Whenever someone I know gets a cold I tell them to “eat garlic!”  Garlic has powerful anti-viral properties.  Ayurveda has known this for centuries!  Many people who use garlic on a regular basis claim that they have immunity from any cold and flu viruses.  There are garlic capsules available now, and the upside is that you don’t get the odor associated with this root.  But there is no substitute for the real thing.  Garlic has hot, bitter, and pungent tastes.  It stimulates digestion and helps with overall rejuvenation.  Garlic can be added to sauces, or salads, or you can bake it and use it as a delicious spread on crackers or bread.  I recently saw an episode of “Dr. Oz” where they showed how we can help prevent, or even heal, an ear infection by putting a peeled clove of garlic in the ear.  Just place the clove in the ear (not far down of course!) and put a bandage over the ear to keep the clove in place.  Sleep with it in this way, and in the morning you will notice a big difference!

Mental health is an important aspect of Ayurveda.  Everything is connected, mind-body-spirit, so one aspect affects all the others.  Ayurveda recommends certain techniques to keep mentally fit so that we can function optimally.  Remember that we have the freedom to choose our mental states, so we can practice keeping our minds in good shape.

-Meditation.  Meditate regularly.  Every day, twice a day, for 20-30 minutes each time. 

-Cultivate a constructive mental attitude.  Develop optimism, cheerfulness, and the habit of possibility-thinking.  Remember that challenges are temporary, so don’t let them get you down.

-Use your powers of intelligence.  Pay attention to your intuition, and look for synchronistic events; there are no coincidences.  Choose your words with the best of intention, and speak constructively.  Act with purpose to support ordered thinking.

-Keep memories in perspective.  There is a difference between the information that we garner from memories and the emotions that are attached to those memories.  We can access our memories without having to be influenced by feelings of anger, sadness, guilt, or regret.  We can allow memories of success to remind us of the goodness of life.  We can let memories motivate us to make better choices in the present moment.  Live in the moment, and not in the memories.

-Witness your emotional and mental states rather than becoming identified with them.  Remember that these states come and go, so focus on thinking rationally and being emotionally balanced and mature.

-Live with purpose.  Have intention behind your actions, and develop constructive habits.  Focus on what is important, and what is real.  Live the knowledge that you learn.

Soul of Healing DVD

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There are many different types of meditation, which serve many different purposes.  Sometimes it is difficult for us to settle the mind down on our own, so a guided meditation is a useful tool to have.  Davidji is the Chopra Center’s lead meditation teacher and has he taught thousands of people all over the world to tap into the stillness and silence that rests within.  Lucky for us, davidji has created a wonderful collection of his Guided Meditations, so that we can have his wisdom with us at any time.  Imagine if you could be the peace amidst the chaos – the calm inside the storm.  These Guided Meditations are for everyone who has an interest in bringing more wholeness into their life.  Whether you are new to meditation, or have been practicing for many years, you will find that these meditations are a profound partner in your personal empowerment and transformation.  Included are meditations for peace, emotional healing, physical healing, awakening, gratitude and much more. 

Davidji: Guided Meditations – on amazon

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“Navaratri” is also known as the Nine Nights of the Goddess.  It is a series of nine nights celebrated 4 times a year, when creative energy is at its peak.  In India, the two most celebrated times of Navaratri are in the Fall and in the Spring.  The first three nights are for the Durga, who represents the power to destroy negativity, fear and evil.  To honor this energy, do some spring cleaning, open up the windows and let in some fresh air, and get rid of old “stuff” you have laying around the house.  The next three are for Lakshmi, who embodies the energy of luxury, wealth and power.  Invite Lakshmi into your life by dressing up, sprucing up the house, and entertaining your friends.  And the last three nights are for Saraswati, who engages inspiration, motivation, knowledge, and both arts and science.  To invoke Saraswati’s energy, take a class, read a book, go to a museum.

