Develop your ayurvedic and yogic lifestyle and receive my 50-pages ayurvedic recipes book and my best tips every week. It’s time to get back your health and live the life that really inspires you
Rejuvenate with proper cycle of time in proportion of your doshas
Ayurveda defines cycle of time in our life and especially in our daily life. If you want to get balance in your mind, body and soul you have to respect these cycles. They are cycles of your own nature but also the cycle of Mother Nature.
Have you ever found that if you sleep too much you feel heavy and lazy all day long?
Ayurveda has a fairly simple explanation for all of this. There is a natural ebb and flow in the natural world, including your own body and mind.
Do you feel hungry around 10 p.m?
Or maybe sometimes you wake up at 4 a.m worrying and have a hard time falling back asleep…
Vata, Pitta and Kapha are energetic forces that govern the tides of your life, and also your your day.
If you understand these forces, you can tune into the natural rhythms of the world. And make informed choices to help you to get healthy and harmonious life.
In other words, there is a vata, pitta and kapha hour of the day and a vata, pitta and kapha hour of the night. Understanding this allows you to choose activities, food choices, etc. That will support the dominant energy in and around you at that time.
Ayurveda and cycle of time
The ayurvedic cycle of Kapha time
Let’s start with the Kapha time of the day, as it always starts with the Kapha dosha.
Ayurveda teaches that it is best to get up in the morning before 6 a.m, because at 6 a.m. Kapha becomes dominant. Kapha is the energy of water and earth, and is therefore heavy and slow. If you wake up during kaphatime, which is between 6.00 and 10.00, these qualities will increase in you. You will say “I overslept, and I struggled to wake up,”
It is better to get up before 6 a.m. and participate in a morning activity. You will to get your heart racing and start your day with energy.
Breakfast is actually a fairly light meal as it is still in Kapha time.
The ayurvedic cycle of Pitta time
Time runs out in Pitta, which starts at 10:00 am and continues until 2:00 pm.
Pitta governs productivity time, when the sun is highest in the sky and there is more heat in the natural world.
Pitta is the dosha of heat, for it is made of fire and water. At this time of day, heat naturally predominates in our body and mind. By harnessing this midday heat, we are determined to be productive and achieve our goals.
However, it is best to avoid spending time in direct sunlight at this time of day, especially engaging in vigorous activity in the sun>
If you are predominantly pitta, as those with a pitta nature are likely to experience an increase in heat symptoms in the body at this time. You can experienced burning indigestion, rashes, or even mood swings. And as mentioned above, lunch is the time when you can enjoy a big meal the most. As you are best able to digest it at this time, as digestion is a fiery process and will be supported by the heat of the meal
Your nature works with Nature
The ayurvedic cycle of Vata time
The pitta time of the day fades when Vata time begins, around 2:00 p.m. Vata continues until 6:00 p.m. as day gives way to night. Vata, which is made up of the elements air and space (ether), governs the transition time.
The naturally light and ethereal qualities of this time of day allow creativity and expansive thinking. Make it a great time to engage in creative pursuits and problem solving.
However, it can also be a time when people of a vata nature may experience restlessness, so choose a calm environment in which you can work while minimizing excessive sensory input such as bright lights and noise.
Instead, settle into a peaceful environment and grab a cup of herbal tea and a warm blanket. Vata is the most delicate of the doshas, and the most likely to become imbalanced, as it is the dosha of movement. By keeping him at ease at this time of day, his creative gifts can manifest and imbalances avoided.
As the cycle continues and we move towards night, the dosha times repeat themselves.
Ayurvedic cycles of time at night
Kapha time
Kapha becomes dominant again from 6:00 p.m. at 10 p.m, when the water and earth elements accumulate again. These heavy qualities tell you it’s time to relax. Eat a light, early dinner (don’t overeat at dinner – avoid heavy foods), and settle in for the night.
Around 10 p.m, you have to sleep. By going to bed during the kapha hour, the heaviness of this hour will help you fall asleep easily and naturally.
In the last hour or two before bed (around 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.), only engage in calming activities that nourish and soothe you. No fuss, no painful conversation, no violent TV shows – or it can interfere with sleep! Instead, take a hot bath, sip tea by the fire, listen to soothing music, enjoy a light conversation with loved ones.
Pitta Time
At 10 p.m., I hope you are well in bed, sound asleep. This is important because Pitta regulates activity and while you sleep is no exception. The pitta time of the night is from 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. It is important because thisis the time of internal cleansing.
If you stay awake during this important time, you are missing out on the benefits of this hour of cleansing. In fact, if you’re still awake you might find that the food cravings kick in and find yourself in the fridge. Looking for ice cream or leftover pizza, as the digestive force is going to search for something to digest. . Your body will thank you for skipping this and falling asleep instead!
Vata Time
Vata Time returns from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m, marking another transition time. However, early morning vata time is not a time of creativity, but rather of receptivity. Yogis long ago discovered that this time of day, when air and ether dominate, is the best time for meditation, prayer, chanting, and other spiritual practices.
By getting up before 6:00 a.m, you are able to maximize this experience, spending that peaceful time of day in spiritual activities.
If you are still in bed, you may find that your sleep is light and disturbed, or that you wake up and find it difficult to close your mind. Meditation at this time can be a challenge for some, especially if you have a lot of vata in your nature or have a vata imbalance.
Using a mantra or affirmations, doing yoga and pranayama can be very helpful in calming the mind. Having a cup of warm milk in the evening before bed with a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg is good. Do gentle yoga, or inhaling soothing essential oils such as lavender or jatamansi to calm the mind. You can aslo practice soothing pranayama like Nadi Shodhana.
By listening to nature’s signals and following her rhythms, she will reward you with health, balance and peace of mind.
Reading Bhagavad Gita help to understand our inner self
Therefore, according to the scriptures, Veda and Bhagavad Gita, the fundamental human problem is misplaced search for something in a place, where it is not available.
And therefore, the intelligent approach is to search for something in a place where it is available.
Now the question is:
Why do the human beings commit such a mistake?
And make the life a soup and go from struggle to struggle to struggle. Why?
The Vedas point out that these three basic needs are available within but hidden.
They are covered like the treasure that is covered under the ground or like the borewell water which is under the ground.
Struggling
One Swami who had an ashram, was struggling for water. Even an ordinary house, needs a lot of water. Imagine an ashram, where several members are there.
And that Swamiji dug all the ground, all over the ashram, to tap some source of water, he could not and he was struggling to get it from outside several places and 10 years he had to struggle sometime he gets, sometimes he does not.
This is a real incident. And one day he was standing outside waiting for someone and one government official from water department came with some hydrometer instrument, which can detect the ground water, it seems.
Then he said, why can’t we try and he asked the Swamiji to move a little bit standing on the gate and he kept the meter and found out that right underneath there is a huge and perennial source of water.
He has dug everywhere except that place.
So that Swamiji was jumping it seems like mokṣa.
Why was the struggle for 10 years. What he wanted he had but it was covered.
Similarly, the scriptures point out, we have the perennial borewell, which has got the permanent; what you call, source of these fundamental needs, viz., security, peace and happiness. But the problem is it is hidden by layers of covering.
And sometimes the water is so deep, we have different layers, one clay layer, some rubble layer, some other layer. Similarly, it is covered. And therefore, what is required to get these three.
What the Bhagavad Gita and Veda point out?
Remove the layers of covering and tap the borewell.
Free your mind and body with discipline, read and understand Bhagavad Gita helps to get peace.
Tap the eternal spring of security, peace and happiness. May you tap from the eternal spring. And this process is called discovery. Discovery means what? Dissing the cover.
Dissing means what, removing the cover.
The Swamiji did not produce water, because water was already there. He only removed the covering which was between him and water. Now the next question is: what are the layers that cover these three, so that I can handle appropriately. If the cover is stone and rubbles, you have to use a different weapon, instrument; if it is wet clay, you have to use an appropriate instrument;depends upon the type of covering.
The scriptures point out that there are three layers covering the spring security, peace and happiness within us is covered by three layers. The grossest, subtle and the subtlest, the finest layer and what are those three layers.
They are known as:
Malam: literally meaning impurity.
No.2 vikṣepaḥ: means a extrovertedness and literally means disturbance; disturbance caused by extrovertedness. Outgoing tendency.
And the third layer : avaraṇam, otherwise ajnanam, ignorance.
Malam, vikṣepaḥ and ajnanam.
Malam or impurity refers to varieties of mental problems, normally enumerated as the six fold impurities; six fold enemies, six fold obstacles to discover our inner joy. And those impurities are kamaḥ, krodhaḥ, lobhaḥ, mohaḥ, madaḥ, matsaryaḥ.
You would have heard kamaḥ, (desire), krodhaḥ, (Anger); lobhaḥ (Greed); mohaḥ (delusion); madaḥ (arrogance or vanity); matsaryaḥ (jealousy or competitiveness). These are the main six fold impurities in the mind. They make the first layer of obstacles in unearthing our inner joy.
Then the second layer of obstacle is, Vikṣepaḥ, the mental restlessness, mental wandering, mental extrovertedness is the second layer of obstacle, because of which I am not able to see; like when the water is turbulent, you cannot see the bottom of the river properly. If the water is muddied, you cannot see. That muddied water has got Malam (impurities).
The turbulent water has got Vikṣepaḥ (obstacle). When these two are there, you do not see what is down below. Similarly when the mind has got impurities and turbulence, you cannot recognize the truth behind.
And the third obstacle is called Ignorance; ignorance of the fact that I am the only source of these three. I am the spring of ananda (extreme happiness), the embodiment of security. I am full of, I have abundance of Shanti. This fact, I am ignorant. Ignorance is the third layer.
Therefore what is required; remove these three layers.
Yoga means that which unites the seeker with the destination.
Yoga means that which unites the seeker.
Me, with what?
The destination called security, peace and happiness. Like when the treasure-hunter uses different instruments, each one is like yoga because when obstacles are removed, who is united with whom?
The treasure-hunter is united with the treasure. So the hunter treasure-union is caused by this and that one which causes the union is called the Yoga.
The whole Ramayaṇa is compared to a spiritual journey. We have to use three different disciplines or yogas to recover the treasure; to claim my own treasure.
Three different disciplines or yoga to recover the treasure
And the three yogas prescribed in the scriptures.
Karma Yoga : to remove the first layer of obstacle.
The second yoga is called Upasana yoga to remove the second layer of obstacle.
The third one is called Jnana yoga to remove the third layer.
Karma Yogena mala nivrithi, you can understand these three Sanskrit sentences.
These three yogas do not bring anything but it connects me to my own treasure.It helps me claim my own wealth.
Like some people die, without writing proper will, and for the other survivor, to claim the property; it is his own property, their own property, but you have to go through so many procedures, and ultimately, what do you get. You do not get money, you have claimed the money which has been already yours. you are claiming your birthright
Thus three yogas are prescribed.
Karma Yoga is a life style consisting of proper action and proper attitude. What do you mean proper action? Any action which will primarily contribute to the reduction of kamaḥ, krodhaḥ, lobhaḥ, mohaḥ; instead of increasing them. Any action which will help in the reduction of the impurities is called proper action.
And proper attitude is the right attitude towards the action as well as the result of the action. A healthy attitude towards the action and its result which will help me grow through every experience. Healthy attitude is that which will help me.
The 3 Yoga mentioned in Bhagavad gita
Read, understand Bhagavad Gita and make your own opinion.
Proper action plus proper attitude is Karma Yoga.
Karma Yoga removes the first layer of impurity.
Then the second yoga is upasana Yoga; which consists of different types of meditations, different forms of meditations will help in quietening the mind. The extrovert, turbulent, restless, outgoing, wandering, fidgety mind has to have some relaxation. A stress-free mind is the result of Upasana yoga.
Removal of impurity can be translated as attaining purity.
Upasana Yoga will lead to Vikṣepaḥ nivṛttiḥ. Removal of restlessness which can be positively presented as attaining the steadiness of the mind; instead of wandering, the mind is steady and calm.
And then comes the third Yoga called: Jnana yoga.
It consists of enquiry into my real nature.
Do I require Peace from outside or is my very nature is peaceful?
Or am I the ever secure Aatma (soul) ?
Do I need happiness from outside or can I tap it from myself?
So Jnana yoga consists of self-enquiry, Self-analysis, atma vicaraḥ.
