The Sanskrit word for oil is “snigdha.”  Sanskrit has many layers of meaning, and translated, snigdha means oil, fat and also, love!  Oil creates smoothness, lubrication, and vigor.  It is nourishing, like love.  When we use oil in a massage, we are taking care of ourselves, and coating ourselves with love.  The opposite of oily is dry, or “ruksha.”  Dryness creates dehydration.  Dry weather aggravates vata, and causes dry skin.  Fear, nervousness, anxiety and loneliness are also dry.  Love is the antidote!  So to balance ruksha, coat the skin with oil, or love.  Then take a warm shower after the application of oil, and the skin, kidneys and colon are also nourished.

As the weather warms up, we’ll be spending more time outdoors in the sun.  If you’re feeling hot, sweaty, irritable, or angry, that may be a sign that your Pitta dosha is aggravated.  Pitta is more prevalent in the summer, so we can accumulate it more easily.  Other signs of a Pitta imbalance include ulcers, acne, and stomach acidity.  Ayurveda says that by balancing Pitta, we can help to clear up all of these very different, yet completely related, conditions.  Spend some time near the water, walking in the moonlight, or swimming.  These are wonderful Pitta-pacifying activities.  Food is another way we can balance Pitta.  Avoid hot or spicy foods, and foods that are salty or sour.  This can be a challenge in the summer when pool parties tend to serve chips and dip, or spicy salsa, and soda pop, which is high in sodium and full of chemicals.  Instead, choose foods with a cooling quality: sweet fruits such as melons, cherries and grapes – and vegetables like asparagus, cucumber, broccoli, and zucchini.  And for a refreshing beverage, fruit teas are delicious! Organic India just came out with a new set of Fruity Tulsi Teas,  perfect  for Iced tea.Pour 2 cups of boiling water over 8 teabags and steep for 20 minutes.Remove teabags and add 2 cups of cold water. Refrigerate  to cool and pour over ice. Makes 1 quart.   Sweeten to taste. Keep a pitcher in the refrigerator so that it is easily available whenever you need a cool, refreshing drink. 

Fruity Tulsi Teas from Organic India

Ayurveda dates back more than 5,000 years.  The first written records of Ayurveda are found in the Vedas, the oldest and largest body of knowledge in history.  But Ayurveda is even older than this, because it started as an oral tradition, with the knowledge being passed down by the rishis, who studied nature and its laws and how these laws relate to human beings.  Another text came out called the “Charaka-Samhita.”  Samhita means “compendium” and Charaka refers to the author’s name.  This book explained everything about Ayurveda, from the theory and philosophy to the cellular structure of the body and more.  Other books came out later, including one on Ayurvedic surgery.  Ayurvedic knowledge spread into other parts of the world as time went on.  Eventually, it made its way to Greece, where it had a profound influence on the development of medicine there.  During the 15^th century, when India was under the influence of European colonization and eventually British rule, Ayurveda all but disappeared.  In 1835 the British banned Ayurveda in favor of European medicine.  But at the beginning of the 20^th century, the Indian independence began, and India fought for the renewed recognition of Ayurveda.  Now Ayurveda is once again prominent in India, and its coursework is found at major schools and universities.  Here in the west, we have started to learn about Ayurveda from the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Deepak Chopra and other scholars.  We are lucky to have many fine schools of Ayurveda in the U.S., including the California College of Ayurveda and the Ayurvedic Institute.  Since yoga and meditation have become so popular, Ayurveda is growing trend.

Jesus taught a philosophy very similar to that of the Bhakti Yoga (Devotion) movement in India.  Many say that the messages are so aligned that there may have been a direct connection between Jesus and India.  Ancient Pali manuscripts refer to “Saint Issa,” and the name Issa is the Indic form of Jesus.  The texts mention his journey in the land of the Ganges.  Many writers, such as Edgar Cayce and Andreas Faber-Kaiser, say that Jesus traveled through India from age 13 through 30.  The Bible talks of Jesus’s life from birth through age twelve, and then of his ministry from age 30 until his death at age 33.  While there is no concrete proof that these stories of Jesus in India are true, it would certainly explain a lot.  I understand that there is a movie in the works that speculates about this time period in Jesus’s life and I look forward to seeing it!

Pregnancy is a life-changing event, and Ayurveda stresses that a woman should be in good health before becoming pregnant to help the chances of the baby being healthy and to make the pregnancy and delivery go more smoothly.  Ayurveda also says that the father should also be in good health, as it is the constitutions of both parents that determine the constitution of the baby.  Both parents need to cultivate love and affection during the pregnancy, so that the child feels it as well.  Here are other ayurvedic recommendations during pregnancy:

-Diet: No drugs, caffeine or alcohol.  No extremes of any kind – no de-toxing or drastic dieting.  Follow a Vata pacifying diet.  Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh juices, whole grains.  Listen to the signals your body gives you.  Drink lots of fresh water.