Every culture has stories that are passed down from generation to generation.  Myths, fables, and tales are one way that we are taught lessons, and preserve tradition.  I have found a delightful book called “Ganesha Goes to Lunch.”  Author Kamla K. Kapur has assembled a collection of classic Indian myths that reflect both the mystery and the magic of this beautiful country.  Besides the title story, the book includes such gems as “How Brahma Created the Dream,” “The Toad Who Didn’t Croak,” “From the Eyes of Stars,” and “The Snake Who Lost His Hiss.”  Here’s an excerpt from her preface:

“Life is infinitely more marvelous than our day-to-day business and work, money and illness, family and bosses would make it seem.  It is precisely the function of myth to thrust us out of the quotidian into the miraculous.  One lives life more deeply, with greater peace and joy, when one lives with the enigmas that permeate it.  These stories warp our minds, and allow us a perspective on life, on its incredible, enmeshing, magic web of Maya, and the dreamlike nature of our experience on this planet.  These myths are reminders from spaceless eternity of the stuff of which our bodies, minds, souls, and spirits are made.  They wake us up, and help us live with, and within, the mystery that is the matrix of our being.”

Ganesha Goes to Lunch: Classics from Mystic India

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India has given us many different practices through which we can learn more about ourselves and our true nature: meditation, yoga, vastu, and ayurveda are just a few.  Krishna Das has written a wonderful new book that explains the practice most dear to his heart, chanting, or kirtan.  “Chants of a Lifetime: Searching for a Heart of Gold” is autobiographical, with beautiful stories of his journey.  This book is filled with wisdom.  In one chapter he talks about Lila: “It’s very difficult for people like us, who are identified with our bodies and minds, to understand the concept of lila – the divine play.  It’s called “play” because there’s no selfish motive in the action.  God’s lila or the lila of a great saint, his or her action in the world, is done only for the sake of helping others.  There is no personal motive.  The saint’s actions come out of the awareness of the oneness of all life and compassion for all beings.  It’s impossible for us to understand fully.”

Chants of a Lifetime includes a CD with Krishna Das to help you start your own personal chanting practice.

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Ayurveda says that heart health is best approached holistically.  It gives us specific recommendations for how to do that.  First of all, eat heart-friendly foods.  Include more servings of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet.  Stewed apples or pears are a great way to start the day with breakfast.  Blanched almonds that have been soaked overnight are also really good to include in the mix.  Avoid processed foods, and leftovers, and instead each fresh foods.  Choose light foods over food that is rich, or has been deep-fried.  And eat food that is warm and cooked rather than food that is cold and heavy.  How you eat is also important.  Eat moderate portions, and don’t skip meals.  Make lunch the largest meal of the day, and don’t eat late at night.  Exercise moderately, on a regular basis.  Ayurveda recommends an early morning 30 minute walk daily for everyone.  A walk helps the heart, and also your circulation and metabolism.  Sleep is also key to a healthy heart.  Get to bed by 10 pm, and keep the bedroom free from distractions like computers, television, and work material.

According to Ayurveda, maintaining a healthy heart has an emotional component that involves letting go of fear, anxiety and other repressed emotions. Heart Formula from Banyan Botanicals, taken in conjunction with the practice of yoga and meditation, may help release these emotions while calming and soothing the heart. Its main ingredient, arjuna, is a powerful rejuvenative that has been used as an all-around heart tonic for hundreds of years. It is said to impart courage and strengthen the will, while encouraging us to follow our hearts.

