Ayus Ayurveda & Massage

Combatting Winter Dryness and Stress

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 22:11:00 +0000

According to Ayurveda, the ancient Medical Art system from India, Winter is a time of "Vata" which is ruled by the elements of Air and Space. We feel cold and our skin gets drier. Anxiety can increase at this time, especially if we lack the time to "hole-up" and spend warm time inside with our loved ones. San Franciscans know all too well how to work too much and constantly multi-task, sometimes leaving us frazzled, anxious and stressed out. It rains, the wind blows, our cheeks chap and our skin may pale and get rough.

Luckily, Ayurevda has many solutions to help you feel beautiful and stress-free during the winter months. Below are some simple suggestions to warm up your winter.

- Drink Hot Water First Thing in the AM:

Drinking hot water in the AM before any other food or drink will open all your channels, or Nadis and help to remove the residue in your digestive system which may lead to ama accumulation (toxins.) Drink only warm or hot beverages all day, never iced! Sipping warm water consistantly throughout the day will improve your skin, and help to keep you regular!

- Self-Abhyanga (massage):

Massage the body daily with warm oil (Sesame for Vata's, Coconut or Sunflower for Pitta and Safflower or dry brushing for Kapha.) Warm up oil to about 105 degrees and massage vigorously on the limbs and circularly around the joints. Bring your strokes towards the heart on the insides of limbs and torso, circles around breasts and clockwise on tummy. Do this BEFORE your shower, so that the hot water will open your pores and help the oil to soak in. Use bodywash only on armpits and genitals. Oil is cleansing, so unless you have done a big, sweaty workout, there is no need to soap after oiling most of the body. This practice keeps warmth in the body, moisturizes the skin, and increases oxytocin (pleasure and relaxation chemicals in body) and decreases cortisol levels (stress hormone.) It also helps to increase circulation, combatting the winter "cold hands and feet" syndrome.

-Limit, or eliminate raw foods as well as dry and crunchy foods:

Despite the popularity of the "raw foods diet," Ayurevda stands by a principle of balance by opposites. If it is cold outside, eat warm food. Cold Sandwiches and Salads aggravate vata and increase the winter issues, including anxiety. Tend towards soups, warm grain and vegetable dishes with warming spices and hot teas.

-Trataka:

For Winter Meditation, try Candle Gazing. This wakes up the mental fire, keeping your mind sharp and igniting your subtle Agni (fire) principle. Look at the flame. Do not try to control your thoughts, just keep observing the flame... it's color, shape, the way it moves. Do this for at least 5 minutes in the early morning or before bed.

Receiving Ayurvedic Body Therapies such as Abhyanga, Shirodhara and Swedana Monthly is ideal to supplement your homecare.

For more individually specific recommendations, see your Ayurvedic Practitioner for a full consultation to understand your constitution.

The Joy's of Kitchadi

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:34:00 +0000

It is Fall time. Time to hit the digestive "reset button" in preparation for the winter. There are many cleanses out there, from the very intense (Master cleanse) to the very gentle (no intoxicants, whole foods.) Cleansing with a simple Kitchadi diet is among the most gentle, and effective cleanses available and gives the digestion a "break" from the everyday challenges of unstable eating times, rushed meals and "quick food" that many of us indulge in through either necessity or habit.

Kitchadi is a traditional Ayurvedic food made from Mung Dahl, Basmati rice, spices and may or may not include a variety of vegetables. Mung dahl is a "gentle-lentil" that has kidney cleansing and digestive calming effects. Mung has a special property or "Prabhava" of being both purifying and tonifying, making it the perfect food for nearly all health concerns. White basmati rice is easily digestible and nutritious, and the vegetables and spices you choose will support your nutritional needs and digestive fire (agni) that is necessary to process the food that you eat to keep you healthy and alive!

Kitchadi is the signature food and cornerstone of Ayurvedic Cuisine. The touchstone that one can return to anytime you feel heavy, bloated, disinterested in food, or weak. It is also tasty, tri-doshic (good for all body-mind types, with some minor adjustments) and nourishing.

Eating Kitcheree for 2-5 days is good for most people to do periodically. Kitcheree is the recommended diet for those going through health problems involving multiple factors and symptoms.

You can find my favorite recipe here on Dr. Vasant Lad's resources page from the Ayurvedic institute, along with recipes for spice teas that are desirable to drink while going through a kitchadi "fast." Depending on how much water you add, the kitchadi will be either a "rice dish" or a souply stew; how thin the kitcheree depends on the health or weakness of the patient.

