Ayurveda and Yoga are two holistic healing systems with over a century’s gathered knowledge for balancing the human mind, spirit and body; which will be discussed in this essay. Ayurveda is a whole and complete healing system which examines a person’s dosha constitution, to help identify potential causes of illness and imbalance. Yoga is an older practice, which aims to still the mind and create awareness of the body through postures known as asanas. Ayurvedic medicine incorporates Yoga as one of the methods used for cleansing, balancing and maintaining the body’s natural health. Each system is powerful as a stand-alone technique in manifesting optimum health, and due to their similar philosophies on health and disease they are effective when used together.

         Ayurvedic Medicine has its beginnings marked over 3000 years ago (Vyas & Warren, 2000, p.12). Knowledge was passed down from 52 Indian sages, known as the Rishis, who wished to bring about the end of illness on the earth (Vyas & Warren, 2000, p.4-5). Their knowledge was transmitted verbally from teacher to student for thousands of years, until it was transcribed in Sanskrit as poetry (Lad, 1990, p.21). The first text created, recorded the principles of the Ayurvedic system and is known as the ‘Charaka Samhitta’ (Godagama, 2001, p.19). In 1500BC, nomads traveling from Central Asia brought Yoga, a practise involving knowledge on how to still the mind and control the body with them to the Indian sub-continent. That’s boasting approximately 3500 years of knowledge. (Schops, 2010, p.6-12).

       Considering that both of these ancient therapies have survived history and continue to be practiced today is a testimony to their effectiveness. Time has only embellished the evolution of the practices through innovative technology and philosophies. Ayurvedic medicine is presently considered “complementary” medicine in most Western countries however; it is still widespread in India, with an estimated 80 percent of the population using it exclusively, or analogous to western medicine (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2009). The Indian government continues to fund research in the area with access to modern techniques and equipment (Dash, 1975, p.18). However, it is Yoga that has truly undergone rapid transformation. Yogi’s have developed different styles and methods of practicing Yoga, promising to rapidly develop specific benefits. Hatha Yoga developed (800-1200AD) helps one achieve enlightenment through training the body (Schops, 2010, p.13). Kundalini Yoga (1930-2004) aims to target the snake energy resting in a person’s base chakra, helping it to rise and eliminate blocks in the body. Bikram Yoga (1946) is done in a heated room briskly detoxing the body.

        Ayurveda is a way of living (Ayu) meaning living and (Veda) meaning science or knowledge. Together the words mean “The Science of life” (Dash, 1975, p.v). It is a holistic healing system that treats the mind, body and spirit as one. Ayurveda’s philosophy on health, is the oldest example of “prevention is better than cure”. Instead of focusing on illness, Ayurveda prevents the body from falling out of balance through treatments such as detoxification (Panchakarma), and purification (Rasayana). This spirited balance allows development of trust in the body’s natural intelligence, aiding interpretation of symptoms to develop an evolved sense natural vitality (Vyas & Warren, 2000, p.6). Ayurveda and Yoga both employ this philosophy, which is why Yoga is stressed as part of the Ayurvedic way of life. Yoga focuses on bringing the mind body and spirit into balance, through asanas, controlled breathing and meditation. Once all stress is relieved and poses can be held with ease all obstacles in the way of achieving peace of mind have been removed (Schops, 2010, p.6).

        Universal consciousness is the very heart of Ayurvedic medicine, its manifestation through the elements should work together in balance within the body to generate optimum health and vitality. Yoga also adopts a similar view, teaching that well-being results in clear perception, and conscious (Schops, 2010, p.6). Ayurveda communicates that, accumulated toxins (ama) are the root of all disease (Lad, 1990, p.40). Allowing the body to naturally heal by producing and excreting waste products: such as urine, feces, and sweat at normal levels prevent this accumulation (Lad, 1990, p.37) Yoga speeds up the process of eliminating toxins from the physical and energetic body, allowing energy to run freely through the energy channels and major energy centres (chakras) (Schops, 2010, p.33). This is why Ayurvedic medicine and Yoga are effective alternatives to pharmacological cures, because they prevent the build-up of toxins that lead to disease in the first place (Dash, 1975, p.viii)

        Yoga is one of the many modalities harnessed in Ayurvedic medicine to bring about balance, unity and purity of the body. Their similar philosophies on balance, and unity make them ideal in working together to establish a sense of well-being. Both Ayurveda and Yoga acknowledge the energy centres in our body. They also testify to the fact that our bodies cannot run as smoothly when there is energy centres that are blocked, or have built up (ama) within them. Through their own methods, they both decrease the body’s toxins; providing an ideal way of living that prevents unrest.

