One of my personal vices is craving, yearning for what might be, what I can imagine could be, or even what I know I enjoy. During the cleanse, I came to truly understand the Thich Naht Hanh (in Roberts and Amidon, 1996)[1] poem which lies as a reminder on my kitchen table: Our true home […]
There were many times during the panchakarma when I mentally balked at the prescriptions and yet I committed myself to follow them faithfully because I believed in the tradition and wisdom of the process. What resulted was an experience of less anxiety and resistance in my overall life. This came to include making peace with […]
Overall then, as with most things yogic, I’ve happened into a well-spring of gifts although they are not those that I anticipated or intended. I am grateful for having practiced panchakarma as a part of the teacher training and humbly hope to continue to practice the five attitudes renewed in my life through the cleansing […]
Ayurveda, the sister science to Yoga, is a powerful system of personal health. Many Yogis follow its “common sense” principles. As this Axis Teacher Training student puts it “The principles of Ayurveda were easy to remember because they made sense to me in a practical way”. The following account describes this student’s thorough application of […]
According to Ayurvedic medicine, acne is caused by an imbalance of Pitta. My hypothesis states that if I reduce my Pitta, my skin eruptions will cease. The design of my experiment consists of herbs, dietary changes, skin treatments, an Ayurvedic oil treatment and yoga poses. I took suggestions for the design of my experiment from […]
I ingested three different herbs for cleansing the liver twice daily. These herbs are called Shatavari, Guduchi and Kutki. I mixed and ingested a quarter teaspoon of each and followed them with water. These herbs taste very unpleasant.
My dietary changes involved eating less spicy foods, using little to no ice in my drinks, eliminating salads and raw vegetables, eliminating ice cream, reducing my coffee intake, reducing my seafood intake, and eating warm, cooked foods. I added turmeric to my foods and occasionally drank tea made from cumin, fennel and coriander. I drank […]
I hypothesized that if I used a mask to clear away dead skin cells, my skin would clear up faster. I alternated a glycolic mask with an activated charcoal mask and applied it once a day for the majority of the experiment. I believe this helped to speed up the process of skin cell renewal […]
I focused my yoga practice on reducing Pitta by adding twisting poses and changing my Pranayama to include cooling exercises. I held postures longer than in my normal practice and I avoided overheating. This Pitta reducing practice led me to fall asleep during Shivasana which has not been the case with previous yoga routines.
The principles of Ayurveda were easy to remember because they made sense to me in a practical way. I intuitively understood that coffee, acidic foods, spicy foods, and fermented foods increased inflammation which is another term used to describe the fiery aspects of Pitta. Years ago, I learned I couldn’t drink liquor without getting […]