instant coffee,
instant messagin g, instant trading — Meryl could have taken her pick of
instant medications: tranquilizers, sedatives, soporifics. Why is she seeing a
vaidya instead? Perhaps becaus e, like millions of other people, Meryl has
begun to realize that instant remedies are not worth the price  you pay in
side ef fects. To a vaidya, the option of suppressing stress with side-ef fect-causing
pills simply does not arise. The vaidya knows that your stress has its origins
in one of three  places: your body , your mind, or your spirit. The first
priority is to figure out the point of origin, then recommend simple ways to
set you free of stress. The advantage in this approach is that you are
encouraged to become your own physician. Here is how you, too, can detect
the origins of your stress. begin with the body
The human body is one of the most intelligent, resilient structures in all of
creation. The kapha dosha rules body framework, holding bones and
muscles togethe r and providing support and strength. As long as you use
your body well, the kapha dosha makes sure your body performs at peak
levels. But when you tax your body beyond reasonable limits, or simply do not
use it enough, you start accumulating toxic ama inside your body . And, as
we have seen, the kapha dosha cannot tolerate ama at all. In particular , two
of kapha’ s deputies, or subdoshas, are af fected by physical stress:
•   tarpaka kaph a, which maintains moisture in such body chan nels as
the sinuses, mouth, and eyes, and is also responsible for nourishing
the five senses — sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell;
•   sleshaka kapha, which looks after the health of the joints. Disturbed, these subdoshas start sending distress signals, which, to a
vaidya, are unmistakable. Among the most obvious of these symptoms are
dryness, stif fness, and bloating. More specifically , kapha imbalance robs theskin of moisture, leaving it dull and dry. The joints fall short of lubricant
and beco me stiff. The tongue is coated with ama and the breath smells stale. The eyes look dull and devoid of ojas. Another way in which a stressed body creates imbalance  is by
disturbing the vyana vata, the vata deputy that governs circulation, blood
pressure, and the sense of touch. If your blood pressure is high, your nerves
on edge, or your circulation sluggish, it is probably your vyana vata calling
out for relief. These distress signals can seem  terribly alarming, but if you give your
body some tender loving care the damage can be rapidly revers ed. Start by
making a list of the small ways in which you have been misusing or abusing
your body. Are you giving it too much exercise, too little exercise, or not
enough rest? Have you been reading in low light, watching television too
closely , not sitting erect? If you answer “yes” to some or all of these
questions, don’t feel sorry . Instead, rejoice. You have done something
remarkable: you have discovered the root cause of your stress. Now you can
restore balance to your body without reaching for a pill or making a
doctor ’s appointment. De-str ess Y our Body in Thr ee Easy Steps
1. Drink plenty of water . Nothing tones up the digestive system like a
regular sip of lukewarm water . This is important because, more often
than not, the stresses that burden the mind originate in the gut. Warm
water helps flush out the toxins that throw kapha out of balance and
lead to problems like bloating and water retention. At the same time,
water balances vata, which, when aggravated, can cause stressful
digestive problems like constipation. Water (at room tempera ture)
also calm s pitta, which, though blessed with a strong digestive fire,
can be plagued  by acidity and ulcers. The answer to all three
problems: irrigate your body . Drink more water . 2. Take a fresh look at your daily quota of exercise. If you spend most
of the day sitting at a desk, your digestion can slow down,
encouraging toxins to build up inside your system. Therefore, you
will benefit by working a moderate amount of exercise — an easy-
paced twenty-minute walk, for example — into your schedule. Onthe other hand, too much exercise also throws the doshas out of
balance. In that case, you should  stop exerting and start making  time
for some rest. 3. Eat a peace-promoting snack. In Ayurveda, certain foods are
identified as natural stress-bu sters. Among them are walnuts,
almonds, coconut, lightly cooked juicy fruits like pears and apples,
milk, fresh homemade yogurt, ghee, and fresh cheeses such as
Indian-style homemade paneer (see recipe in chapter 9) or ricotta. If
your body is feeling stressed, get more of these ingredients in your
diet — based on a vaidya’ s assessment of which ones you need and
how much. move on to your mind
Do you think all the time but without clarity , work hard but without
enthusiasm, and lie in bed without sleep? If yes, your stress has its origins
in your mind. In Ayurvedic terms, these are classic symptoms of an out-of-
balance vata — more specifically , the subdosha prana vata, or life force,
that governs ener gy and calm. When prana vata is disturbed, it impairs the mind’ s capacity to learn,
retain, and recall information. Ayurveda has names for these three essential
functions:
1. dhi, or acquisition of knowledge,
2. dhriti,  or retention of knowledge, and
3. smriti,  or recall of that knowledge. Therefore, if you can register new information in a flash, make creative
use of it in your work, and have a photographic memory; congratulate
yourself. Your stress levels are wonderfully low and your mind’ s key
coordinates are working in harmony . But, given our overload of stresses, I doubt if many of us can afford to
congratulate ourselves. I’m more familiar with the dhi/dhriti/smriti
imbalance that shows up in little ways: going blank, forgettin g our keys,struggling to remember a name . I know of someone who regularly forgets
whether she has eaten her lunch! Again, recovering from mental fatigue is not as frightening as it first
looks. Philosopher and writer  Franz Kafka, in fact, made it sound
delightfully easy:
You do not need  to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and
listen. Do not even listen, simply  wait. Do not even wait, be quite still
and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unma sked,
it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet. While such moments of quietud e are no doubt divinely healing, they are
hard to find. T ake a more proactive approa ch: try the follo wing simple ways
to heal your unhappy prana vata. Five W ays to Balance Y our Prana V ata
1. Don’ t work long hours at the computer; it saps the mind of ener gy. 2. Don’t stress over a niggling problem; it makes you lose your calm,
thus disturbing prana vata. 3. Do get up and take a walk in between jobs; even a short break can
restore calm in both body and mind. 4. Change coffee breaks into herbal-tea breaks. Good-quality Ayurvedic
herbal teas (see resource list) contain healing herbs such as brahmi,
ashwagandha,  and arjuna. Extensive modern research has
established that the herb brahmi  enhances all three mental capacities:
dhi, dhriti, and smriti. Ashwaga ndha is an effective weapon against
physical fatigue . And arjuna heals the emotional aspect of the heart. Thus, just one cup of herbal tea can take you from stressed to rested
within minutes. 5. Allow yourself the luxury of a nature walk, an evening spent  among
flowers, a healing nap. Such calming activities rechar ge your
batteries and are very pleasing to prana vata. examine your emotionsDo you notice a pattern so far? Physical stress is connected largely with a
kapha imbalance, and mental stress with vata disturbance. Logically , then,
emotional problems should be related to pitta, right? Right. More
specifically , emotions are the terrain of the subdosha sadhaka pitta. But
more about that in just a while. Ayurveda recognizes that deep-seated stress is always related to
emotional problems. The most common among them are marital conflicts or
the loss of a loved one. Because the situation that creates emotio nal stress is
generally traumatic, it is also more devastating than any other kind of stress. People going through emotional turmoil can suffer from chronic depression,
highly toxic bottled-up anger , nightmares, and terrible insecurity . When that
happens, it is time to pacify sadhaka pitta, the vital force that governs
comfort, contentment, and emotional fulfillment. Five W ays to Satisfy Y our Sadhaka Pitta
1. Appease your sadhaka pitta with sweet, bitter , and astringent foods. (See chapter 7 to find a list of foods that fall in each of these
categories.) 2. Comfort it with sweet, juicy fruits in the morning or during the day,
delicately flavored sweet lassi in the afternoon, and warm milk at
night. 3. Calm it with the healing goodness of cooling herbs and spices such
as cardamom, cilantro, and mint. 4. Don’ t rush or skip lunch. To soothe between-meal hunger pangs,
snack on something wholesome like fruit or a whole-wheat bagel. Sadhaka pitta rules comfort, remember? 5. Turn down the noise in your life: switch off your mobile phone, take