-Exercise: Gentle exercise like walking, swimming, and yoga is good.  A pre-natal yoga class may be beneficial to understand what modifications are necessary.  Avoid any strain.

-Stress: Cut back on your workload as much as possible.  Use your support system, friends and family, to help you out.  Take care of yourself mentally, physically and emotionally.

-Rest: Takes naps when your body signals you to do so.  Make sure you get enough sleep at night.

-Massage: Abhyanga (ayurvedic self massage) is a wonderful daily practice.  Pay special attention to the belly to avoid stretch marks.  An ayurvedic massage therapist can help to stimulate marma points to relieve some of the discomforts that come with pregnancy, like sciatica, heartburn, or swelling.

-Meditation: Meditation is especially beneficial during pregnancy to help you relax and relieve stress.  Enjoy quiet times by yourself before the baby comes!

The simple translation for maya is “illusion.”  When we go further, we find that maya refers to “material existence.”  But this doesn’t mean to imply that material existence is an illusion.  An excellent explanation of this is found in “The Tao of Physics” by Fritjof Capra.  He says: “Maya does not mean that the world is an illusion, as is often wrongly stated.  The illusion merely lies in our point of view.  Maya is the illusion of mistaking our relative perspective for reality, of confusing the map with the territory.”  The philosophy behind all of this is that the material world exists, yet it is temporary.  When we see it as permanent, then we are mistaken.  Material things are measurable, they take place in space and time.  What is permanent is the spiritual, which takes place beyond space and time.  The spiritual is limitless, boundless, full of infinite potential.  This is the true reality.

Ayurveda sees diabetes as a metabolic Kapha disorder in which the agni (digestive fire) has reduced its functioning.  Low agni can lead to a tendency to have high blood sugar.  To boost agni, and prevent high blood sugar, ayurveda has the following recommendations:

-Follow a Kapha pacifying diet (bitter, pungent and astringent tastes are favored)

-Avoid sugar in any form (this includes rice, potato, banana, cereals, and fruits containing a high percentage of sugar)

-Limit protein.  Meat should be avoided, protein from soy and fish is better.

-Eliminate fats and oils.

-Raw vegetables and herbs play a part in stimulating the pancreas and thus enhancing insulin production, so eat lots of veggies.

-Exercise regularly, and vigorously.  A twice daily walk is recommended, in addition to daily exercise like cycling, swimming, or jogging.  Work up a sweat once a day.

-Turmeric is one of the best herbs to stimulate agni.  It is the main ingredient used in curry.  A simple way to get turmeric into your daily routine is with herbal supplements like those offered from Organic India. The Turmeric Formula is made with organic herbs, and contains powerful antioxidant properties.

Turmeric Formula from Organic India

The numbers 50, 99 and 100 and 1000 recur constantly in Vedic texts.  The symbolic significance of this has to do with the mystic number 7.  Seven is the number of essential principles in Nature, and it the number of forms of divine consciousness in the world.  Seven multiplied by itself is 49.  The number one is significant because it is out of one that everything develops.  When 1 is added to 49 we have 50.  When 49 is doubled, and then 1 is added, we have 99, as in the 99 horses, rivers, and cities that are referred to in the texts.  When there is a double repetition of 49, and 1 added to both ends, the result it 1+49+49+1=100.  100 is a number of completion.

When you go to see an Ayurvedic practitioner, one of the first things that he or she will do is to take your pulse.  When western doctors take your pulse, they are counting the beats.  An Ayurvedic practitioner uses the pulse in a much different way.  Three fingers are used, and each finger “reads” how much a dosha (Vata, Pitta, Kapha) is present in the physiology.  The doshas run through the blood in a predictable way, so a trained practitioner can sense the movement of the doshas and figure out which is dominant.  The most subtle dosha is vata.  It is felt with the index finger.  Pitta is felt with the third finger, it is liquid and substantial in nature.  Kapha is felt with the ring finger – it is heavy and slow in nature.  The practitioner feels for these qualities, and also the underlying subtle qualities that lie beneath each dosha.  An experienced practitioner can get a lot of information just from your pulse!

We’re looking at the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga.  We’ve already gone through the first five, which are external practices.  These are the last three, which are internal practices. 

-Dharana is concentration.  The idea is to fix our attention on one focal point.  This helps us to gain equanimity, poise, and grace.

-Dhyana is meditation.  The purpose of meditation is to quiet the mind and open the heart.  In this way we become aware of our connection with the Divine.

-Samadhi is super-consciousness.  It is also called bliss, union, or enlightenment.  It is when we experience the presence of the Divine with our entire self, body mind and soul.