GoVeda.com News

Is it possible that the absolute oldest system of medicine has come full circle and is now considered to be in some form or fashion “new” again? Sure! Isn’t that the usual cycle of the universe? Old belief systems gain and lose popularity throughout the years. Philosophies and fashions are recycled generationally as young becomes old and square becomes boss again. But we normally don’t think of science cycling. We perceive science as forever advancing in complexity and usefulness as new discoveries launch us even further in our understanding—and ultimately to our perceived control—of our existence within the universe around us.

The term “new age” in reference to medicine, however, has come to refer almost synonymously these days with “holistic” or “homeopathic”. This to me is very interesting because it is anything but “new” in the sense that it is a fresh way of looking at health and healing. In fact, it used to be all there was. When someone in a family or clan injured themselves or became ill 3000 years ago, there weren’t any pharmaceuticals, licensed physicians or FDA that would test powerful chemical concoctions to tell us whether they cured illness or destroyed life. What people did was attempt to right the injury or treat the illness with natural remedies that were perceived in their environment to have certain effects on the body. These were the pharmaceuticals and those who had this knowledge and applied these remedies were the doctors of that time.

How is this form of treatment “new” all over again? The answer is simple. We’ve forgotten the basis for all known medical systems that has ever come into existence in this world and as we begin to mistrust doctors, pharmaceutical companies and surgeons, we again open our eyes to the fact that everything we have access to in nature is all we need to live a full and healthy life. All the nutrition we need, all the companionship we desire, and all the remedies we might require are all accessible through natural methods. If this were not true and, at the same time, it were true that we need complex surgeries, chemotherapy, powerful man-made chemical compounds for psychotropic drugs, etc., then do you think there would still be a human race today? Of course not, because all these things are very recent creations that we as a race have only brought into existence in the last 100.

My personal feelings about these things are not so much that “artificial equals negative,” but more so that the very existence of these unnatural medical practices creates a human reliance and dependence on them. To go even further, these things actually “make” us live an unhealthier existence because we consciously realize that we have options when things get bad for us. Because we know that if/when we overeat, there is liposuction or diet pills or 8 min ab programs or gastric bypass surgery, or whatever, we will tend to allow ourselves to overeat more often. We do this because we rationalize our way out of making the right decision because we know that there is a remedy.

This thought process is the exact reason why Americans are more unhealthy today than ever, while at the same time has the most advanced medical system that has ever been in practice on the planet. We can afford to take chances with our health and smoke tobacco because there are surgeries and medicines and gums that can fix us later. What a roller coaster ride this makes our existence as we rebound between sickness and health. Ayurveda is the balancing of all aspects of existence for the greater good of the whole. This applies to internal balance of our organs and systems, balance between individuals and civilization, balance between humans and nature, and even balance between spiritual existence and the universe or God. This is the way to happiness and fulfillment. Seek constant balance and focus on the greater good.

In today’s fast-paced world of convenience and “get it now,” we sacrifice healthy eating habits and daily exercise to keep up with our busy work and social schedules. Heavy doses of caffeine, drive through breakfasts and lunch, processed and packaged meals of empty calories all contribute to disease by stressing the body’s natural processes and will result in obesity, asthma, cancers, colds, premature aging, insomnia, hair loss, diabetes, heart disease, and countless other life threatening ailments. How do we fix this? A simple solution would be to first create a personal diet plan, preferably vegetarian, and practice yoga techniques and breathing exercises.

Our philosophy is based primarily on Ayurveda and supporting science and truly believe that 75% of today’s health issues can be resolved simply by correcting flawed eating habits. If a person switches to an organic and plant-based vegetarian diet, the chances of restoring that person to optimal health will be very high. Adding some exercise such as walking, jogging and yoga will show results much quicker.

Breathing exercises called Pranayama is effective in cleansing the body of toxins. Adding yoga will begin to restore balance in the body’s tissues and restore you to a healthy constitution.

Ayurvedic doctors understand this deep breathing to not only help refresh the body with oxygen but also it is known to increase serotonin levels which can relieve depression, insomnia and chronic anxiety. In fact, regular meditation that includes Pranayama will increase energy, restore normal blood pressure, increase mental function and focus, bolster the immune system and improve mental, emotional and physical endurance.

Ayurveda, the mother of all healing and still the champion of medical treatments worldwide, makes some pretty tall claims to help heal the body faster and more effective than many Western treatments and pharmaceuticals. In fact, one of the most earth shattering claims that threaten the very theories that Western medicine was built on is that Ayurveda can cure those who suffer from cancer by treating the person (not the cancerous growths like we do in the West). If it can do this even at the same success rate as chemotherapy, then why isn’t anyone talking about it? How come cancer survivors continue to endure the agonizing effects of radiation therapy while still crossing their fingers if there are alternatives that can do the job just as effectively, but instead by using natural and healthy treatments?