         Health is the body’s natural state, and should not be difficult to maintain, or impossible to achieve without the intervention of drugs that we have only recently created. We are entitled to health; it is our natural state where we encompass abundant energy to bring our ideas and dreams into full actualised reality despite all the negativity and hardships we may encounter along the way. When a balance of energy is maintained in our body, we have the mental clarity to rid old, and unwanted patterns in our life that no longer serve our life purpose; allowing for the new to enter. It is only when we become unbalanced and blocked that we allow disease to take over the bodies systems that are innately equipped to deal with most bacteria and infections.

         Ayurveda and Yoga are one of the many holistic healing systems that allow a person to keep their own mental, spiritual and physical health in check. When the self is known, Ayurveda and Yoga certainly provide the tools to apply to ourselves in a way that increases vitality, well-being, motivation while decreasing your likelihood of falling into a state of low energy and negativity. Using Ayurvedic methods to calculate your own constitution, allows you to placate the over or underactive energies in your body. Yoga will aid in releasing emotional blocks through breath and postures; eventually leading to a quiet mind that is capable of great intelligence and quality of thought. By balancing yourself through incorporating these techniques into your regime, you will bring about your natural charisma eventually awakening your innate potential. 
 

References

Dash, V.B1975, Ayurveda For Mother & Child, Dehli Diary, New Dehli.
Godagama, S 2001, The Handbook of Ayurveda, Kyle Cathe Limited, London.
Lad, V 1990, Ayurveda: The science of Self-Healing, Lotus Press, WI
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine 1998, Ayurvedic Medicine: An Introduction 2009, viewed 24 January 2013
<http://nccam.nih.gov/health/ayurveda/introduction.htm>.
Schops, I 2010, Yoga, Paragon Books, United Kingdom.
Vyas, B & Warren, J 2000, Simply Ayurveda: Discover Your Type to Transform Your Life, Harper Collins, London. 

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SERVICES

Reiki Healing

Reiki Level 1 + 2 and Masters Courses

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“I am calm and light. I am peaceful and easygoing. I find beauty in simplicity” 
– Kris Carr’s affirmation for day 7

Day 7 Weigh In: 77.7 kg’s 

Mood: Dull

Hair Skin Nails: Skin is now completely blemish free, my eyes are whiter and greener, my hair seems to be fully of life

Perhaps I am hitting the detox blues around this point in time. I am feeling more tired than usual (especially my muscles), I find it harder to wake up in the morning, some days I have stayed in bed all together.With my university and work commitments, I have found it hard to muster up energy or drive to even write a post.I will see how I go in the next few days, but I will add back in some eggs to the diet if I continue to feel a lack of energy. I am finding no motivation for the gym in the last few days, but I keep up with my Yoga every day. Once again I will urge everyone to try and take up Yoga and incorporate it into their lives somehow.

Tomorrow is a juice fast day – Wish me luck.

Selected meal + Juice preparation photos

This juice includes apples, spinach, lemon, cucumber, ginger, lettuce, celery, fennel

My juice chilling out in the morning sun, doesn't it look magical?

Prep for a bean patty: olive oil, cumin, tamari, beans, onion, sweet potatoes, Polenta

 

Remember to stick to your goals as much as possible when you eat out.
I enjoyed a beautiful vegetarian burrito on its own in a bowl with my
sister last week, was a wonderful evening and I didn't feel guilty for
eating poorly afterwards ;)

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We come today to the body, and how you can make it radiant, take control, and have control of your own happiness.

If you are depressed and have tried every kind of medication without any progress, yet are still to try out developing a lifestyle in favour of healthy eating and regular exercise then there is hope for you yet!