And if a person goes through Karma Yoga, Upasana Yogaḥ and Jnana Yoga, all these three layers are removed.
And there is no option in these three, because we have all these three layers; in fact very very thick; thick layers we have got. And therefore, to help us ingoing through these three yoga, and also discover the inner security, peace and happiness, our scriptures guide us and these wonderful scriptures who guide us are called the Vedas.
What the purpose of Vedas?
The Vedas are these wonderful scriptures whose only aim is helping us to tap our own wealth.
Veda means source of knowledge, and these Vedas are revelations from the Source itself. Vedas have down to us through the Riṣhis. Rishis are the receiving centers; just as we have transmission station and receiving station.
Source: Swami Paramathananda’s Bhagavad Gita, Lectures in Chennai
Ayurveda views the human body in terms of conscience, of information and energy as being contained within a physical field of organs, tissues and channels.
Yoga considers asanas like static poses with energy conditions, which in turn are manifestations of consciousness.
The body is not simply physical, but it is only a point of physical concentration of forces which extend to the whole universe.
The physical body itself is mortal, and connected to larger energies and powers of immortality and eternity.
Although limited in size, its connections extend endlessly.
The Ayurvedic effects of the practice of asanas
According to the philosophy of yoga, the physical body is:
• manifestation of consciousness.
• a crystallization of karmic (behavioral) patterns created by the mind.
The key to working with the body is to understand the consciousness behind it, much of which lies outside of our ordinary consciousness.
• pranic and psychological energies, factors of consciousness.
We can not examine the doshic impact of asanas only on a physical level, but we must also consider their psychological effects.
The energy and focus we put into the pose is as important as the pose itself.
We can see this in ordinary life in which what we feel on a psychological level determines how we move on a physical level.
The long-term patterns of sensations and energy determine the shape and rhythm of the body.
Each asana has its own structural effect.
Yoga asana therapy
The seated postures provide:
• the stability of the spine
• create flexibility in the back of the legs.
• create parasympathetic stimulation,
=> they create a pleasant calming influence.
Standing poses increase overall strength and energy levels.
Backbends tend to:
• excite us (sympathetic stimulation),
• to increase the extension of the spine and to create strength in the erector muscles of the trunk.
• Relaxation poses even out and calm the energies created by our asana practice.
All asanas, whether in groups or individually, have their own energy depending on what they do to the body.
The experience of an asana will vary depending on
• of the constitution,
• flexibility and the organic condition of the individual.
The effect of the asana is the combination of the structure of the asana, the same for everyone, and the person’s own body structure
• which not only varies from one individual to another,
• but also changes over time.
Asana as Pranic Energy
The physical body is a vehicle for our internal energies defined by Prana.
Asanas are vehicles through which Prana is directed.
An asana is not just a physical structure but an energy condition
The asana is like a car with Prana as its driving force.
It’s not just about having the right vehicle, it’s also about moving it the right way.
The Pranic impulse behind the asana is as important as the asana itself
This means that depending on how we direct our Prana, the same asana can take us to different places.
For example, a seated posture done with strong pranayama can have a very energizing effect, while with ordinary breathing it will calm us down or even put us to sleep.
Asana is not only structure and energy, but also reflects thought and the intention.
We could call asana a “reflective” or “mindful” form of exercise.
The effects of the same asana will vary depending on whether our mind is clear or cloudy and our emotions are calm or turbulent
Ayurvedic effects of asanas
Each asana has a particular effect in relation to the three doshas.
The 3 doshas
This is the same as how Ayurveda classifies foods according to their doshic effects as good or bad for Vata, Pitta and Kapha, depending on the tastes and elements that make up each food.
Asanas = structural capacity =. to increase or decrease the doshas.
Through the use of the breath, we can modify or even change the doshic effects of the asana.
And the importance of thought and intention in asana practice.
Asana + prana + mind = modifying a particular asana or adjusting the whole practice towards a particular doshic result.
Specific asanas + pranayama + meditation = complete internal balance can be created and maintained.
The doshic application of asanas is two fold
• According to the constitution of the individual defined by his doshic type as Vata, Pitta and Kapha and their mixtures.
• Relating to the impact of asanas on the doshas as general physiological functions.
Each dosha has its sites and actions in the body which the asanas will perform depending on their orientation.
Why Yoga practice should start with Ayurveda
Ayurveda : Food is your first medicine
Ayurveda with Yoga helps us gain:
• complete harmony and balance in body and mind
• so that we can discover our true Self which is one with all.
Yoga is practiced today for health benefits as the main factor
• asanas and pranayama,
• sometimes extending to mantra, mindfulness and meditation to improve our psychological well-being.
What we may not know is that the healing aspect of yoga is traditionally based on Ayurveda,
India’s ancient natural healing system developed from the philosophy of yoga and Vedic knowledge as a medical application.
These two Vedic disciplines rely on each other, Ayurveda being the healing aspect of Yoga.
Yoga was originally conceived as the Vedic tradition of sadhana to promote Self-realization through mind control, as in the teachings of the Yoga Sutras of Rishi Patanjali and the Bhagavad Gita of Sri Krishna.
Ayurveda was conceived as the Vedic tradition of healing and wellness for body and mind, as described in the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita, the two oldest Ayurvedic texts.
over time, the two systems have undergone their own developments and diversifications, so many people, including yoga teachers, may not understand their links or how to use them together.
Ayurveda, like traditional yoga, views the universe in terms of two factors:
• of Purusha – the consciousness principle or Higher Self,
• and Prakriti – the force of nature which governs all organic processes.
Ayurveda extends the principles of yoga philosophy and cosmology to the functioning of body and mind to bring them to optimal function and harmony.
Yoga and Ayurveda share the Vedic sciences:
• of the five elements,
• of the five pranas,
• the spirit and the gunas (qualities of nature)
• and many other related factors.
Ayurveda like Yoga emphasizes the Atman or Higher Self as the ultimate repository of health and well-being.
Each of us has a unique body-mind constitution, just as we have our own specific personal karmas to deal with in life.
No two people are exactly the same and therefore we must treat each individual differently according to their nature.
We can’t just take mass prescriptions and get cured, but we have to meet each person’s needs which may be radically different from each other.
– understand how the three doshas work in us
– of Vata (air and ether),
– Pitta (fire) and Kapha (water and earth)
These constitute our individual doshic prakriti or “mind-body type”,
Prakriti determines our particular needs in matters of:
• food,
• herbs,
• exercise and lifestyle,
• as well as our general tendency to illness.
The three gunas
In approaching the mind, we must understand how the three gunas affect the workings of the mind:
• of sattva (balance), rajas (aggression) and tamas (inertia)
According to Ayurveda, the gunas of rajas and tamas, which cause restlessness or boredom, are the disease-causing factors or doshas at the level of the mind that must be eliminated for emotional happiness and peace of mind.
Yoga = development of sattva guna in the mind for mental acuity and as a foundation for meditation.
Yamas and Niyamas of Yoga are the principles of the sattvic life.
These 2 systems are the understanding of our individual constitution according to Ayurveda in order to help guide our practice of Yoga.
Ayurveda helps to put:
• our yoga practice on a solid foundation,
• how to take care of our unique constitution through the three doshas and their variations in us and around us.
• help determine which yoga practices are best for us, from asanas to meditation.
Ayurveda helps us to understand the state of Agni or our biological fires,
• by the digestive fire (jatharagni)
• by extending to the pranic fire or the fire of the breath,
• in the fire of the mind
• and finally to the fire of awareness that arises in deep meditation.
Higher yoga practices involve:
• to balance and develop the different levels of Agni
• offer enhanced levels of perception and consciousness – through Yogagni or the fire of Yoga.
What is the Fire of Yoga?
Benevolent/beneficial elements obtained through the practice of inner meditation, the elements by which all bonds born of illusion, including those of the practitioner’s body, are reduced to ashes.
Ayurveda details understanding of Prana and its five sub-types which govern the movement of energy in body and mind.
Yoga asanas are manifestations of the five pranas
• Udana or upward movement,
• Apana or downward movement,
• Vyana or expansive movement and Samana or contraction movement,
• Prana being overall increased energy.
Ayurveda as a complete system of yogic medicine
Ayurveda = complete system of yogic medicine
• understanding of body and mind,
• determining the individual constitution,
• disease theory and diagnostic methods,
• and treatment methods that include diet, herbs, massage and Pancha Karma.
Embraces all aspects of Yoga and meditation
• his psychological therapies.
Ayurveda stems from the Samkhya-Yoga philosophy and its principles rooted in
• the Purusha, the Higher Self which is the goal of Yoga practice.
Ayurveda recommends specific health regimens
• at the individual level,
• including daily practices,
• monthly and seasonal,
• and practices relating to the stage of life, from infancy to old age.
Yogic healing works best within the context of a complete yogic system of medicine provided by Ayurveda.
Using Ayurveda with yoga helps us achieve complete harmony and balance in body and mind so that we can discover our true Self which is one with all.
Here are some proven cleanser habits and Ayurvedic holistic skin care tips that you can include in your daily life. I also share what I’m able to practicing on my patients, teach them too for very nice results!
Ayurveda is not just about herbal remedies. It’s a way of life. It’s about adopting lifestyle habits that will make you the most beautiful you. Ayurvedic lifestyle tips for glowing skin and heal
Ayurvedic lifestyle skincare for glowing skin and healed
1. Rest to care your skin
Go to bed early and get up early. Besides making you healthy and wise, this practice protects your beauty skin. Having too many late nights and not getting enough sleep increases the number of inflammatory cells in your body that worsen and trigger skin problems, such as acne and dermatitis. In addition, they disrupt the skin’s moisture system, causing dry skin and rapid aging. You have to follow a mindful approach to beauty care practice, and regenerate.
2. Diet : the first secret for glowing skin
Care your diet for healthy skin
Don’t mix incompatible foods
Food is medicine. But can turn into poison when the wrong combination is made. Avoid these incompatible foods to take care of your skin and your health:
• Milk and fruit: even if you like your bowl of yogurt mixed with fruit, avoid it. Fruits are digested quickly and milk takes time to digest. Thus, during the processing time, the fruit curdles the milk and creates acidity.
• Milk and meat: avoid consuming dairy products (including desserts) with fish and meat. Fish warms your body while milk cools it. The combination of these contrasting foods clogs the vital channels (srotas) of the body.
• Cold drinks before, during, after a meal: avoid drinking iced or cold drinks. This is because cold weakens agni, the digestive fire, and causes stomach and digestive problems. This also applies to frozen yogurt and ice cream after (or before) meals.
• Ghee and honey: the two, in the same quantity, produce opposite reactions in your body. As the ghee cools, the honey heats up, which can cause an imbalance.
It is important to stay hydrated throughout the day. Drink water and also sip herbal tea in between. Brew tea with herbs like chamomile, ginger or lemon and drink it in the afternoon to keep your digestion healthy. And a healthy digestive system is essential for glowing skin.
4. Consume vegetables for skin care
Vegetables rich in water can be digested easily and full of antioxydant. Vegetables such as carrots, radishes, lettuce, asparagus and fennel tips and cucumber are beneficial for all skin types. These are revered as purifiers.
9. Consumes seeds and nuts
Seeds and nuts for skin nourishing
Seeds and nuts aren’t just for birds. In fact, adding them to your diet regularly keeps your skin healthy. They contain healthy fats that are good for your cardiovascular system as well as your skin as they also contain omega-3 fatty acids and fiber. Regularly consume sunflower seeds, almonds, pistachios and flaxseeds for glowing skin.
10. Reduce sugar and salt
High salt intake affects your blood pressure, which, in turn, increases your risk of cardiovascular disease. Also, excess sugar and salt damage your skin’s collagen and elastin and these two compounds keep your skin elastic, toned and is anti-aging.
Stop sugar because it has an impact on insulin production which tends to get an oily skin.
5. Exercise for skin care
Not only is it good for your heart and lungs, but it’s also the key to a beautiful care routine and glowing skin. Exercise stimulates blood circulation, which in turn nourishes your skin cells and flushes out harmful free radicals and toxins.
6. Reduce your stress
More than physical stress, mental stress can harm skin health. Controlled breathing exercises are a great way to release stress and calm your mind. Before going to bed, do a simple breathing exercise like Nadi shodana. Get peaceful mind before to sleep will help your body to rejuvenate better.
