The cutting edge science of neuroplasticity, together with the ancient teachings of Ayurveda and yoga offer the prospect that old age may not be a time of fuzzy brain and mental decline, but rather the crowning years of sharing our accumulated wisdom as we paint the final strokes of that great work of art, our brain.
Read MoreSpring is the time for cleansing! This is an ideal time for a Pancha Karma cleanse to detoxify, rejuvenate and prevent Spring allergies. Visit your ayurvedic doctor to plan your cleanse. It doesn't have to be expensive. Many practitioners have a home cleanse option that costs very little.
Read MoreA rich and fulfilling sex life brings health benefits on physical, emotional and spiritual levels. Resources like these listed here can help you enhance your wellbeing through supporting intimacy, ecstasy and reproductive health!
Read MoreWomen are endowed with tremendous sexual capacity, from multiple orgasms to female ejaculation. Yet women who come to our Ayurveda clinic often express dissatisfaction within their sexual lives.
Read MoreVijikarana is that which produces lineage of progeny, quick sexual stimulation, enables one to perform the sexual act with women uninterruptedly and vigorously like a horse, makes one charming for women, promotes indestructible and infallible semen even in old persons. -- Charak Samhita
Read MoreKeep going with your oil massages, soups and broths, but start using nasya (nose drops) as well. Ask your Ayurvedic doctor to recommend the best spring nasya for your body type, or make your own ginger-rose-jaggery nasya, consisting of a decoction of equal parts fresh ginger, organic rose petals and jaggery.
Read MoreWhat makes us respond to new challenges? And what holds us back, keeps us in the same rut, doing things because we always do it that way? When we take on something new or do things differently, our entire mind-body complex has a chance to grow, developing fresh roots and branches.
Read MoreNew year offers us an opportunity to make a fresh start and look anew at our life and our goals. What is the gap between our aspirations and our actuality? What can we do to bridge that gap?
Read MoreAccording to Ayurveda, a balanced meal should include all the six tastes--sweet, salty, sour, bitter, astringent and pungent. In this blog we'll discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each taste and look at how to plan a menu that includes all six tastes for optimum health and nutrition.
Read MoreAfter doing the work of regaining balance, the next step is managing your constitution. And here it is good to remember that, although your predominant dosha is the one most likely to go out of balance, the other doshas can also be thrown off as well.
Read MoreAccording to Ayurveda, balance comes from applying opposite qualities to those of the imbalance.
Read MoreUnderstanding that our own choices have led us to be out of balance helps us appreciate that we have the power to make a positive change.
Read MoreWhere am I right now? In balance or off balance? Here is a simple way to keep in touch with your current Ayurvedic condition.
Read MoreKnowing your prakriti or Ayurvedic constitution offers many benefits. Although you will often read or hear of the one diet or the one exercise program that is ideal for everyone, Ayurveda offers the consideration that people are different and have different needs.
Read MoreFall is here with all the joys of autumn leaves, crisp apples and harvest time. Yet it also brings change-of-season sniffles, aches and pains and insomnia.
Read MoreEver wondered why you tend to run late and often feel rushed? Ever wished you could be more easygoing, yet know you typically strive for perfection? Ever puzzled about your slowness? As you come to understand your Ayurvedic constitution, you will gain a fresh understanding of what makes you tick.
Read MoreAs an Ayurvedic practitioner, I'm witness to many a broken New Year's resolution. Most don't last beyond January. And I've broken many a resolution myself--but I've also kept some, permanently.There is so much that can be said about New Year's resolutions from an Ayurvedic standpoint, but today I'd like to focus on just one aspect--making resolutions that bring us joy. For a resolution to work, it has to come from the right part of ourselves. Some resolutions come from a critical part determined to 'improve' us. One of Ma's little sayings is, "Efforts at self-improvement based on self-hatred are rarely successful." We have to force ourselves keep this kind of resolution, and it fades away in two to six weeks--taking a piece of our willpower and strength with it.