a day off work, give yourself permission to enjoy some moments of
solitude. Consult a vaidya for guidance if you feel that your stresses run too deep. Sometimes a vaidya will prescribe a nutritional supplement to awaken your
body’ s immunity , strengthen your mind, and calm your emotions.more stress solutions
In addition to these targeted remedies, Ayurveda has some excellent
therapies that can vaporize any kind of stress — whatever its origin and
intensity . Here are some key recommendations. Get Good Sleep
When you depri ve yourself of good sleep, you violate every law that is
precious to Ayurveda: you canno t eat regular meals because your appetite is
poor; this, in turn, slows down digestion, which results in toxin buildup;
slowly , the toxins make you feel irritated and fatigued, and your strain
affects your performance, your relationships, and your life. In such a state,
you cannot hope to be creative, calm, or happy . Ayurvedic healers studied sleep in great depth and observed several
natural rest-friendly aids. Here are some:
•   Eat an early dinner . Avoid eating after 7:00 P.M., when digestion is
slow and even light foods sit in the stomach and interfere with good
sleep. Ideally , your physical digestive processes should  be
completed before you get into bed. •   Do some pre-sleep preparation. About an hour before you get into
bed, start switch ing off heavy sensory inputs like the three-hankie
tear-jerker on television. Such information accumulates ama in your
mind, causing disturbed sleep. Now prepare for the night ahead:
light some aromatic candles to create an ambiance of peace, listen to
soft music, or just lie down and breathe deeply . •   Drink milk and honey . Just before you sleep, drink a glass of warm
milk with a little honey in it. This has a settling influence on the
mind and the body . Although this is an ancient remedy , modern
medicine has now established the link between milk and good sleep:
milk contains the amino acid tryptophan, which releases serotonin, a
brain chemical that makes sleep come easily . Never heat honey , as
this eliminates its beneficial qualities. Adding a pinch of nutmeg or
cardamom to the milk also promotes better sleep.•   Go to bed early . Try to go to bed by 10:00 P.M. If you are in the habit
of staying up late, aim to achieve this in gradual stages: on the first
night, try going to bed half an hour earlier than usual. This will help
set your biomachinery in rhythm , promoting better rest. If you work
night shifts, follow the rhythm of your body and mind, which will
tell you when they need rest and how much. The simplest thing to
do is: sleep when you feel sleepy . •   See a vaidya. If nothing works, consult a vaidya to help you
determine what specific imbalance is disrupting your sleep. Breathe Out Y our Str esses
Have you ever noticed how you breathe when you are angry or
depressed? Depending on the intensity of your mood, your breath at that
time is shallow , rapid, or labored — never deep, calm, and relaxed. Again,
this is a sign of imbalanced prana vata. It follows, therefore, that practicing
the art of breathing properly will balance your vata and thus ease stress. Ayurveda recommends some easy and effective breathing exercises —
the most important among them being pranayama  (regulation of life force). This is how you do it:
1. Sit straight and comfortably . 2. Now gently press your right nostril with your right thumb, shutting
the nostril. 3. At the same time, breathe out slowly through your left nostril until
you have exhaled a full breath. 4. Now breathe in through your left nostril and, once you have inhaled
completely , release your right nostril and press the left one with the
middle and ring fingers of the right hand. 5. Breat he out gently through the right nostril, then breathe slowly in
again. 6. Repeat this rhythm for five minutes, and you will feel your body and
mind become relaxed and healed. Do this exercise whenever you can find five minutes, and you will find
it extremely soothing to your nerves.Heal with Herbs
Herbs are a highly venerated tool in Ayurvedic healing. Rich in
antioxidants, they are mighty fighters, capable of calming the deadliest of
stresses. Of course, Western medicines are also largely herb-based. But the
way Ayurvedic herbal formulati ons are prepared is different from the way
they are prepared in modern laboratories. To explain, let me ask you a question: Can a car move without its
wheels — or its gears, or the engine? In the same way, an herb cannot heal
without all its component parts. This is where vaidyas say modern medicine
errs. Isolating and minutely studying a plant’ s “active” ingredients, it
assigns them individual roles in treating disease. While this “magic bullet”
approach works , it also triggers  a series of side effects, listed in curled-up
slips of paper inside medicine bottles. The Ayurvedic disagreement with this method of treatment begins with
the use of the word active. Vaidyas  argue that there is no such thing as an
inactive  ingredient. Every ingredient in every plant has a definite role; even
the seemingly inactive ones serve to balance the functions of the “active”
ingredients. That is why, imbued with nature’ s own abundant intelligence,
the plant kingdom has survived and thrived through the ravages of time. Ayurveda’ s herbal formulas, therefore, enter the body as intended by
nature herself. This is not to say they aren’ t processed; they are also ground
into powders and pastes, but they are prepared in conformance with the
stringent guidelines laid down in ancient texts. Therefore, good-quality
Ayurvedic preparations retain their intrinsic syner gy. When such
preparations enter the human body , it greets them enthusiastically because it
recognizes their configuration. Metabolizing and absorbing these holistic
plant compounds is easy for the body because they carry  their own
balancing codes . That is why Ayurvedic medication is generally free of side
effects. A word of cauti on: Always take herbal preparations after consulting a
vaidya. Never experiment with herbs on your own, for they can be quite
potent if they are not balanced in the correct proportions with the right
companion herbs.Find Peace thr ough Panchakarma
There are times when stress can take you to a breaking point. You feel
saturated with demands, yet completely empty . Regard such times as the
perfect opportunity to rebuild yourself the A yurveda way . In Ayurveda, it is understood that everyday toxins can build up to a
point where they need removal through trained hands. In fact, regular
seasonal rejuven ation is a unique and important Ayurvedic concept. It is
called panchakarma,  which literally  means “five actions” (emesis, or
vomiting, purgation, enemas, nasal cleansing, and blood purification). Today , however , panchakarma experts usually avoid inducing vomiting —
the thera pies they administer are pleasant, relaxing, and detoxifying. These
include herbal massages and baths, light meals, steam baths, and herbal-
paste rubs. All are designed to remove deep-seated toxins from your
physiology , leaving you stress-free and renewed. Ancient Ayurvedic texts recomm end taking the panchakarma treatment
three times a year, at the begin ning of winter , spring, and fall. But if you
find it expensive  — and panchakarma can be heavy on the wallet — even
once a year is highly beneficial and well worth the expense. Spring is said
to be the best time for panchakarma treatment, for it is the season when
everything in nature sheds its lethargy and starts to rejuvenate. The entire
procedure takes about a week — and it leaves you so rejuvena ted that you
won’ t want to leave! While panchakarma is an elaborate, complex therapy and thus best
explained in detail by the physicians at a panchakarma center , I’ll give you
a basic idea of what to expect from it. You could think of the panchakarma
routine either as a treatment or a treat. Either way , you would be right. This is how panchakarma is generally done: You start on the road to
rejuvenation a few days before you actually check into a panchakarma
center . Ayurvedic experts interview you and outline for you a set of
personalized instructions on how to start loosening impurities from your
body . Easy to follow , these home-based therapies — such as drinking ghee,
reducing your caloric intake, and using mild laxatives — are geared to
prepare you for the wonderful detoxifying therapies you will receive in the
panchakarma clinic.Once in the clinic — where you can opt to be either an inpatient or an
outpatient — you will receive a series of treatments designed to flush out
long-accumulated toxins from your entire being. The sequence begins with a full-body , warm-oil massage administered
by two trained experts working in tandem. A good panchakarma  center will
generally use the highest-quality , cold-pressed, herb-infused oil for this part
of the treatment . These special oils can sometimes contain up to seventy-
five different herbs — which, when rubbed expertly into your body ,
stimulate skin cells, smooth away fat deposits, enliven the tissue s, and — as
Ayurveda’ s founder Charaka said — “give you 100 years of life.”