For the next 21 days, I am going to detox, detox, detox!   

Previously, my posts have been  aimed at producing an article, a piece of writing on a topic that is dear to me. The next 21 days (or more, who knows, I don’t like to put a limit on a good thing), the posts are going to be a lot more personal, and hopefully relatable.  

Detoxing; it’s something most girls partake in for weight loss, it's an ideal that spiritual guru’s aspire to, and it's also a process scientists report useless and statistically insignificant. But surely there is no harm in eating mainly from the earth, free of toxins we men have created, even if it isn't really doing anything at the end of the day, it's certainly not going to hurt you. 

To be clean these days, impossible for sure, but we can certainly do our best to minimize the stress for our bodies.

I have certainly come a long way from the smoking, dancing fly-trap, partying queen-machine that I used to be. In a few months I have completely stopped smoking, excessive alcohol drinking, while increasing my intake of clean and lean foods (as opposed to being a carb-monster). However, the real journey first began about a month ago when my sister introduced me to ‘Clean & Lean Diet’ by James Duigan. 

The golden message to take away from that book was (no sugar, minimal coffee, minimal to no gluten, more raw vegetables, and clean meat such as fish and white meat, which I avoided anyway as I am Pescatarian). 

The two week kick start was the beginning of a wonderful journey that I know will only continue to evolve over the course of my life. Not only did I feel completely satisfied all the time, my skin cleared up, I dropped weight with a lot less exercise than usual, and pretty much nothing could get me down, my eyes even became greener, brighter, sparkly. 

So much love I now have for vegetables! Oh how I rarely crave the sweet thing. I know that even the thought of no sugar is scary, and if you are a massive chemical junkie which is pretty much (sugar, caffeine, gluten, random chemicals with names you can’t pronounce lurking in everything we eat), yes, perhaps the kick-start would be more painful and filled with longing. However, by the end of it, you would surely see, as well as feel the benefits. I finally got my body to a place of health it had never tasted before. When the kick-start ended and I began to indulge again, my body instantly slapped me for it. The sugar, which was once an addiction and made me happy, now just made my tummy feel yucky, and my mood drop. So, having tasted sweet, sweet health, I arrive at now, with a much harsher (or kinder) diet to tackle. The Crazy Sexy Diet.

I have no doubt that Kris Car’s methods will make me a radiant little flower full of light and sun inside and out, but I am sure that I will need some motivation getting along.

My beautiful sister (see her page here) again, urged me to take a look at Kris Car’s ‘Crazy, Sexy, Diet’, and with all it’s beautiful colours, pretty pictures, and promises of spiritual fulfillment how could a girl like I resist?

Here I am now, declaring my intent to the world, believing in positive change for fellow human-beings.

THE RULES FOR THE NEXT 21 DAYS

NO MEAT

This one is going to be easy for me, I stopped eating all meat except fish 6 months ago, and I aspire to let the love of my seafood go forever. I want to gage my mood and vitality without all meat for 3 weeks and make an informed choice to either ditch it all together, or include it in small amounts.

Why not eat it?

Well here is a couple of reasons you have probably already thought of. But I'll remind you again. 

It’s smelly, it’s dead. Your animal was screaming and crying out in pain, fear and adrenaline flooding its body in that horror-house of an abattoir before it died, and you are eating all of that. Wouldn’t you rather a plant? Plants feed on sunlight; don’t you want to be full of sunlight instead of pain, and horror?

You can get all your vitamins from other sources, which we know.

Still don’t trust it? Take a multivitamin, it wasn’t tortured for your greedy and lustful taste buds.

It’s rotting there in your fridge, and still rotting, it will never stop rotting.

Animals are cute! Animals are completely helpless against our force, instead of choosing to slaughter them mercilessly, doesn't it show greater strength of character to love those that are at our mercy?

 

Her name is Susu, my cat, and my teacher in all things zen, a true Yogi!

“Humanity's true moral test, its fundamental test, consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals. And in this respect humankind has suffered a fundamental debacle, a debacle so fundamental that all others stem from it.”

