Beauty & Health

BEAUTY WITH AYURVEDIC DIET

noreply@blogger.com (Daya) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 02:30:00 -0700

Ayurveda considers diet and digestion to be prime factors in good health. There are a variety of guidelines to ensure adequate nutrition as well as assimilation of nutrients. And there are also few guidelines when choosing food for healty diet.

1) High in whole grains and other fiber - rich foods that provide lasting energy throughout the day. Fiber helps maintain a toned digestive tract by providing bulk, which helps toxins and excesses to be evacuated. When the intestines are regularly cleaned, the body does not become overloaded with digested material that would otherwise seek elimination through the skin.

2) Low in fat, helping to keep the blood clean and prevent a clogging up of veins, arteries, and organs, commonly associated with a diet rich in saturated fats. Good circulation and the circulatory system work efficiently to cleanse and nourish the whole system, and naturally help weight control.

3) Low in refined sugars that are empty calories, which only serve to pack on the weight. Refined carbohydrates give the body a quick boost of energy that is always followed by a physical (and emotional) low. This stresses the pancreas and adrenals, devitalizing the body. Refined carbohydrates deplete the body of minerals, which are so important for all vital functions. It is the combination of refined carbohydrates and excess protein, which forces toxins to the skin surface in the form of pimples.

4) High in minerals that keep the body looking alive and charged with energy. Minerals greatly contribute to that intangible radiant, fresh, and magnetic look of a person in good health.

5) Low in animal proteins, yet rich in vegetable proteins. Low protein diets weaken the body and cause a hollow, sunken look to the face. Diets high in animal proteins increase the toxicity of waste products in the body due to their slow transit time (it takes meat about three days to completely be digested and leave the system.) This slows digestion and depletes the body of minerals. Vegetable proteins, on the other hand, fully nourish the body, being quickly and efficiently metabolized. At the same time, not everyone will want to or feel good with being vegetarian. Thus, Ayurveda has the means of making meats more digestible with such spices as garlic, ginger, cumin, cayenne, and black pepper.

6) Low in salt. Diets high in salt tend to make the mind and body stiff and tight. Having a constricting influence on the body, it tends to slow circulation and create retention of fluid. This can create that sunken effect under the eyes and make someone look puffy. In Ayurveda, a very low salt diet is suggested whenever there are skin problems.

7) Devoid of strong stimulants or depressives such as coffee, sodas, or alcohol. These stress the body's organs and make skin loose and flabby, furrowing the brow and producing bags under the eyes in the long run.

8) High in fresh organic foods whenever possible. These are nutritionally the richest, coming from healthy soil and thus carry the strongest, vital energy. This contributes to a radiant, rich glow in our face and skin in general.

Sources from http://www.ayurindus.com

Find Peace and Comfort in the Age of Anxiety

noreply@blogger.com (Daya) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 02:36:00 -0700

How can we find positive, sustainable comfort in this age of anxiety? A comfort that connects us to ourselves, and the Divine, regardless of our religion or spiritual tradition? In my life, meditation is a key that turns the lock and opens the mind and heart, as it shifts us from unconsciousness back into consciousness.

In my mediation practice and the groups I lead we experience the positive pleasure of being alive. Meditation allows us to reduce our pains, and rekindle our hopes and dreams. It takes us to an inner sanctuary where our inner resources can fuel our outer expression ... as they return us to our center, the surest place of comfort in our soul.

Meditation is nothing new yet in our modern world it has become widely respected as an essential way to reduce stress, enhance well being and, for some people, feel closer to Divine Source. Studies have shown that meditation is a way to maintain your spiritual center regardless of religion and it can be as simple as carving out 10 minutes a day to just be.
Stress-related disorders are on the rise due to our complex and constantly changing world and we are seeing symptoms of fear and anxiety that have skyrocketed in the past decade. These directly impact our quality of life and our health.

Meditation helps us to take a break from chaos. As we move away from the stimuli of the moment we are able to gain more clarity, focus and peace of mind.
The key to meditation is it allows us to calm our fears and move into the present moment, and in that moment we can tap into a sense of peace - rather than worrying about the past or obsessing about the future.

Give Yourself a Meditation Break
If you make some form of meditation a regular part of your well-being routine you will find that you waste less and less energy on worry and reactive behavior and that your capacity for coping with life's ups and downs increases. You will begin to adopt a new sense of mindfulness and awareness that will give you the power to participate more fully in your own life. You will learn that your "home" is inside you, and that you can take it with you wherever you go - and retreat to it wherever you are. This means that even if you are traveling - by train or plane - or hanging out at the office or a beautiful park, you can take time out to center yourself through meditation.

The Breath is the Key to Meditation
When we are tense or anxious, we tend to hold our breath. The breath is the key to finding inner peace and harmony. It is our link with our bodies and the world. For most of us, breathing is something we never think about, yet for the most part we are breathing shallow breathes into our chest. This shallow breathing actually can create a stressful condition in our minds and bodies. By slowing down your breath, you will instantly relax your body and bring clarity into your mind.

The next time you are feeling stressed, focus on your breathing. Try it at a business meeting, before picking the kids up from school or while sitting in a doctor's waiting room. Athletes are meditating to improve their game, artists are using it to access their creativity and doctors are finding it helps their patients heal

Power of the Heart Meditation
The following technique, adapted from Momentary Meditations, is a "portable stress-breaker. " You can easily take it with you wherever you go. By using it whenever you feel out of balance, you will find that you are calmer, clearer and more able to cope with what life has to offer. This is perfect to use if you re flying through turbulence, you receive a disturbing phone call, your business meeting falls apart or your mind gets stuck in a worry loop.

Take a few slow, deep breaths...
and imagine pushing a pause button deep within your chest.
Begin to focus at the heart center.
Envision it as a bright golden sun. (20-30 seconds)
Now think of a positive quality or experiences that you have had:
You may feel appreciation for someone special in your life. ... or envision a beautiful scene in nature, your favorite place or the locale you want to explore on your next vacation... or imagine a baby's laughter or the joy of licking an ice cream cone on a hot day. Let yourself really be in the experience. Give yourself permission to smile. (60 seconds).
Now, take 3 deep breaths and come back to normal waking consciousness and open your eyes.

