Clove - Ayurveda straight from granny’s kitchen

Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree and are commonly used as a spice. Here are the medicinal uses & home remedies of clove.

Mustard Seeds - Ayurveda Straight From Granny’s Kitchen.

Here are the simple home remedies of Mustard Seeds

Cumin seed ( Jeera ) - Ayurveda straight from granny's kitchen.

Cumin seed is one of the best taste creator spice of kitchen. Lets take a look at its medicinal uses at home.

Science of “Abhyanga-Snana” in Diwali

Diwali is festival of light. Diwali lantern, rangoli designs, fireworks, various delicious desserts, shopping , gifts etc is the common scenario at each and every household. But where we show this enthusiastic hustle-bustle in all preparations, there is one thing that everyone looks at it as a nightmare or a torture and it is the morning Abhyanga-snana ritual, where we have to get up early morning to get oil massage and bath. Though it seems a futile thing on outer side, have anyone wonder why our ancestors enjoined us to follow this ritual? If no then, lets take a brief look on this concept and lets know the science behind it.

Puranpoli - Science behind eating it in Diwali

India is a country rich in number of various cultures with full of festivals and rituals. There is legacy of speciality food preparations for all these festivals. Our ancestors apprised the method of preparations and the science behind these foods.

Now we are talking about festival foods and its Diwali time, so how can we forget about the delicious and famous “Puranpoli”. Yes Puranpoli is the royal dish of Maharashtra. So lets take a look why we eat puranpoli specifically during this festival? And what are the health benefits of it?

Coriander (Dhaniya) - Ayurveda straight from granny’s kitchen

Uses of coriander are astonishing when it comes for health. Lets take a look at it.

Ayurveda straight from granny’s kitchen – Daalchini (Cinnamon)

Daalchini (cinnamon) is widely used spice in Indian kitchen, because our ancestors knew its medicinal properties. Daalchini is mordant(tikshna) in nature so the people having Pitta prakruti  should consume it very carefully. Daalchini pacify vata and kapha dosha but aggravates pitta dosha.

Science behind traditional Modak

In our previous articles we have been mentioning about Ritucharya*(http://www.ayurbeej.in/2016/03/importance-of-rutucharya-aahar-food.html) and diet *(http://www.ayurbeej.in/2016/02/aahar-diet-through-eyes-of-ayurveda.html) plays key role in maintaining health of body and mind. likewise Ayurveda has given a precious thoughts regarding the specific food articles which has to prepare in specific occasions or festivals.

It's not only traditional food but the science behind all those food articles is revealed in our ancient scriptures before 1000's of  years. Let's take a look on one of these traditional foods

Ayurveda from Granny's Kitchen - Haldi (Turmeric) - 10 Ways to Use it

Haldi ( turmeric ) is a must have ingredient of kitchen. In Hindu culture Haldi is considered sacred when it comes to worship. The reason is it has numerous medicinal properties. Haldi improves your complexion, removes skin tan and improves skin tone and that being the reason for Haldi ceremony is conducted  before wedding to improve complexion of groom and bride.

Ayurveda Straight from Granny’s Kitchen - Introduction

Ayurveda has glorified “kitchen” as first dispensary. If we are aware of various foods available in our kitchen, we can easily use to treat common ailments like cough, cold, skin rashes, dandruff, hair fall, etc. also in turn help in boosting our immune system and can help in further prevention.

All the ingredients in our kitchen which we assume as only strictly be used in cooking are actually more useful than that, unfortunately many of us are unaware about the knowledge of how to use them properly. These are those things which help to cure and also not to fall ill.

Ayurveda And Sleep (Nidra)- Part 2

Sleep is one of the essential components for being well. Proper time and proper duration of sleep is advised as it maintains normal physiology of body and mind resulting in strength and longevity. But if we don’t follow the regular pattern for sleep, it may create ill effects on body. There are many of us who follow wrong sleeping habits regularly thereafter face problems like insomnia, constipation, regular intervals of severe headaches, backache, high blood pressure in early age etc. and don’t even realize the reason behind it.

Ayurveda And Sleep (Nidra) - Part 1

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise”.  We all have been hearing this since our childhood. Have you ever wondered - What is the meaning of this idiom? Why we have been told this since were kids?

Our ancestors have been telling a lot many things which we almost neglect saying that they are out dated or old fashioned but all the things they taught us have pure science behind it. Why sleep is so important for being well? What & how deep impact sleep can create on our body? These and many other things Ayurveda has described in detail.

