Have I ever mentioned how much I love learning about Ayurveda? How about how helpful it has been in our lives? And the skin care products? Oh…I have?
Yes, I know many of my posts lately have been on the subject of Ayurveda. But I am serious when I say that this ancient science is life changing. I mean, the notion that you can heal yourself? C’mon, who doesn’t want that ability.
Ayurveda is not nearly as hokey or New Age-y as that last paragraph may have made it sound. By “heal yourself” I meant take steps toward finding the root cause of your physical and emotional ailments, and then follow the Ayurvedic priniciples toward resolving said ailments. Taking a few other things into consideration, of course; like your dominant dosha, which season we are in and its corresponding dosha…I did not say that Ayurveda is a simple science. Effective? Yes! Black and white? Not so much.
So, on this Ayurvedic journey I seem to have hopped on, it has been helpful to have guides, like the lovely Ria, creator of the fabulous Skin Apothke skincare line. Ria contacted me in order to send samples for review and bravely offered her knowledge of Ayurveda in return. Well, an offer like that is one I could not resist and almost immediately I was grilling poor Ria on the subject. Ok, it wasn’t that bad but I did want a couple of questions answered. I’m sure there will be more to come.
My first question for Ria concerned my daughter and her dominanat pitta dosha (she is a pitta if there ever was one) and what I can do to cool her fire during the pitta season of summer. Well, she so kindly sent some written advice on tending to skin imbalances during the pitta imbalancing (at least for already fired-up pittas) season of summer. And also a family recipe cream she whipped up just for my little girl.
Let me just say that my daughter is pretty much as excited as I am when packages of samples arrive at our home. But to discover one has a cream made just for her? She felt like a rock star!
And guess what? The cream works! She has had tiny bumps that resemble pimples on her forehead all summer that I have been unable to cure. I used some of the cleanser that Ria sent for me on them and then she apply “her cream” each night. The cream is cooling and also has some moisture for her delicate skin. Smells good too. The little bumps have almost disappeared completely. We have also tried it on bug bites and it worked like a charm.
Another real-life experience with ayurvedic therapy was for my son’s eczema last spring. The poor guy had dealt with red, dry patches around his mouth and eye over most of winter. We had tried hydrating creams and even went to the pediatrician in a last ditch effort and used the prescription ointments they prescribed. For sure made with petrolatum and other nasty ingredients, but like I said, we were desperate.
About this time I did an interview with Dr. Pratima Raichur. At the end of our conversation I mentioned that my son had been battling eczema to no avail. Dr Pratima told me to call her the next day and she would give my son a complimentary session. I was thrilled and could not wait to hear what she had to say.
Dr. Pratima, as I have mentioned before, told me that diet is the easiest place to start when making changes to better our health because it is the most physical (as compared to thought awareness or meditation). She gave me a list of foods that my son could eat that would be beneficial and those that should be avoided. I would also like to note that it was about avoiding these foods and limiting them, not completely excluding them. Ayurveda is not as hardcore as Western philosophy.
My son was apprehensive, how do you easily explain this complex science to a 4th grader, but pretty much willing to try anything at that point. I had also noted during my discussion with Dr. Pratima that he had gained weight at or right before the time the eczema came on and he had never before had eczema. I had not put the two together until then.
Dr Pratima also talked with me about his digestion and how he deals with stress, which is definitely an upset stomach. I really started to wonder if his weight gain, eczema, and stressed out tummy were all tied together.
We started avoiding foods thought to provoke his eczema: red meat (most red foods in general), spicy foods, greasy foods, citrus, and milk. Things like vinegar and soy sauce were also on the “to be avoided” list. Dr. Pratima had explained that he was to follow this diet for 3 moonths, would feel better after one. That is another thing I love about Ayurveda – its devotees are so confident that the methods will work. It is not a “wait and see” mind-set, but a "this will work" assurance. Well, a month later his eczema had all but disappeared and, added bonus, so had much of his excess weight. After two months he was down to his original size (pre-eczema) and had no sign of redness or dry patches on his skin.
He can eat the foods on the “avoid” list, he just needs to not overdo it. But that is what Ayurveda is all about – balance. You may indulge, just be sure to balance it by not indulging the next day. Everything in moderation.
So, these are our real-life success stories with Ayurveda. It is well-worth taking a look into this vast subject and gaining a bit of insight on Ayurvedic principles. I have mentioned these before, but they are my go to sites/blogs for anything Ayurveda related:
I know this post was really long, but I have so much exciting new stuff to share with you. Oh, there will be more…
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