Summary
Appreciating where we have been is a magical tool to harmony and joy. As we review and meditate on the happy pictures of where we have been, and where we dream of going, we become imbued with gratitude for life and are inspired to dream about places we have yet to go.

By: Barbara Biziou
Barbara Biziou is a leading expert on rituals and meditation. She is author of The Joy of Ritual and The Joy of Family Rituals. She is creator and producer of Momentary Meditations, a DVD shot in high definition video that features five powerful guided mediations geared to help people stay centered at home and on the road.

Feminine Face Is Key To A Woman’s Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Daya) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 22:32:00 -0700

Lois Rogers, Medical Correspondent SCIENTISTS believe they have created the perfect male face, a man so handsome that any woman would automatically pick him out of a crowd. He has large expressive eyes set in a smooth-skinned symmetrical face, a straight nose and rounded hair and jaw line. Although his makers admit he looks slightly girly, they have found modern women want caring feminine traits rather than more macho markings.

They say bearded men and others with features that suggest they are unlikely to wash up or change a nappy can forget about impressing women. Single women now want a trophy partner, a "new man" with domestic attributes that her friends can admire at a party, but who can be trusted not to go home with one of them.

Real men will be relieved that this Adonis does not exist. He is a composite computer-generated photograph of 12 moderately attractive, average-looking young men. The researchers at the St Andrews University psychology department, who created him, discovered women are most attracted to a man with features representing the "average". They believe women prefer such features because they signal that the individual is one of the mainstream majority who have survived down the evolutionary process, and are therefore less likely to carry harmful genes. The face was created with a computer program that calculates average distances between the features of different faces, and average hair and jaw lines.

The volunteer men were picked from the local student population, and 34 female "raters" with an average age of 20 were asked to give marks out of seven for masculinity and attractiveness to various composite images of the men.

The psychologists found people questioned had almost identical opinions. The clear winner was a composite of all 12, feminised to soften the jaw line and perfect the complexion. The researchers say smooth skin in men conveys an absence of inherited disease or damage - a factor that would reduce the score of sex symbols such as Richard Burton whose face had pock marks.
Symmetry in male and female features has long been recognised as an important attribute in sexual attraction, but the rise of feminine appeal in a male face is a modern trait.

"Women find femininity appealing in a male face because they said they associate it with co-operation, honesty and parental ability," said Tony Little, the principal research psychologist. "Strongly masculine features are considered threatening and less attractive, but they still want some combination involving masculine features because they want dominance, too."
Little cites Jude Law and Brad Pitt as embodiments of the ideal man. Leonardo DiCaprio’s looks would be too girlish to attract the mainstream, and a super-masculine Arnold Schwarzenegger type would be too aggressive and promiscuous to make a reliable partner.

Although many observers feel women are increasingly taking a masculine attitude and picking a partner purely on looks, others emphasise that sex appeal for women is based on far more than facial features alone.

Marcelle D’Argy Smith, a former editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, said soccer stars such as David Beckham and Michael Owen and film stars such as George Clooney typified today’s desirable male. But she pointed out: "Some men who look absolutely gorgeous are completely doomed from the moment they open their mouths. Men can be thrilled to bits by a lap dancer with an IQ of 43 and even marry them. A woman could never do that." Films over the past decade have moved away from featuring Terminator-type action heroes, according to Little. Instead they have concentrated on caring male characters, as typified by Hugh Grant’s relationship with a child in About A Boy.

The popular television comedies Sex and the City, about the agonies of urban dating, and Cold Feet, about established couples attempting to stay together, have both frequently concentrated on male emotions and used male stars with feminised looks to appeal to women viewers. Desmond Morris, the man-watching expert, said the shift in male attractiveness reflects women’s increasing dominance. "Smooth-skinned and feminised looks are characteristics of youth," he said. "It’s possible that these looks stimulate not only sexual but also maternal feelings. If women want to be more dominant, they will look for a little-boy face." - Source by : Lois Rogers, Medical Correspondent

noreply@blogger.com (Daya) — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 00:27:00 -0700

What is Acne?

Acne is a common skin disease characterized and recognized for plugged pores such as whiteheads, blackheads, pimples, and deeper bumps like cysts and nodules which appear on the face, neck, chest, shoulders, back, and the upper arms. It happens when the pores of the skin become clogged with internally occurring oil known as Sebum, bacteria, and dead skin cells

Almost 100% of young people between the age range of twelve and seventeen have usually an occasional blackhead, whitehead, or pimple, despite race or ethnicity. Most of these young sufferers successfully can manage their acne problems by using over-the-counter treatments. For others, a case of acne may be more serious. In reality, by the time they reach their mid-teens, a greater number of teens have a severe case of acne that often requires formal treatment by a doctor or dermatologist.Acne lesions commonly occur on the face, but they may also show up on the chest, back, neck, shoulders, upper arms, legs, and scalp.

Why do it arise?

Our skin has tiny pores which are connected to oil glands. Once these oil glands are blocked, either by dirt or obstructed by abrasions and infections, the oily substance (called sebum) they excrete then block the growth of hair follicles, causing pimple outbreaks. Most importantly, elevation of hormones produced during puberty or the menstrual cycle in women result in the hormone by-product called DHT. This hormone by product overstimulates the oil gland resulting in plugging of the pore and acne production.

How to prevent?

1) Cleansing.If you have acne, you should gently wash your face with a mild cleanser, once in the morning and once in the evening, as well as after heavy exercise. Wash your face from under the jaw to the hairline and be sure to thoroughly rinse your skin.It is also important to shampoo your hair regularly. If you have oily hair, you may want to wash it every day.

2) Hands off the face

Don't squeeze your pimples and do the sebum extractions yourself. This could lead to further infection and scarring. Also, avoid touching your face and pimples often. Increased friction on the pimple will cause it to close up further, making extraction a lot more difficult.

3) Choose the right cosmetic. It is recemended to buy oil-free and antibacterial cleansers made especially to combat pimple outbreaks. Be careful not to over scrub, though, as your skin still needs its natural oils to stay healthy and blooming. If you dry it out too much, another set of pimple outbreaks could occur. Cleanse deeply, but moderately. In fact, some skin experts even recommend that you wash only with water and mild/baby soap. Switching from one cleansing product to another might also cause allergies and other skin problems.