Ayurveda Dincharya For The Prevention Of Life-Style Diseases.

"Lifestyle diseases" is much talked about and growing concern in today's world. If we look at number of people affected by it then after cancer , life style diseases is at no 2 threatening our very existence and a major challenge for medical field.

Ayurveda Preventives for Summer dehydration and sunstroke.

70% of our body is consists of water. In summer high intensity of heat and dryness of weather causes water loss in large quantities through sweating. Hence in this season we  need to maintain optimum water level to maintain normal physiology of our body, otherwise due to loss of nutrients and electrolytes from persistent sweating  , body may get dehydrated and if ignored may worsen the health of individual. Water also plays an important role in regulation of body temperature. If an individual has been exposed to heat for long during work , exercising, or simply sitting in hot environment which leads to continuous perspiration, where water loss is more, body loses the ability to maintain the correct temperature and it becomes dangerously high which we call heat stroke or sun stroke. So here ayurveda gives you some simple and easy recipes of traditional drinks which help you to keep your body hydrated and which will definitely help you to beat dehydration and sunstroke this and all coming summers.

Diet & lifestyle as per Ayurveda for summer (Grishma Ritucharya)

It is said that, “Take care of your body, it is the only place where you can live”. We have seen 5 ritu’s (seasons) and their ritucharya, now its time for summer season (Grishma ritu). Summer is associated with vacations  and fun , dark complexion, longer days , ice-creams, cold drinks etc &  but also dehydration, urinary tract infections, digestive problems, headaches are common with everyone.

Everything has positive and negative sides, so with proper diet & lifestyle we still enjoy this season.
Grishma ritu (summer) starts in mid April to ends in mid June. It is the last season of northern solstice (Uttarayana) hence the intensity of heat and dryness is at its peak which causes natural loss of strength of body. In this season Vata dosha starts to accumulate in body and the digestion also becomes poor. So let’s take a brief look at what should be the diet and lifestyle in this season.

Diet & lifestyle as per Ayurveda for Spring Season (Vasanta Ritucharya)

Vasant ritu ( Spring ) is the second season of northern solstice (Uttarayana). It starts mid February ends in mid April. In uttarayana days are longer than night.

Also this season is of flowering of trees wherein trees grow new leaves and  start to bloom. Along with this sun heat increases leading to melting of snow . Similarly warm weather melts the deposited kapha dosha*(http://www.ayurbeej.in/2016/02/kapha-dosha-tridosha-sidhhanta_10.htm) which had accumulated in winter season thus leading to aggravation of kapha dosha.

Diet and lifestyle as per Ayurveda in Winter season (Hemanta & Shishir Ritucharya)

Long nights, short days, sparkling snowflakes, and fog with cold climate and people dressed in warm clothes is the exact picture we paint whenn we think about winter season. Ayurveda has described winter in to Hemanta (pre-winter) & Shishir (late-winter) ritus .

Diet and lifestyle to follow as per Ayurveda in Autumn season ( Sharad Ritucharya)

Sharad ritu (autumn season) is the second season of southern solstice (Dakshinayana). It starts in August to last till mid October.

Diet and lifestyle to follow as per Ayurveda in Rainy Season ( Varsha Ritucharya)

Rainy season plays an important role in our life as it provides for water and food plus it is the most romantic season, brings in cool and soothing feel after the torturous summer heat. But along with these it brings many other things with it. So let’s see the rainy season through the eyes of ayurveda.

Importance of Ritucharya & Aahar (Food)

Diwali is the biggest festival for all of us. The fireworks, laddu’s, yummy snacks all add taste to our joy. But there is one thing that most of us hate is the morning “Abhyanga” where we have to get up early , massage our body with oil, and apply  ‘ubtan’ (Mixture of skin cleansing herbal powders) and  then take bath. Most of us wonder why is this important to wake up so early in the ‘vacation’ & in the winters just to have bath? Our parents & grand parents tell us that it’s a ritual which we have to follow anyway & so we do it. But still the question remains unanswered.

Six Tastes For Health - Shadrasa Aahar

There is a phrase saying, “A way to one’s heart is through the stomach”, which means good food can make anyone happy. Ayurveda emphasized on the concept of complete aahar and describe how it deeply affects the health of our body and mind. 
But what is meant by good food? There are numerous definitions of good food when it comes to the point of health for e.g. oil free foods, fibre-rich foods & many more. But when it comes to the point of satisfaction & contentment, whatever the food is made up of, if its tastes well, we tend to eat food in large quantity.
The taste, good or bad in the food articles comes from the “Rasa” of the ingredients present in that food.
In Sanskrit “Rasana” is the word for tongue which means the organ which creates sense of taste or Rasa’s. Ayurveda has described this concept of Rasa along with their functions and ill effects on body & mind if they are taken beyond a certain limit.
Ayurveda also mentions the various food articles which contains the specific Rasa. So let’s see the details about Rasa.

