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Oil Massage or Abhyanga  - with the cold and dry winter months upon us, the nourishing and lubricating oil massage called abyanga is highly recommended.  Essential for Vata mind/body type on a daily basis as much as possible - every second day for pitta and at least twice a week for kapha types. Organic Sesame Oil is great but might be a bit to heating for Pitta body type which might prefer almond oil.  Coconut oil might be too clogging at this time of year. It is best to "cure" an oil before using. This is done by taking your bottle of oil and putting it in a pot with one drop of water.  As soon as the oil is heated enough the water will crackle. This prevents over heating of the oil. I have known people who heat the oil so much that it explodes into flame - not a good idea. So once your oil is gently warmed. Cool is back down and put it back in your bottle. You can warm up a bit of oil as you need it for your massage of abyanga but you do not have to re-c...

After the heat of summer and the body's response to the cold weather, we start to build up more Agni (loosely translated as heat or fire) in the body. All the Agnis in the body (stomach, liver, pancreas) become more active to compensate for the heat loss to the cold environment. Therefore we need richer food to feed the Agni or fire to maintain it. But the food should not be clogging as the channels of the body naturally shrink in the winter.  Clogged channels prevent flow of prana or life force. If this increase in Agni or fire is not fed then the lubricating elements (Kledaka Kapha) are burned up, Vata increases fanning the fire which begins to burn higher and the proper formation of tissues is effected: all 7 tissues - plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bone, bone marrow, and reproductive tissues. One very interesting point is that the plasma (clear blood ) supports the nourishment of the skin so if plasma is "burned or drying " by excessive Agni then the skin becomes d...

Cancer is a scary word. I prefer to say that "the cells are misbehaving". I few people in my close circle of friends are currently waiting for a medical opinion and tests to let them know if they have cancer. Firstly I need to say that we all have cancer cells and our own immune system cleans them up. Also there is a process call angiogenesis that bring more blood flow to areas that need growth. Anti-angiogenesis will then prevent blood flow to tumours. There are certain foods the promote this wonderful healing process. Asparagus being one of the best. Also I would like to introduce you to good books on prevention of "misbehaving cells":      The Answer to Cancer Is Never Giving It A Chance To Start by Sharma, Mishra and Meade      Cancer, Step Outside The Box by Ty Bollinger I am also exploring the benefits of "Polypores" once of which is called Chaga that grows on old brich trees that has been documented in Russia to have anticancer properties...

For the medicinal benefits of asparagus click on link below. The article also sites several other vegetables that have high antioxidant properties such as beets, artichokes, spinach, arugula, turnip tops, radicchio. They also mention mushroom and bell peppers but in Shaka Vansya Ayurved mushrooms are considered tamasic or not life supporting and bell peppers being a member of the nightshade family can be neurotoxic. http://www.healthyfellow.com/480/asparagus-cancer-cure/

Someone was asking me about herbs for cough today. Off course my favourite is Mullein. When my son was 2 and 1/2 years old he was coughing for about 3 months every winter. During a lecture I attended a woman stood up and gave a testimonial about Mullein  Her son, who was scheduled to have part of his lung removed took large quantities of Mullein and while waiting for the surgery for 2 weeks - during the pre-surgical exam found that the lung had regenerated.  So I tried it on my son and within days his coughs would stop.  I used to buy it in capsules and open them up and make tea - but now I pick my own Mullein as it is a common weed in most parts of western Canada - the aboriginals boil the roots for all kinds of bronchial disorders. However here are a few more herbs that my Ayurvedic herbal says are good for cough. Holy Basil or Tulsi, Calamus, Bayberry, Elecampane, lobelia, haritaki, peppermint, coltfoot, cherry bark and licorice. Have fun trying different combinati...

Triphala compresses for cataracts is a recommendation from Ayurved practioners. As we age the lens of the eye becomes cloudy. Here is a link from a vision explaining the different kinds of cataracts and how modern science understands their formation and treatments. http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/cataracts.htm Basically the protein in the fluid matrix of the lens has to aline properly and intelligently and this allows the clarity of the lens to let the light pass properly to the optic nerve. When the proteins become damaged from a variety of reason as explained in the link the lens becomes cloudy and vision blurry. So we can crush a few triphala tablets or if we have powder available and make an infusion in warm water and then we use cheese cloth to make compresses for the eyes for 5-7 minutes once a day.  Chandika also makes a "Skin Clay" that can be used for eye compresses. I also have seen some beneficial effects for eyes with the herb "Eyebright...

Turmeric's health benefits are well documented now and many "experts" are encouraging people to use it on a daily basis.  However like any powerful machine one has to know how to use it properly or you can have an accident. I have seen the accidents as a result of turmeric - overuse or improper use overheating the liver and causing all kinds of problems for psoriatic elbow to inflamed joints to mention just a few. So how is it best to use turmeric? Besides all its wonderful benefits Turmeric is also heating to the liver and drying. Therefore it needs to be cooked with unctuous substance like ghee and also cooling spices like coriander and fennel. So here is the recipe for our basic spice mix that is used when cooking lentils, chicken or fish and veggies.  Once you have made the spice mix it needs to be stored in a glass jar that is kept tightly closed so that the aromatic components to not escape. Also only make enough for 1-2 months - max 3 months. You want this fres...