Cancer, according to Ayurveda, is a disease brought on by extreme imbalance. All of Ayurveda is based on maintaining a careful equilibrium in all aspects of life. This includes diet, exercise, social, rest, work, play, etc. Any time we have too much of some aspects or two little of others in our lives, we risk illness. Staying out of balance for an extended period of time or experience roller coaster up and downs in extremes will make us susceptible to disease. Cancer is one of the main diseases that invade us when we are in an imbalanced state. According to many practitioners of Ayurveda and doctors of the same understand the rising incidences of cancer cases are the direct result of certain drastic changes in our lifestyles and diets. One very dangerous and yet very common cause for cancer today is the consumption of fast foods, packaged foods, artificial colors and flavors and all other synthetically produced foods. These not only fill the body with dangerous chemicals that are foreign to our bodily processes but these foods do not sufficiently provide us with the vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to function.

One of clinical practices of Ayurveda known as Rasayana Shastra emphasizes mineral absorption. The practice involves the balancing of the seven metals (lead, iron, zinc, tin, copper, silver, and gold) in order to assist the body in its ability to take in more minerals naturally. Most foods we consume these days are mineral deficient even if the foods are not fast food or junk foods. Soil deficiency translates to food deficiency. Beyond this, other contributing factors are eating too frequently, eating disorders, over exertion, stress and anxiety, psychological depression and other unnatural afflictions form acids and toxins in the body that further exacerbate the problem of nutrient and mineral absorption. Your body reacts with abnormal activities to try to compensate and begins to create unnatural tissues in the body. These tissues can result in cancer.

A study posted in the Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17309811?dopt=AbstractPlus) discusses how well Ayurveda treats cancer and also how ineffective modern Western medicine is in curing cancer victims. I won’t retype the whole abstract, but take a moment to review. You’ll be pleasantly reassured that living in a healthy balance with everything is your best chance to stay cancer free!

We know that many people are changing the way they eat this New Year to improve their health.  Healthy eating, though, has more to do with eating a balance in your diet than it does shoveling countless bushels of lettuce in your face to (very) temporarily assuage those all-too-quickly-to-return hunger pangs.  So, as a service to our readers, we’d like offer a weekly recipe that adheres to an Ayurveda diet.  Whether you are a strict believer or just want to taste what an Ayurveda meal tastes like, you’ll have a hand-picked recipe week after week to, at the very least, mix things up on your way to a healthier you.

This week’s recipe is a saffron rice with rose petals.  It is delicate, yet aromatic.  It will make you feel luxurious with its romantic butteriness.  This dish is pacifying for pitta and vata constitutions.  The rose petals contribute a cooling effect, physically healing pitta.  Pitta’s are emotional and sensitive by nature.  The rose petals pacify the senses and helps pitta both spiritually and mentally.  The spices (salt, cinnamon and saffron) pacifies the spicy nature inherent in vata.

Ingredients

Preparation

Bring 2.5 cups water to a boil (extra water added to ground vata) and turn off heat. Prepare the saffron according to the instructions “Preparing Saffron”. Roast the chopped almonds on med-high heat for five minutes or until browned. Half way, add the gold raisins.

Roast the rice until slightly browned. Add ghee until rice is covered. Add rice, rose water, saffron water, almonds, and raisins to the boiled water. Cover on low heat and let stand 30 minutes or until rice is soft and somewhat puffy.

Garnish with rose petals.

Check out more great recipes at http://www.joyfulbelly.com/. 

As you all well know, Go Veda actively promotes simple and natural ways to promote health and wellness through creating a working balance of mind, body and spirit.  It is important that both internally and externally we work to maintain this sense of order to keep connected with the rest of the universe.  Here in the West, we are notorious for overemphasizing one or two aspects of our lives and letting the rest fall to the wayside.  What we find when doing this is a seesaw effect where the universe responds and forces us to act on these other aspects of our lives—again in excess—almost as a response to “catch up” and set the equilibrium back to a natural state. 

An easy example would be to look at those who work 14-16 hours per day, 6 and 7 days per week.  These people are very productive and disciplined in one aspect of their lives.  They will tend to, however, neglect physical health by not exercising, mental health by not resting sufficiently and social health by not communicating with others for the purpose of nurturing relationships.  These same people will also “hit a wall” or “burn out” at some point where the universe simply says, “That’s enough; you’re out of balance.  Time to catch up.”  What happens next could be 2 things: 1) Some who hit burn out, realize the debilitating effects of this both on themselves and those around them and will willfully make a change; 2) Others who hit burn out and think all they have to do is step up and stop complaining will develop physical and/or mental illness or be put through an event (divorce, falling asleep at the wheel, etc.) that makes it impossible to continue on that way.

The point of all this is that life is given to us by a higher power as a gift and an opportunity for growth.  Life was not given to us by our bosses, our mortgage company, our credit card companies or our government.  So why, then, do we live forever indebted to these artificial “fathers” of our existence?  Should we not cherish the gift given to us by our real makers and take advantage of this opportunity to experience and learn?  Express your appreciation for the gift of life by applying yourself 100% to every aspect of your life.  Work hard at your job.  Give your all to your familial and friendly relationships.  Do everything you can to exercise, but also rest sufficiently.  That is the true meaning of living life to the fullest.