Along with the oil massage, you will receive massages with whole-grain
paste, raw silk, or wool, which further purify , tone, and nourish your body
at a deep cellular level. Then your nasal passages are cleared with drops of
nasya,  or medi cated oil. These tiny drops unclog residual toxins from  your
head and neck, balancing the prana (essential energy or life force) that is so
vital to clarity of perception. The crowning glory in the panchakarma process, however , is shirodhara
(shir means “head,” and dhara  means “flow”). Two therapist s work in
tandem, pouring  a continuous stream of herbalized oil gently across your
forehead. For thirty relaxing minutes, you do nothing but lie there with your
eyes closed, feeling the stress slide right off your head. The oil used is
blended with careful attention  to the needs of your physiology . This
treatment settles and balances the nervous system. Those  who have
experienced it describe it variously as “royal,” “divine,” and “utterly
blissful.” After shirodhara, you are likely to feel your anxiety , insomnia,
and depression dissolve. The massage therapies are followed by toxin-loosening heat-tre atments
such as swedana,  which is an herbalized steam bath that dilates your
shrotas, or channels of circulation. Swedana balances both vata and kapha
doshas (pitta can do without  additional heat), allowing the loosened
impurities to move into the digestive tract in readiness for their removal by
internal cleansing procedures. By now, the impurities in your system have moved to the colon and
lower pelvis, from where they will be further swept out through gentle herb-based enemas. Called basti,  this part of the treatment is crucial to healing. The enemas used in basti are either made from warm herbal ized oils or
from water-based herbal decoctions — either way, they are very gentle and
healing. This then, is the promise of panchakarma. Some of its treatmen ts calm
the mind, while others cleanse and tone the body . Together they restore the
functional integ rity of your being. Your three doshas begin to work in
harmony , and your endocrine system starts to perform at peak efficiency . Having flushed out its long-accu mulated impurities, your immu ne system is
stronger than ever. After panchakarma, you will exude ojas, or essential
energy. Once you have taken a panchakarma treatment, experts advise daily
detoxification at home through simple routines such as drinking plenty of
water and giving yourself a daily pre-bath massage. This maintains, and
even enhances, the benefits you receive from panchakarma. Do you see how holistically Ayurveda heals stress — how perfectly it
tunes the violin of your being, stretching the strings just right; not too loose,
not too tight? Panchakarma makes it easy for you to close your eyes and
enjoy the music that flows spontaneously in your being. In the next chapter, we shall learn about yoga — another gem in
Ayurveda’ s treasury of holistic healing therapies. OceanofPDF .comWCHAPTER 12
yoga: an exercise in bliss
Yogah chittah vritti nirodhah. ( Yoga is the ability to dir ect the mind
exclusively , free of distractions.) — Patanjali’ s Yoga Sutra
hat is yoga? The answers vary . According to Patanjali’ s Yoga Sutra:
 
•   “It is a series of exercises that promotes neuro-muscular
integration.”
•   “It is a system of healing that complements Ayurveda perfectly ,
having originated at the same time, in the same place, with the same
goals.”
•   “It is a time-tested regimen that balances all three doshas, vata,
pitta, and kapha.”
More simply , yoga is a workout that has more than 15 million
Americans hooked.Of cours e, yoga stretches make great exercises; they’re gentle, they’re
artistic, and they help you live better in your body . But more than that, I
would say yoga works on the joints of the mind-body machine, lubricating
them with the balm of consciousness. The truth of this grandiose-sou nding statement shines forth when you
try the most primary of yoga poses. For instance, this one:
•   Sit on the floor and cross your legs. •   Keep your spine straight. •   Now bring your palms to chest level and gently press them together ,
fingers pointing up. •   Close your eyes and breathe in, then breathe out. Breathe slowly in,
breathe out again. Breathe in, breathe out. At this moment,  you are aware of your breathing. You are aware, too, of
your body — your legs folded , your back straight, your palms pressed
together . And you are conscious of the thoughts coursing through your
mind. This is what yoga does. It yokes your body , mind, and spirit together . In
fact, the very origin of the word  “yoga” is yuj, a Sansk rit word  that means
“to bind or unite .” The English work yoke,  which means to “tie together ,” is
probably derive d from this, too. Sage Patanjali, who codified the basic
principles of yoga into his immortal Yoga Sutras, saw in yoga a deeper
meaning. He saw it as a means to unite the Self with the Divine. But can you really think of things like unity and harmony when trying
to squee ze in a yoga class between a bath and a business meeting? No
sweat. Yoga will reward you with harmony anyway — whether  you search
for it or not. My friend Bob Rose, a longtime yoga instructor , has had the
pleasure of seeing hundreds of people discover deeper bliss in their lives
through yoga. That experience of bliss can be so pure, so profound, that it
often inspires poetic praise. For some people, yoga turns out to be “a joyful
workout that untangles the mind .” Others find in it “dynamic nirvana.” And
still others realize that it helps them “navigate the landscape of the self.”
The truth is, yoga works because it works on every level of your being. Physically , it helps you touch your toes and sit straight. It unjumblesknotted-up joints, creating a sense of openness and fluidity in the body . It
stimulates digestion and improves blood flow. It is a wonderful aid to any
weight-loss program. It helps you breathe more consciously . In Ayurvedic
terms, yoga is an excellent way to exercise because it does not put strain on
any one part of the physiology . Besides, it heals and calms all three doshas. On the mental level, yoga brings together two diametrically opposed
energies: it makes you feel relaxed and easy of mind, and at the same time it
teaches you discipline. It makes you more aware of your body , your
thoughts, and emotions. It connects you with your very spirit. What’ s more, yoga yields even richer rewards if you have some
knowledge of its sister science: A yurveda. yoga and ayurveda – inseparably bound
As we saw, a vaidya’ s prescription is a holistic one. In addition to diet, it
tells you to regulate your work routine, your quota of sleep, and your
pattern of exercise. Y oga comes under that important heading of exercise. Basically , the yoga exercises you choose to do should complement the
diet and lifestyle recommendations that a vaidya charts out for you. If you
are a vata type of person, for instance, backward bends are beneficial for
you; they are believed to offset the coolness of vata. Pitta type of people
will like postures that involve bending forward, for they cool down the
system. And kapha will enjoy poses that involve twisting the body , for such
poses kick-start digestion. Five W ays in Which A yurveda Supports Y oga
Along with matching your yoga exercises to your body type, you can
also match them to your daily routine. 1. One of the primary benefits of yoga is that it starts to push toxic ama
from your system . Now , while your body is flushing out toxins, your
knowledge of Ayurveda can prove invaluable in assisting your body. It will guide you toward foods that are considered light and
nourishing: split yellow lentils, sweet juicy fruits, plenty of water .2. Using ghee in daily cooking, which is a basic Ayurvedic
recommendation, supports yoga exercises. Ghee has been believed
since ancient times to lubricate connective tissues and increase
flexibility . So if you are learning yoga and cooking with ghee, you
are getting the maximum benefits of both A yurveda and yoga. 3. Daily self-massage, or abhy anga, is part of a healthy Ayurvedic
routine (see chapter 10  for details). Among the many benefits of self-
massage is that it moves toxins  from the body , helping flush them
out of your system through the channels of elimination. So if you
massage your body regularly in conjunction with yoga exercises, you
will give a much greater boost to toxin removal. 4. Ayurveda emphasizes the value of eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner
at regular hours to keep toxin s from building up. A person who
knows this will take care to supplement her yoga sessions with
healthy meals at scheduled mealtimes. 5. There are times when the body feels too sapped to exercise, even
gently , or when the mind is too tired to focus on anything at all. These are times when Ayurvedic herbs prove to be of tremendous
value. Powerful healers such as ashwagandha and arjuna have long
been known to strengthen both body and mind. Blended in the right
proportions and taken as recommended by a vaidya, these herbs
provide vital support to your yoga practice. the practice of yoga
Yoga asanas are poses or exercises designed to work your body in a series
of non-s trenuous steps. The key in yoga exercises is to begin slowly ,
progress steadily toward the next step, and relax after every asana. Almost every yoga asana contributes in its own way to making you
more beautiful, because each of them helps strengthen several aspects of