4) Shave Carefully
Men who shave and who have acne should test both electric and safety razors to see which is more comfortable. When using a safety razor, make sure the blade is sharp and soften your beard thoroughly with soap and water before applying shaving cream. Shave gently and only when necessary to reduce the risk of nicking blemishes.

5) Avoid a Sunburn or Suntan
Many of the medicines used to treat acne can make you more prone to sunburn. A sunburn that reddens the skin or suntan that darkens the skin may make blemishes less visible and make the skin feel drier. However, these benefits are only temporary, and there are known risks of excessive sun exposure, such as more rapid skin aging and a risk of developing skin cancer.

noreply@blogger.com (Daya) — Fri, 1 Jun 2007 14:51:00 -0700

Beauty, Gratitude and the Open Heart

"…beauty on your earth is a shadow of the beauty of our heaven, and it’s a bitter thing to have a blindness for beauty on earth, for it makes a longer teaching to see the beauties of heaven." Spoken by an Irish spirit in the book The Boy who Saw True (anonymous author).I have been counseling individuals, couples, families and business partners for the last 35 years, and am the author of eight published books. Since my work is spiritually based, I have developed many ways of helping people open their hearts to love. Opening to beauty is one of those way.I have always appreciated beauty. Since I’ve been a small child, I’ve collect beautiful things - shells, rocks, wood, as well as works of art, and there are always lots of plants around. There is nowhere in my environment where there is not something beautiful to look at, both inside and outside in nature. When I walk through my home and the land around it, my heart fills with awe and love as I appreciate the beauty around me. I’ve done this so automatically throughout my life that it never occurred to me that many people do not open to beauty nor create beauty around them.In working with some of my clients struggling to keep their heart open, I’ve mentioned focusing on an object of beauty, and have been surprised to find that many of them have no beauty around them - no plants, flowers, works of art or objects of nature. When they look around they see walls, appliances, computers and other buildings. Their left brain functions just fine in this environment, but what about the right - the creative, intuitive, spiritually-connected aspect? I want to encourage everyone who reads this to consider feeding your soul with beauty. There is nothing like awe and gratitude for something beautiful to open the heart to gratitude in general. If you can love the intricate design in the bark of a tree, or the vibrancy of a flower, or the balance of a beautifully thrown piece of pottery - that might lead you into loving and appreciating the beauty of you and your own soul. It might open you to feeling gratitude for your life and the sacred privilege of experiencing your journey on this planet.How much of your thinking time is spent being upset or unhappy about something? What if all that time was spent in gratitude for what you have and for the beauty around you? What if you were present enough in this moment to revel in the fact that you can turn on a faucet and have hot water come out? That you have food to eat and a bed to sleep on? If you are reading this, it is likely that you have a computer, which means you have more than most of the people on this planet.Try this little experiment: find something of beauty - it can be as simple as a leaf, a flower, a photograph, a small work of art or the top of a tree out your window. Now let yourself completely open to the thing of beauty. Let yourself feel the beauty in your body - in your heart, your solar plexus, in your stomach, arms and legs, in your forehead. Let the beauty enliven your body and fill it with vitality. Breathe in the beauty and feel your body’s reaction to it. Open to gratitude, thanking God for this experience of beauty.Notice the peace and joy it gives you to be in this moment with this simple object of beauty. What would life be like if you spent more moments like this, in the present with beauty and with all you have? How much of your waking time is spent in this way?Beauty and gratitude are soul foods. When you choose to open to them, you extend an invitation to love, peace and joy. This raises your frequency and opens the door to your spiritual Guidance. Your Guidance is always here for you, helping you on your soul’s journey. Opening to beauty and gratitude, with a deep intent to learn about what is loving to you and others, will open you to your spiritual Guidance.