More soupy = more easily digestible.

I highly suggest experimenting with this recipe and adding it to your regular eating practices.

Happy Cooking!

Morning Rituals

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:39:00 +0000

If anyone had told me in my early 20's that one day I would get up before 7, on purpose, and do an hours worth of wake-up rituals before breakfast, I would have laughed, and then reminded them never to call me before 10am. I was not what you would call a "morning person."

Morning routines or Dinacharya as they are referred to in Ayurveda are many, individualized practices intended to get the body and mind awake, balanced and ready for the day. They include hygenic practices that you already perform, such as brushing teeth, washing the face and body and drinking water... but they also include some practices that are crucial to a balanced mind and body, such as mild yoga asanas and meditation.

This Blog is not intended to replace the advice of an Ayurvedic Practitioner or Yoga Teacher, but to peak your curiosity and give you the basics to begin an exploration of the dawn.

One of the main texts of Ayurvedic Medicine, The Charaka Samhita recommends the following to be done daily:

Arise early in the morning.
Drink a large glass of warm water.
Wash your face.
Scrape your tongue with tongue scraper (stimulates digestion and elimination).
Brush your teeth.
Evacuate bowels and bladder.
Do 10-15 minutes of morning yoga and/or 15-30 minute brisk walk or exercise with nasal breath.
Neti/Nasya Daily nasal washing and nasal oil application
5-10 minutes of breathing exercise (pranayama).
5-15 minute meditation or sit in silence.
Enjoy your daily abhyanga (oil self-massage).
Shower or Bathe
Breakfast

Many of the clients I work with have high stress jobs and family obligations that keep them busy from Morning to night. So HOW on earth can they include all these things into an already packed day?

First thing to know is that not every practice is necessary for every person. Abhyanga self-massage is best for people who are dry, anxious or otherwise depleted. For those who are moist, strong or overweight, this therapy is not needed daily, but could be incorperated weekly, monthly or not at all!

Most of these activities are no-brainers and we do them every morning anyway. The difference is when we make the entire wake-up process into a conscious activity, a sadhana, or ritual practice. We brush our teeth and scrape our tongue with the understanding that we are preparing the mouth to eat and the lips and voice to speak. We wash our face and pay special attention to the eyes, washing out the eyes and looking in each direction to wake up the muscles.

The warm (or hot, depending on Dosha) water helps to stimulate your morning Elimination, which is central for starting a balanced day.

The part of all this that most people find hard to incorperate is the Yoga, Pranayama and Meditation. I can relate to this because as I said earlier...I am not a morning person.

This, however, is the irony: These practices although you might have to force yourself through the first few, are the best way to fall in love with the morning!

Busy parents of young children may feel that this is impossible, after all, it seems as though you have no time to yourself anyway, let alone a whole precious hour in the morning.

While I am not in your shoes, I would offer that there are a few solutions, should you desire to undertake them. First, observe the rhythems of your childs sleep cycles. What time do they usually wake in the am? Most young children seem to be budding Yogis, waking up already between 5-7am! Try to beat them by 30-60 minutes, if you can get 15 minutes of yoga and 15 minutes of mediation in before they awake, you will be more centered, patient and ready for them when they do!

The Morning Yoga practice need not be a Bikrim style 1.5 hour sweat session to be effective, but rather start with 15 minutes of sun salutations, or Surya Namaskar, as seen in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMT85LuV-_U

,to wake the body and prepare you for your precious minutes of meditation.

Meditation, itself, stirs in some images of the straight backed Yogis in deep trance, but if you are new, try closing your eyes, breathing gently, with awareness, and simply sitting, with yourself. Consider it a nice time to check in with an old friend. You.

These practices, at the core of the Ayurvedic lifestyle, have made me more focused, more awake, more motivated and more flexible in body and mind. Try it out for one week. Every day, just for a week and take note of how you feel. I think you just may become a morning person. All it takes is the first thankful step out of your warm bed. You won't regret it.

If you would like to learn Pranayama, orNeti/nasya, if you are interested in implementing these practices, andfurther exploring the ayurvedic lifestyle, I recommend that you speak directly to a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner for detailed instructions. Please contact Andrea with questions, or for referrals to Practitioners in your area.

Om Shanti