body and mind. I will share with you three favorites, which are not only
easy but extremely relaxing.sun salute (surya namaskar asana)
How to Do It:  Sun Salute is performed in twelve continuous stages:
1. Standing up, with feet close together , place the palms and fingers of
your hands together in front of your chest, fingers pointing upward. Breathe normally , looking forward, for five seconds. 2. Unclasp your hands and, inhaling slowly , raise them parallel to each
other , shoulder -width apart, over your head with palms facing
forward. Extend your arms slightly behind your head so that your
waist is slightly bent and your face is tilted toward the ceiling or sky. Hold your position, as well as your breath, for another five seconds. 3. Exhaling, lean slowly forward and touch the floor in front of your
feet. Do this only to the extent that you can. Keep your hands about
shoulder -width apart and bring your head as close to your knees as
you can withou t straining any muscles. Keep your knees straight. Hold this position and your exhaled breath for the next five seconds.4. Inhale  once again, and simultaneously place your palms on the floor
shoulder -width apart. You’ll find it easy to do this while sending
your right leg straight back, with its knee and toes touching the floor . Bring the left leg forward at a ninety-degree angle to the floor , so
that your left knee is a little below your chin. Arch your back and tilt
your neck up toward the ceiling or sky. Hold this position and your
breath for five seconds. 5. Now start exhaling while placing your left leg back with the right
leg. At the same time, raise your buttocks and hips so they form a
mound shape, pointing straight up. Your palms and fingers should
still be held flat on the floor , and your head between your arms. Try
to get your feet flat on the floor at this time — but try very gently . Remember , no strain. Again, hold your breath in this position for
five seconds. 6. Slowl y releas ing your breath, lower your chin, chest, and knees until
they almost touch the floor and the weight of your body is briefly on
your palms and toes. Keep your hips raised above the floor . You
don’t have to maintain this position; make the transition to the next
one once you have reached this one.7. The next part is called the Cobra pose. Keep your palms in place. While inhaling, straighten your arms, arch your neck and spine so
that your head tilts back, and keep your knees and toes touchin g the
floor . Once you reach this position, hold your breath here for five
seconds. 8. Repe at position 5: exhale while raising your hips and buttocks to
point straight up. Keep your knees and back straight, palms on the
floor , head between your arms. Hold for five seconds. 9. Retur n to position 4: keeping  your hands on the floor , bend your left
leg at the knee while inhaling. The right knee and toes should stretch
behind you, touching the floor . Arch your back and neck to gaze
upward. Hold another five seconds. 10. Step your back foot forwa rd beside your other foot, returning to
position 3: exhale, straighten your knees, bend forward at the waist
and hips. Your full weight is now back on your feet. Try to touch the
floor with your palms once again without undue effort. Keep yourhead close to your knees. Hold this position and your breath for five
seconds. 11. Repeat position 2: begin exhaling as you raise the upper half of your
body until you are standing straight again. Raise your arms above
your head with the palms facin g forward. Continue to stretch your
arms until they are slightly behind your head, then lean slightly  back
from the waist and gaze upward, holding your breath for five
seconds. 12. Go back to position 1, then slowly exhale (instead of inhaling). Stand
straight, with palms and fingers held together in front of your chest
and your eyes looking straight in front of you. Hold your breath out
for five seconds. Here are some additional tips on performing Sun Salute:•   When you do the second set of this asana, take the alternate leg back
in positi ons 4 and 9. That is, in the sequence above, you exten ded
your right leg backward; in the next set, take your left leg backward. •   Try to do this asana in even sets of two, four, or six, up to a
maximum of twelve at a time. •   Always do this in a slow, steady manner without causing yourself
strain. Build up your threshold gradually . What It Does for You: Sun Salute, as you can see, is a complete asana
that involves all parts of the body , mind, and breath. It thus integrates the
physiology , stren gthening major  muscles and providing a light yet complete
exercise that vaidyas recommend as highly as they do walking. child’ s pose (balasana)
How to Do It: Kneel on your shins, buttocks resting on your heels. Keep
your knees together . With your arms at your sides, bend from your hips and
extend your upper body over your knees. Resting on your thighs , bring your
forehead to the floor . Breathe deeply . Hold for as long as is comfortable. Then slowly sit up. If you have trouble kneeling, placing a pillow between your thighs and
calves will help. What It Does for You: This simple asana floods every cell of the body
with both oxygen and prana (life-force energy), helping eliminate physical
and emotional toxins. The const riction on your legs increases blood supply
to the upper body, making respiration more efficient and energizing the
blood, which in turn begins to remove waste gases more efficiently . The
pressure from the diaphragm in this posture creates a deep, slow, rhythmic
massage of the vital organs, energizing them. Both the quality and quantity
of the blood circulation to these vital organs improves when you are in
Child’ s Pose.If you hold the pose for more than five minutes, deeper benefits occur . The asana has a regulatory effect on the endocrine system. It gets more
blood to the head and to the pituitary gland — the master  gland that
regulates hormonal balance. This makes Child’ s Pose an extremely relaxing
asana. corpse pose (shavasana)
It sound s like the easiest thing you could do: lying there like your body is
dead to the world. But yoga experts tell me that this is among the most
difficult asanas to master becau se we humans find it so difficult to allow
ourselves to just let go and lie still. Before he starts his instructions for the asana itself, yoga instructor Bob
Rose tells his students to put all their anger , anxieties, and tensions in an
imaginary bag that they mentally place outside the door. The choice is
theirs, he tells them — you can leave the bag there when you go out, or pick
it back up if you desire. How to Do It: Lie on your back, with your feet about eighteen inches
apart and turned out slightly . Place your hands on the floor about six inches
from your hips, palms up. Close your eyes and breathe deeply and gently . Rose likes to tell his students to do this asana in three “let-go” phases:
1. Let go of your body: Relax your muscles and any tense areas by
breathing deeply  and gently and directing your breath to those tense
areas. Let your muscles sink right into the floor until they’r e so
relaxed they feel like Jell-O.2. Let go of your breathing: After you have used your breath to relax
your body, then let the breath ing process become as gentle and
natural as possible. Don’ t control it. Relax, yawn, sigh. Let it
become as deep or shallow as it wants to be. 3. Let go of your thoughts: Release yourself from thinking. This does
not mean making an effort to banish them. Just let yourself beco me a
passive observer — watching your thoughts go by like clouds in the
sky. What It Does for You: This asana is a luxury we don’t allow ourselves
— a few minutes of just being , not doing. The very act of consciously
relaxing — lying still, fully present in the moment — begins the process of
releasing knots of tension from the deep recesses of the body and mind. It’s
more than an asana; it’s a form of meditation, which slows down the
metabolism, lowers blood pressure, and leaves you with a feeling of deep
calm and rest. some general tips on practicing yoga
•   Always relax for a minute or two after every asana. •   Do not practice yoga on a full stomach or just before a meal. •   Ideally , perform yoga in the morning, right after a bath. •   Do yoga without listening to music or watching television. Y oga is a
wonderful way to focus on your body and its various compon ents,
so you will benefit more from it if you do it without distraction. •   If you are menstruating, pregnant, ill, or have some specific  bodily
disorders, see a qualified yoga practitioner for guidance. •   For best results, perform yoga exercises daily . yoga: frequently asked questions
When and How Did Y oga Originate?Yoga has always been an integ ral part of the Indian civilization. The
world’ s oldest existing text, Rig-V eda, mentions it. But the credit for
defining and organizing yoga is widely given to Sage Patanjali, who lived
sometime around 200 A.D. In his treatise, called the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali
lays down the philosophy , goals, and rules of yoga. What Ar e the Differ ent Kinds of Y oga, and Which One Is for
Me? The most popul ar form of yoga  today is hatha yoga. The word hatha
means “insistence.” In the context of hatha yoga, the meaning of insistence
is slightly modified; it means making consistent effort toward  healing the
self through simple postures and exercises. The exercises taught in hatha
yoga are called asanas, some of which I have described above. Other branches of yoga include raja yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga,
