10 Secrets for Physical, mental & emotional Health & Well being according to Maharishi Ayurveda
1. Consistently go to bed before 10:00 p.m. Earlier is even better. Getting enough rest is essential for emotional health, and falling asleep during the Kapha time of night generates a deep, restful sleep that truly refreshes mind and body. This allows you to use the sleepy, heavier Kapha time of night to help you fall asleep faster.
2. Wake up with the rising sun. Waking up early is important to emotional health, because sleeping into Kapha time, which begins at 6:00 a.m., can cause a buildup of ama (toxins). This in turn affects the shrotas, or channels of communication, possibly clogging them, which can create dullness of mind and low moods.
3. Walk outdoors while breathing deeply. The ideal time to do this is when the sun is rising. Daily exercise is essential to combat low moods, because exercise helps move blocked emotions and hormones out of the body. It increases the power of agni (literally “digestive fire” which, in this sense, “cooks” emotions) and helps improve one’s ability to process emotions. Exercise also releases positive neurohormones, elevating your mood. The early morning sun adds an extra boost, because you become infused with the positive energy of the sun when it is most beneficial for all body types.
4. Daily elimination is very important. Occasional constipation can cause headache, dullness, fatigue and low moods. Use a Tongue Scraper to scrape your tongue in the morning. If your elimination is sluggish or blocked, start your day with cooked apples, prunes and figs. Drink water throughout the day. Eat at the same time each day, with the main meal at noon and a lighter meal in the evening.
5. Practice
Transcendental Meditation (
tm.org or
tm.nl) for 15-20 minutes Morning and evening as that has been proven to improve overall Health and well being and cultivates Bliss.
6. Eat intelligent foods. Foods that are organic, natural and unprocessed contain more of nature’s intelligence. They are digested quickly by the body and create ojas. Ojas is the by-product of good digestion that creates bliss, stable emotions and good health in the body. Intelligent foods include: organic milk; cloves; walnuts; pears; coconut; proteins such as soaked seeds and nuts with raisins and dates; panir (fresh cheese); and buttermilk or lassi (rather than yogurt), as these lighter drinks do not increase Kapha and are better for lightening emotions. To make buttermilk, follow the simple recipe below*1. (Please note that Ayurvedic buttermilk is not the same as the buttermilk you buy in the store.) This recipe helps restore the beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract, thus helping digestion and assimilation. Avoid eating "unintelligent" or junk food if you want to uplift your spirits. Avoid leftovers as well as canned, frozen or packaged foods, as these are not fresh and tend not to enhance creation of ojas. Rather, they may promote the creation of ama, the sticky waste-product of incomplete digestion that blocks our microcirculatory channels (shrotas). Ama slows Sadhaka Agni (digestive fire) and blocks the communication between heart and mind, causing negative emotions to be stored in the body instead of being released. If the shrotas, or channels, are clear, negative emotions and stress can be processed more easily and released quickly. Another type of food to avoid is the nightshade family of vegetables, which includes potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and green, yellow and red peppers. These vegetables are considered harder for the body to digest and can clog the shrotas.
7. Give yourself a daily abhyanga (Ayurvedic oil massage). Massage increases circulation, clears toxins from the tissues, invigorates the body, calms the mind and soothes the emotions. It is balancing to Vata dosha and, because of this, it calms anxious feelings and stress. For your massage, use our Sesame or Coconut Oil. Follow your massage with a warm bath to flush out the toxins that have been pushed out from the cells with the massage.
8. Do moderate exercise such as yoga asanas. Yoga enhances digestion and stimulates the Sadhaka Agni (digestive Fire), which cleanses toxins from the channels and cells of the body, improving overall balance and health. This is a time-tested tool for clearing away the toxins that lead to low moods.
9. Use Rasayanas, which are herbal elixirs for bliss and rejuvenation, and are the cream of the herbal kingdom, prepared according to ancient methods that can take weeks and even months to make. Maharishi Amrit Kalash is one of the most powerful of all the Rasayanas, and it has the ability to create bliss, contentment, and ideal health. Like any true Rasayana, Maharishi Amrit Kalash has the ability to enhance medhya, or the coordination between the mental functions of learning, retention and recall. This kind of coordination is important for balancing the emotions and helping to prevent feelings of sadness. It is also a great antioxidant, a quality associated with anti-aging.
Practice Achara Rasayanas, or behavioral Rasayanas. According to Charaka Samhita, if you practice these positive behaviors on a daily basis, you will gain in overall health and well-being. You'll be interested to see many of the suggestions we have already discussed listed here.
Achara Rasayanas
Truthfulness
Freedom from anger
Non-indulgence in alcohol
Non-violence
Avoiding overexertion
Calmness
Sweet speech
Experience transcendence through meditation.
Cleanliness
Perseverance
Charity
Respect toward teachers, parents and elders
Love and compassion
Balanced in sleep and wakefulness
Use ghee regularly
Act appropriately to time and place
Humility
Practice Ayurvedic control of the senses. It should be noted that "Ayurvedic control" is effortless. It is a natural non-forced state that grows and evolves as one experiences the transcendental value of life. It is not a "control" born of effort.
Keep the company of the wise
Positive attitude
Self-controlled
Be devoted to studying truth
10. Create a sweet, loving, stress free environment. It's very important to surround yourself with positive, loving people who support you emotionally, and who also support you in leading a sattvic life. Choose friends or co-workers who also are interested in following a healthy routine and eating healthy foods. You'll also want to choose the company of people who respect you and who create an uplifting feeling.
A description of suitable and unsuitable company is outlined in Charaka Samhita. Those who are considered suitable company are mature in wisdom, learning, conduct, patience, memory and the practice of meditation. Also recommended are those who are acquainted with human nature, devoid of anxieties, well-behaved with everyone, peaceful, and who advocate right conduct and follow a righteous course of action.
Those who are considered unsuitable as friends or associates are negative in thought, speech and conduct; quarrelsome by nature; and/or devoid of compassion. Also not recommended are people who habitually speak ill of others, cruel or greedy people, those who envy the prosperity of others, those who indulge in sarcastic remarks about others, and those who do not follow a virtuous course of life.
*1 Ayurvedic Buttermilk
Ingredients:
¼ c. fresh cold organic yogurt (For best results, use freshly-made yogurt.)
¾ c. purified cold water (the temperature must be cold for this recipe to work)
¼ t. cumin powder
¼ t. coriander leaf (cilantro)
1 pinch of rock salt or sea salt
Directions:
Place the freshly-made yogurt in the blender and blend for three to five minutes.
Add the cold water, and blend again on low for three to five minutes.
You will notice that a fatty foam has collected at the top of the yogurt. Skim it off with a spoon and discard.
Repeat the blending and removing of the fatty foam if the yogurt remains thick, white and solid.
When the yogurt has become watery but still cloudy in color, you have made buttermilk.
Add the spices and stir by hand briefly to mix the spices evenly.
Serve at room temperature.
Spice Mixture for overall Balance
Ingredients:
1 part ground black pepper
1 part ground dried ginger
2 parts ground coriander
3 parts ground cumin
2 parts ground turmeric
1 part crushed black cumin (for women only)
Directions:
Mix the spices together and store in an airtight container.
Sauté the spices in a small amount of ghee to spice vegetables and grains.