noreply@blogger.com (Daya) — Mon, 28 May 2007 14:55:00 -0700

The Maharishi Ayurveda Natural Medicine Approach to Beauty

The Maharishi Ayurveda Approach to Beauty and Skin CareThe Three Pillars of BeautyMaharishi Ayurveda (MAV), the modern, consciousness-based revival of the ancient Ayurvedic medicine tradition, considers true beauty to be supported by three pillars; Outer Beauty, Inner Beauty and Lasting Beauty. Only by enhancing all three can we attain the balanced state of radiant health that makes each of us the most fulfilled and beautiful person we can be.Outer Beauty: RoopamThe outer signs of beauty - your skin, hair and nails - are more than just superficial measures of beauty. They are direct reflections of your overall health. These outer tissues are created by the inner physiological processes involved in digestion, metabolism and proper tissue development. Outer beauty depends more on the strength of your digestion and metabolism, the quality of your diet, and the purity of your blood, than on external cleansers and conditioners you may apply.General Recommendations for Outer BeautyAs we will discuss, the key to skin care is matching your diet and skin care routine to the specific skin type you have. Meanwhile, there are some valuable recommendations for lustrous skin, hair and nails that will be helpful to everyone, regardless of skin type. 1. Diet: Without adequate nourishment, your collagen layer thins and a kind of wasting takes place. Over time, your skin can shrivel up like a plant without water from lack of nourishment. To keep your skin plump and glowing:A. Eat fresh, whole organic foods that are freshly prepared. Avoid packaged, canned, frozen, processed foods and leftovers. These foods have little nutritional value and also they are often poorly digested which creates impurities that localize in the skin. The resulting buildup of toxins causes irritation and blocks circulation depriving the skin of further nourishment and natural cleansing processes. B. Favor skin nourishing foods. 1. Leafy green vegetables contain vitamins, minerals (especially iron and calcium) and are high in antioxidant properties. They nourish the skin and protect it from premature aging. 2. Sweet juicy fruits like grapes, melons, pears, plums and stewed apples at breakfast are excellent for the skin in almost everyone. 3. Eat a wide variety of grains over different meals and try mixed grain servings at breakfast and lunch. Add amaranth, quinoa, cous cous, millet and barley to the wheat and rice you already eat.4. Favor light, easy to digest proteins like legume soups (especially yellow split mung dhal), whole milk, paneer (cheese made from boiling milk, adding lemon and straining solids) and lassi (diluted yogurt and spice drinks).5. Oils like ghee (clarified butter) and organic, extra virgin olive oil should be included in the diet as they lubricate, nourish and create lustre in the skin.6. Use spices like turmeric, cumin, coriander, and black pepper to improve digestion, nourish the skin and cleanse it of impurities. 7. Avoid microwaving and boiling your vegetables. They lose as much as 85% of their antioxidant content when cooked in this way. Steaming and sautéing are best.Caring for outer beauty through knowledge of skin typeBesides these general recommendations the key to Outer Beauty is to understand the difference in skin types so you can gain the maximum benefit from your individualized skin care regimen. MAV identifies three different skin types based on which of the three main metabolic principles (doshas)- present in everyone, but to different degrees- is most dominant in your body.Vata Skin* Description: Vata is composed of the elements of air and space. If you have a vata skin type, your skin will be dry, thin, fine pored, delicate and cool to the touch. When balanced, it glows with a delicate lightness and refinement that is elegant and attractive. When vata skin is imbalanced, it will be prone to excessive dryness and may even be rough and flaky. * Potential problems: The greatest beauty challenge for vata skin is its predisposition to symptoms of early aging. Your skin may tend to develop wrinkles earlier than most due to its tendency to dryness and thinness. If your digestion is not in balance, your skin can begin to look dull and grayish, even in your 20’s and 30’s. In addition, your skin may have a tendency for disorders such as dry eczema and skin fungus. Mental stress, such as worry, fear and lack of sleep, has a powerful debilitating effect on vata skin leaving it looking tired and lifeless.* Recommendations for careWith a little knowledge, you can preserve and protect the delicate beauty of your vata type skin. Since your skin does not contain much moisture, preventing it from drying is the major consideration. Eat a warm, unctuous diet (ghee and olive oil are best) and favor sour, salty and sweet tastes (naturally sweet like fruits, not refined sugar) as they balance vata. Avoid drying foods like crackers. Drink 6-8 glasses of warm (not cold for vata types!) water throughout the day and eat plenty of sweet, juicy fruits. Going to bed early (before 10 PM) is very soothing to vata and will have a tremendously positive influence on your skin. Avoid cleansing products that dry the skin (like alcohol-based cleansers) and perform Ayurvedic oil massage to your whole body (abhyanga) in the morning before you shower.Pitta Skin. * Description: Pitta dosha is composed of the elements of fire and water. If you have a pitta skin type your skin is fair, soft, warm and of medium thickness. When balanced, your skin has a beautiful, slightly rosy or golden glow, as if illuminated from within. Your hair typically is fine and straight, and is usually red, sandy or blonde in color. Your complexion tends toward the pink or reddish, and there is often a copious amount of freckles or moles.* Potential problems: Among the many beauty challenges of pitta skin types is your tendency to develop rashes, rosacea, acne, liver spots or pigment disorders. Because of the large proportion of the fire element in your constitution, your skin does not tolerate heat or sun very well. Of all the three skin types, pitta skin has the least tolerance for the sun, is photosensitive, and most likely to accumulate sun damage over the years. Pitta skin is aggravated by emotional stress, especially suppressed anger, frustration, or resentment.* Recommendations for careAvoid excessive sunlight, tanning treatments and highly heating therapies like facial or whole body steams. Avoid hot, spicy foods and favor astringent, bitter and sweet foods which balance pitta. (Again, naturally sweet, not chocolate and refined sugar!) Sweet juicy fruits (especially melons and pears), cooked greens and rose petal preserves are especially good. Drinking plenty of water helps wash impurities from sensitive pitta skin. Reduce external or internal contact with synthetic chemicals, to which your skin is especially prone to react, even in a delayed fashion after years of seemingly uneventful use. Avoid skin products that are abrasive, heating or contain artificial colors or preservatives. Most commercial make-up brands should be avoided in favor of strictly 100% natural ingredient cosmetics. And be sure to get your emotional stress under control through plenty of outdoor exercise, yoga and meditation.Kapha Skin. * Description: Kapha dosha is composed of the elements of earth and water. If you have a kapha skin type your skin is thick, oily, soft and cool to the touch. Your complexion is a glowing porcelain whitish color, like the moon, and hair characteristically thick, wavy, oily and dark. Kapha skin types, with their more generous collagen and connective tissue, are fortunate to develop wrinkles much later in life than vata or pitta types.*Potential problems If your skin becomes imbalanced, it can show up as enlarged pores, excessively oily skin, moist types of eczema, blackheads, acne or pimples, and water retention. Kapha skin is also more prone to fungal infections.* Recommendations for careKapha skin is more prone to clogging and needs more cleansing than other skin types. Be careful to avoid greasy, clogging creams. Likewise, avoid heavy, hard to digest foods like fried foods, fatty meats, cheeses and rich desserts. Eat more light, easy to digest, astringent, bitter and pungent (well-spiced) foods as they balance kapha. Olive oil is the best cooking oil and a little ginger and lime juice can be taken before meals to increase your characteristically sluggish digestive fire. Take warm baths often and use gentle cleansers to open the skin pores. Avoid getting constipated and try to get some exercise every day to increase circulation and help purify the skin through the sweating process. Inner Beauty: Gunam. Happy, positive, loving, caring individuals have a special beauty that is far more than skin deep. Conversely we all experience the quick and deleterious effect on our skin from fatigue and stress.Inner beauty is authentic beauty, not the kind that shows on a made-up face, but the kind that shines through from your soul, your consciousness or inner state of being. Inner beauty comes from a mind and heart that are in harmony, not at odds with each other, causing emotional confusion, loss of confidence, stress and worry. Inner peace is the foundation of outer beauty.Maintain your self-confidence and a warm, loving personality by paying attention to your lifestyle and daily routine and effective management of stress (I highly recommend the TM technique for its scientifically-verified benefits on mental and physical health and reduced aging.) You will also be healthier and feel better through the day if you eat your main meal at midday and make a habit of going to bed early (by 10 PM is ideal.)Remember, kindness, friendliness and sincerity naturally attract people to you. On the other hand, being uptight or tense makes people want to walk the other way, regardless of your facial structure, body weight, or other outer signs we associate with attractiveness.Lasting Beauty: Yayastyag In order to slow the aging process and gain lasting beauty there are two additional key considerations beyond those already discussed, 1. Eliminate toxins and free radicals in the body: The main deteriorating effects of aging come as toxins and impurities (called ama in Ayurveda) accumulate throughout the body. These toxins may begin as free radicals in the body, or over time may become oxidized into free radicals, all of which contribute to premature aging in the body. For lasting health and beauty it is essential to avoid and neutralize free radicals, to prevent impurities of all kinds from accumulating and to remove those that have already become lodged in the body.The most powerful cleansing therapy in Maharishi Ayurveda is "panchakarma" therapy, a series of natural treatments ideally performed twice yearly, that involves 5-7 days in a row of massage, heat treatments and mild herbal enemas. Ayurveda emphasizes the importance of undergoing this cleansing program once or twice a year to prevent impurities from accumulating, localizing and hardening in the tissues. Just as we change the oil in our cars regularly for optimal performance and lifespan, Ayurveda recommends that we cleanse the “sludge” from our tissues on a regular basis through panchakarma treatments. Best of all, panchakarma treatments are luxurious, blissful, and make you feel (and look) completely rejuvenated in just a few days time. I have had many a patient who told me that friends asked them afterwards if they had gotten a facelift, they looked so fresh and youthful!Other free radical busters include: reducing mental stress, eating antioxidant foods like leafy green vegetables, sweet, juicy fruits and cooking on a daily basis with antioxidant, detoxifying spices like turmeric and coriander. 2. Add rejuvenative techniques to daily living:The daily activities of life in the modern world systematically wear us down and speed up the aging process. Ayurveda maintains it is crucial to practice daily rejuvenative regimens to counteract the stressful wear and tear of everyday life. According to Ayurveda the most important rejuvenative routines for your life are:a) Going to bed by 10:00 PM. This simple habit is one of the most powerful techniques for health and longevity, according to MAV.b) Meditate daily. Any meditation that does not involve concentration (which has been shown to increase anxiety) can be very helpful. I highly recommend the twice-daily deep rest and enlivenment of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique, whose benefits have been verified by over 700 published research studies.c) Eat organic, whole fresh food that is freshly prepared. There is an Ayurvedic saying: "Without proper diet. medicine is of no use. With proper diet, medicine is of no need." Be sure to avoid those leftovers, processed and microwaved foods for better nutrition and vitality.d) Perform Ayurvedic oil massage in the morning (abhyanga). Morning oil massage purifies the entire body, reduces anxiety and stress, helps prevent and heal injuries and supports circulation. It is especially helpful in creating a radiant complexion and keeping your skin youthful. Research shows it may also help prevent skin cancers.e) Practice yoga asanas. Maintaining flexibility and circulation is key to health.f) Practice pranayama (yoga breathing) techniques. Pranayama enlivens the mind and body. Ideally practice the following sequence twice a day. Asanas, pranayama and meditation.SummaryEveryone's unique beauty shines forth when they have radiant health and personal happiness. Beauty is a side effect of a balanced, fulfilled life. Supreme personal beauty is accessible to everyone who is willing to take more control of their health in their day-to-day life through time-tested principles of natural living. For most of us, beauty is not a gift but a choice. Every woman can be radiantly beautiful simply by beginning to lead a healthier life. You will be rewarded by the glowing effects you will see in your mirror each day and the powerful, bliss-producing effect your special beauty has on everyone in your life.