-Milan Kunendra- The unbearable lightness of being-

The planet heats up more from our animal-slaughtering industry etc etc.

Do you feel so empty inside that you need to endorse the horrible cruelty that we as living  human-beings inflict on other living creatures just for the satisfaction of your taste buds? What if  aliens came and decided to eat us like cattle just we are to them, the equivalent of what animals are to us (not smart enough for a right to their life).

Yada yada yada I know, I still eat fish, I’m not perfect either, but I’ll be a lot better tomorrow than I was today.

If you need to eat meat for medical reasons, are a certain blood type, ill, or just plain refuse to listen to this. Eat organic meat. Yes, it’s more expensive, bud some animals had a happier life for your extra $2 dollars. It’s also free of chemicals. Chris explains that some meat or fish is perfectly fine and healthy to include in your diet, although she would advise against it of course. If you can’t find organic, just don’t buy it. Organic is expensive now, but it will only get cheaper if you lend a hand in upping the demand.

NO DAIRY

A lot easier than it used to be that’s for sure. With my endorsement of a meat free diet, I also eliminated all dairy from my diet. That is, apart from cheese of course, although I stopped buying it and eat it at social gatherings. It’s a lot clearer to me how easily I feel bloated, tired, sniffy, and less at ease if I intake too much dairy these days, so it’s not proving to be as difficult to refrain from cheese as I thought.

Instead of milk, try almond milk, oat milk, or rice milk. These substitutes can seem poor in comparison to some though. I’d try and get used to it if possible, milk really should stick to making baby calves grow half their body mass in a matter of weeks instead of us ladies. 

Instead of butter, try Nuttelex. You will not miss butter, Nuttelex is much, much tastier! You can choose from nut butter or olive butter as well! 

NO SUGAR

Bye-bye Easter eggs! 

NO COFFEE

I don’t need it anymore anyway, eating healthily has given me much more energy than coffee ever could. I still have a nice cup now and again, but try to keep away from it. Green tea works!

ORGANIC

It certainly is more expensive, I can’t afford it all the time, being a full-time student. But eating healthy keeps sickness at bay, do you know how much my old sleeping and depression meds used to cost me a month? Don’t need those anymore.

I also bought a water-filter today so I can use clean water for drinking and cooking!

SPIRITUALITY AND COMPASSION

Healthy eating is a life-style, thinking you can-do is also a life-style. Kris provides daily affirmations, advice on meditation (which I am a big fan of), yoga (yep, diehard fan) and compassion for others. When you are more calm and relaxed, you are less likely to want to comfort-eat anyway. A clear, crisp, focused, and happy mind instinctively knows what foods you really crave. 

EXERCISE

I am to move my body at least 30 minutes a day, or upto 3 and a half hours a week. Shouldn’t be too hard for me, I enjoy a good run, and a relaxing yoga session whenever I get the time. (Which I make because being healthy now, will only create more time for my lifespan in the long run and you know it.)

ABOUT MEDICATION

I am no doctor, or expert, although I'm studying to be one so I can lecture further. You should not stop taking  anything that keeps your inner demons at bay, or your cholesterol down, as advised by your doctor. Medication is still a chemical however, and I aim to avoid all of those for the next 3 weeks. 

After dedication to meditation, yoga, and healthy living, my chronic insomnia is slowly getting better. I used to easily guzzle up to 80mg’s of vallium a night to calm my mind and go to sleep (that was before tolerance on my very beginning dose). Without it I was awake days, sometimes a whole week at a time. I rarely use it now. Sleep has been a torture for me ever since I was 5 years old, nothing makes me happier than being able to fall asleep most nights on my own, by a reasonable time, enabling me to wake earlier and make more out of my beautiful day. I will however take my medication if it is really needed, no point it a great diet anyway if my brain isn’t recovering at night.I will keep you updated on all toxin's I succumb to, then you will forgive me for it. 

JUICE

Make lots of it! I will have to tackle a big glass of veggie juice everyday. I will toughen up and get used to it if my body loves the attention it brings. I do not however, have the funds for a juicer, or a blender right now, so I am just using my house-mates hand-held blender. This makes more of a smoothie, but it also retains all the fiber found in the skin of the vegetables. 