7. Meditate
You must be wondering how this can make your skin beautiful and glowing. Well, meditation helps calm your mind. When your mind is at rest, positive energy or “prana” flows through your body, flooding your cells with vital energy. It not only reduces stress but also rejuvenates your skin.
8. Moisturize your skin
Keeping your skin hydrated is crucial. In addition to drinking enough water, treat yourself with oil massages. Oil massage or Abhyanga is an essential part of Ayurvedic skincare routine. Massaging your skin with plant oils not only relaxes your muscles and tissues, nourishes them, and also stimulates blood and lymph circulation. Take a hot shower after at least 20 minutes…
It is a good practice for skin toner.
In the evening there is no need to apply a cream before going to bed because it is during the night that the skin regenerates… if you apply a cream you clog the pores which do not cannot perform their regenerative work properly during rest.
11. Protect your skin from too much sun exposure
While a little sun exposure is a necessity to give your skin and bones the daily dose of vitamin D, too much exposure can be harmful. UV rays can cause tanning, sunburn, hyperpigmentation and wrinkles. Whenever you go out, don’t forget to apply sunscreen, use an umbrella, hat or scarf to protect your skin.
In addition to improving your lifestyle habits, you need to stop smearing your skin with chemicals every day. Instead, switch to natural ingredients and remedies to keep it healthy. You will find these ingredients easily in your kitchen or refrigerator. Let’s look at a few.
After these few principles, let’s move on to practice!
Skin care natural recipe
Natural skin care: no chemical use !
12. Orange to improve your complexion
Orange peel contains vitamin C and antioxidants that keep your skin clear and luminous. It is the perfect ingredient to make the Ayurvedic face mask for oily skin. It also minimizes acne breakouts. Dry the orange peels in the sun and powder them to use on your skin.
What do you need ?
• 1 tablespoon powdered orange zest
• 2 tablespoons yogurt
Method
1. Mix the powder and yogurt.
2. Use a brush to apply it evenly on your face and neck.
3. Keep it for 20 minutes.
4. Wash.
13. Sandalwood and Turmeric for Acne Control
Sandalwood and turmeric are revered in Ayurveda for their antibacterial properties. Both are also widely used in Ayurvedic skin care. They kill acne-causing bacteria, cleanse the skin, tighten pores and prevent inflammation.
What do you need
• 1 tbsp sandalwood powder
• ½ tbsp turmeric
• 2-3 tbsp honey (adjust according to consistency)
Method
1. Mix all ingredients together in a wooden bowl. glass.
2. Make a creamy paste.
3. Apply all over face and hold until dry.
4. Wash in cold water.
14. Raw Potato for Pigmentation
Potato contains starch and has mild bleaching properties that help naturally fade pigmentation, dark spots and scars. Moreover, it also contains useful enzymes that prevent premature aging.
What do you need
• 1 potato
• Cotton ball
Method
1. Grate the potato and extract the juice.
2. Dip the cotton ball in potato juice and apply on the affected area.
3. Leave on overnight.
4. Wash the next day.
15. Fenugreek for anti-aging
Fenugreek leaves contain essential vitamins and minerals that are effective in treating many skin problems, including wrinkles. You can use both fenugreek leaves and seeds. Your skin absorbs it easily and you will see visible results with daily use.
What do you need
A handful of fresh fenugreek leaves (or 1 tbsp fenugreek seeds)
Method
1. Grind the fenugreek leaves and make a fine paste.
2. Apply a thin layer of paste evenly all over the face.
3. If you are using fenugreek seeds, boil them in water and apply the water with cotton.
4. Leave for 30 minutes or one hour.
5. Wash off with lukewarm water.
16. Ghee massage for anti-aging benefits
Ghee has multiple benefits. It improves digestion and eliminates toxins from your system. And when you apply it to your face, it stimulates collagen production, keeps your skin hydrated and slows down the aging process.
What do you need
• ½ teaspoon of pure cow’s ghee
• A few drops of water
Method
1. Mix water and ghee.
2. Apply the mixture to your face and massage for 10 minutes in circular motions.
3. Let your skin absorb it for at least half an hour.
4. You can leave it overnight if you want.
5. Wash with a mild cleanser.
17. Tulsi Leaves for Instant Glow
The benefits of tulsi are second to none. From fighting common ailments to keeping your skin healthy, this wondrous herb holds a special place in Ayurvedic skin treatment. Tulsi leaves can even out your skin tone and make your skin glow.
What do you need
• A handful of tulsi (basil) leaves
• 1 tablespoon raw milk
Method
1. Grind the tulsi leaves to make a paste.
2. Mix well with raw milk to give it a pasty consistency.
3. Apply face mask and leave for 20 minutes.
4. Wash in cold water.
18. Chickpea flour for dark spots removal
Chickpea flour or besan is readily available in Indian kitchens and has amazing cleansing and antimicrobial properties. It is best to remove dark spots, tan and pigmentation.
What do you need
• 2 tbsp gram flour
• ½ tsp lemon juice (diluted)
• 1 tsp milk (or yoghurt or cream)
Method
1. Mix well all the ingredients and spread the sachet on your face. Avoid the eyes.
3. Allow to dry completely.
4. Wash off with lukewarm water.
19. Chamomile and soil for skin toner
Chamomile is known for its antiseptic and antimicrobial properties. When mixed with fuller’soil or multani mitti, it tightens pores, prevents breakouts and tones your skin to make it clear and bright.
What do you need
• 1 cup chamomile tea (steep strong)
• 1 tbsp soil
• 2 tsp honey
Method
1. Combine all ingredients and make a paste.
2. Distribute evenly over your face and neck.
3. Leave on until it dries, then wash off with lukewarm water.
20. Sandalwood and Yogurt: Cleanser and Moisturizer
Sandalwood is a common ingredient in Ayurvedic medicine for glowing skin. It deeply cleanses it, kills germs and bacteria, and leaves it fresh and luminous. Yogurt has a brightening and moisturizing effect on your skin. It reduces blemishes and extra fat.
What do you need
• 1 tsp white sandalwood powder
• ½ tsp milk
• ½ tsp yogurt
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
Method
1. Combine all ingredients to make a paste.
2. Use a brush to spread it evenly all over your face and neck.
3. Leave on for 20 minutes or until it’s dry and your skin feels taut.
4. Wash in cold water.
21. Saffron and Aloe Vera for glowing skin
Aloe Vera for skin healing
Saffron or kesar is among the most expensive spices in the world. It’s a time-tested spice that nourishes your skin and keeps it radiant and blemish-free. Aloe vera soothes your skin and reduces inflammation.
What do you need
• A pinch of saffron strands
• 1 teaspoon of milk
• 1 tablespoon of aloe vera gel
Method
1. Soak the saffron strands in milk. Leave to act all night.
2. Next day, mix well with aloe vera gel.
3. Apply on your face for half an hour.
4. Rinse with cold water.
Coming back to nature and immersing yourself in its healing source is the best way to say “I love you” to your skin. You don’t need to follow all the Ayurvedic healing tips at once. Try adopting these habits slowly.
But taking care of your skin isn’t just about masks, the beauty of your skin also comes from the quality of the food you eat and the quality of your digestion…
Meat, fish, dairy products and eggs… I am going to talk here about animal products: and to see what place they could take in the diet.
This is not a chapter that takes into account ethical issues (although I will still talk about them) but rather gives information to guide those who have made the choice not to be vegetarian or vegan.
The goal is always to move towards more freedom, autonomy, conscious and well-being.
Meat is not forbidden in Ayurveda. On the contrary, it can be advocated in some cases.
But still, in Ayurveda, meat is tamasic.
What is tamasic?
Foods that increase inner darkness and confusion are called tamasic foods.
Tamasic foods include fried and frozen foods, fast foods, microwaved foods, processed foods, leftover foods, meat, fish, eggs, onions, alcohol, etc. They are good for slowing us down, numbing us, depressing us and reinforcing inertia.
If consumed in large quantities and regularly, they tend to depression, to laziness, overeating, excessive drinking, and excessive sexual desire.
One of the big challenges of our diet is the micro-nutritional richness and we generally think in terms of fruits and vegetables. But it is too often ignored that animal products are very rich in micronutrients, provided that the animals themselves have consumed suitable and rich food.
If the animal was raised healthy, outside, in the sun, ate grass, with a diet rich in micronutrients, this will be found in its flesh. Raised in good conditions, an animal’s liver is a micro-nutritional bomb, because the liver stores vitamins and a good part of the minerals.
Conversely, an animal that grazes on grass treated with pesticides and fungicides will concentrate these toxic products, particularly in its fatty part. It’s the same with antibiotics. This is how we find fish loaded with heavy metals. The bigger the animal, the more it will have eaten, and the more these products will be concentrated in its flesh.
If the animal was raised in good conditions, its flesh will therefore be rich in micronutrients which are also particularly bioavailable. We are very well equipped to digest animal products, much better than for vegetables whose cellulose can be problematic.
In animal products, we therefore find both the best and the worst. In the worst case, there are also the problems of protein overload in the event of too much consumption of this family of foods. What will especially be interesting are the animal fats in which there are many fat-soluble vitamins and provided that they are introduced in suitable quantity and quality.
What Are the benefits to consume animal products?
Meet: good or bad?
The benefits of consuming animal products are real provided that the animals have been raised in good conditions. The more an organism is weakened, the more difficult it is for the person to do without animal products.
Indeed, a tired person finds it difficult to digest, assimilate and use the nutrients found in plant products. While a person who has a very good vitality will undoubtedly adapt to a vegetarian or vegan diet.
In ayurveda meat and bones meals are often use to elevate bone imbalances like arthrosis, breaks, osteoporosis… with special soup.
A food plan intended for tired, chilly, depressed people includes animal products in order to compensate for possible deficiencies with a diet composed only of plants.
Eggs: an ideal product?
All animal products are not equivalent in terms of digestibility and impact on the environment. Focus on food quality. So we will speak exclusively of organic animals, raised in the open air, grass-fed for herbivores and which have received the physiological diet corresponding to their species. It is an essential base.
Among animal products, eggs are foods that is really interesting. Already we can produce them at home very easily, they do not require killing an animal. It is a kind of partnership between the hen and the human being.
The egg is a complete food.
The egg yolk is rich in very high quality processed fats, loaded with fat-soluble vitamins. Egg white provides highly digestible proteins. From experience, the less it is cooked, the better it is. Cooking tends to alter the quality of the yolk in particular. Cooking makes proteins more digestible but decreases nutritional quality.
It is very easy to consume a raw egg. For example, you can beat it to incorporate it into a salad dressing. Raw egg yolk can also be used to prepare mayonnaise.
Choose organic eggs at a minimum, ideally from farms near you where the hens are free-range. You should be able to find some in the markets.
Milk and its modern problems
Instead of meet: milk and eggs, great nutrients of animal products
Animal milk contains a great wealth of nutrients. It is composed mainly of sugars (lactose), proteins (casein) and fats. When talking about dairy products, it is imperative to specify what exactly we are talking about.
People allergic to dairy products are in fact mostly allergic to casein which is a protein found in dairy products.
This clarification is very important because butter contains practically no casein because it is made up of milk fat.
Please note: there is a huge difference between raw dairy products and pasteurized dairy products. These can be stored at room temperature because the microbial life has completely disappeared. And it is the microbes that ensure the decomposition and transformation of the product, thus improving its digestibility. In addition, pasteurized milk has lost all of its enzymatic content and has seen its micro-nutritional content greatly altered.
In the fresh section, you can find unpasteurized milk.
What about fermented milk product
Another feature to consider is fermentation. Traditionally, peoples who consumed a lot of milk fermented it in order to initiate a process of predigestion and thus make it much more digestible. A fermentation of 36 to 48 hours in the old way will also be much more favorable than a modern short fermentation of less than 12 hours (which is found even with organic yoghurts). Kefir and cheeses have a very long fermentation.
Finally, the breed of dairy cows also has a strong influence on the digestibility of these products. The casein in the milk of traditional cows raised naturally has nothing to do with those of cows found in factory farms.
In summary, it is better to give preference to fermented, organic dairy products whose animals have been raised in the open air.
Among the fermented milk products, there are:
– Preferably yoghurts to lengthen the fermentation time,
– Strainers or goat’s cheese
– Kefir is a milk in which mushrooms have always been added to initiate this pre-digestion process
– Artisan cheeses raw milk
From more to less allergenic, we find cow’s milk, sheep’s milk and lastly goat’s milk. Prefer goat’s milk if possible, sheep’s milk is also good but richer in fat.
