According to Vedic literature, creation takes two energies.  One energy is represented as masculine, and it’s called shiva.  The energy is represented as feminine, and it’s called Shakti.  In stories, they are portrayed as a god and goddess.  Shiva represents consciousness and Shakti represents power.  When Shiva and Shakti got together, they danced and the universe was created.

The energies of Shiva and Shakti are not so much opposites as they are complementary.  Just as we have all three doshas in our composition, we each have masculine and feminine energies within us as well.  It is the union of these two energies that allows us unlimited potential.

When we’re out of balance, we feel it, and it shows.  Sometimes it shows up right on our face!  Vata skin tends to be dry.  Pitta skin tends to be sensitive and prone to rosacea.  Kapha skin can be oily, and prone to acne.  Ayurveda recommends that we take care of our skin both from the inside, with the food we eat and the supplements we take, and from the outside, with specialized skin care routines.  Dr. Raj Kanodia, who is a friend of mine from The Chopra Center, and who stars in the TV series “Dr. 90210,” has developed a line of skin care products that combine the best of modern western medicine with the tried and true wisdom of Ayurveda.  Dr. Kanodia is a plastic surgeon and his partner is a dermatologist.  They both strongly believe in what Ayurveda can do for the health of our skin.  The skin care like is called AyurMedic, and we’ve broken down the products into categories for dry, normal/combination, oily, acne-prone, mature, and sensitive skin types.  This is just another example of how Ayurveda can help us in every aspect of life!

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Ananda means bliss is Sanskrit.  Bliss helps to keep us healthy, both mind and body.  It feels good!  Like laughter, it boosts our immune system and actually heals us.  So how do we get more ananda in our lives?  Ah!  Be loving.  That’s the simple answer.  Practice“ahimsa,” or nonviolence in thought, speech and action.  Eating fresh, wholesome foods that are easier to digest also helps us to increase ananda.  Following an Ayurvedic daily routine helps us to stay stress-free and sleep better.  And the best things we can do to increase ananda is to meditate twice a day.  Meditation allows us to experience the bliss that is an essential part of who we are.  It helps us to have better health, improved relationships, and a calm and clear state of mind.  Ananda is a quality of pure consciousness, and it is our natural state of being.

Sure, taking a bath is a nice way to get cleaned up.  But in Ayurveda a bath is so much more than that.  A bath can actually be therapy!  It relaxes the muscles, opens up the pores, and restores moisture to the body tissues.  A bath can also clear the mind and balance emotions.  Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?  It’s easy to prepare a healing bath, and here are a few guidelines:
-Use cleansers that are moisturizing.  The idea is to help the skin absorb the water and rehydrate.  The skin’s moisture balance is essential for the overall health of the skin.
-Make sure the bath water is pure.  Use a water filter if necessary.  The water should be comfortably warm, not too hot or too cold.
-Take your time in the bath, relax and breathe deeply.
-Set the mood in the room with natural aromatherapy and soft lighting.
-Moisturize your skin after the bath.

With our western penchant for busy-ness many of us skip breakfast, thinking we don’t have time as we’re rushing around in the morning.  According to Ayurveda, we’re doing ourselves a disservice.  Fasting irritates all of the doshas, and missing breakfast is particularly bad for Pitta, making us irritable and unsettled as we start our day.  What to do?  Eat something!  Blended fresh fruit and/or vegetable juice is a great way to rehydrate the body after the night’s fast.  Citrus is too acidic for an empty stomach, so try alternatives like apple, pear, or grape.  Fresh juice is best, and it should be served at room temperature or slightly cooled.  Cooked apples are another wonderful way to start your day the ayurvedic way.  Morning is the perfect time to get the maximum benefit from fruit.  It helps with our digestion and overall well-being.

Here in the northern hemisphere it’s getting hot, which signals the official start of Pitta season.  Whether or not you are dominant in Pitta dosha, it is important to keep cool during this time to balance out all the excessive fire that is around us.  Too much Pitta can mean heartburn, ulcers, acid indigestion, acne, or skin rashes. It can also exhibit itself as irritability or anger.  To pacify Pitta there are a few simple things we all can do.  Cool, but not ice cold, drinks help a lot.  Avoid carbonated drinks which tend to disrupt digestion.  Choose sweet fruit juices and pure water to stay hydrated.  Pitta tea is delicious chilled!  The Pitta diet calls for more sweet, bitter and astringent tastes.  Salads with leafy greens are a great way to get these tastes in.  Cooling spices, such as mint, fennel, and anise can be added to foods.  Swimming and other water-based sports are ideal for balancing Pitta.  Moonlight is especially soothing, so take that evening stroll after dinner.  Pitta skin is especially sensitive to the sun, so make sure to wear sunscreen when you’re out during the day.

In Vedic philosophy, Saraswati is the goddess of wisdom.  She is often illustrated playing the sitar.  She represents both art and education.  There is an old Indian story that says if you want to have Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, in your life, then you should pursue Saraswati.  When you do so, Lakshmi becomes jealous and comes after you to win your favor.  Saraswati is dressed in all white, the color of peace.  She is graceful and serene, enjoying the beauty of the world around her.  Saraswati is often pictured riding on a beautiful white swan, although sometimes you will see her with a colorful peacock.  Both of these symbols, as well as musical instruments, can be used to remind us of Saraswati and her attributes.  We can be sweet an effective in our communication, as Saraswati is.

I received a wonderful surprise in the mail the other day.  My “What’s Your Dosha, Baby?” book is now available in German!  It is distributed by Random House in Germany.  The title they have given the book is “Dosha Gefluster: Ayurveda fur harmonischere Beziehunger” which translates to, “Dosha Whispers: Ayurveda for Harmonious Relationships.” Isn’t that cool?  I took German in high school, so it’s really fun for me to go through the book and pick out the few words I remember.  But what I love best is that Ayurveda is so universal, from India to the US to Europe and all around the world, this is something we can all embrace and learn from.

In Vedic philosophy there are many cycles in nature to which we are subtly attuned.  The moon (“candra, in Sanskrit) is one of these.  The new moon is a time to start new projects.  There is a fresh new energy that helps us to accelerate our progress as the moon grows.  When the moon is full and bright, that’s when our efforts bring our desires into fruition.  As the moon is waning, that’s the time to wrap things up, tie up loose ends, and decelerate in preparation for what is coming up next.

We can do rituals on the day of the full moon and the new moon to kind of harvest this energy and use it to our best advantage.  Light some candles, sit under the stars, chant, or meditate.  Tomorrow is the new moon for July.  See how this cycles influences your activity this month heading towards the full moon on July 21.

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In Vedic philosophy, the goddess Lakshmi represents abundance, both in love and in wealth.  Lakshmi is often pictured in bright pink and gold garb, seated upon a lotus flower.  The lotus represents spiritual perfection.  While Lakshmi is seated upon the lotus she represents transcendence.  She can create great fortune, and yet she is detached from the material world.  Another symbol we can use to remind us of Lakshmi, and bring her energy into our lives, is the elephant.  Lakshmi is often seen surrounded by elephants bearing gifts.  The elephant is strong, but also agile.  It can pick up a log with its large trunk, but it can also pick up a peanut with the finger-like ends of its trunk.  Thus, it is discerning, which is a very spiritual attribute.