Contents
For some, this word will only remind you of a massage with warm sesame oil – but Ayurveda is not a set of spa treatments. This traditional system heals the body while taking care of the spirit, and its principles can help everyone maintain beauty and health day after day. Impressions of our correspondent.
I got acquainted with Ayurveda quite a long time ago – in Moscow beauty salons. Therefore, going to the homeland of Ayurveda in Kerala, I boldly ordered a course called “Beauty Care”. Although after my stay in India, my idea of this beauty and health maintenance system has changed a lot. I became convinced that it is quite difficult or even impossible to export Ayurveda as an integral system: it is very deeply rooted in Indian culture, where religious ideas, lifestyle and way of thinking are the ground for it. Nevertheless, its values are universal, so each of us may well use its individual elements in our daily lives in order to bring more harmony into it, which means happiness.
Read more:
- How to feel good in winter
Tune in to health
An Ayurvedic resort is a kind of sanatorium with a special mode of stay in it: daily procedures (after which it is highly recommended to sleep), yoga and meditation, vegetarian food in accordance with the constitution of the body (doshas). At all times, an attending physician and two specialists in body therapy are attached to you here, who carry out Ayurvedic procedures. I, like other guests, walk around the territory in a linen robe, my hair soaked in Ayurvedic oil is covered with a headband, a strip of therapeutic paste is applied to the third eye area. Hammocks are stretched in the shade between the palm trees: it is believed that when taking an Ayurvedic course, one should rest as much as possible. Apparently, the fact that a person has to adhere to a certain lifestyle – at least for 14 days – creates such a strong effect of renewal and recuperation. Between Ayurvedic meals, treatments, and relaxation, I take a stroll on a deserted beach or talk to my doctor about Ayurveda. “Everything is connected—there is no religion apart from lifestyle and no culture apart from religion,” Ayurveda doctor PJ Sudarsan tells me. “It’s like a statue that has arms, legs, a head, a body. The Ayurvedic system, like yoga, implies a certain ethical code that a person adheres to, and health is a kind of side effect of this lifestyle. The main precept of this ethical code is not to cause suffering to living beings. Vegetarianism, for example, is only a consequence of this commandment.”
TO LEARN MORE
- Travel and Esoteric Center “India Tour”, tel. (495) 684 3576 http://ayur.ru
- Center of Ayurveda and Yoga “Kerala”, t. (495) 646 1331 www.kerala-ayur.ru
- Bethsaida Hermitage Ayurvedic Resort, Kerala, India, www.bethsaidahermitage. Com
Feel the harmony
The aesthetic component, which is so dear to a modern person, focused on pleasure, sensual pleasure, occupies little space in Ayurveda. Body therapists (or, as they are called here, therapists) who perform massages, peels, and body wraps look more like nurses than beauty clinic estheticians. They treat their patients very cordially, but without ceremony, caring not for comfort or pleasure, but solely for health. “The goal of Ayurveda is well-being and a long life,” explains Dr. Sudarshan. – This is a holistic direction designed to help a person become happier. Beauty is somehow included in this concept of happiness, because Ayurveda helps, among other things, to get rid of some cosmetic imperfections, such as skin problems, make age spots and wrinkles less pronounced, and improve the condition of hair and nails.
On many points, Ayurveda is completely at odds with modern ideas about harmony – for example, with the idea of losing weight at all costs, achieving harmony. “In today’s culture, a thin person is considered beautiful – he usually has a lack of kapha,” explains Dr. Sudarshan. – From the point of view of Ayurveda, this entails health problems, especially if, according to the constitution, kapha is his dominant dosha, that is, if he has a dense physique. According to Ayurveda, the most healthy approach is to follow your nature, achieving the optimal state of the body, the best development of its capabilities in, so to speak, a God-given form. When a person is at peace with his body, then his thoughts and emotions cease to dominate him. This is the path to harmony, that is, to that state of body and soul when a person can no longer think about his problems, but think about his destiny, about what he can bring to this world.
WINTER DRINKS FOR THREE DOSHAS
- Kapha: to speed up the metabolism. The juice of one lime and two teaspoons of honey pour half a glass of hot water and drink before breakfast.
- Pitta: to calm the nervous system. Take a pinch of cumin and coriander seeds, pour a glass of boiling water, add a teaspoon of honey and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Vata: to improve digestion. Take half a teaspoon of dry ginger, 5 black peppercorns, cumin on the tip of a knife. Brew the mixture like tea, leave for 5 minutes.