noreply@blogger.com (Daya) — Mon, 28 May 2007 14:53:00 -0700

The Maharishi Ayurveda Approach to Beauty and Skin Care with

“Every person is born perfect. Inferiority is a mistake of the mind, a cloud covering the light. Dissolve the clouds by observing a balanced life with healthy habits. Nourish your mind and body. Connect with your own inner self. Celebrate your own magnificence and your beauty will always shine through.”---- Dr. Rama Kant Mishra, renowned Ayurvedic physician and dermatologist
The Three Pillars of Beauty
Maharishi Ayurveda (MAV), the modern, consciousness-based revival of the ancient Ayurvedic medicine tradition, considers true beauty to be supported by three pillars; Outer Beauty, Inner Beauty and Lasting Beauty. Only by enhancing all three can we attain the balanced state of radiant health that makes each of us the most fulfilled and beautiful person we can be.
Outer Beauty: Roopam
The outer signs of beauty - your skin, hair and nails - are more than just superficial measures of beauty. They are direct reflections of your overall health. These outer tissues are created by the inner physiological processes involved in digestion, metabolism and proper tissue development. Outer beauty depends more on the strength of your digestion and metabolism, the quality of your diet, and the purity of your blood, than on external cleansers and conditioners you may apply.
General Recommendations for Outer Beauty
As we will discuss, the key to skin care is matching your diet and skin care routine to the specific skin type you have. Meanwhile, there are some valuable recommendations for lustrous skin, hair and nails that will be helpful to everyone, regardless of skin type.
1. Diet: Without adequate nourishment, your collagen layer thins and a kind of wasting takes place. Over time, your skin can shrivel up like a plant without water from lack of nourishment. To keep your skin plump and glowing:
A. Eat fresh, whole organic foods that are freshly prepared.
Avoid packaged, canned, frozen, processed foods and leftovers. These foods have little nutritional value and also they are often poorly digested which creates impurities that localize in the skin. The resulting buildup of toxins causes irritation and blocks circulation depriving the skin of further nourishment and natural cleansing processes.
B. Favor skin nourishing foods. Leafy green vegetables contain vitamins, minerals (especially iron and calcium) and are high in antioxidant properties. They nourish the skin and protect it from premature aging. Sweet juicy fruits like grapes, melons, pears, plums and stewed apples at breakfast are excellent for the skin in almost everyone. Eat a wide variety of grains over different meals and try mixed grain servings at breakfast and lunch. Add amaranth, quinoa, cous cous, millet and barley to the wheat and rice you already eat. Favor light, easy to digest proteins like legume soups (especially yellow split mung dhal), whole milk, paneer (cheese made from boiling milk, adding lemon and straining solids) and lassi (diluted yogurt and spice drinks). Oils like ghee (clarified butter) and organic, extra virgin olive oil should be included in the diet as they lubricate, nourish and create lustre in the skin. Use spices like turmeric, cumin, coriander, and black pepper to improve digestion, nourish the skin and cleanse it of impurities. Avoid microwaving and boiling your vegetables. They lose as much as 85% of their antioxidant content when cooked in this way. Steaming and sautéing are best.
Caring for outer beauty through knowledge of skin type
Besides these general recommendations the key to Outer Beauty is to understand the difference in skin types so you can gain the maximum benefit from your individualized skin care regimen. MAV identifies three different skin types based on which of the three main metabolic principles (doshas)- present in everyone, but to different degrees- is most dominant in your body.
Vata Skin
* Description: Vata is composed of the elements of air and space. If you have a vata skin type, your skin will be dry, thin, fine pored, delicate and cool to the touch. When balanced, it glows with a delicate lightness and refinement that is elegant and attractive. When vata skin is imbalanced, it will be prone to excessive dryness and may even be rough and flaky.
* Potential problems: The greatest beauty challenge for vata skin is its predisposition to symptoms of early aging. Your skin may tend to develop wrinkles earlier than most due to its tendency to dryness and thinness. If your digestion is not in balance, your skin can begin to look dull and grayish, even in your 20’s and 30’s. In addition, your skin may have a tendency for disorders such as dry eczema and skin fungus. Mental stress, such as worry, fear and lack of sleep, has a powerful debilitating effect on vata skin leaving it looking tired and lifeless.
* Recommendations for care
With a little knowledge, you can preserve and protect the delicate beauty of your vata type skin. Since your skin does not contain much moisture, preventing it from drying is the major consideration. Eat a warm, unctuous diet (ghee and olive oil are best) and favor sour, salty and sweet tastes (naturally sweet like fruits, not refined sugar) as they balance vata. Avoid drying foods like crackers. Drink 6-8 glasses of warm (not cold for vata types!) water throughout the day and eat plenty of sweet, juicy fruits. Going to bed early (before 10 PM) is very soothing to vata and will have a tremendously positive influence on your skin. Avoid cleansing products that dry the skin (like alcohol-based cleansers) and perform Ayurvedic oil massage to your whole body (abhyanga) in the morning before you shower.
Pitta Skin.
* Description: Pitta dosha is composed of the elements of fire and water. If you have a pitta skin type your skin is fair, soft, warm and of medium thickness. When balanced, your skin has a beautiful, slightly rosy or golden glow, as if illuminated from within. Your hair typically is fine and straight, and is usually red, sandy or blonde in color. Your complexion tends toward the pink or reddish, and there is often a copious amount of freckles or moles.
* Potential problems: Among the many beauty challenges of pitta skin types is your tendency to develop rashes, rosacea, acne, liver spots or pigment disorders. Because of the large proportion of the fire element in your constitution, your skin does not tolerate heat or sun very well. Of all the three skin types, pitta skin has the least tolerance for the sun, is photosensitive, and most likely to accumulate sun damage over the years. Pitta skin is aggravated by emotional stress, especially suppressed anger, frustration, or resentment.
* Recommendations for care
Avoid excessive sunlight, tanning treatments and highly heating therapies like facial or whole body steams. Avoid hot, spicy foods and favor astringent, bitter and sweet foods which balance pitta. (Again, naturally sweet, not chocolate and refined sugar!) Sweet juicy fruits (especially melons and pears), cooked greens and rose petal preserves are especially good. Drinking plenty of water helps wash impurities from sensitive pitta skin. Reduce external or internal contact with synthetic chemicals, to which your skin is especially prone to react, even in a delayed fashion after years of seemingly uneventful use. Avoid skin products that are abrasive, heating or contain artificial colors or preservatives. Most commercial make-up brands should be avoided in favor of strictly 100% natural ingredient cosmetics. And be sure to get your emotional stress under control through plenty of outdoor exercise, yoga and meditation.