Aahar - Do’s & Don’ts-The Golden Rules

It is said that, “Eat to live, don’t live to eat”. For healthy body and mind , aahar is one of the most essential element. Hence we must be  aware of what and how we eat.

In our pervious articles we have seen that how eating habits affect our body and mind deeply & can cause long lasting ill effects and leading  cause of major diseases.

“Prevention is always better than cure” is the mantra Ayurveda believes in.So Ayurveda stated the concept of “Matrahara”*(http://www.ayurbeej.in/2016/02/aahar-diet-through-eyes-of-ayurveda.html), 8 rules which must be considered when having food (Ashtau-vidhi-ahar-visheshaytana) before 5000 years ago.
But still there are many small mistakes we do in our day to day life which can later spell trouble if continued for long.
Here are some golden rules which are easy to follow & can help us a lot for not to get ill.

Ama - The Root Cause of All illnesses

These days our body and mind are affected by all types of toxins, which includes environmental, emotional, physiological factors. If a person is not eating according to his appetite or consumes incompatible foods knowingly or unknowingly or time of having lunch or dinner are irregular and coupled with other factor may lead to a stressed, overburdened stomach and which may over time impacts the natural capacity of digestion. Hence food if not digested in proper manner leads to production of “Ama”

Virudhanna - Incompatible Food

In our previous article on Aahar. we saw that correct combination of food (sanyog) is one of the most important thing to be considered while taking Aahar.

According to ayurveda every food has its own taste which we call Rasa,a heating or cooling energy which we call Virya ,and post digestive effect which we call as Vipaka. Also Some may possess Prabhava  meaning unexplainable special effects.

When two or more foods having same or different tastes (rasa) ,energy (virya) and post digestive effects (vipaka) are combined wrongly, Fire of Stomach (jathragni) can become overburdened , disturbing the process of digestion which results in production of Aama (improperly digested food particles or toxic substances)

Aahar (Diet) - Through the eyes of Ayurveda

The robustness or wholesomeness, of our body and mind is depend upon what and how we eat, that means for healthy and fit body, food (aahar) is one of the most important thing along with other factors.
Food despite being basic to life is also harmful in certain situations and can cause long lasting consequences to body, if not taken appropriately.

The significance of aahar is described by ayurveda before 5000 years. Ayurveda described the concept called Trayostambha (3 pillars of life) in which it has included Aahar(food/diet) along with Nidra (sleep) and Bramhacharya (Celibacy).These three are pillars for healthy living as per ayurveda.
Now we discuss aahar in detail in this and my coming articles.

Aahar is defined –“Whatever we eat, drink is our diet (aahar).”

Kapha dosha - Tridosha sidhhanta

The last and 3rd principle or dosha of tirdosha sidhhanta is Kapha dosha. When we plant a seed, it needs sunlight (Agni tatva) and air(oxygen/ vaayu tatva) along with water(som tatva) and if all three are in appropriate amount , It leads to healthy growth. Similarly in human body for growth, or for regeneration kapha dosha is responsible which we can call soma tatva of human body.

According to ayurveda vaata dosha consists of vaayu mahabhuta mainly, Pitta dosha consists of Agni (fire) and Jal (water) mahabhuta   and in kapha dosha there is dominance of Prithvi (earth) and Jal (water) mahabhuta , and because of  Prithvi and Jal elements our body get its firmness, rigidity and ability to regenerate.

Pitta dosha - Tridosha sidhhanta

Our universe is consist of 5 elements, namely air, water, earth, fire and eather(sky). The inspiration of all the movements is air or Vaayu mahabhuta. But along with movements all the living things in universe change their forms, and for this transformation fire element or Agni Mahabhuta is mainly responsible. For e.g. the ripening of a fruit ,heat is necessary similarly for hatching of an egg also requires heat. So we note that transformation is mainly due to fire(Agni Tatwa).

Likewise in human body these transformations occur with the help of Pitta dosha, second principle of Tridosh sidhhanta. In human body, digestion, aging, anger, fear, etc all these physiological and emotional transformations controlled by pitta .

So in this article we will see details about Pitta dosha.