Learn how Ayurveda can help you!
Idyllic? Certainly. Impossible, not if you're willing to adopt a few of the basic practices of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian philosophy of medicine that focuses on balance and well-being. In many ways, Ayurveda is the ultimate feel-good, do-it-yourself health-care system. No wonder it's the hottest topic at resorts that help you transform your mind while your body's taking a break. Think of it as a deeper-level spa, where beauty and relaxation come from the restoration of inner intelligence. Ayurveda sees illness and fatigue as arising from imbalances in the body; restoring balance, therefore, is the first step toward restoring health. Rather than a go-to treatment for acute illness or injury, it's appropriate for the kinds of enervating conditions that plague stressed-out Americans such as depression, heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, and symptoms of menopause. Even a limited embrace of ayurveda living has its rewards. People can expect to have more energy over time, more vitality, more inner strength, and to become more relaxed and calm. To test those calming waters, start with this spa-inspired guide to ayurveda healing. The Three Doshas of Ayurveda To benefit from ayurveda practices, it helps to know the basics. Ayurveda holds that nature's five elements--water, earth, fire, air, and space--are present in the body as three constitutional types, or doshas, which govern the body's functions: vata (space and air), pitta (water and fire), and kapha (earth and water). Vata regulates movement, pitta governs metabolism, and kapha is responsible for physical structure. When the doshas are in balance, you feel healthy. When they're not, there's trouble. If you restore balance, you gain higher states of well-being; you develop consciousness and mind-body integration. You can call that ayurveda enlightenment. All the doshas work together, and everyone is made up of all three to some degree. Still, in most people, one or two dominate. If you visit an ayurveda practitioner or spa, you'll receive an analysis of your dosha based on a lifestyle questionnaire, pulse analysis, and other subtle diagnostic techniques. You can also use self-assessment guidelines. Your build and appearance offer substantial clues about the dosha governs your physical make-up. Check out the chart below to determine which traits correspond to which dosha. The way you think and respond to life can also clue you in to your predominant dosha. When life presents a challenge, vatas tend to get agitated or anxious, pittas grow irritable or angry, and kaphas hibernate, retreating from life's problems. Consider this scenario: You set a lunch date at noon, and your companion hasn't arrived by 12:30. If you're predominantly vata, you'll start to worry there's been an accident; you could get so anxious that your head starts to ache. If you're pitta, you'll sit there with your stomach churning, irritated that your time is being wasted. If you're kapha, however, you're more likely to go with the flow. Your pal will arrive eventually, so why not relax with a drink and an appetizer? Given the same situation, the reality we make has more to do with how we're wired. You can also use self-assessment guidelines. Your build and appearance offer substantial clues about the dosha governs your physical make-up. Check out the decriptions for each dosha to determine which traits correspond to you. VATA build is thin & wiry. They tend to lose weight easily. Hair is usually curly & coarse. Eyes are often either dark or blue, quick & darting. Skin tends to be pale, dry, delicate & prone to fine lines. PITTA is usually a medium build and sometimes athletic. Hair is thin, straight and fine. It can be oily. Eyes are often green or hazel with a penetrating gaze. Skin is oily, irritable, and sensitive to sun. Skin is also prone to freckling, rashes & rosacea. KAPHA usually have a large solid frame and gains weight easily. Hair is dark, thick, and lustrous. Eyes are large with thick, dark lashes and are calm & loving. Skin is thick, cool to the touch, and can be prone to acne. The Four Tools of Ayurveda Yet the most powerful treatments, in the ayurveda view, are dosha-specific adjustments to your diet, exercise, and lifestyle habits, accompanied by regular meditation. You can put these tools to work anytime, anywhere. 1. Diet Fresh, organic vegetarian food is the foundation of ayurveda cooking, it brings back the life force. Junk food, on the other hand, produces a buildup of toxins (known as area). And leftovers are considered dead food. To phase in an ayurveda diet, build your meals around its three most important ingredients: a good grain (such as rice or flatbreads), a legume-based soup (like mung dahl, lentil, or green split pea), and fresh vegetables cooked with olive oil or ghee, which is butter that's been melted, boiled, and strained. Try to include all six tastes, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent (ginger, basil), and astringent (turmeric, rosemary), in every meal. And focus on foods that are particularly beneficial for your primary dosha. If you are vata, eat sweet fruits such as berries, cherries, and plums; sour fruits are all right, too, except for raw apples and dried fruit. Vegetables should be cooked, with an emphasis on carrots, cucumbers, green beans, and peas. Dairy products are fine for vata types, as are ghee and most oils (sesame and olive are ideal). Good grain choices are cooked oats and quinoa. Avoid dry or cold foods, ice water, dried or unripe fruits, red meat, and caffeine. If you are pitta, stick to sweet fruits such as melons, raisins, and dates, and nix any fruits that are sour. Focus on sweet and bitter vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, squashes, and leafy greens. For dairy, choose cow's milk, unsalted butter, and soft cheeses that aren't aged. For grains, pick amaranth, barley, and basmati rice. Sunflower, canola, and olive oils, along with ghee, are preferred to corn or sesame oils. Shun spicy foods, even if you crave them. If you are kapha, the watchwords are "dry and light." Fruits like apples, raisins, dried figs, and pears are favored over those that are highly sweet or sour. Lean toward pungent and bitter vegetables, such as eggplant, cabbage, cauliflower, and cooked tomato. Dairy is best avoided, though a bit of skim goat's milk or diluted yogurt is acceptable. Preferred grains are buckwheat and barley. For oils, use corn, canola, or sunflower in minimal amounts. Warming, invigorating spices and condiments are advised for kaphas; enjoy black pepper, horseradish, mustard, or just about anything else except salt. Steer clear of nuts, tofu, hot cereals, foods that are very sweet or oily, and practically anything from the drive-through. 2. Exercise Ayurveda's favorite exercise is one that is beneficial for all, recommend yoga every day. Beginners can start slowly: once or twice a day for 10 to 15 minutes a session. It's all about developing enlightenment. To get even more from your exercise, select an activity, and a form of yoga, that's right for your dosha. If you are vata, you're easily scattered, movement that brings you more into your center. Grounding styles of yoga are a good choice. Viniyoga, Kripalu, or Iyengar yoga are suitable options. You'll also benefit by taking classes in Pilates, tai chi, or qigong. If you are pitta, chose a noncompetitive exercise to release the pressure that builds up from your need for precision and perfection. Go swimming or ride a bike instead of engaging in a squash or tennis game. Relaxing forms of yoga help high-strung pittas cool off from the heat of the day. Most studios offer classes in restorative yoga, candlelight yoga, or the like. If you are kapha, you are constantly battling your tendency toward inertia. High-intensity exercise is best for this type (even though no kapha likes to hear that) such as brisk walking, jogging, or an upbeat aerobics class. Vigorous forms of yoga, such as Ashtanga, Bikram, or flow-style classes are the perfect ways to get a kapha moving. 3. Habits How you approach your life and plan your daily schedule has an impact on your emotional and physical well being. By making small changes, establishing healthy routines, and counterbalancing some of the negative tendencies of your primary dosha, you can restore inner balance. If you are vata, you will resist regularity. However, introducing more predictability into your life can keep your dosha from getting excessively turbulent. As a result, you'll spend less time feeling anxious, unfocused, and unproductive. Eating meals at regular times (vatas are notorious meal-skippers), taking the same path to work each day, and looking for other ways to make life more deliberate. If you are pitta, you respond with aggression when things don't go according to plan. That's partly because pittas tell themselves they'll never get everything done. Go against your nature by leaving breathing room in your day. Pittas have a need for precision. They will schedule things back to back. Allowing yourself some space can help you avoid blowing up when schedules change or you have to wait in line longer than you expected. Use any extra time for meditation or breathing exercises. If you are kapha, try to fight your natural inertia. Kaphas don't like to rock the boat and have a tendency to withdraw when the going gets tough. But they can take tolerance too far, remaining in unhappy situations for far too long. Kaphas must push themselves to speak up, and take action when jobs or relationships start to go bad. For all doshas, there is value in a routine that is structured without being overscheduled. That holds true to the very end of your day. To promote proper sleep and internal healing, ayurveda practitioners advise most people to go to bed by 10 p.m. and get up before 6 a.m. It's the principle that whatever we do on a regular basis has a cumulative effect. The body likes routine, it creates predictability. Keeping bedtimes and mealtimes consistent will promote restfulness, longevity, and regularity with digestion and bowels." 4. Meditation Whatever your dosha, meditation allows hectic minds to quiet down. Eventually you can feel inner stillness even when you are busy and active. In addition to promoting calmness and focus, meditation has been linked with numerous other benefits, including reductions in cholesterol, improved sleep and memory, decreases in anxiety and depression, and relief of asthma symptoms. TM is mantra based, you repeat a simple Sanskrit word over and over; when your mind wanders, you bring it back to the word. Students of the technique receive a personalized mantra, though you'll achieve similar results using a universal mantra such as "om" or a word that's meaningful to you like "love" or "one".
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