RECIPES 

Kris provides recipes enough for the journey, with juices, salads, and meals included. I went for my first shop today, and love the look of my living fridge right now!

My aims are to post as much as possible, keep in touch with you, and report progress in all areas, including my:

Weight lost

Memory

Skin, hair, nails

Eye Clarity and intensity

Mood

Anxiety

Motivation

Focus

Working full time, and studying full time leave me with little free-time, but I will do what I can and certainly keep you updated.

I hope you get on board with me from day one! But if not, I hope that when you track my progress that you also gain a little curiosity, and try it out for yourself. 

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Fear of failure, perfection anxiety, social disharmony, and avoidance have ruled your thought patterns long enough.

Let’s try for a week to stop looking at our failures, and instead record our successes, however small they may be.

Setting goals, and recording when you have succeeded, whilst acknowledging and praising yourself is one of the most powerful ways to bring more power back into your life. It gives you time to focus on what you can do, rather than what you can’t. If you are an anxious or depressed person, days and nights can all swirl into a blur, becoming one big meaningless mess. It becomes hard to determine how it ever wasn’t meaningless, why it isn’t meaningless, or if it ever won’t be meaningless. Your mind has pulled you under water, lead you into a trap, and every new day spent trying to swim through all the emotions and thoughts further aid your feeling of hopelessness. Here is where it becomes important to understand that even if everything outside is beyond your control, you can at least take control of yourself and feel something amazing again.

Take it slow to begin with; the best bet is always to make sure you are healthy so you have plenty of energy to tackle the goals that will follow. See, wanting to get fit and add some exercise into your everyday routine is going to be hard if you are they type that finds it hard to get out of bed till after noon. Notice how any of your current habits may be blocking your goal success and try and break them with new ones that make you feel happier, confident, and more powerful. This is to make sure that we do our best to succeed in any goals we may set.

Go ahead and set a goal you know you can do tomorrow to add meaning and positivity to your day. 

If you are going to work, don’t focus on the fact that you hate the job and your day is going to be miserable, instead focus on what you can do to make it better for yourself, or for someone else, because it is true that compassion will help bring you happiness. Even if your goal is as simple as talking to a co-worker and sharing conversation with them, when you achieve it and set out to do what you said you were going to, you will feel more powerful and positive about your day, making you more eager to try again the next day, and the day after that!

Record everything that makes you smile! Go out and buy a note-book so you can decorate it with anything you value, such as your friends, your interests or your goals! Every day write down when someone says something good about you and try and give them a meaningful compliment in return.  

Write down the tiniest and simplest thing you create, like a new recipe, a new song, a new drawing. Make this book a place to read everything you have felt positive about achieving. Also turn it into a place to record progress towards current goals. You will see that the more that you achieve, and remember you have achieved, the more you may learn about yourself and what you want out of your life. 

Remember to shake off your failures, and forget the days you didn’t quite get through everything you intended to and tell yourself that you will do better next time. 

Motivating yourself is a skill to build upon and the less you worry about not being able to achieve the things you want in life, the less you avoid becoming fearful of your desires. Fear of your desires and dreams comes from your rooted belief you will never get them, and therefore should settle with something else, something less, something meaningless to you. 

So don’t be afraid to dream, and encourage yourself every day to dream, even if it’s just a little.

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Before trying to tackle anything else in your life, you should really try and tackle your body. Why is this? For the same reasons you have been hearing your whole life, moving your body is good for you! It makes you happy! And it makes your body happy. When your body is happy and strong, your mind starts to follow.

If you’ve had trouble with your fitness all your life, don’t worry, you aren’t alone. But why not be better tomorrow then you are today? Ditch the past failures because they aren’t real anymore, your mind is simply telling you they are with memories. 

 

Don’t let your mind rule you.

Not exercising has nothing to do with your body or soul; it has to do your mind and ego. It’s anxiety, its catastrophising of the future. For example, did you plan to get up this morning and move your body before work? But when you woke up you ultimately gave in to your mind, “it’s better if I sleep more”, “I’ll make up for it tomorrow”, “I cannot be bothered”. We all relate to this. The problem with being trapped in your mind is that it keeps you in a false sense of fear, and keeps you believing in a imagined past or future. If you are always listening to your mind, then you aren’t living in the now. Don’t you think that’s crazy, why live in your head and memories, or anxieties when you can actually be here and present this moment. The moment is the only thing you can control for the better of the worse.

