Christmas and Hannukah have passed but the holiday season is still not over. We are about to festively salute 2011 and welcome 2012. The beginning of a new year for many signifies the beginning of a new phase full of enthusiasm, goals, and resolutions. Before you settle on the list of your resolutions, I want to share a few more lessons (and some pictures) from the Hippocrates Institute program. Most of these you might be familiar with but some might be new. All of them are powerful health boosters and help to restore innate health and energy. It might be good to review these simple health bits before the New Year resolutions are to be made (if you make them). Maybe you can add a couple of things from this list to yours. Let me know which one you pick and why. I would love to know.
A few months ago Vasudha Gupta, my close friend and an ayurvedic practitioner told me that my Vata was aggravated. She prescribed me a Vata balancing diet that I still follow, some herbs that are better than Zanax, and a daily oil foot massage which I brushed off. Then the Fall came and as always my skin started getting dry. While browsing through the isles of my favorite Indian spice store (Kalustyan’s), my eyes stopped at Vata Balancing massage oil. This naturally scented oil is a synergistic blend of 9 herbs, including ashwagandha, bala, sesame, and passionflower. While I felt quite content at that time I decided to still buy the oil and see what was all this buzz about a daily oil massage. And I can’t tell you how glad I am that I followed my instinct! This traditionally prepared massage oil is prepared on a base of organic sesame and olive oils, it warms and lubricates the delicate vata system, restoring calm and providing strength.
Is holiday shopping and party planning wearing you down? Holiday stress can get even to “yoga people”! Whether you’re worrying about scheduling in-laws dinner, pre-holiday work deadlines, traffic jams, or getting everyone suitable presents, stress takes it toll on your body and mind. Modern scientists agree that stress can trigger anything from allergies and asthma to headaches and indigestion. If experienced over a prolonged time, stress can lead to heart problems, ulcers, and nervous breakdowns. According to ayurvedic expert Vasant Lad, stress and anxiety appear “primarily due to an aggravation of the vata dosha. So to heal anxiety, we have to balance vata.”