Ghee from butter is a very interesting product, especially if it is a butter made from raw milk from naturally raised cows. Ghee is devoid of toxins unlike butter.
All these products will be consumed without cooking in your diet. You can optionally melt butter on hot food.
Above all, be free not to consume dairy products if they do not appeal to you.
Can we do without meat?
We generally associate a healthy diet with vegetarianism.
Can we do without meat?
The answer is: it depends! It depends on your body’s ability to find enough mineral, micro-nutritional, protein and fatty acid sources in the plant products you are going to consume. For some, it will go very well, for others, especially for tired people, much less well.
In animal products, there is a highly assimilable elaborated iron which is absent from vegetable products. And in general, the animal has the ability to transform micronutrients to make them more assimilable by our body than those from plants
How to consume meat “at best”?
Raw or cooked, raw is fine.
It’s not about eating meat dripping with blood!
Traditionally the meat was gamed. It was a maturation process in which all the bacteria and micro-organisms naturally present in the tissues carried out the work of decomposition, allowing better digestibility.
You are already used to eating raw meat: raw sausage and ham are among them.
How to prepare fermented raw meat at home?
Simply place it in a dehydrator for a few hours (30° max) then keep it cool (cool cellar or well-ventilated refrigerator) away from insects and let it mature for 1 or 2 weeks. White mold growing on the surface is completely normal. The thinner the pieces, the more successful your “homemade” cold cuts will be. If you put large pieces it is necessary to have a well ventilated, very dry refrigerator to prevent inadequate molds from developing there. Your sense of smell cannot deceive you in this matter. Meat that goes bad smells extremely bad.
Preparation of raw meat
– dried and matured for a long time preferably
– marinated in vinegar or lemon
– fresh in tartar
The advantage of this technique is that it does not add salt or sugar or any preservative as in charcuterie.
Raw meat contains many enzymes which are destroyed during cooking. When meat is cooked on the barbecue or in a frying pan, this cooking changes the composition of the meat and forms compounds that are known to participate in the formation of cancer cells. Moreover, when you grill meat, you lose the fat, which represents the most interesting part of animal products.
With raw, cured meat, you’ll retain that fat that gives the meat its flavor. And of course, you will keep all the micro-nutritional richness present.
What about all the pathogenic bacteria like Escherichia Coli?
It must be understood that on the surface of all plant and animal products there is a huge contingent of bacteria that guarantees the microbial stability of the products you are going to consume. So if an animal has been injected with antibiotics, the meat from that animal is susceptible to attack by any bacteria present in its storage environment.
From experience, I have never seen bacterial contamination of meat provided you follow proper meat aging techniques. That is to say surface drying and maturation at less than 7 or 8°. Above 10° you take risks. Let’s also not forget that the hydrochloric acid in our stomach is there to sterilize our food bowl.
It is also possible to eat raw and fresh meat. For example, you can mix an egg yolk with a minced steak to obtain a steak tartare. But drying and curing raw meat is one of the best ways to consume raw meat.
You can also marinate raw meat in acid products (lemon, vinegar) for a few hours. The acidity will lead to a start of nutrient decomposition to improve assimilation (but not as elaborately as with maturation).
And for seafood?
Seafood
The oceans are unfortunately increasingly polluted and even if they have the ability to self-clean, there is today an imbalance between the quantity of pollutants discharged into the sea and its ability to eliminate them. Consuming products from the sea therefore leads to exposure to all these pollutants. The bigger a fish, the more its flesh will concentrate pollutants (aluminum, mercury, pesticides, heavy metals, etc.). Small fish are therefore preferred.
Preparation of rawfish
– fresh && raw seafood
– oily fish dried and matured for a few hours
– marinated in vinegar or lemon
If we put aside the problem of the inevitable pollution of these products, fish and other seafood have their place in the diet. Most seafood can be eaten raw. Oysters of course, mussels, clams, … oysters are very rich in minerals.
When we talk about eating raw fish, we usually think of oily fish because the others, once dried and marinated, have very little taste. Raw fish can be eaten in the same way as meat.
You can fillet sardines or mackerel, dehydrate them and put them in the fridge or put them whole (but having previously emptied them and having removed the head). Consume them within hours (or even a few days at most) because the fatty acids tend to go rancid and give an unpleasant taste.
Raw fish can be marinated in vinegar or lemon. There are many traditional recipes that you can take inspiration from.
If you decide to consume animal products, choose them of organic and from free-range animals.
But why still consume animal products these days? I’m not going to decide for you on an ethical level, I’m here to talk about nutrition and Ayurveda. The animal seems to me a very important step between nature and humans.
Personally, the ideal mode of operation for my farm if I get one would be to have hens and a few sheep or goats to make butter, as plant production can be unpredictable from one year to the next.
But again, whether or not you include animal products in your diet is up to you.
Counting diet especially your calories will not elevate at all your healthy and balanced lifestyle. It will only create stress, anxiety, confusion, overwhelmed, dissatisfaction. and by the way food disorders.
You hear about keto diet, paleo diet for weight loss diet…all are fad diets.
Before all this idea of diets, have you ever asked yourself this: how people was eating decades ago without any sensational fashion diets?
The food we eat has a major impact on your mental and physical health.
Life is simple, diet is simple.
With natural daily style and clear thinking you can get your own balanced eating habits, far of dieting business.
Why you should avoid nutritious food if your body needs them and even if it’s a high calories foods?
Don’t you think the body’s functioning is little more complexthan counting your calorie. Your body does not work like that, a calculator. What is important is the nutritional value not the calories in your diet.
I know when a charismatic person is passionate about a particular diet, it’s hard to resist the urge to try. Especially when they’ve seen dramatic results on their own.
But unfortunately when you apply a method to the letter, you cannot be sure that it will work for you. And far from it!
Because we are all different and each body has radically different needs. Each one is unique in his functioning.
And you can be your own dietician or nutritionist just by learning your body, and be able to listen to it. Then to make your own diet.
Best diet is to have good nutrients in proportion of your ayurvedic constitution : loose weight, better mental and physical health, good immune system, strength, focus…
I will do a series on diet, understanding what you need and how to adapt your diet to be your own healer. Just learn and follow those simple rules, it will make a difference.
Self-care is the first habits to get. Eating well with mindfulness will also improve your digestive fire and metabolism.
You can take all those advices to build your healthy plan diet. Get a sustainable one to promote your health and reduce the risk of many today’s diseases
Unlike many framed food accompaniments (vegan, paleo, ketogenic, raw food etc …), this is not about locking yourself into a strict diet model.
Your diet : the freedom to act in conscience
What I want to convey to you is radically different. I want to give you back the freedom to act in conscience by essentially transmitting you principles of diet.
I will give you of course recipes but first, you will learn the fundamentals to understand how the human digestive system works and what its needs are.
The question of food should not be as complicated to tackle as it is now. Diet has also had catastrophic consequences.
Every time we eat, stereotypical representations come to mind: such and such a food is good or bad, it will have such and such a consequence on my body … We are paralyzed and stressed at the idea of to do wrong with your diet, which is counterproductive.
In this article, I will therefore apply myself to give you peace, tranquility, serenity, by focusing on a few very simple principles and by not deciding for you.
Of course, unlike this hyper intellectualization of food that is present today, the fact of not being interested in it can also prove to be deleterious.
Diet and catabolism
I will first start by defining catabolism.
A living body has several characteristics, including that of adapting to its environment. In the body, there is an adaptive function (at the digestive, thermal, nervous, hormonal level…).
It encompasses a large part of the working mechanisms of the human body, but we have the ability to adapt to our environment as long as he can adapt to his environment and has the resources to do so, all is well.
Symptomatic manifestations that we commonly call “disease“, disorders in the functioning of the body which are in fact only signals, occur when the body can no longer adapt.
For example, if you decide to stop consuming animal productsin your diet, you will inevitably be told about vitamin B12 deficiency. Despite everything, it is considered that there is a stock of this vitamin in the liver for a period of 2 to 4 years.
As soon as the body no longer receives vitamin B12 from the outside, it will adapt and initially show no symptoms as long as this resource is still available.
The day when the stock is exhausted, the first symptoms will appear.
Diseases are really just symptoms, warning signs that our adaptive capacity in a particular area or more generally is overwhelmed.
Our body no longer finds in its environment or in its resources what it needstoadapt to current conditions. To adapt, the body always follows the same process. It takes in its reserves or in its environment and it produces waste by its operation. Every living organism consumes resources, acts and produces wastes which will be evacuated.
Diet and disease
Now what is disease?
As explained previously, the disease corresponds to the exceeding of our adaptive capacities.
The body can no longer eliminate its waste or the body cannot find in its environment the very nature of what is necessary for it to nourish this adaptive capacity.
Among these elements which strongly participate in the adaptation of the body, there are the nutrients in your diet. These are the nourishing parts that are found in the products that we consume.
We can distinguish 2 categories of nutrients:
– Macronutrients: lipids, carbohydrates, proteins
– Micronutrients: vitamins, minerals, trace elements
It is on these elements that the body is based to perform the function of adaptation. If he does not find in his environment or in his own resources the elements he needs, the signals become symptoms and the symptoms become illness. It means that our adaptive capacity is overwhelmed.
To achieve the adaptive function, he will manifest symptoms related to this deficiency (for example symptoms of demineralization due to a lack of available minerals). The whole issue of food is first of all to meet this need inherent in the organism for both macro and micro-nutritional quality. It is thanks to this fundamental understanding that we will be able together to understand and then draw a framework in which you will evolve subsequently. This is what will guarantee you autonomy in your diet. Our adaptive capacity when it comes to food is based on our nutritional reserves.
How do you prevent and respond to the onset of the disease?
Good diet and healthy lifestyle
Everyone wants to avoid the onset of the disease.
And for that, our adaptive capacity must not be overwhelmed. That is to say, our body must have sufficient resources to be able to compensate for the adaptive demands of its environment on a daily basis. Our diet is one of the keys (it is far from being the only one).
This is a fundamental key, especially since over the past 50 to 60 years, our food has experienced an unprecedented transformation in the quality, quantity and nature of the food that we find on our plates. I will suggest that you adopt a daily diet that will ensure that the alarm signals (symptoms) do not go off. By consuming what your body really needs, you will not need any specific treatment or diet to compensate for possible dietary errors. This is the whole point of what I am proposing to you.
For that it will be necessary to promote the cleansing of the body.
A body consumes resources and products of wastes.
Hence the capital importance of providing it with adequate resources in terms of quantity and quality on a daily basis.
The second challenge is to treat waste. The body is also perfectly equipped to process waste. We have a waste treatment system that normally works well. It goes through:
– The lymphatic system: waste collection system
– The 4 emunctories: the kidneys, the intestines, the lungs, the skin
When the quantity of waste exceeds that which the body can process, there is have an accumulation of waste in our body. Food is a major contributor to this because modern food is a major source of waste. There are elements in this diet that our body cannot handle in terms of nutritional resources. They automatically become waste that the body must eliminate.
Approaches to find the right diet
So an Ayurvedic approach to food will focus on 2 essential principles: provide food in sufficient quantity and quality to allow the adaptive system to function properly, and have a diet that will promote treatment and waste disposal.
There will be 2 essential poles.
During the last few years, I have analyzed many dietary approaches to find the right diet. As a result of my research, I was able to identify what was in common in all these diets.
These are the2 principles that I will present to you in a next article. By keeping only 2 fundamental principles, we aim for the greatest efficiency for the minimum of effort. And above all, we do not enter into a diet religion which cuts us off from society. On the contrary, diet should give us more vitality, more joy and more enthusiasm. That’s what I’m aiming for: nutrition and waste disposal.
Then, it is necessary to restore the reserves… Reserves of what?
What does it mean to restore the reserves?
These are micro-nutritional reserves (vitamins, minerals, trace elements). Since the end of the Second World War, our food and more generally our entire environment has undergone profound upheavals. Before the war, 100% of the food produced in France was organic. We had a fresh, local and very little processed food. Pesticides and synthetic fertilizers did not exist, the peasants used animal droppings and cultivated on living soils.