Kapha Skin.
* Description: Kapha dosha is composed of the elements of earth and water. If you have a kapha skin type your skin is thick, oily, soft and cool to the touch. Your complexion is a glowing porcelain whitish color, like the moon, and hair characteristically thick, wavy, oily and dark. Kapha skin types, with their more generous collagen and connective tissue, are fortunate to develop wrinkles much later in life than vata or pitta types.
*Potential problems If your skin becomes imbalanced, it can show up as enlarged pores, excessively oily skin, moist types of eczema, blackheads, acne or pimples, and water retention. Kapha skin is also more prone to fungal infections.
* Recommendations for care
Kapha skin is more prone to clogging and needs more cleansing than other skin types. Be careful to avoid greasy, clogging creams. Likewise, avoid heavy, hard to digest foods like fried foods, fatty meats, cheeses and rich desserts. Eat more light, easy to digest, astringent, bitter and pungent (well-spiced) foods as they balance kapha. Olive oil is the best cooking oil and a little ginger and lime juice can be taken before meals to increase your characteristically sluggish digestive fire. Take warm baths often and use gentle cleansers to open the skin pores. Avoid getting constipated and try to get some exercise every day to increase circulation and help purify the skin through the sweating process.
Inner Beauty: Gunam.
Happy, positive, loving, caring individuals have a special beauty that is far more than skin deep. Conversely we all experience the quick and deleterious effect on our skin from fatigue and stress.
Inner beauty is authentic beauty, not the kind that shows on a made-up face, but the kind that shines through from your soul, your consciousness or inner state of being. Inner beauty comes from a mind and heart that are in harmony, not at odds with each other, causing emotional confusion, loss of confidence, stress and worry. Inner peace is the foundation of outer beauty.
Maintain your self-confidence and a warm, loving personality by paying attention to your lifestyle and daily routine and effective management of stress (I highly recommend the TM technique for its scientifically-verified benefits on mental and physical health and reduced aging.) You will also be healthier and feel better through the day if you eat your main meal at midday and make a habit of going to bed early (by 10 PM is ideal.)
Remember, kindness, friendliness and sincerity naturally attract people to you. On the other hand, being uptight or tense makes people want to walk the other way, regardless of your facial structure, body weight, or other outer signs we associate with attractiveness.
Lasting Beauty: Yayastyag
In order to slow the aging process and gain lasting beauty there are two additional key considerations beyond those already discussed,
1. Eliminate toxins and free radicals in the body: The main deteriorating effects of aging come as toxins and impurities (called ama in Ayurveda) accumulate throughout the body. These toxins may begin as free radicals in the body, or over time may become oxidized into free radicals, all of which contribute to premature aging in the body. For lasting health and beauty it is essential to avoid and neutralize free radicals, to prevent impurities of all kinds from accumulating and to remove those that have already become lodged in the body.
The most powerful cleansing therapy in Maharishi Ayurveda is "panchakarma" therapy, a series of natural treatments ideally performed twice yearly, that involves 5-7 days in a row of massage, heat treatments and mild herbal enemas. Ayurveda emphasizes the importance of undergoing this cleansing program once or twice a year to prevent impurities from accumulating, localizing and hardening in the tissues. Just as we change the oil in our cars regularly for optimal performance and lifespan, Ayurveda recommends that we cleanse the “sludge” from our tissues on a regular basis through panchakarma treatments.
Best of all, panchakarma treatments are luxurious, blissful, and make you feel (and look) completely rejuvenated in just a few days time. I have had many a patient who told me that friends asked them afterwards if they had gotten a facelift, they looked so fresh and youthful!
Other free radical busters include: reducing mental stress, eating antioxidant foods like leafy green vegetables, sweet, juicy fruits and cooking on a daily basis with antioxidant, detoxifying spices like turmeric and coriander.
2. Add rejuvenative techniques to daily living:
The daily activities of life in the modern world systematically wear us down and speed up the aging process. Ayurveda maintains it is crucial to practice daily rejuvenative regimens to counteract the stressful wear and tear of everyday life. According to Ayurveda the most important rejuvenative routines for your life are: Going to bed by 10:00 PM. This simple habit is one of the most powerful techniques for health and longevity, according to MAV. Meditate daily. Any meditation that does not involve concentration (which has been shown to increase anxiety) can be very helpful. I highly recommend the twice-daily deep rest and enlivenment of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique, whose benefits have been verified by over 700 published research studies. Eat organic, whole fresh food that is freshly prepared. There is an Ayurvedic saying: "Without proper diet. medicine is of no use. With proper diet, medicine is of no need." Be sure to avoid those leftovers, processed and microwaved foods for better nutrition and vitality. Perform Ayurvedic oil massage in the morning (abhyanga). Morning oil massage purifies the entire body, reduces anxiety and stress, helps prevent and heal injuries and supports circulation. It is especially helpful in creating a radiant complexion and keeping your skin youthful. Research shows it may also help prevent skin cancers. Practice yoga asanas. Maintaining flexibility and circulation is key to health. Practice pranayama (yoga breathing) techniques. Pranayama enlivens the mind and body. Ideally practice the following sequence twice a day. Asanas, pranayama and meditation.
Summary
Everyone's unique beauty shines forth when they have radiant health and personal happiness. Beauty is a side effect of a balanced, fulfilled life. Supreme personal beauty is accessible to everyone who is willing to take more control of their health in their day-to-day life through time-tested principles of natural living.
For most of us, beauty is not a gift but a choice. Every woman can be radiantly beautiful simply by beginning to lead a healthier life. You will be rewarded by the glowing effects you will see in your mirror each day and the powerful, bliss-producing effect your special beauty has on everyone in your life.