Banyan Botanicals Heart Formula

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Ayurveda promotes the use of herbs in healing and in self-care.  Herbs are edible plants that can be potent in supporting our body’s healing response.  Herbs can be used whole, in teas, powders or in recipes.  There are so many different herbs in the world, and each one has different properties and can help in different areas.  My friend KP Khalsa and his co-author Michael Tierra have written an amazing new book called “The Way of Ayurvedic Herbs: The Most Complete Guide to Natural Healing and Health with Traditional Ayurvedic Herbalism.”  There’s so much to love about this book!  It explains the basics of Ayurveda and how herbs are used.  It also looks at diet, and foods that can be used for particular conditions.  Then they go through several herbs, and ayurvedic formulas, and break down where each can be used, and how, to various ailments.  And then they look at specific diseases and go over treatments for each.  There is so much information in this book, and it’s all useful.  It even has some wonderful recipes including one for Yogi Tea!  Here is an excerpt straight from the book:

Yogi Tea

This is the original recipe given by Yogi Bhajan.

For each 8 oz cup, start with 10 oz of water.  For convenience, make at least 4 cups at one time.  For each cup of boiling water, add:

3 whole cloves

4 whole green cardamom pods

6 whole black peppercorns

½ stick cinnamon

Optional: 1 slice of fresh ginger root

Boil for 20-30 minutes, then add ½ teaspoon of any black or green tea.  Let sit for 1-2 minutes, then add ½ cup milk and reheat.  Strain and serve with honey to taste.

Black pepper is a blood purifier, cardamom is for the colon (gas), cloves are for the nervous system and cinnamon for the bones.  Ginger has a delicious taste and is helpful when suffering from a cold, recovering from the flu or for general physical weakness.  The milk aids in the easy assimilation of the spices and avoids irritation to the colon.  The black or green tea acts as an alloy for all of the ingredients, achieving a new chemical structure which makes the tea a healthful and delicious drink.

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When you know about the doshas, you know about your nature, and the nature of other people.  This helps us in every area of our lives, including our relationships.  We learn to be more accepting of people, understanding that they are the way they are for a reason.  We learn to love what is, rather than what we think should be.  There is a power, a positive energy that comes with love, and we can utilize it for our spiritual growth.  Vedanta explains that our love for others is unselfish and without motive when we can see the spirit within them.  It is this spirit whom we truly love.  Because we are all connected, relationships do not end, but they do change. And how we respond to this change can greatly impact our lives.  I worked for two years with the Law of Relationship to come up with a five stage process by which we can achieve the closure we seek when any relationship changes.  Whether the change has come from a death, a divorce, a break-up, a move, or even age, now there are clear steps to help you can get over it and get on with it in a powerful and positive way!  I am so happy to introduce you to my new book “CLOSURE and the Law of Relationship: Endings as New Beginnings.”  This is a book for all of us, because we each have relationships: with parents, spouses, partners, children, friends, co-workers, and even with our communities, and our environment.  And we all go through changes and need closure at some point.  I have a video on my new website that outlines the five stages of closure, so check it out. 

http://www.closurebook.com

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most revered Vedic texts.  It is considered the essence of India’s Vedic philosophy.  The Bhagavad Gita is actually one chapter of the much longer Mahabharata, and it contains deep insight into the universal laws of nature.  Although Vedic literature comes from a Hindu origin, there is much to learn no matter what your faith is.  Ayurveda, a part of Vedic literature, teaches us to maintain health and balance in life, and is practiced by people of many faiths who benefit from the wisdom.  The Bhagavad Gita is the story of Arjuna, an archer who is forced into a battle.  Krishna is by his side and becomes his teacher.  The battle becomes a metaphor for life, and Krishna teaches us what it takes to be happy.  The message is that material objects only bring temporary happiness, but true happiness comes from that which never stops giving: love, peace, faith.  I have explored the Bhagavad Gita on and off over the years, and have finally found a book that has a commentary which explains it in a way that westerners like me can understand.  Swami Sadishiva Tirtha, the author of “The Ayurveda Encyclopedia,” has written beautiful commentary in his book “Bhagavad Gita for Modern Times: Secrets to Attaining Inner Peace and Harmony.”  The best part is that now we have easy access to this ancient wisdom, and can apply it to so many areas of our lives gaining greater understanding and spiritual balance.

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