However, for a plant to assimilate the nutrients from the soil, there must be a set of microorganisms (fungi, yeasts, bacteria) at the periphery of its roots (fungi, yeasts, bacteria) which allow the assimilation of soil minerals. in the plant. Plant which after being consumed, will then provide the body with these vitamins and minerals.
At the end of the Second World War, we witnessed the advent of a productivist agriculture based on the use of herbicides and fungicides which destroy the life of the soil, which greatly depleted the micro-nutritional content of our food.
There was also a phase difference between the macro-nutritional content and the micronutrient content. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats remained intact as the proportions of vitamins, minerals and trace elements collapsed over time. This certainly explains the increase in our appetite: the body may receive enough macronutrients, it remains in micro-nutritional deficiency and compensates by always eating more to have the minimum micro nutrition it needs to function on a daily basis. The tools that I offer will free you from the constraint of fad diets by giving you back your autonomy and restoring your health.
Fruits and diet
I will discuss fruits in our diet and next week I will talk about vegetables, then oilseeds, cereals and I will end the series with animal products.
The intake of fruits is essential.
Why the fruits?
First and foremost for reasons of availability and digestibility. When we talk about nutrition directly accessible by the body, fruits are perfectly indicated. In fruits, sugars are in simple form, so they do not require a digestive process to be assimilated and therefore no enzymatic capital is depleted.
The fatty acids present in avocados or olives, for example, are also short-chain and therefore particularly digestible and assimilable without inducing for the body too great a digestive process. Our instinct spontaneously pushes us to consume fruit.
We need sugars and fats in a simple and attractive form. Fruits represent the reproductive organ of a plant. “Its advantage is that you eat its fruits to disseminate the seeds further and thus grow a new plant. Nature therefore encourages us to eat fruit. Thanks to the sugars present, they represent a directly assimilable source of energy, it is the fuel of the cell. Fruits are therefore a base because they provide us with nutrients that can be used directly.
Sweet fruits: simple sugars versus complex sugars.
Sugars are intended to be broken down into simple sugars in our body so that they can be used. So why not focus on simple sugars from fruits that require less digestive effort?
There are several reasons for this. Already, cereals can be stored longer than fruit. But in our time the problem is different because we find fruit all year round on the shelves of our stores. This can be an advantage for tired people who do not have sufficient enzyme capital to digest a lot of complex sugars. Fruit is a perfect snack. They are easy to take away and do not require preparation before being consumed. They are one of the pillars of the diet
The virtues of fruits beyond sugars: antioxidants, tannins, astringents
Beyond the presence of macronutrients (sugars of course, fatty acids but also proteins), fruits are rich in micronutrients : vitamins, trace elements, minerals and active ingredients:
– Astringency which slightly dries the mouth when consumed, activates the circulation of all fluids in the body and in particular lymph.
– Tannins (bitterness) will have a positive action on the liver and on the circulation of fluids
– Antioxidants which give fruit color, neutralize free radicals produced by cells. The body produces it, but the fruits give us a lot of it and allow us to fight against the premature aging of cells by neutralizing the waste they produce.
Rather than going for these elements in often highly processed and very expensive dietary supplements, it is in your best interest to consume fruit. Hippocrates said: “Let your food be your medicine”. With fruits, you have a fabulous reserve of nutrition and active ingredients that is almost incomparable in terms of bioavailability and nutritional richness when it comes to organic fruits that have grown on healthy soils.
But isn’t that too much sugar?
We are sometimes wary of fruits because we are afraid of consuming too much sugar.
But when we talk about fruit, what are we talking about?
Because there are different categories of fruits: – Sweet fruits (apples, melons, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, watermelons, bananas…)
– Oil fruits (nuts, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts…)
There is therefore not only sugar among the fruits. All these fruits share this ability to feed us directly with minimal digestive work. If you take your food from the whole range of fruits, you will have a quality macro-nutritional and micro-nutritional contribution. Fruits Vitamins Minerals Trace elements Astringency Tannins Antioxidants which does not risk unbalancing and providing too much sugar.
This is also one of the risks when you change your diet: adding too much sweet fruit and forgetting the other categories of fruit. Avocados and olives will provide you with excellent fatty acids. Oilseeds should be soaked beforehand. They are also rich in very high quality fats and proteins (directly assimilable short-chain amino acids).
Sweet fruits, as we have seen, are digested quickly. The sugars pass through the blood, the body produces insulin which will command the body to enter the storage phase. Insulin will promote the passage of sugar through cells and programs the storage of excess sugar, first in the form of glycogen, then fat.
It will therefore be important to regulate 2 factors: the amount of sugars consumed and the speed at which they will pass through the body. There are tips I will show you to avoid spikes in blood sugar.
Dried fruits…
Compulsory soaking!
Among the dried fruits, there are various products such as dried figs, dates or raisins for example. Because they have lost a lot of their water, they are very concentrated in sugars.
For all people who are overweight, diabetic or have a metabolism disorder, they should be consumed sparingly and imperatively soaked overnight in water.
Although a soaked dry fruit no longer has the same properties as a fresh fruit, it at least has the advantage of seeing its sugar content diluted. You will be able to consume the fruit as well as the soaking water. In the end, there will always be the same amount of sugars but it will have been diluted, resulting in a lower glycemic peak. You can, by mixing dried fruits with their soaking water, obtain an absolutely delicious raw jam. It can be kept for a few days in the fridge.
White sugar and refined sugars
Unlike white sugar, fruit sugar is accompanied by fiber and minerals. These two elements have a huge impact on the speed of assimilation of sugars in the body. And above all, it changes the nature of the nutrition that is provided.
With white sugar, you will not have any nutritional contribution other than sugar. These are empty calories.
It induces a significant blood sugar spike leading to fat storage and exhaustion of your body.
Moreover, we are currently facing an obesity epidemic, linked to an explosion in our consumption of refined sugars in our diet. I recommend no refined sugar and uses several sources of natural sugars such as soaked dried fruits or honey.
The difference between white sugar and fruit sugar therefore lies in the speed of assimilation. This is why we invented indexes such as the glycemic load index which tells us, for a given quantity of food, the speed at which the sugar level will increase in the blood. And among the sweet products, fruits are among those with the lowest glycemic load thanks to the fibers present.
These are so-called soluble fibers which will form a kind of gel in the intestines on contact with water, thus promoting a gradual passage of sugars through the intestinal barrier. You will have energy for longer without a significant spike in insulin or alternating between hypo and hyperglycemia.
It is also very likely that many psychological disorders that we find in our time are linked to these states of hypo and hyperglycemia. In hypoglycemia, the body produces adrenaline which can lead to major emotional crises. Fruits provide much more constant energy, which will also stabilize your mood and the whole organism as a whole.
Why and when to eat fruit?
We have just explained it.
When to eat fruit? When you are hungry.
But I’m still going to encourage you not to eat fruit all day. Because even if they are rich in soluble fibers and minerals limiting blood sugar peaks, they are still sweet products.
Eating fruit throughout the day can cause you to fall into a vicious cycle of making you want to eat fruit soon after you’ve already eaten it, causing you to yoyo through your blood sugar spikes. I will therefore encourage you to concentrate your consumption of fruit outside of meals, at least starting your meal with fruit. But there again, when we talk about fruits, it is not necessarily sweet fruits, it can be oleaginous fruits, fatty fruits, according to the needs and the appetite of each one.
If you take your fruits, consume them along with other products that will have the advantage of avoiding those glycemic yoyos.
What works very well with a fruit meal are either the greens or fat from the fruit (eg coconut fat). The advantage of consuming fruit meals is that it makes it easier for the body to digest them, thus freeing up the energy available for action during your day. One of the criteria you will be watching to verify that your fruit meal is right for you is how tired you are at the end of the meal. If you are tired, it is a bad sign, there was probably too much fruit. If you are cold, it means that you have consumed too much juicy fruit, it will be necessary to densify.
Favor quality fruit
Between an apple sprayed with pesticides that has grown almost above ground and a local and organic apple, there is a colossal difference!
Reducing the quantities will allow you to move towards more quality.
When you go to buy your fruits, you will first need to have done some sourcing work, that is to say, look for good producers in your environment. A fruit that has just been picked from the tree, that has not gone through refrigerators for weeks or months, will be infinitely richer in micro-nutrition and also in taste. This will require you to take the time to find quality products. And they are found in all regions. In your organic store, look at the address of producers on the crates and contact them directly.
It takes time and organization, but there are fruits that keep a long time, such as apples, watermelons or dried fruits. On the other hand, strawberries or cherries will have a very short storage time requiring you to return there regularly. It is from the quality of the products that the ease of transitioning to a diet that includes more fruit will come.
All common fruits
Among the sweet fruits, there are several categories which will meet different purposes.
The weak acids present in these fruits have the property of cleaning the body. These are solvents that dissolve deposits inside your digestive system in particular and even throughout your body. This is why we can prescribe grapefruit or lemon juice cures for people with calcifications.
For people who are particularly acidified, even these weak acids will represent too much acidity for the body. It is therefore necessary to use this category of fruit with intelligence, parsimony and feeling. If you have a rather good build and good vitality, acidic fruits will not be a problem.
If you’re the exhausted, chilly, sour type with pain all over your body, go easy on the sour fruits. The body will not be able to deal with this acidity even if it is weak acids. If you are exhausted, you may have limited breathing capacity and you will have a hard time removing these acids.
They are very well tolerated by most people, even ideal products for people who have a problem with sugar metabolism. They contain few acids, are often quite watery, and do not have too high a sugar concentration.
They contain a lot of sugars and no acids. All people with inflamed intestines (colitis, colopathies, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, etc.) will have no problem consuming sweet fruits. Note: bananas are part of the so-called “climacteric” fruits, that is to say, which ripen after harvest. All climacteric fruits can be purchased unripe. Those that do not have this characteristic will soften and then rot but will not be able to ripen after being picked.
Select fruits
Finding smooth, perfectly calibrated and flawless in store is rather a bad sign… When a fruit is stressed, as for our organism, there are 2 possibilities. Either the stress which is applied to this fruit is greater than the ability of the plant to resist it. In this case the plant dies and there is no fruit. Either it does not die and develops sweeter, tastier fruits with more nutrients.
When you find fruits that are marked, it indicates that the plant struggled to grow and produced better quality fruit. At the market, prefer small apples with stains, scab, peaches a little curled up or apricots not very beautiful. It is a sign of quality! We have to re-educate our imagination and accept that the fruits we eat are not perfect.
Storage
Forget about storing fruit in the refrigerator right away!
Your fruit will no longer have taste. The taste quality and the texture of the fruit will be directly affected. To store your fruits, choose cool places and spread them out on wooden crates. That air can circulate as much as possible between the fruits. It will be necessary to regularly monitor them and consume those which are starting to be a little too ripe. Best way not to waste and to have fruit that really ripens without having been blocked by the cold.
Here I give you a little tip to keep your fruit even better. There are commercially available mixtures called effective microorganisms (EMs). You put about 3% ME in a sprayer filled with water and spray on top of your fruits and vegetables. By increasing the amount of microbes on the surface of the fruit, you will limit the rotting associated with a too static environment.
Fruits and diabetes or being overweight
With the consumption of fruit, there are 2 situations where it is necessary to be particularly careful:
• diabetes, in particular type 2 diabetes.
Experience proves that in practice, diabetics already consume sugars in starches. Those who have replaced complex sugars with fruits are doing very well provided they follow a few rules. First, you adapt to the person by testing and checking with a glucometer. People with diabetes who take up fruit are usually very surprised to find that their blood sugar levels do not skyrocket . Use all the tips that I have given to you. Such as mixing fruits with greens, consuming other categories of fruits than sweet fruits.
• Overweight.
Here too, favoring fatty fruits will be a trick to limit the intake of sugars while benefiting from the bioavailable, assimilable, very digestible character, rich in micronutrients, tannins and astringency. Playing on the different categories will allow you to adapt the fruit consumption to your personal situation.
The most obvious diet and food for humans?
Fruit diet
Fruits are the most suitable food for humans as long as you include all categories of fruits. (sweet fruits, fruiting vegetables, oleaginous fruits, fatty fruits).
Vegetables, seeds and cereals generally require prior treatment before being consumed, this is not the case with animal products.
We are not really equipped to transform plant matter, we are fruit eaters. The fruits are attractive, good in taste, rich in macro and micronutrients. And directly assimilable, digestible without effort and easy to carry. What happiness!