noreply@blogger.com (Daya) — Sun, 27 May 2007 14:52:00 -0700

The Truth About Beauty

What's with this fascination with beauty? The demand for beauty services in spite of the economy? Even when there is a recession, beauty parlours still flourish. Beauty products still fly off the shelves. There is this saying that beauty is skin deep. Then again, first impressions count. Put it this way. Beauty is power. That was true centuries ago. That is true today. When a beautiful woman walks into a bar, men flock to her and offer to buy her drinks. When an unattractive woman walks into the same bar, chances are, she would have to buy her own drinks. A beautiful salesperson, man or woman is more likely to win the sale. Between a beautiful job seeker and an unattractive one, all other things being equal, the employer is likely to choose the good looker. Like it or not, looks do count. In the past, when women were dependent on men to support them, beauty was everything to a woman. A beautiful woman would have more suitors. She would be able to marry up. To marry a rich man who could take care of all her financial needs and that of her children. Long before commercial cosmetics existed, mothers would instruct their daughters on traditional beauty remedies. Simple beauty remedies like using mayonnaise as a moisturizer, or egg white as a firming mask were often used by women in the days before commercial cosmetics. Then along came women entrepreneurs like Estee Lauder and other women from around the world. They converted traditional beauty recipes which worked for themselves into beauty creams that they sold to other women. Every woman has a right to look her most beautiful and these women were selling others their beauty secrets. Women all over the world are willing to suffer for the sake of beauty. Long ago, in China, women in wealthy families would bind their feet. The Chinese back then view tiny feet as beautiful, so little girls have their feet bound, to prevent them from growing big and ugly. Now that long legs are considered beautiful, some women go through a very painful medical procedure that breaks their legs, and stretches their legs by a few millimeters a day through a painful device until they attain the height they want. With their newfound height, these girls can look forward to a wealthy, glamorous future as an international model. In Europe, centuries ago, wasp waists and curvy bodies were considered beautiful, so corsets were worn to make the waist look much smaller. These were tied so tightly that women faint easily. All for the sake of beauty. Now, corsets are in again. These days, women and men subject themselves to surgery to attain the beauty they desire. Liposuction to remove the excess fat to contour the body. Breast augmentation for bigger breasts that are considered beautiful. Nose jobs, face lifts, the works. Both men and women even have poison (botox) injected into their faces to paralyze their facial muscles in order to erase the expression lines we know as wrinkles. There is also a return to natural beauty remedies. This time, commercial cosmetics use natural ingredients that women have used in centuries in the home beauty preparations. With modern advances, beauty preparations are more effective than ever. Even doctors have developed their own skin care ranges. Acne can be a thing of the past with some of the latest acne treatments. Some doctors, both dermatologists and general practitioners offer facials which treat most of today's skin problems very effectively. After all, beauty is skin deep. Healthy skin is beautiful. There is wisdom in the old ways women took care of their looks. Fresh food, exercise, plenty of water, plenty of sleep, soap and water. That's all the women in the olden days had in their beauty routine. These days, add a good sunscreen worn every day to protect your skin from the sun. A good toner, cleanser and moisturizer, a regular scrub and mask and you are done.

noreply@blogger.com (Daya) — Fri, 25 May 2007 03:11:00 -0700

Divine Food for Divine Beauty

The phrase "natural beauty" has been abused and misused beyond restoration. The modern use is almost never associated with its true meaning. Someone said there should be a portrait of a healthy person in a museum so people would know what they are talking about. If we don’t know what a healthy person looks like, how do we know what natural beauty is?

In our unnatural world, the word "natural" no longer means without effort, at least not in the realm of obtaining your best look. One thing is a must in defining natural beauty: its achievement must not involve any sacrifice of health. None, period. If health is compromised in any way beauty is not natural.