jnana yoga, tantra yoga, and mantra yoga. These are all more evolved forms
of yoga that delve into the realm of the spiritual. Most of the yoga classes in
America are for hatha yoga. Wher e Can I Learn Mor e about Y oga? I would recommend the magazine Yoga Journal,  which combines
articles on Ayurveda with fine writing on every aspect of yoga. In addition,
introductory texts such as the K.I.S.S Guide to Yoga (DK publishing) are
also very helpfu l. Another comprehensive book that discusse s the mind-
body benefits of yoga and its connection with Ayurveda is Hari Sharma’ s
Contemporary A yurveda  (Churchill Livingstone). OceanofPDF .comHCHAPTER 13
living ayurveda, 
giving ayurveda
Every person in your life, all the events, ar e ther e because you have drawn
them ther e. What you choose to do with them is up to you. — Richard Bach, Illusions
ave you noticed something about the Ayurvedic approach to life thus
far? It seems to have a great fondness for clichés — timeworn
statements that seem to us so hackneyed that we don’t even think about
them. “A stitch in time saves nine.” “Early to bed and early to rise.” “You
are what you eat.” And so on. Hackneyed, yes. But outdated, no. Each little nugget of Ayurvedic
wisdom, you will agree, is timeless — and hence, invaluable. From my own
experience of A yurveda, I’ve spun seven sparkling, er , clichés. living ayurveda1. Eat Fr esh, Eat Red, Y ellow , Green
We’ve talked about this before, but let me leave you with yet another
reason to rethink your grocery shopping list. Look at the peach. It is a
painter ’s deligh t. Why do you think nature made it so attractive? Those
crimson apples, flaming peppers, young green spinach leaves — ever
wondered if all that color scheming has a purpose? Well, it certainly does. By putting those colors on its plants, nature is beckoning you to notice
them, yield to their lure, savor them. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why
humans are the only creatures gifted with color vision; almost all other
animals see in black-and-white. Take time today  to think about the food choices you make. The entire
technology of the food industry is only trying to imitate  the oldest
marketing techn ique on earth. All that creative energy and, of course,
billions of dollars are being spent on designing attractive, colorf ul labels for
stripped-down, almost-dead food — while living, pulsating food screams
silently for attention. Why strip and repackage the brilliant original? Bite
into a luscious peach today . 2. Stay Fit, Stay Lean
Ayurveda does not advocate toning up just the abs or focusing on the
pectoral muscles. Truly fit people are trim and toned all over. Work toward
fitness without flogging your body . Remember , walking and yoga are
considered the most healing exercises in A yurveda. As for staying lean, cancel your weight-management-program
membership and let your own mind be your coach. The reason for weight
gain is simple: you are eating more than you are burning up. To keep your
calorie intake balanced, just remember the rule of three-fourths: fill your
stomach to three-fourths of its capacity at any one meal, and you will never
be in danger of overeating. Basically , eat to feel satisfied, not to feel full
and heavy . A word about ghee. Ayurvedic experts do recommend cooki ng with
ghee, but they caution that generous dollops of ghee can clog the system,
increase kapha, and pile on the pounds. Used in moderation, on the other
hand, ghee will endow you with health benefits.3. Live Life Clean
Being clean in body means observing good personal hygiene. Bathe
every day. Wear fresh clothing. Always respond to a natural urge: hunger ,
thirst, or the need to yawn, sneeze, or urinate. These are natural instincts
that deserve prompt attention. Suppressing them, according to Ayurveda,
generates toxins and stresses the body . Keep your mind clean: read uplifting books, watch movies that leave
you with a smile in your heart, delete junk mail, and listen to music, not
noise. Keep your heart clean: don’t envy others their success; keep an even
temper; don’ t play the blame-game; be open to sunshine and love. 4. Adopt the Golden Mean
Ayurveda is essentially about  balance. The Golden Mean is “the
medium between extremes,” or “moderation.” And in the thesaurus,
“balance” and “moderation” are neighbors. Long ago, I had a poster in my room. It said: “If it feels good, overdo
it.” I loved that poster . I took it so seriously that I overloaded on guavas that
someone had given us. They tasted so delicious that I ate ten at one sitting. The stom achache that followed was not fun. This is a simplistic example,
but the Ayurved ic insistence on “moderation in everything” is a golden rule,
indeed. Quite simply, people who eat, sleep, work, think, and love either too
much or too little are not healthy , happy people. 5. Keep Y our Appetite Keen
Rev up your appetite. Fix up your dining room. Make a trip to your
local library and borrow some good books and magazines on the art of
decoration. Then turn the spotlight on the most appetizing corner of your
home: your dining table. Bring out your best china and your most exclusive cutlery . Light some
scented, all-natu ral candles. Place a vase of fresh flowers or a bowl of fresh
fruit in the cente r of the table. Accent with colorful napkins and place mats. Now invite a friend over to share a simple, homemade meal.This might sound like advice from the pages of House & Gar den. But it
has a beautiful Ayurvedic message, too: creating a beautiful dining
environment makes the act of eating a pleasurable, sacred one. Eat foods that you enjoy . That we’re talking about healthy foods is, of
course, a given. If your taste buds like what you eat, your body will digest it
more efficiently . In India, we say aisa khana badan ko lagta hai — “such
food is infused into the body much more completely .”
Now apply this keenness of appetite to wider areas of your life. Get
hungry for knowledge. Read up on health. Learn about the world. Travel. Open your mind and your heart  to the splendor of the universe. One cliché
Ayurveda does not promote is: “Ignorance is bliss”! 6. Seek the Ser ene
Peace, calm, positive energy — these are found in people who have
qualities of the sattva guna. Even in the animal kingdom, there are species
that represent the three gunas — rajas, tamas, and sattva. Ayurvedic healers
use the imagery  of the tiger, the jackal, and the elephant to illustrate the
value of sattva. •   The tiger represents the rajasic nature. He is a carnivore, and this
natural instinct of killing and eating other animals makes him fierce
and aggressive. Powerful and restless, the tiger is always on the
prowl, always looking for action. •   The jackal symbolizes the tamasic mind. He is sly, timid, and
slothful, evading the clear light of day and preying on food left over
by other animals. •   The elephan t harbors a gentle heart inside a strong body . He is
intelligent enough to work in harmony with the human environm ent. He is also a vegetarian. Therefore, the elephant represents the sattvic
mind. Notice how the diets of these animals are also linked to their mental
qualities. Consider these qualities before selecting your next meal or
deciding on your next course of action. 7. Don’t V iew Life thr ough a Smoke Scr eenCan you imagine touring a lush national forest without ever stepping out
of your car — leaving for home without ever touching the bark of the
sequoia tree, photographing a moose, or smelling the pure, clean air? Most
of us would laugh at the very idea. But aren’ t we doing the same thing with
our lives? We’re so busy chugging along the rails that lead to money ,
success, and love that we forget the pleasures of living life barefoot, so to
speak. On one hand, we set ourselves ephemeral goals. On the other , we dull
our senses with information overload. I recently found a rathe r staggering
statistic in a health magazine. It said that an average American watches
television for about 240 minutes a day. Four hours of watching other people
act, inform, sell, emote — in a mere twenty-four -hour day? It’s ironic when
you think that the number -one excuse people give for neglecting their
health is, well, “lack of time”! Switch off the TV and tune in to yourself. If you are hopelessly hooked,
cut down on your TV-watching time gradually — say, by fifteen minutes a
day. In these fifteen minutes, treat yourself to a tall glass of water , some
light stretching exercises, or just the healing sounds of silence. In Ayurvedic
terms, this will reduce misuse of your senses, allowing your body to
overcome stress. Thus, truly rested, you can think more clearly about your life and its real
purpose. These seven guidelines sum up most of what Ayurveda has to say about
good living. If you’re able to follow even a few, you’ll find your life
improving in many ways. the power of one
Let me share with you an interesting health strategy I have chalked out for
myself. I call it The Power of One. On days when I feel I’ve been neglecting almost every aspect of my
health, I find a minute to sit down and write myself three resolutions. These
are not resolutions for the rest of the year or even the rest of the month orweek. They’re goals I set for myself for the next thirty minutes. For
instance:
1. Drink two glasses of water . 2. Exercise for five minutes. 3. Do someone a favor . Now , life being what it is, it is not always possible to achieve even these
seemingly simpl e targets.