Before to practice body cleansing and self-healing, it is always good to have some knowledges which did not come out of a wizard’s hat but from science and long time before from the knowledge of the Rishis [Indian sages] about 4000 years ago.
What you should know about your body energy
We do not have a single physical body, we have bodies, one of which is physical, palpable, and several energetic bodies that originate in the physical body and, less dense than it.
All in this world is composed by atoms.
What is an atom : your body energy healing?
The atom has a central nucleus surrounded by electrons. The electrons are connected to the nucleus by an electromagnetic force…Yes electromagnetic force…We can call that in common language : energy…Right?
The energetic bodies are closely linked to our physical body. They act on the health of the physical body, but also on our psycho-emotional health and aim at that.
We do not have a single physical body, we have bodies, one of which is physical, palpable, and several energetic bodies that originate in the physical body and, less dense than it, exceed it by several meters.
This is why it is important to take care of our energy bodies. To take care of them, it is to take care of its being in its totality in a link body-spirit.
Recharge your energy bodies to heal
There are many ways to recharge your energy bodies
To take care of them is to take care of one’s being in its entirety in a body-mind link.
What you give off and what you feel is directly related to the type of energy you carry.
So you understand that is important to clean like you are brushing your teeth after meals…otherwise wastes will stay there and compromising the balance by creating a nest of bacteria and therefore diseases.
It is the same phenomenon with your energy.
If you are surrounded by mostly negative thoughts, a toxic environment, as much by the quality of the air as by the people around you, if you eat mostly junk food, you understand that your energy is not the purest and that it is therefore necessary to do something to preserve and increase your life force.
More you feel stressed more you increase inflammation everywhere in your body.
That’s mean that you increase toxicity in your body.
Improving your health and your energy can be done step by step, quickly and very easily.
Healing is a process but you have to decide your self to do it.
The energy bodies and their roles in healing
Self-healing and Koshas
The human body, like all matter, is made up solely of energy.
This energy is condensed and palpable. There are also other bodies that are more difficult to see and feel. These different energy bodies are of a faster frequency than the physical human body. They are superimposed on the physical body and exceed it.
The different energy bodies and the physical body are in constant and close relationship. A physical problem has its origin in an energy body.
The human body is energetic before it is biological:
– The researcher Georges Lakhovsky has demonstrated that cells are mini-transmitters/receivers mainly because of their DNA. They are also oscillating mini-systems in more or less close relation with their close environment (like cells, adjacent tissues) and their distant environment (the universe).
– The human body constantly needs cosmic and telluric energy to live.
Moreover, emotions and thoughts are also of a vibratory and energetic nature.
They are “lodged” in the energetic bodies of the human being and directly impact the physical body.
All this explains why energetic care is important for the preservation of the physical and mental health of people, but also of all living beings.
There are 5 layers in our body that we call Koshas in yoga and vedic practices:
Anna-maya kosha : the physical body
This first layer is called the body of food (anna), of organic matter, it is so called because it is made of it and it is dependent on it. Food (including water and oxygen) is the grossest form of prana (vital breath).
In our yoga practice, we interact at the Anna-maya kosha through postures (asanas), movement, tissue manipulation, and fasting.
2. Prana-maya kosha : the vital body
This envelope is made of vital energy (prana) with which it nourishes every cell of the physical body. In it is read the health of the physical body. Before being physical, illnesses have their energy imprint in this body (energy leaks, blockages, depression). This envelope is linked to the blood system and the kapha dosha.
Nadis Prana flows through the ( energy channels) and the chakras. the Prana spine, the sushumna where the main chakras. Each chakra will provide the necessary energy to the organs of its floor.
Prana is declined in 5 Vayus (winds, vital breaths): Prana Vayu, Apana Vayu, Samana Vayu, Udana vayu and Vyana vayu.
They are fundamental for physical, mental and emotional well-being. To act on prana-maya kosha, one must practice pranayamas, kryas, dynamic cleansing exercises such as prana vyayama (breathing exercises) and sukchma vyayama (is the system of yogic practices that loosens your joints and removes energy blockages This system thus has a strong purifying effect, thereby increasing body energy.Yogic Sukshma Vyayamas (Relaxing and Strengthening Practices) are safe, rhythmic and repetitive stretching movements.).
Mano-maya kosha : the mental and sensory body
Is composed of our mind and the 5 senses. It is the second envelope of our subtle body.
This is the system of sensations and emotions, judgments and thoughts that constitute our mind. Manas means “mind” in Sanskrit. All bodies are intimately linked. Thus the agitations in the mind, which is the most unstable envelope of all, disturb the lower koshas (1 and 2) and can block the higher koshas (4 and 5).
Remember, when we are angry our body blushes, the energy spins and we completely lose our sense of intuition and all the more joy. It’s fully against your healing.
The function of the mind is to receive information from the outside via the 5 senses, to transmit it to the intellect which manages and gives the order to act through the organs of action.
This is why yoga works a lot with the mind and the calming of the senses. This envelope is linked to the endocrine system and the pitta dosha.
Vijnana-maya kosha : the body of intellect and intuition
From our inner world arise thoughts, but the things that arise from a deeper and more subtle level are inner certainties that come from our body of wisdom, composed of intuition and knowledge responsible for discernment.
When thoughts subside, our inner voice can speak to guide us. Intuition simply expresses itself through consciousness, the part of ourselves that observes objectively. This is possible when we stop identifying with our thoughts, our emotions and become a witness of our life and our spirit. This envelope is reinforced by the control of the mind.
It is necessary to silence the mind to hear intuition and access the universal divine wisdom that is within us. It is not possible to develop intuition if the mind is agitated. The different techniques to develop this envelope are practices of concentration on the breath, sensation in the body, chanting of mantras, japa, yoga nidra and various techniques of self-observation, meditation.
But, it is also working on our convictions with the sankalpa (positive affirmation) because they create our thoughts, the thoughts create the pranic disturbances and the latter create disturbances at the level of the tissues. When we are in a state of extreme concentration, we fall into meditation and it makes vijnana-maya kosha grow.
This envelope is related to the nervous system and the vata dosha.
Ananda-maya kosha:causal body
This envelope, the 5th belongs to the causal body, the soul.It is our bliss body, composed of bliss, the deepest layer of our being.
It is our personal Self in connection with the Universal Self, filled with ecstasy, goodness, freedom, contentment, joy: ananda.
To penetrate this envelope, one must be in a state of deep meditation.
All our yoga practices exist to awaken us to this body, to our true nature, and so it becomes natural to feel the universal Self and to be awakened to what is beyond ourselves.
This body of bliss, unalterable and luminous, reveals itself after years of assiduous practice, sadhana.
This state of bliss can be felt during kirtan, meditation, yoga nidra.
To make this envelope grow, it is necessary to connect to the source, to watch a sunset, to make a pilgrimage, to be in direct reception with the divine energy of a master, of a place which vibrates very high, to meditate, to sing and kirtans.
Thus the Vedas (sacred Hindu texts over 4000 years old) enlighten us about the complexity of our being!
We see that the physical body and each of the subtle bodies are very dependent on each other. Purification of any of the koshas is beneficial to our spiritual progress and the expansion of consciousness as a whole.
How to heal and improve your health in just a few moments?
Healing environment
With quick and regular practice.
You will elevate health and emotions and then you will be able to heal or improve wounds, illness and imbalances, such their degree of severity.
Feeling more peace, feeling more energy, and in short feeling alive isn’t that bad Finally it is the goal of life… to live fully
Your body is capable of self-healing. We are made with natural self-healing mechanisms.
To activate them, we have to learn to relax, calm down and spend more pleasant moments.
This is simple.
Listen to your body and develop the connexion with it. I shouldn’t talk like that … I’m talking about 2 entities body and mind…but they are one, they have to be one. And if they are one you will feel complete and in peace.
You can find different methods suitable for different personalities:
Learn:
To meditate.
Yoga to feel and reconnect your body to be one : your body plus your mind.
To breath with simple technics called pranayama. It is detoxifying, relieving stress, resolve emotional and physical blockages.
To shift your energy flow and turn into negative to positive feelings.
There is many ways to do it, but I will give you the more easy, quick and efficient way to do it.
How to do a do an energy rebalancing
Exercice: The light shower
You can do this exercise at any time, when you are feeling a little tired or just like that, when the mood strikes you. It is the same basis as the “energy shower” seen above.
– Take the time to center yourself by taking a few deep breaths.
– Visualize a shower over your head. This shower is not sending water, but regenerative energy. Give it a basic golden color, but if it changes color, let it be, you naturally have the intuition to visualize what you need.
– Visualize and feel that this energy swells your aura and enters the cells of your skin, then those of your body more and more deeply.
– Inwardly affirm, “I am receiving universal energy, it is gently recharging me, I am grateful, thank you.”
– Feel your energy swell, your dynamism return, you are gently recharging.
Tip: you can take advantage of the moment in your day when you take a real shower to do the practice. Visualize that the water coming out of the shower head is carrying this universal energy that recharges you.
You want other methods for healing, please dive here 😘
How many people around you are stressed or anxious?
How many people suffer from stress, the fear of tomorrow or the consequences of their actions because of a lack of confidence?
In our so-called “modern” societies, you know that we have lost the sense of balance and harmony on all levels of existence.
We are practically all on automatic pilot from the moment we get up to the moment we go to bed. Tasks have become automatic in order to save as much time as possible and get as much done as possible during the day.
You do as much in the family sphere as you do at work.
But this accumulation of tasks without conscience, don’t you think it has negative consequences on your physical, mental health, and what about your attitude towards others…your kids?
Peace of mind?
This stress that you accumulate has serious repercussions on your homeostasis. And we will see later how.
You are a living being that needs love, tenderness and rest necessary for your mental, emotional and physical balance.
This is called recovery time so that your body can maintain and repair itself efficiently and keep its balance (homeostasis).
Without it, you overexcite your orthosympathetic nervous system and your body is too tired to repair itself efficiently. And in the medium or long term…hello damages.
What is the purpose of this orthosympathetic nervous system?
It triggers automatic reactions (without the intervention of the will) corresponding to the alert state of the organism, and to the preparation for physical and intellectualactivity. This is the action system, and has an “accelerating” effect on the organism.
2 neurotransmitters are associated with: adrenaline and noradrenaline.
Why am I telling you about this…?
The anti-peace of mind hormones: adrenaline and noradrenaline
Adrenaline can be defined as a chemical mediator that acts by modifying the activity of several of our organs, such as the heart.
The main initial purpose of this hormone is to prepare for flight or fight when our brain interprets that a certain stimulus may be a threat to us. This was true in the early days of humanity when we were still hunter-gatherers.
Moreover, it allows us to achieve the maximum of ourselves, using all our physical resources to reach an objective, whether to avoid it or to face it.
On the other hand, one of the most well-known effects of adrenaline is undoubtedly its impact on our metabolism and maximizes our glucose levels so that it can be delivered to the brain.
What is curious to note that adrenaline has repercussions on our digestive system when the brain interprets that there is a danger.
As a result, Our digestion is slow down and even intestinal movement for a reason: all of our energy must be concentrated in the muscles.
So, essential tasks such as digestion or absorption of nutrients are left in the background, since these functions require a lot of energy expenditure.
And these nutrients you need to function well…
Stress, physical and emotional pain are not peace of mind
Because of excessive worry, constant fear, persistent anxiety. And even the fact of having to make physical efforts for several hours lead to an excessive release of adrenaline.
The reason: our lifestyle, too much pressure, too many obligations, too many actions, too many complaints, comparisons, judgments, too many desires, too much ego, too much…too much…too much…
Stress is draining you down
This is an abnormal situation for your body and your mind, and the homeostasis, so the balance of your body and your mind is threatened.
And so you find yourself with an overproduction of adrenaline released in the blood.
You will notice it immediately through these symptoms:
– Your muscle pain
– Stress in your neck, arms or legs
– Dizziness
– Blurred vision or pressure in your eyes
– Your headache
– Difficulty sleeping
– stomach ache
– high blood pressure
– chronic fatigue
Norepinephrine triggers the production of adrenaline.
In a natural environment, adrenaline and noradrenaline normally have positive effects that encourage you to take action as you saw it, but they can also trigger fear and anxiety in an environment of overload.
These factors, such as chronic stress experienced over recurrent periods, lead to their overproduction.
Noradranelin also plays a role in emotions. It is involved in mood disorders and manic depression.