Exercising is a great way to help alleviate your minds anxiety. Sure it isn’t going to happen overnight, but something wonderful and enlightening will start to happen when you give love to your body. You start to feel, instead of think. When you start to pay more attention to your body and how it feels, you start to be free of your head and all the thoughts creating that debilitating fear. You become empowered, for now you are telling your body what it can and can’t do, not your head. 

There is nothing more important in the first few steps for building happiness and self-confidence. Even if it’s hard to begin with, the rewards you will be reaping will not only help you to achieve your own full potential, but it will motivate others around you to achieve theirs as well! What is more rewarding than shining out your light to others? Nothing!

ANXIETY

The only thing keeping you from moving your body is your own head; your ego creates a false sense of fear, time, and pain around the thought of it. This is only so you can try to find some way deep down to justify why you are being lazy. Why do you think you went to this much trouble to do this unconsciously? Because unconsciously, you know, that this is what your body needs and wants, yet you are choosing to give no attention to it at all. 

BABY STEPS

You don’t have to become a marathon runner overnight. The goal here is to create a healthy habit. Research suggests it only takes a month to build a habit. Make sure you start slow if you feel you are going to be defeated by your anxiety, if you are taking it easy for a month it will be easier to maintain so you can form a healthy habit.

Why do you think runners do it?

Because the feeling is exhilarating, empowering, and nothing compares to the feeling of freedom it gives you.

I recently discovered running. My whole life it seemed unattainable. The most I could manage to achieve was one minute at a time! Every time I tried I would just get tired, angry, and annoyed, I’d tell myself I couldn’t do it, and never would, then I gave up.

But you can do it! And why not you? Why should other people be able to run and not you? The thought is insane! Don’t give it any fuel.

The key is to slowly but surely build up your strength and endurance so you are able to run for longer and faster. 

You can do it! If you are overweight – YOU can do this! Even if you are a smoker you can do this!

The website gives you a steady plan to slowly increase your fitness every week. To secure your fitness, and level-up easier the next week, you must complete at least 3 days on each level. Please don’t let the two days you already did be a waste! Aim for four if you can, but remember that running is, at first a little stressful on the body and knees, therefore, there must be adequate rest days, especially if you feel the burn!

Remember to affirm yourself! Always keep your healthy goals close to you, whether in a notebook, your head, or a lovely collage above your bed! I also find the deep and conscious state you get into when you are running is a great time to tell yourself you can do it, that you can do that other goal you have been planning too, and also that you are irresistible beautiful and important!

If you aren’t achieving the goal as fast as you want to, don’t be discouraged and throw in the towel. It is okay to take it at your own pace. If you are steadily improving every week, your mind will start to speak the language of success “I CAN DO IT!” and your confidence will rise in all aspects of your life. You will steadily start to see success in other areas of your life, I promise you this!

Make sure to stay hydrated and run on a light or empty stomach if you can.

Within three weeks I had started to feel the benefits of running, therefore the habit forming was easy and delightful.

Confidence

Clarity

Happiness

Less anxiety

Goal forming

Stronger

Faster

Social awareness

It’s a powerful and exhilarating feeling when you and your body start to work as one, and it easily achieves a feat you never imagined possible. When you begin to treat your body kindly, it will start to treat you more kindly.

I hope by the next time I post you are all treating your body with more kindness.

You are becoming more healthy and energetic every day. You are filling yourself with the energy of the universe and achieving vitality! Congratulations!

"After hundreds of days of running 50+ km, the monks begin a fast: nine days in a fixed meditation position (sitting full or half lotus, back straight) without water, food, or sleep. It is believed that by bringing the body so close to death, the monks will develop a greater appreciation and sensitivity to life, being able to “hear ashes fall form incense sticks, smell and identify foods from miles away and see the sun and moonlight seep into the interior of the temple." 

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