_OceanofPDF.com_Essential_Ayurveda_-_Shubira_Krishan.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Kapha skin
stays healthy when regularly cleansed to remove toxins. This dosha-based
skin care is a unique, practical way of solving skin-related problems that are
specific to you. Whatever your dosha type, one thing is for sure: your skin is a living,
breathing, pulsa ting organ. It is sensitive to outer stimuli, such as pleasure,
pain, and heat. New scientific evidence corroborates the Ayurvedic theory
that your skin actually “drinks ” what you apply on the surface — even
water. Think, then, what happens when it drinks harsh chemicals that
penetrate its delicate inner layers and mingle with the bloodstream. The Ayurvedic advice is to feed your skin the way you would feed your
body: never apply anything to your skin that you would not eat. In practical
terms, this means making sure that you use only skin-care products that are
perfectly pH-balanced, free of toxic chemicals, and therefore safe to apply. While you can certainly find genuine herbal products in stores, I invite
you to discover  some stellar beauty ingredients right inside your kitchen. Turmeric, milk, yogurt, peaches, honey, almonds — let these be your
cosmetics. Play with face packs. Try making your own; they’re safe,
inexpensive, and fun to make. They will purify your skin and make it
radiant as a dewy rose. To help you figure out the best ingredients for your type of skin, I asked
my vaidya, Ramakant Mishra of Maharishi Ayurveda, a company that
manufactures and distributes premium Ayurvedic formulations, to provide
some easy skin- cleansing face packs you can make at home. Here are the
recipes he created:
Cleansing Masks
for dry skin
2 teaspoons quick-cooking oats
¼ teaspoon almond powder
¼ teaspoon grated orange peel
¼ teaspoon lavender -flower powder (available in good natural health
stores)2 tablespoons yogurt
Stir all the ingredients together and apply the mixture gently to your face
with your fingertips. Let the mask set on your skin. Then, using light
pressure, flake the mask off into the sink. If the mask feels too sticky, use
warm water to rinse. Dab your face with a soft towel and apply a good
moisturizer. Instant oatmeal is an excellent skin exfoliant; oats counteract daily sun
damage and replenish the skin with vitamins B and E. Orange peel balances
the pH level of the skin and softens it. Almond powder is a protein-packed
exfoliant. Yogurt contains frien dly lactobacilli that pacify an aggravated
pitta. And the healing aroma of lavender powder makes this a soothing,
pleasant mask. for oily skin
1 tablespoon yogurt
1 teaspoon toasted wheat bran
¼ teaspoon almond powder
½ teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Mix and apply the mask in the same manner as for the Dry Skin Mask. Wheat bran is a very efficient cleanser, coaxing out grime with ease. Combined with cooling yogurt, it makes a gentle exfoliant. The vitamin C
in lemon juice promotes cleansing activity. for sensitive skin
Make the same mask as for dry skin, but substitute whole raw (uncooked)
milk for yogurt, and use rose-petal powder instead of grated orange peel. In
Ayurveda, the rose is held in high regard; it is soothing, healing, and
extremely nourishing. Caring for the Rest of Y ouThis safe, natural beauty care, should, of course, not be limited to skin
cleansers and moisturizers. Whatever other body-care products  you use —
shampoos, hair conditioners, makeup — be sure they are gentle and
nourishing, not enemies in disguise. But wait — there is much more to roopam than just cosmetic care. If
you imagine your body to be a house, then roopam is only the facade. Obviously, painting the house from the outside is no help if the interiors are
in ruin. In other words, no amount of moisturizer or nail polish can make
you look good if your digestion is upset and your mouth feels stale. Conversely, if your vital system s are in great working order, your face and
your skin will reflect that inner glow. The way to achieve true roopam, therefore, is to nurture your body
through good diet. This does more than help metabolism. It suffuses you
with ojas — that certain something that beautiful people radiate, without
assistance from cosmetics. Remember, you produce ojas in inverse proportion to ama. The lower
your body’s ama, or toxin content, the higher your personality’ s ojas, or
radiance quotien t, and vice versa. So keep toxin elimination as a priority in
your list of beauty to-dos. Two easy, pleasurable ways to shed toxins and
acquire ojas are daily self-massage and regular exercise. The Magic of Massage
Daily self-massage is called abhyanga. All it takes is fifteen minutes,
and look at the benefits you get:
•   When you massage your body, you lavish it not only with lubricant,
but also with love. Touch is a basic human need, and through
massage you give yourself a healing touch. •   Most of the day, your skin suffers in silence, feeling dry, dull, and
neglected. A regular oil massage gives it much-needed sheen,
moisture, and warmth. •   No matter what your dosha type, massage restores your balance and
makes you feel relaxed. •   Massage is an almost instant healer; the oils penetrate deep into
body tissues within seconds, nourishing you from within. •   Mass age is an excellent way to detoxify. The rubbing and stroking
actions dislodge accumulated toxins, which then move out of the
body through the digestive system. •   In the long run, regular massage maintains the youthfulness of skin,
keeping it lustrous and healthy throughout your life. Mmm – Massage: How to Give Y ourself a Refr eshing Rubdown
Begin by heating your massage oil to purify it (see the appendix for
guidance in selecting the best oil for your dosha type). Called curing,  this
process makes the oil easier to absorb and enhances its antioxidant
qualities. To cure your oil, pour a quart — which should last you about two
weeks — into a pan and bring it to a boil on a low flame. Then  drop a tiny
bit of water into the oil. If you hear an instant “pop,” your oil is cured. (If
there is no “pop,” keep heating until you hear one. ) After the “pop” sound,
take the oil off the stove. Cool the oil a bit, then pour it into an easy-
squeeze, flip-top bottle. Take some simple precautions while curing the oil:
do not leave it unattended, do not heat it on a high flame, only drop a tiny
bit of water to test whether the oil has cured to avoid splattering, and do not
pour it into a bottle while it’ s hot. Now to the massage itself. Warm oil penetrates tissues faster and feels
good on your skin. Therefore, just before massaging yourself, reheat the oil
by running the bottle under the hot water tap for a minute or two — or, if
you have the time, heat a small amount of oil in a pan. When you are ready,
remove all your clothing and jewelry and sit down on an old towel so you
won’ t make a mess. Start at the top: massage your head first. Pour a small quantit y of oil
into your cupped palm and raise  it to your scalp. Then, swiftly opening your
palm, let the oil kiss the top of your head. This is your introduct ion to bliss. Now move your palm in circles, rubbing the oil gently but thoroughly all
over your head. Part your hair from time to time so that the oil seeps right
into your scalp. Ayurvedic healers recommend spending maximum time on
head massage, and for good reason. According to Ayurveda, there are 107
vital points just beneath the skin. Called marmas,  they are believ ed to be
connecting points between the mind and the body. Thirty-seven of thesemarma points are located in the head and neck area. This is what makes
head massage so relaxing. After massaging your head, move down to your face, the outer part of
your ears, your neck (both front and back), your shoulders, and your upper
back. Be sure to rub gently on your face. Also, you will find that massaging
your ears feels particularly nice. Now dab some oil down the length of your arms, then rub the oil into
your arms using long back-and- forth strokes. Rub around your elbows and
knuckles in a circular motion, applying gentle pressure. Rub some more  oil up and down your chest, massaging your breasts in
gentle circular strokes. When you reach your abdomen, make sure your
strokes are in a clockwise motion, for that is the direction in which your
large intestine moves. Massage your legs in much the same manner as you did your arms: back
and forth along the bones, with circular strokes around your knees and
ankles. Lavish some time on your feet; they are often the most neglected
part of our anatomy. By now, you should be experiencing a unique feeling: that of being