Our body was created in the image of God, the Supreme Beauty. When our actions are in opposition to nature, the results are different types of bodily ills, deformities, and ugliness. Since there can be no natural beauty without eating 100 percent natural food, most of you have never seen the natural you.

There is an urgent need for another word. The contemporary meaning of natural is too far from the divine. I suggest filling this void with "rawsome", a new word circulating in the raw food community. It is a combination of two words:" raw" and "awesome" with the meaning being something between natural and divine. The diet of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds also needs to be renamed. I have often been told that the phrase “the raw food diet”, sounds like eating raw meat, particularly sushi, which is misleading. The raw food diet is so awesome that it should be called the very name it inspired- the Rawsome Diet.

Most of us feel our appearance lacks something. In reality, ugliness is more about excess. Toxic accumulations in our bodies are responsible for stealing our health and attractiveness. Beauty lies latent under cushions of retained fluids, deposits of fat, and sick tissues. Your beauty is buried alive, but in most cases it can be revived in a version that will be satisfactory to you. You must take immediate action to revitalize it. When you do, your uncovered beauty will surprise and delight you.

Eating cooked food will leave residues the body cannot utilize, and they will be deposited in places our Creator never intended. Everything not fully digested and properly eliminated, the body will treat as an abnormal substance. It will pocket these toxins as far away from the vital organs as possible--on the peripheries of the body--where it will invariably be reflected in our outward appearance. If the body cannot use it inside, it will deposit it on the outside. Nutrients from the food you eat spiral upward to the epidermis, and their quality will determine whether you will have a glowing clear complexion or skin spotted with growths, such as moles and skin sores.

Some physical characteristics of our face and body we cannot change--they were determined prior to our birth. But the consumption of the raw plant diet as an adult will make a difference in the texture of skin and hair, the health of nails, weight and complexion. All of these traits and more are determined by daily choices, with food being one of the most important and, luckily, the one we can fully control.

The Rawsome diet is the most suitable one for human physiology. It is salubrious to the body’s health and salutary to its beauty. The ability to renew cells is built into your body, and the body itself is capable of making you look more attractive. After all, we were designed to bloom continuously as old cells get replaced by new ones. The Rawsome diet makes the most of this rejuvenating ability of our bodies.

Rawsome beauty is not manufactured from the outside but cultivated from the inside by nutritionally charged food. Whole raw food restores the integrity of every cell and facilitates the optimal operation of every organ inside and out. The body, having been awakened by the improved diet, in its wisdom, will reach out to the places where health was lacking, and you will gradually see your beauty surfacing. The Rawsome diet will eliminate all the toxins on a deeper level and bring amazing changes to your appearance.

Only the body sustained on raw food will host natural beauty, or should we say Rawsome beauty. The landscape of the body will change. The surface of the skin will become soft and smooth but still firm and supple. Visible pores will diminish. A sallow skin with a yellow pallor will turn into a porcelain-like complexion. The whites of eyes, once red, will become bright with a bluish tinge. As natural collagen production improves, it will fill in the places where it is needed as in hollow cheeks. Raw food eating will clarify and refine your features and bring delicacy to your face.

On the Rawsome Diet, you will marvel at how the Master Artist will make the most of your individual features and bring balance to the entire face. Texture, hues, and shape will be harmoniously arranged into a genteel whole. Perfection and imperfection will be tied together into a unique original version of beauty.

Each time I see a woman, I study her appearance, and I see not just the way she looks but the way she could look. What I see is how far her image falls short of her potential beauty. I perceive her beauty as it would stand out after the body has cleansed itself from toxins and excesses.

From age 15 until recently, I wore my hair permed, only to discover at 45 that straight hair in my natural color was the best possible frame for my face. Did my preference change? Not at all. My face did. So let me give you a hint, if you need a camouflaging hairdo, you are not looking your best. The changes in your face brought about by raw foods will bring the freedom to arrange your hair in any way you want. When your peer group is thinking: “I am losing my looks”, you will be finding yours. At 45, I enjoy looking in the mirror while before I detested my reflection.

As the cleansing initiated by this diet is completed, you will be very pleased to see how you were meant to look. Your body will exhibit beauty and dignity. You will become satisfied, even fascinated, with your appearance. When you look your very best, you look perfect, in a sense that you are as close to the divine image for yourself as you could ever be. You accept yourself completely. Natural beauty is above conformity; it doesn’t demand to be accepted by the dictates of the beauty norm.

People who have been on the raw food lifestyle for several years begin to have a glow, the kind not often seen in middle-aged people. Optimal health is recognized by an emerging radiance. Glow is hard to fake because it is internal. It comes from an abundance of clear, pink, almost transparent cells that light up the face. Only superior blood circulation can bring this transfiguring glow. Several years on the raw food diet will make you look as though you just stepped out of a painting by Renoir--the impressionist best known for his preoccupation with light.

I have come to believe if you do not embrace the 100 percent raw food diet, you will never meet The Most Beautiful You. The best proof that the Rawsome diet is optimal for the body is it makes you beautiful. Slim face, slender waist, and clear skin with smooth coloration-these subtle changes will convince you the raw plant diet is the best for good health and graceful beauty. No woman knows her true beauty until she cleanses her body completely of all waste.

You can say there are people who are beautiful, and they are not on this diet. That is true. It is hard to believe, but even they haven't seen the best of themselves. Dissatisfaction with one’s appearance arises not from perceiving our bodies inaccurately but because subconsciously we are aware we haven’t achieved our optimal look. The Rawsome diet gives a feeling of authenticity, an assurance we have become what we were meant to be.

Raw food not only corrects beauty’s shortcomings but also lifts the limitations of one’s spirit and releases strains and tensions in both your mind and body. People on the raw food diet have an aura about them, a transcendent nobility and complacent dignity. Sickness is goodness lost, and our unhappiness is a longing for goodness. One takes in the goodness in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables and feels its purifying process on the inside. Goodness in one’s food summons up goodness in one’s appearance and character.

Do you think it is hard to follow this life style? Women have done so many outrageous and dangerous things to themselves in the pursuit of beauty, I believe they should at least try the Rawsome lifestyle, which promises to transform them into beautiful people. What a woman won’t do for health, she will do for beauty. This is the first time beauty asks no sacrifice from health.