My most keepable resolutions have come from joy, recognizing and nurturing my happy, creative inner child. The resolution is a structure to support me in doing what I love, rather than a stick to beat me into doing something I really don't want to do but think I 'should.'
Here are a couple of examples of resolutions that went really well.
At the end of 2009, I was visiting my mother. Mum, who had a type of dementia caused by strokes, would often wake in the morning unable to recall the events of the previous day. That inspired me to keep a journal and write down everything that happened. I had kept a journal throughout the nineties, but during the new millennium it became sporadic. And I would regret not being able to look back and see when something happened. So in 2010 I started up afresh with daily journaling. The journal gradually drifted away from its original purpose in that I didn't always write each night. Sometimes I wrote in the morning, sometimes I caught up on the weekend--a different kind of memory exercise! Each New Year since 2010 I've renewed the same resolution. It works because it gives me joy. And not one day has been missed from my journal. After Mum's death October 2015 my journal got backlogged, but somehow I clung on and managed to recall and describe each day. One day perhaps my nieces and nephews would like to read some of these journals. And maybe I'm creating a historical document for Colorado--a life of one Coloradoan.
In the second example: Last January, I resolved to study violin and voice. So early in January I started taking lessons at Parlando School for Musical Arts. Now I've been studying for a whole year. I'm learning to play Vivaldi's Spring and singing a real Mozart Aria--Deh Vieni Non Tardar from Figaro. I'm singing high B♭--even at my age! There's a lot of sheer hard work playing scales, arpeggios, exercises and studies. But essentially, this resolution worked for the whole year--and next year too--because it brings me joy. I'm back in touch with the little girl who carried her violin wherever she went.
These resolutions worked because they arose from my heart and contribute to my happiness. As my teacher, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi used to say, "The necessary tends to overwhelm the important." Activities like journalling and music are important to me because they bring me joy and express my inner child. And things that bring joy help reduce stress and benefit health and wellbeing. So this year, try making some resolutions for life-enriching activities.
Alakananda Ma M.B., B.S. (Lond.) is an Ayurvedic Doctor (NAMA) and graduate of a top London medical school. She is co-founder of Alandi Ayurveda Clinic and Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula in Boulder Colorado, as well as a spiritual mother, teacher, flower essence maker and storyteller. Alakananda is a well known and highly respected practitioner in the Ayurveda community both nationally and internationally.
Enliven your holistic health! Visit Alakananda Ma in Alandi Ashram’s ayurvedic clinic to support the overall rejuvenation of your body, mind, and spirit. In-person and virtual appointments available. Book now!
Most New Year Resolutions last only six weeks. That's largely because we set the bar too high and simply don't have the time or energy to do what we optimistically resolved. Here are some Ayurvedic New year resolutions that take only a few minutes a day while potentially adding years to your life.
Read MoreDuring winter, our strength is increased because the cold constricts our skin capillaries. The heat doesn't dissipate as it does in other seasons and agni, the digestive fire, is much stronger. Here's how Ayurveda advises us to care for ourselve during winter.
Read MoreKnowledge is power. The more we know about how to prevent and manage pandemic flu, the better we can help ourselves and others.
Read MoreBecome a Master Ayurvedic Practitioner in Boulder, Colorado! Our program is approved and Regulated by the Colorado Department of Occupational Schools.
Ayurveda, literally translated as the “science of life,” is the ancient Indian art of physical, mental, and emotional healing. Based on harmonizing the natural elements within and around us, Ayurvedic medicine is a time-tested system of holistic health that is highly specific to each unique individual. Ayurvedic treatments include delicious foods, medicinal herbs, massage, yoga, meditation, and other simple lifestyle changes that work to restore your body to its innate, healthy balance. LEARN MORE
Alandi Ashram, Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula and the Alandi Ayurveda Clinic are nestled up against the foothills in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1990, Alandi Ashram manifests its core teachings of oneness, simplicity, love and connectedness.
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