So you understand that it is important to counterbalance these effects by supporting our parasympathetic system, which is antagonistic to the orthosympathetic system.
The parasympathetic system lowers the heart rate and blood pressure by vasodilation, facilitates digestion by increasing salivary, gastric and intestinal secretions, and stimulates sexual appetite. Interesting, no?
You will also understand that in order to reduce stress, anxiety, pain and physical or emotional tension, it is imperative that you give space to your parasympathetic system. We call this a return to balance.
A return to balance because you have becomeaware.
And all these symptoms are manifested by mental and physical suffering.
And you know very well that in order to remove the symptoms, you have to treat the root cause.
So how to gain peace of mind?
Find the root cause of stress and anxiety
The practice of knowledge and the desire to achieve peace of mind.
To promote relaxation and peace of mind, one must be aware of one’s condition. First point.
Without awareness and consciousness, nothing, absolutely nothing will happen.
Relax the deep layer of the mind; and Release mental stress and tranquilize the emotional body; connecting you with the alpha brainwave patterns responsible for deep relaxation.
How to take care of yourself and get peace of mind?
Take care of your mind by learning how to make it calmer and find peace.
Because a peaceful mind is directly related to your outlook on life.
If you see life as a burden, that everything that happens to you is not fair, that life is not fair, and that you make any kind of negative judgment, you definitely need to learn to transform your view of life into something free of criticism and judgment.
You must make it beautiful as much as you can.
Of course, you have to make an effort to change. Nothing happens in a snap of the fingers.
And to tell you that everything happens for a reason. That’s the way of life: ups and downs. But the lows are always there to show us something, a lesson, that we must understand. We must not see it as a punishment or something unfair. Be aware, be in the moment. We find joy in the little things.
How to be aware?
Be present, focus your attention, there, to be able to access your thoughts, emotions and perceptions.
You go so fast that how can you let your body feel.
Let them appear, welcome them even if they are wrong or bad. Life is like that, in balance: the good things, the uncomfortable things.
Practice Vedic methods like yoga, meditation and breathing exercises. It will change your life.
Pranayama relieves stress and peace of mind occurs.
Stop stress by stopping your autopilot
To control yourself and stop the autopilot.
Do breathing exercises.
Focus on your breathing to give your body and mind space.
You know, the more stressed you are, the worse your breath is and that bad breath impacts the quality of your thoughts. So breathe properly through breathing exercises that we call pranayama.
This also impacts your digestive system, as I explained earlier, and it is the digestive system that provides all the basic nutrients to your body and brain.
Pranayama can also be practiced as a relaxation and stress reduction therapy.
You can practice Chandra bedhana pranayama. These techniques are very effective for calming down and feeling relaxing sensations in your body and mind.
In Ayurveda, we use Chandra Bhedana for mental health as it is of great help when you are anxious, agitated, or afflicted with insomnia.
Chandra Bhedana Pranayama decreases sympathetic discharge and reduces stress patterns.
It also changes your mood and, by practicing it, improves it and also induces a change in your thoughts.
Yoga breathing exercise for anxiety | Chandra Bhedana – YouTube
Stop worrying about what may or may not happen.
You are responsible for your actions, but not for their results.
In one of the precious teachings of the Bhagwat Geeta, Krishan says to Arjuna, act but don’t wait for the particular fruits or results because that is the cause of your suffering.
So act, don’t judge, don’t worry about what might have happened because it will never happen after all. Right?
What makes you feel alive is peace of mind
Take a break to relief stress and live life, this is peace of mind.
What do you really want in your life?
Do you want to live completely freaked out and stressed all your life or do you really want to live the life you want? Then set your desires.
And do you really think having the nicest house with the latest BMW car will make you feel alive and happy?
Yes… for a short while, the next moment you will want to buy another expensive object…
How do you feel about money?
Money buys your security, your stability [material stability], your comfort, your power, your pleasures… but when we have experienced all these things, what happens? We feel at peace for a short time.
Money is short stress relief
Change your philosophy and your vision of life, it will change your person and your automatic thoughts.
Change your autopilot habits into healthy habits to change your person.
What for?
Because you will get clarity, know how to relieve your stress, and manage your emotions by welcoming them, and then not overreact anymore.
Don’t you want this feeling of well-being, of good mood and more happiness in your life, because you finally accept it as it is.
Find more practices and knowledge in my you tube channel and also learn more pranayama.
And here feel free to practice this meditation to fight against stress.
Please be aware then you will be able to take care of yourself 😘
Ashwagandha side effects: superfood powder and root.
After long day of work, taking care of house and spend the day at work, I think it’s normal to feel tired. In our “modern” world we receive so much pressure that our vitality is challenged. Using Ashwagandha allows you to get positive side effects for your health and make your life different.
To gain back vitality, desire, creativity and power in our mind and body we need to relax and destress. This is in the moment of calm, soothing and warm, that we can rejuvenate.
But you have to give yourself its moments. If your mind and ego [the one which control your mind] are strong, it’s a real discipline that you have to set up. Just to know, changing habits in your brain take as long as 3 months to be succeed but it worth it so much concerning your health.
All conditions caused by stress are draining your mind, your organs and your soul down if you don’t balance those effects.
You have to help your body to relax with special moments in the way to balance the negative effects of it.
This is where ashwagandha comes in and helps you to cope with stress and strains throughout all day and to treat your sleep disorders.
Ashwaganda is an ayurvedic and magical plant root largely use in the traditional medicine. We also call it Indian ginseng
It is Adaptogenic herb and by the way it means that the benefits of it goes and adapts to what your body need
Rejuvenating yet calming nerve tonic and is a frequent ingredient utilized in many energy building preparations to promote vigor, vitality and your immune system.
Health benefits of ashwaganda are a lot :
Relax and peaceful sleep: ashwagandha side effects
Restful sleep, calming and grounding
For people who suffers from insomnia or bad sleep quality it brings back repairing sleep. That why also this plant is called Withania somnifera, tells us something about its connection to sleep. Somnifera translates to “sleep-inducing.
Then, it gives energy by deeper rest.
If you are suffering from insomnia or bad sleep quality, it is important and beneficial to practice good nightly bedtime routines that encourage better sleep to heighten resilience to stress and improve your body’s defense against disease and hormonal imbalance.
Why use Ashwagandha for its beneficial side effects?
To foster healthy sleep patterns
Replenish nervous system
All the day, your nervous system is so much solicited That you need to bring back moments of calm and relaxation. And for Vata type, you need to Calms your mental process.
Ashwagandha replenish your nervous system. You can, then, more easily cope the stress throughout the day and manage your emotions more easily.
Abundant energy
Vitality and strength with ashwagandha
It is a really a superstar ingredient to gain in vitality and stamina. It energizes you throughout the day without caffeine and you gain in healthy energy level.
Strengthening the primordial tissue
So if you are sporty and feel exhausted on top of your work and family obligations, you can include Ashwagandha in your diet. It will sustain your nervous system, supports healthy muscles, maintain your muscular strength, back and joints and improve your stamina.
It’s an excellent antioxidant as well.
It also supports your adrenals, that why using ashwagandha brings strength and energy back.
support a healthy immune system
Hormonal balance:
Women are suffering for emotional imbalances due to period. Ashwagandha can bring you a soothing solution to that discomfort.
It also promotes thyroid health, especially for women gaining in age because this is when the hormonal imbalance can occur, it can be a solution to manage this discomfort.
Adapted to all dosha
There is no contradictions for any dosha : Vata, Pitta, Kapha. However be careful if you are Pitta Type.
It’s balancing vata and kapha in excess. The main ayurvedic gunas (qualitites) are heating, unctuous, rebuilding, then it can imbalance pitta which is already naturally heating inside.
How to use Ashwagandha effects for restful sleep and rejuvenation?
To get the benefits of Ashwagandha, I teach you 2 recipes, easy to make, and enjoyable.
Morning Magic Maccha Milk recipe
Maccha and ashwagandha tea: positive side effects
The adaptogen properties of Ashwagandha are enhanced with the use of apanas (vehicle) : milk and maccha
Tea leaves are full of natural antioxidants, and bring a sense of calm and also promote awareness.
Matcha is a super food and contains high levels L-theanine (amino acid), which calms muscles, improve cognitive performance, mental focus and better sleep. Plus, matcha contains moderate amounts of caffeine for a natural energy lift.
Recipe
2 ounces boiled water
1 teaspoon matcha powder
1 teaspoon ashwagandha powder
1 cup whole grass-fed milk (or substitute like nut-milk in case of allergy)
Natural honey to taste
1 pinch of cinnamon powder
Mix matcha and ashwagandha in your mug.
Pour in boiled water and mix vigorously, dissolved completely with a whisk until.
Add the heated milk, the pinch of cinnamon and sweeten with honey.
Milk Ashwagandha with valerian and side effects
Time for restful sleep with ashwagandha
Ashwagandha will help you for restful sleep and be grounded.
Valerian is consumed since century for its calming and relaxing effect on the nervous system.
You can also add turmeric, ginger and cardamom.
Turmeric will decreased heat in excess and boost your immune system.
The ginger and cardamom help the digestive process while cinnamon remove excess fat.
Nutmeg calms the mind, is full of antioxydants and antibacterial properties.
Recipe:
12 ounces purified water
2 tablespoons dried chamomile
1 teaspoon ashwagandha powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ inch ginger root, chopped
¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
¼ inch piece of cinnamon
1 cup grass-fed milk (or milk substitute : nuts-milk)
Natural honey
1 pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (or powdered)
In Boiled water, add valerian, ashwagandha, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon.
Lower heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Heat the milk while the herbs are simmering.
Pour the liquid into a mug while straining out the herbs and pour milk over the tea. Sweeten with natural honey and add the pinch of nutmeg.
Enjoy this delightful drink a half hour to an hour before bed and before you begin your bedtime routine. Enjoy Ashwagandha for its beneficial side effects.
Remember that your diet is an essential part of your health and recovery. You can have more tips with : Food is your home remedies
Hope you start your day with energy and positive attitude. This is the best way to behave for good health and good mind and live your true life.
I think it’s good to talk about the stress that comes back very easily lately. We must recognize it and welcome it to find our natural healing solutions thanks to Ayurveda and Yoga.
I will start to define what is stress and at the end tell what are the natural healing solutions for relieving it.
Get rid of stress and anxiety prison
What is stress for Ayurveda medicine?
Stress is one of those words that is overused and we actually lose its real meaning. Stress is also commonly referred to as anxiety, tension, or even angst…
The events, the situations, which produce stress are not bad things, as one might think from certain clichés.
Stress is a necessary function of our psyche and organism that allows us to cope with different situations, both positive and negative. Stressors involve changes in your environment that your central nervous system has to adapt to during daily life.
Stressors include positive or negative life events (death, divorce, new job, new house, baby, etc.) that force you to adapt to these changes.
Stress occurs when the pressures, challenges or demands of life overwhelm your ability to adapt. Stress can manifest itself in physical, emotional or behavioral symptoms.
It can come from any situation or thought that makes you frustrated, angry, or anxious.
What is stressful for you is not necessarily stressful for another. Stress in everyday life is not necessarily a bad thing. However, uncontrolled or negative stress can be a bad thing that can have many consequences on your mental and physical health.
A little stress can motivate you to do your job, for example. It can make you more aware in a situation that needs serious attention.
Stress can also be used as a safety mechanism to save one’s life. It’s a defense mechanism rooted in your reptilian brain. The first men on earth saved themselves from danger by this message from the reptilian system.
However, too much stress, or a strong stress reaction, is emotionally and physically damaging. This can expose you to a deterioration in your general health as well as to specific physical and/or psychological illnesses such as infections, chronic diseases, heart disease or depression.
Persistent and relentless stress often leads to anxiety and unhealthy behaviors like overeating and abusing alcohol or drugs.
A weak emotional state or poor health can also cause stress.
Your physical and emotional symptoms can be:
Too much stress leads to pathologies
It works both ways. Stress and anxiety (which is stress for no apparent reason, chronic stress) is often accompanied by physical symptoms:
Muscle tension, headaches,
Sweating
Dry mouth, difficulty swallowing
Abdominal pain (which may be the symptom of stress, especially in a child)
Exhaustion
Diarrhea
Lack of concentration
Sleep problems
Irregular heartbeat
Irritability (anger)
Almost all of these symptoms seem to indicate a marked increase or imbalance in the Vata dosha.