deliciously reste d and wonderfully refreshed. You might want to allow the
oil to soak into your pores for a while, and that is an excellent idea. Now you can gently wipe excess oil from your body (to avoid clogging
your drain) using your old towel. Then, using a mild, oil-based vegetable or
herbal soap, wash the oil away in a warm shower. If you have the time, a
warm bath is even more relaxing. How much time should you spend on your daily massage. Ayurvedic
physicians recommend ten to fifteen minutes of daily oil massage for
maximum benef it. If you are rushed for time, give it five minut es, which is
better than skipping it altogether. Walk Those T oxins Off
There is a good reason why athletes and cyclists never suffer from
cellulite: they keep moving, so ama never gets a chance to build up inside
them. But most of us would not want to — and cannot hope to — do such
strenuous exerci se. The good news is that Ayurveda does not demand thatyou work out so hard. Ayurvedic wisdom favors walking as a form of
exercise because it is nonstrenuous and calming. Moreover, unlike several
other forms of exercise, walking gives your body a complete workout,
improving circulation and eliminating ama without putting strain on any
one group of muscles. The three dosha types have different exercise requirements, and walking
fulfills all these needs. For example:
•   Vata people, being energetic but restless, will plunge readily into
exercise but tire quickly. For such people, a brief brisk walk is the
ideal solution. •   Pitta people, who are so dynamic and intense that they tend to
overexert themselves, find walking a moderate alternative  to
aggressive competitive sports. •   Kapha peop le, by nature laid-back and lethar gic, enjoy the easy
pace of walking. a beautiful mind: gunam
Good digestion, sparkling eyes,  shining hair — yes, these are indicators of
beauty. And yet they are meanin gless if your favorite expression is a scowl,
or your dominant mood blue. Of course, it is stress that causes most of our scowls and blue moods. But I recently read somewhere  that “Life is one percent what happens to
you, and ninety-nine percent how you respond to it. ” Ayurved a embraces
this truth; change the way you respond to life’s demands, and you will find
inner beauty, or gunam. The best place to begin your quest for gunam is, again, to refer to your
basic nature. This means turning to your dosha types once again — but this
time to doshas with a difference. You might be surprised to learn that, just
as you have three physical doshas (vata, pitta, and kapha), there are three
doshas of the mind. V aidyas call these doshas gunas,  or qualities. These are:
rajas, tamas,  and sattva. The qualities of these behavioral doshas do not correspond to those of
their physical counterparts — vata, pitta, and kapha. That is, rajasic
behavior doesn’ t have vata qualities, tamas is not the mental aspect of pitta,
and sattv a doesn’ t have kapha qualities. Rajas, tamas, and sattv a have their
own distinct qualities, which will be clear from the following simple
example. Three men are traveling together in a train when their comp artment
catches fire. W atch their reactions:
•   The first person has a dynamic nature, which spurs him to take
immediate action; he starts hunting for the nearest fire extinguisher
or exit. Such people are said to have a rajasic mind, which naturally
relies on action. •   The second person panics, then faints. Such people, whose minds
are dull, weak, or tamasic in nature, find themselves unable to act or
react in a manner suited to the needs of a situation. •   The third person is blessed with a sattvic mind. Being calm and
steady, he takes a moment to analyze the situation and acts only
after weighing the possibilities and determining the right response to
the situation. All of us possess all three gunas, but some of us have more rajas, others
more tamas, and, perhaps fewer of us, more sattva in our nature. But this
doesn’ t mean that we cannot change the proportion of these gunas in us. From the example above, it is obvious that sattva is the highest guna,
worthy of cultivation. You can increase your sattva quotient  if you set
yourself some day-to-day behavior guidelines:
•   Indulge in activities that bring you pleasure. When the mind is
happy in itself, it wants to spread that joy among others. •   Conversely, do not indulge in activities that build up toxic thoughts
and feelings. Don’ t watch viole nt movies or read crime fictio n in
excess. Don’ t harbor a grudge. •   Take time to do a good deed: make a child smile, spend time with
an aged person, plant hope in an unhappy heart. •   Take a balanc ed approach to your relationships; love, but don’t nag
or cling. Give without expecting in return. •   Treat yourself gently. Don’ t set yourself impossible deadlines and
goals. Rememb er, when you look at life through the glasse s of
materialism, you don’ t get the true picture. •   Let there be moderation in every aspect of your life, be it diet, sleep,
sex, exercise, work, or ambition. These are habits that cannot be cultivated overnight. But if you are
mindful of their sattva-enhancing value, you can make positive changes in
your day-to-day behavior. And that is a great way to begin. lasting beauty: vayastyag
According to Ayurveda, true beauty defies chronology. It beats back the
forces of stress and refuses to age socially or psychologically. Such beauty
is vayastyag, and it comes when there is perfect samanvaya,  or balance,
between both roopam and gunam. In this state of balance, a person achieves
sat chit ananda,  or purity of soul and total bliss, which the Vedas say is the
definition of complete beauty. Believe Y ourself Beautiful
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons people fail to look beautiful is that
they don’t feel beautiful. Blam e it on the models and movie stars who
represent beauty  in these times,  but the fact remains: a society’ s ideals of
beauty can be damaging to a person with a less-than-perfec t figure or
features. Ayurveda considers this negative self-image a serious enemy of beauty. Like unreasonab le food cravings, this negative self-perception is also seen
as a mistake of the intellect, or pragya aparadh. Because your body hears
everything you think, the damage from this condition eats into your very
consciousness and shows up on your face. If this is how you have been feeling, start healing yourself by making
positive af firmations to yourself every day. For example:
I am one with nature, and natur e is beautiful. My body and mind are
like a temple; I won’ t defile them with chemical-laden cosmetics,lifeless foods, or toxic thoughts. I’ll be true to myself and to those I
love, for I am more than roopam (outer beauty), I am gunam —
beautiful from the inside. Say these words out loud to yourself once a day, and watch the
difference they make. What’ s more, these simple words put you in direct
contact with yourself — something A yurveda deeply encourages. The most revered Ayurvedic text, Charaka Samhita,  suggests a fun way
to look and feel young as long as you live: simply seek the company of
those who are young at heart. Their influence will bring laughter and
optimism into your life, bestowing you with youth’ s carefree spirit. This, then, is the essence of Ayurvedic beauty: a healthy mix of good
diet, sattva-enriching lifestyle, and positive thinking. Set aside that
antiwrinkle cream and drink some water instead. Whistle on your way to
work. Smile. Y ou will look gor geous and feel beautiful — lit from within. massage dos and donts
•   DO choose an oil that will balance your individual dosha type. Although sesame oil benefits all three doshas, the cooling
quality of coconut oil is highly  beneficial for pitta skin. Vata
skin will love the rich, moist quality of almond oil. Kapha skin,
being naturally moist, needs smaller amounts of oil; sesame oil
is ideal for kapha. •   DO use cold-pressed, chemical-free, or ganic oils. •   DO massage with warm oil. It feels and penetrates better. •   DO leave the oil on your skin for up to forty-five minutes. This
helps the oil heal and nourish tissue better. •   DO follow up your massage with a warm bath or shower. •   DO relax between applying the oil and taking a shower. Listen
to music, read a book, or simply think happy thoughts. •   DON’T skip your post-massage shower; oil retained on the
skin too long can clog channels. •   DON’T use harsh soap after your massage; the deter gent will
leach the oil from  your pores. Use a mild oil-based herbal soap. If your skin is not very sensitive, you can also use barley or