Purify body and mind
From the point of view of Ayurveda, the metropolis overloads our entire being with toxins – it is this idea that encourages some of its inhabitants to regularly go for Ayurvedic cleansing. In addition to environmental pollution that is understandable to everyone, there are also emotional toxins – stress and irritation, as well as mental ones – obsessive thoughts and an excess of information surrounding us (often of a negative nature). Cleansing is the alpha and omega of Ayurvedic treatment. Poorly digested food, excessive drinking, too high or too low body temperature – any excess can harm us, preventing the energy of life from circulating freely. The “waste” of the body is mainly feces, urine and sweat. To easily get rid of these aggravating substances, you can engage in some kind of physical activity (for example, walking, swimming), practicing abdominal breathing, doing facial steam baths or massage with oils with herbal essences that promote cleansing. Our bodies excrete waste products through many openings, including the mouth, ears, and eyes. Sneezing, yawning, crying – nothing needs to be restrained! In the same way, we can get rid of disturbing thoughts by changing the channel when something negative is shown on TV, and moving away the sound sources. Relaxation techniques can also help with this detachment.
In addition to a complex of cleansing procedures for the body, called “panchakarma”, the full course of detoxification includes yoga and meditation. In principle, Ayurveda does not divide a human being into physical and mental components: for example, it is believed that massage with sesame oil affects the body to the same extent as it does the soul. Yoga teaches you to control your body and helps cleanse the emotional sphere, while meditation cleanses mental toxins.
Our body and spirit, like a sponge, are able to absorb all the good things – and it is in our interests to take care of this. Ayurveda recommends paying attention to the quality of our diet (if possible, consisting of organic products, based on fresh and dried fruits, sprouted grains and dairy products), giving ourselves time for proper sleep and just contemplation – for example, enjoying the view of the setting sun …
Achieve balance of doshas
According to Ayurveda, a person develops under the influence of the elements that rule the Universe: these are earth, water, fire, air and the fifth element – ether, symbolizing space. But the forces of these elements are combined in each of us in different proportions – it is they who simultaneously determine our physical constitution and mentality and spirit, collectively called “dosha”. Air and ether dominate? The type of constitution of such a person is vata, it is like the wind, rather light and slender, lively, unstable (in appetite, sleep, impulses, etc.). One whose nature is pitta (fire and water) shows enthusiasm, a tendency to become angry, prone to increased sweating and skin inflammation. Kapha (earth and water) is recognizable by a strong figure, restraint, even slowness. Dosha, of course, is not determined once and for all: a person can be vata-pitta, vata-kapha. These combinations are constantly changing under the influence of climate, nutrition, emotions, age … Autumn rains increase the influence of kapha. Fire and jealousy cause pitta to increase. These interruptions tire the body. To get closer to your original dosha, you need to harmonize your diet, lifestyle and thoughts. To do this, once a year, you can take a two-week course of treatment in the Ayurvedic center or several shorter courses. Knowing your dosha (you can also determine it online, for example, on the website of the Ayurveda Plus Educational Center – www.ayurvedaplus.ru), you can make the best use of the possibilities of meditation and yoga to maintain balance in your daily life.
Natalia Balynina
Keep up the fire
Ayurveda also recommends “light the fire”. This energy, called “agni”, symbolizes our strength and allows us to confidently determine what we need to transform or reject. It is she who keeps us alive. If its flame weakens, diseases begin. Ayurvedic medicine distinguishes thirteen types of agni – the fire that is in the body. The main one, responsible for digestion, activates the metabolism and allows you to “digest” negative emotions. Sometimes it is enough to revive him to regain his life force. How to ignite it? It is enough to learn a few habits: do not eat at night; lie on your left side for about 20 minutes after eating; drink on an empty stomach a glass of water enriched with copper (for this, the water is kept all night in a copper vessel); include slices of fresh ginger seasoned with lime and sea salt in your menu. And periodically indulge yourself with a massage of the whole body, or at least just the feet.
Cultivate Joy
The feeling of emptiness is characteristic of our ever-rushing world. Therefore, it is important for us to take care of our own emotions. According to Ayurvedic ideas, their energy is able to accelerate recovery and contribute to the implementation of our plans. You can awaken this kind of joyful power in yourself with the help of art (for example, some kind of creative activity, going to a museum …). And also through direct interaction with the five elements: you can work in the garden, swim, watch the flame of a candle, take a deep breath of air – all these actions are beneficial for us, they reunite us with the outside world and stimulate internal forces. Ayurveda does not pretend to give universal recommendations – our doshas are so fickle at every moment. But the Indian sages have found a good solution: a balanced diet, restful sleep, movement, and at the same time mental and emotional calm. Extremely common sense!
We thank Yuri Bharat, the author of the book “India: Ashrams” (Amrita-Rus, 2004), for his help in preparing the material.
How to maintain the breath of life
In Chinese medicine, there is the concept of vital energy qi. In Indian there is its equivalent – prana. According to Ayurveda, this breath of life circulates through 72 channels that permeate our body. Energy is concentrated in the seven main chakras – energy centers located along the spine. It is believed that its free, harmonious circulation provides us with health and gives a feeling of joy in life. How to ensure the full flow of this energy? With the help of hatha yoga classes, with the help of a back massage or procedures using Ayurvedic oils, which the specialist directs in a thin stream to certain energy zones. It is also useful to massage the feet, palms and the area around the eyes.
NB