However, all three doshas can play a role in stress. Generally, if you are Vata, you are likely to develop stress reactions aggravated by Vata, such as fear, even phobias or anxiety neuroses.
If you are Pitta, you increase your Pitta in stressful situations and you generally react to stress with anger. You may also suffer from hypertension, peptic ulcer disease, ulcerative colitis, and other Pitta disorders eventually.
If you are Kapha and stressed, you can develop various disorders such as underactive thyroid function, slow metabolism and even increased blood sugar, which leads to a prediabetic state. And then you tend to eat more.
From a physical point of view, the human body responds to stressors by activating the nervous system and specific hormones of the endocrine system. These hormones increase heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and metabolism.
The blood arteries then open further to allow blood to flow into the muscles. This puts your muscles on alert. your pupils dilate to improve your vision. Your liver releases some of its stored glucose to increase the amount of energy available. And sweat is produced to cool the body. All of these physical changes prepare you to react quickly and effectively to the pressure of the moment.
Cortisol also reduces functions that would be non-essential or harmful in a fight or flight situation. It impairs your immune responses and slows down your digestivesystem, reproductive system, and growth processes. It is said in the Sushruta Samhita that: “a person having a uniformly healthy digestion, whose bodily humors are in a state of equilibrium, and in whom the basic vital fluids circulate in their normal state and quantity, accompanied by the normal processes of secretion and organic function, is considered a healthy person“.
When your body is working properly, your stress response processes improve your ability to act well under pressure. But the stress response can also cause problems when it is excessive or when it does not shut down and reset properly.
Ayurveda approaches : your problems and illness
Now let’s focus on some of the main symptoms, problems and illnesses that stress can cause and see what Ayurveda’s approach is to these.
One of the main problems that can arise is depression. It goes without saying that depression is a very big problem in our society. It affects most of us at one point or another in our lives to a greater or lesser degree, but when it begins to last or affect the ability to act and interact in normal situations of life, it becomes a disease that must be treated. Depression is more emotional than physical and is a very stress-responsive symptom.
Chemical are not the solution to cure the roots of stress
As Dr. David Frawley states, “Depression, especially accompanied by adrenal fatigue, follows stress, overwork and trauma. It is usually a sign of low Ojas (immune function). Depression is Kapha disorder. The most common.” If you are Kapha, you can often suffer from low energy, slower metabolism, weight gain, and over-attachment.
These characteristics can lead to depression.
If you are Vata, you can easily be affected by stress and depression. You are more sensitive to it because it hurts more easily.
Vata-type depression is associated with feelings of abandonment, lack of love and care in life. It can become serious or even suicidal.
The Pitta depression is largely due to a failure, a setback.
Some of the general Ayurvedic methods of treatment depression are an uplifting, light and well-spiced diet of mind-opening herbs, such as ginger and basil.
Ayurvedic and yogic solution for your stress
So if you suffer from depression, follow these tips.
Expose yourself to positive sights and sounds, such as those on a nature walk.
Aroma inhalation
Inhale stimulating and positive aromas such as those of camphor or tangerine.
Physical exercices
Do physical exercises and pranayama which are recommended to renew your vital energy (Prana). Then, as with any good Ayurvedic treatment, you have to maintain a good Apana Vayu (downward movement) with transit regulator like the Triphala.
Muscle tension is another important symptom of stress.
In the Astanga Hridayam it is said “that when Vata enters the arteries and nerves present on the sides of the neck, it causes their stiffness and this then spreads to all parts of the body, first contracting the shoulders , then bending the body forward like a bow; this produces convulsions, loss of eye movement, yawning, grinding of the teeth, vomiting of Kapha (mucus), pain in the flanks, incapacitation to speak, loss of movement of the lower jaw, back and head. It is called Anaryama.”
This is obviously an extreme example of symptoms related to muscle tension. However, many people experience several of these symptoms on a regular basis. Headaches and stiff neck seem to be everywhere.
Ayurveda seeks as always to balance your doshas through diet, lifestyle and mindset.
Use of herbs and diet
Healthy food for body and mind
In this specific case, she also prescribes both sedatives and nerve tonics such as Ashwaganda and Jatamamsi, and painkillers such as feverfew. You probably also need to address issues related to your lifestyle, what makes you so tense and stressed is your job, your couple, your lack of rest, etc… You can use sensory therapies like massage, Shirodhara and aromatherapy which are also very helpful.
Chronic fatigue is another common phenomenon that can be caused by stress.
Fatigue is physical and mental stress.
Chronic Fatigue is also called Shrama and it is a condition of increased Vata.
You will need an anti-Vata, toning and fortifying diet. Sensory therapies such as Abhyanga massage practiced daily will take away your fatigue and stress from work and life in general.
Rosemary baths taken in the morning are also recommended.
If you are pitta and stressed, you may suffer from ulcerative colitis. It is actually a Pitta/Vata-like condition, in that it is a chronic inflammatory disease causing ulceration.
The cause or etiology of this disease is a disharmonious lifestyle and dietary imbalances.
Emotionally, this condition manifests if you are prone to worry, anxiety, combined with anger.
The pathology of this disease is that Pitta has moved from the small intestine to the colon and Vata has moved from the large intestine to the small intestine. This combination of heat and dryness causes ulcers on the walls of your mucous membranes.
The doshas also move in the mind. This causes anger and anxiety. A soothing diet of both Vata and Pitta is then recommended. Nutmeg and liquorice are therefore recommended to promote absorption and reduce your Vata and Pitta.
Stress can also cause you sleep problems. In this case, it is usually a Vata disturbance. Moreover, we notice that sleep disorders are often accompanied by fear, worry and anxiety.
Sleep issues, particularly with respect to the Vata type we are discussing here, require most if not all sensory therapy. It is important to make changes in your lifestyle but you have to go little by little so as not to add additional stress linked to this change.
What can cause problems may be a tyrannical boss or an extremely chaotic or noisy workplace, too much coffee or caffeinated drinks, or too many screens (TV, smartphone, computer,…) before going to bed. A long and difficult trip can also be very disturbing (eg: long trip, with multiple changes).
What about sleep disorder due to stress?
Some simple things can help you with sleep disorders: staying calm in the evening (after dark) before going to sleep, getting up with the sun, having a regular routine, not watching television at night (best being not to have one), read a spiritual book to calm your nerves and awaken your awareness, and meditate before bed (or even twice a day if possible).
Meditation, Yoga and detachment are the best
Meditation works on all levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. It also affects your three physical, astral and causal bodies. From a practical physical perspective, meditation balances your autonomic nervous system, which regulates the functioning of many of your organs and muscles, as well as your heart rate, sweating, breathing, and digestion.
Physical exercise, preferably a regular practice of restorative hatha yoga can also help you. Also, taking a hot bath before going to bed is relaxing, especially if you add a little essential oil of Jatamansi (Nard of the Himalayas) or Lavender. An anti-Vata diet is advised. “Boiled milk builds Ojas, promotes sleep. Boiled, it reduces Vayu and Kapha.”
Massage your feet with sesame oil before going to sleep.
How to decrease your anger due to stress?
Anger is another problem that stress can cause, especially in Pitta people. Anger and hostility are signs of aggravation of Pitta in the nervous system. Pitta is necessary for good understanding and discernment, but when disturbed or out of balance, it creates misunderstanding and poor judgment, resulting in anger and hostility.
The goal is to return Pitta to his normal constitutional function. Most people in our modern, western society create tremendous stress on themselves in order, they believe, to be able to keep up with others, and even compare themselves to others in order to judge themselves. We even create a kind of false desire for what others have. It can really create a lot of stress and anger.
Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita: “ruminating on sensory objects causes attachment to them. Attachment breeds desire; desire breeds anger. Anger breeds delusion; delusion breeds loss of memories. Loss Right memories cause degeneration of the ability to discriminate. From degeneration of discrimination follows annihilation (of the spiritual life).” This is a disorder that can obviously run very deep, but from an Ayurvedic perspective we can consider it a primary Pitta imbalance.
In order to overcome this stress-induced anger, an anti-pitta diet is advised, in which pungent spices and aromatics, citrus fruits and acidic foods are prohibited, as are alcohol and caffeinated beverages. You can make this anti-pitta drink at home: in 1 glass of grape juice, add one teaspoon of cumin, one of fennel and one of powdered sandalwood. This drink helps calm your feelings of anger and other Pitta symptoms such as heartburn.
If you are Pitta in a hot climate, you should try to stay as cool as possible. The heat can really stress you out.
You can practice a lunar pranayama (breathing through the left nostril only) it is even strongly recommended, just like Shitali or Sitkari. You should avoid physical activities that make you sweat a lot (eg jogging at lunchtime or yoga in a heated room). Of course, meditation is, again, very useful. If you are prone to stress and anger issues you can benefit immensely from disconnecting the Ahamkara (ego).
Heart disease and stress
Heart disease is another area where stress is known to be a cause or a causative factor.
In Ayurveda and also according to Eastern medicine in general, the heart, and not the brain, is the seat of consciousness. Dr. Frawley explains that what you feel in your heart is who you really are, unlike the fleeting thoughts you have in your head. He goes on to say that “heart disease reflects deeply rooted questions of identity, feeling, and consciousness.” Considering this reasoning, it’s easy to see why emotions and stress, like overeating, not eating the right foods, lack of exercise, etc., can cause heart problems.
Allopathic medicine as well as Ayurvedic medicine consider that high stress can be a causative factor in heart disease. The prevalence and incidence of angina increase with perceived stress. It is noted that in the hospital, high stress is associated with a higher rate of admissions related to cardiovascular diseases. Studies conducted in the United States reveal that stress plays a definite role in triggering or worsening depression and cardiovascular disease.
Ayurvedic treatment emphasizes a prolonged period of rest. A spiritual retreat in a natural setting can work wonders, especially if you’ve been a stressed city dweller for a while.
Meditation and pranayama are great for calming your mind and your emotions. Certain herbs are greatly helpful, depending on the individual’s particular problem and constitution. However, the Arjuna, tridoshic, generally serves as the basis for Ayurvedic formulas for the heart. Then constitutionally correct plants are added.
Restaurative Yoga to relief your nervous system from stress
Stress can play a huge role in your life. As we have seen, it contributes to the outbreak of diseases. It can cause “benign” things like mild sleep disturbances andlife-threatening heart disease.
As you can see, Ayurvedic medicine and Yoga science can play a major role in alleviating or even eliminating these kinds of problems.
Ayurveda and yoga offers different methods:
– With a diet adapted to your person.
– What do you ingest three times a day, every day? Is this correct for you?
– How is the elimination, the transit going? The Apana must be moved daily so that the toxins do not accumulate and overflow into the Rasa and Rakta Dhatus and spread to other weakened parts of your body. This can be easily treated with herbal formulas (such as Triphala), psyllium, flaxseed, etc.
– With the appropriate herbal medicine: sedatives and nerve tonics such as Ashwaganda and Jatamamsi.
– With meditation and Yoga. It is actually more of a way of life than a treatment, but it can be used as such in the beginning if you are new to Ayurveda.
To disconnect from the ego, to detach from the senses, to realize that one is not only this body, but that one is part of the whole, and that behind all the drama of life, everything is fine and there is true life.
– With the five sensory therapies, very beneficial in the relief of stress and anxiety. Of course, depending on your constitution, the treatments vary to some extent. However, getting out into nature and seeing the trees and the sunlight is good for everyone.
Use a little aromatherapy in a warm bath or a diffuser will soothe you. Pay attention to the environment you live in, is it tidy or cluttered.
Are the colors of your house as well as those of your clothes the right ones for you? Is your environment too noisy?
All of these issues have to be settled at some point. Of course, step by step, so as not to overwhelm you, and stress you even more.
– With the right type and amount of physical exercise according to your constitution and level of health.
– By monitoring your reflection and your introspection.
– And rest.
Rest to get rid of stress
All of these measures can and will make a difference in the fight against your stress.
Then till now which technics you use to manage and decrease your stress?
Are you undergoing it or are your acting for the future of your health
✔️Tell me in comments what you are going through and which difficulties you face with your stress. I will be happy to help you
👉 In my you tube channel you will find pranayama to practice and other ressources to release your stress. Subscribe to get the update and help yourself by learning healing ancestral methods