chick-pea flour to gently lift the oil — and with it, dead cells
— from the surface of your skin. OceanofPDF. comMCHAPTER 1 1
simply stress-free
Take r est; a field that has r ested gives a bountiful cr op. — Ovid
onday, 9:30 A. M. Traffic lights flash on the streets of Los Angeles. Horns blare. Cars streak along the freeway. Golden sunlight bounces
off the waves of the Pacific, but no one has the time to stop and gaze. Life
is on autopilot. Waiting in the reception area of a seaside office building, thirty-five-
year-old Meryl pulls at her cheek to calm a persistent twitch. Minutes later,
she sits across from a cheerful man who nods understandingly as her story
comes tumbling forth. That man, a vaidya, counsels dozens of angst-ridden men and women
every day. It does not surprise or alarm him to hear that the young woman
before him seems to be suffering from every conceivable problem, from
backache, headache, and wristache to insomnia, depression, and chronic
fatigue. Ninety percent of the patients he sees have similar stories to tell. The diagnosis: burnout. In a world incre asingly addicte d to instant solutions — instant coffee,
instant messagin g, instant trading — Meryl could have taken her pick of
instant medications: tranquilizers, sedatives, soporifics. Why is she seeing a
vaidya instead. Perhaps becaus e, like millions of other people, Meryl has
begun to realize that instant remedies are not worth the price  you pay in
side ef fects. To a vaidya, the option of suppressing stress with side-ef fect-causing
pills simply does not arise. The vaidya knows that your stress has its origins
in one of three  places: your body, your mind, or your spirit. The first
priority is to figure out the point of origin, then recommend simple ways to
set you free of stress. The advantage in this approach is that you are
encouraged to become your own physician. Here is how you, too, can detect
the origins of your stress. begin with the body
The human body is one of the most intelligent, resilient structures in all of
creation. The kapha dosha rules body framework, holding bones and
muscles togethe r and providing support and strength. As long as you use
your body well, the kapha dosha makes sure your body performs at peak
levels. But when you tax your body beyond reasonable limits, or simply do not
use it enough, you start accumulating toxic ama inside your body. And, as
we have seen, the kapha dosha cannot tolerate ama at all. In particular, two
of kapha’ s deputies, or subdoshas, are af fected by physical stress:
•   tarpaka kaph a, which maintains moisture in such body chan nels as
the sinuses, mouth, and eyes, and is also responsible for nourishing
the five senses — sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell;
•   sleshaka kapha, which looks after the health of the joints. Disturbed, these subdoshas start sending distress signals, which, to a
vaidya, are unmistakable. Among the most obvious of these symptoms are
dryness, stif fness, and bloating. More specifically, kapha imbalance robs theskin of moisture, leaving it dull and dry. The joints fall short of lubricant
and beco me stiff. The tongue is coated with ama and the breath smells stale. The eyes look dull and devoid of ojas. Another way in which a stressed body creates imbalance  is by
disturbing the vyana vata, the vata deputy that governs circulation, blood
pressure, and the sense of touch. If your blood pressure is high, your nerves
on edge, or your circulation sluggish, it is probably your vyana vata calling
out for relief. These distress signals can seem  terribly alarming, but if you give your
body some tender loving care the damage can be rapidly revers ed. Start by
making a list of the small ways in which you have been misusing or abusing
your body. Are you giving it too much exercise, too little exercise, or not
enough rest. Have you been reading in low light, watching television too
closely, not sitting erect. If you answer “yes” to some or all of these
questions, don’t feel sorry. Instead, rejoice. You have done something
remarkable: you have discovered the root cause of your stress. Now you can
restore balance to your body without reaching for a pill or making a
doctor ’s appointment. De-str ess Y our Body in Thr ee Easy Steps
1. Drink plenty of water. Nothing tones up the digestive system like a
regular sip of lukewarm water. This is important because, more often
than not, the stresses that burden the mind originate in the gut. Warm
water helps flush out the toxins that throw kapha out of balance and
lead to problems like bloating and water retention. At the same time,
water balances vata, which, when aggravated, can cause stressful
digestive problems like constipation. Water (at room tempera ture)
also calm s pitta, which, though blessed with a strong digestive fire,
can be plagued  by acidity and ulcers. The answer to all three
problems: irrigate your body. Drink more water. 2. Take a fresh look at your daily quota of exercise. If you spend most
of the day sitting at a desk, your digestion can slow down,
encouraging toxins to build up inside your system. Therefore, you
will benefit by working a moderate amount of exercise — an easy-
paced twenty-minute walk, for example — into your schedule. Onthe other hand, too much exercise also throws the doshas out of
balance. In that case, you should  stop exerting and start making  time
for some rest. 3. Eat a peace-promoting snack. In Ayurveda, certain foods are
identified as natural stress-bu sters. Among them are walnuts,
almonds, coconut, lightly cooked juicy fruits like pears and apples,
milk, fresh homemade yogurt, ghee, and fresh cheeses such as
Indian-style homemade paneer (see recipe in chapter 9) or ricotta. If
your body is feeling stressed, get more of these ingredients in your
diet — based on a vaidya’ s assessment of which ones you need and
how much. move on to your mind
Do you think all the time but without clarity, work hard but without
enthusiasm, and lie in bed without sleep. If yes, your stress has its origins
in your mind. In Ayurvedic terms, these are classic symptoms of an out-of-
balance vata — more specifically, the subdosha prana vata, or life force,
that governs ener gy and calm. When prana vata is disturbed, it impairs the mind’ s capacity to learn,
retain, and recall information. Ayurveda has names for these three essential
functions:
1. dhi, or acquisition of knowledge,
2. dhriti,  or retention of knowledge, and
3. smriti,  or recall of that knowledge. Therefore, if you can register new information in a flash, make creative
use of it in your work, and have a photographic memory; congratulate
yourself. Your stress levels are wonderfully low and your mind’ s key
coordinates are working in harmony. But, given our overload of stresses, I doubt if many of us can afford to
congratulate ourselves. I’m more familiar with the dhi/dhriti/smriti
imbalance that shows up in little ways: going blank, forgettin g our keys,struggling to remember a name. I know of someone who regularly forgets
whether she has eaten her lunch. Again, recovering from mental fatigue is not as frightening as it first
looks. Philosopher and writer  Franz Kafka, in fact, made it sound
delightfully easy:
You do not need  to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and
listen. Do not even listen, simply  wait. Do not even wait, be quite still
and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unma sked,
it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet. While such moments of quietud e are no doubt divinely healing, they are
hard to find. T ake a more proactive approa ch: try the follo wing simple ways
to heal your unhappy prana vata. Five W ays to Balance Y our Prana V ata
1. Don’ t work long hours at the computer; it saps the mind of ener gy.
Regular cleansing to remove toxins.
What is the key to maintaining healthy skin, according to Ayurvedic principles?
10-15 minutes
What is the recommended duration for a daily massage, according to Ayurvedic principles?
Not to suppress emotions, but to address the root cause of stress and work on balancing the doshas.
What is the recommended approach to stress relief, according to Ayurvedic principles?
To recognize the root cause of stress, whether it's physical, mental, or emotional, and work on eliminating the root cause.
What is the recommended approach to dealing with stress, according to Ayurveda?
To address the root cause of stress, whether it's physical, mental, or emotional, and work on eliminating the root cause.
What is the recommended approach to dealing with stress, according to Ayurvedic principles?