Ayurveda And The Importance Of Meditation

Ayurveda, the mother of all healing sciences is a combination of holistic principles that stays intact with nature. One unique principle of Ayurveda that makes it matchless is its impressive healing methodology that is a perfect blend of natural Ayurvedic medications & mind healing skills of mental disciplines like Yoga and Meditation. This ancient natural curator that deliberates on the mind, body, spirit rapport, recognizes meditation as a balancing aid for the mind, which acts as a super natural spirit governing the human soul.

Meditation – The Master of Mind: ‘Inhale!!!…………Exhale!!!………’ are the key words of a popular mind soothing process known as Meditation, which aims at mental wellness by making the human mind inhale its authentic purpose of life & exhale the toxin that torments the psyche. It is a spiritual practice that demands the internal effort of the individual to self-regulate the mind and train it in a fruitful way. Meditation encompasses a wide range of techniques with infinite number of goals, the prime one being self-realization. A serene place free from disturbances and a standard time that suits you best is always opted for meditation, which should be performed on a daily basis for excellent results. A rhythmic breathing pattern is then followed which relaxes your mind & body thus helping you to develop your deep mental insight.

Ayurveda and Meditation: The prime philosophy of Ayurveda lies in maintaining a healthy relationship between the mind, body & spirit without reaching extremes in any cases thus connecting with the spiritual part of oneself. A healthy mind leads to a healthy body. That is why medical practitioners always recommend their patients to develop a positive attitude towards any type of treatment before commencing it. One who is mentally fit is certainly physically fit! One who develops a positive state of mind in the course of suffering from an ailment is half cured!!! Having this as the basis of all healing procedures, Ayurveda suggests Meditation for its immeasurable positive effects on human wellness which are listed below.

  • Meditation and Longevity: Ayurveda portrays longevity as increase in life expectancy with a sturdy ‘mind, body and spirit’ balance so that one enjoys permanent peace & happiness till the end of life. According to the study of NCCAM (National center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine), Meditation is practiced by people for various health issues ranging from anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia, high blood pressure & even to deal with the physical or emotional symptoms associated with deadly diseases like Cancer, HIV/AIDS etc. Meditation serves its intention of mentoring the mind, thus freeing it from all worldly worries and to attain the sole purpose of a long life.
  • Meditation and Mental Wellness: ‘Face is the index of mind’ is a well known adage. According to Ayurveda ‘Body is the index of mind’. Even a physically fit person can soon fall prey for diseases if his mind is deemed with worries!!! Meditation plays a main role in strengthening one’s mind by greatly reducing mental stress, anxiety, fear, depression and by inducing positive thoughts, self esteem, self control and empathy. It deeply relaxes the mind & the body by developing positive energy due to the changes in the brain wave patterns.
  • Meditation and Self-Realization: Meditation helps an individual to lead a disciplined life focusing on Self-realization, which is one of the greatest treasures to be acquired by every human being and is often difficult to pursue. Once an individual starts to realize who he/she really is and become conscious of one’s own purpose of life, self correction comes into effect and one can certainly feel heaven on earth!!! In addition to focusing on curing the ailments and preventing them, the individualized healing approach of Ayurveda helps an individual to lead a systematic, well-disciplined and self-realized life on par with nature with the help of a powerful tool called Meditation.
  • Meditation and You! : In this mechanical world it becomes very difficult for you to spend time for yourself! Strange but true!!! The time that you spend on meditation gives you the self-satisfaction of spending some quality time for YOU that helps you to lead an energetic life full of spirit, to meet the upcoming world of challenges. Meditation grants you power from within to lead a meaningful life full of values.

Meditation is a self trainer that trains your mind to lead a serene life. Meditation can be made more effective with the usage of few drops of aromatic Ayurvedic essential oils to your room freshener or diffuser, which will spread the aroma to your mind, soul, spirit and the environment. The medicinal properties of these essential oils not only spread the divine fragrance but also penetrate deep into your mind, making you divine and diligent. It aids in soothing your senses and providing you with peace and tranquility.

Ayurveda offers mankind with some of the most precious Ayurvedic practices like Meditation, which when followed makes life skillful, meaningful, successful and peaceful!!!

Thought for the day:

I mean the whole thing about meditation and yoga is about connecting to the higher part of yourself, and then seeing that every living thing is connected in some way.                 -Gillian Anderson

Suggested Reading:

  1. Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way: Creating Happiness with Meditation, Yoga, and Ayurveda By Nancy Liebler, Sandra Moss
  2. Self-Recovery: Treating Addictions Using Transcendental Meditation and Maharishi Ayur-Veda By David F O’Connell, Charles N Alexander
  3. Ayurveda: The Divine Science of Life, 1e By Todd Caldecott CIH AHG

Reference Links:

  1. Meditation by Wikipedia
  2. Overview of Meditation by National center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
  3. How Does Meditation Work by Ayushveda

Best Ways To Use Ayurvedic Essential Oils

Ayurveda is a gift to mankind and it follows the implausible elements of nature. This safe science trusts and believes that human being is a part of nature and his illness should also be treated in a natural way using the gifts of ‘Mother Nature’. Here comes the importance of Ayurvedic essential oils which are derived from the natural plant extracts. These oils have therapeutic properties for which it has been used since ages in traditional medicine and folk medicine.

In the recent times, you might have heard about the essence and effective use of essential oils in Aromatherapy but won’t you get surprised if I say that Aromatherapy itself is one of the ways of healing holistically in Ayurveda? This ancient therapy of curing human beings have suggested numerous ways of using Ayurvedic essential oils and the best ways are here for your guidance.

  1. Aromatic bath: A popular adage goes like this ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’, as Ayurveda insists highly on keeping yourselves and your environment clean, it prescribes taking bath twice daily either with the use of herbs or Ayurvedic essential oils in your bath tub.  Adding few drops of essential oils to your bath tub will give you a refreshing bath, which would be energizing and help you stay calm physically and emotionally.
  2. Essential oils massage: You work all day long all through the week; won’t you feel that your mind and body needs some ‘Quality Time To Rest’? Don’t need to go in search of quality time to rest, instead your life partner can help you discover it apparently with a caring massage with the sweet-smelling Ayurvedic essential oils. You can also try exploring the real sense of relief and peace after a systematic massage by an Ayurvedic expert in a nearby Ayurvedic center if you really feel like having a space for yourself. Ayurvedic massage with healing essential oils are often said to alleviate stress, trigger your olfactory sense, make your skin supple and give a never before newness to your life.
  3. As a vitalizing household cleaner: Home is the best place to give a great start to everything and everyone of your family. Why can’t you try complimenting your home by adding few drops of refreshing essential oils to your floor cleaner, washing machine and at the time of washing your dishes and cleaning your toilets? Lemon essential oil is often recommended for laundry, cleaning dishes and other general cleaning as it has the potential to remove tough, oily and greasy stains. You can also try using essential oils with clean, fresh, flowery and woody aroma to bring the real effects of nature even when your doors are closed.
  4. For skin care: Nothing other than certain selective Ayurvedic essential oils can caress your skin and take better care of them. You can use a wide range of skin-friendly essential oils like lavender essential oil, lemon essential oil, rose essential oil, sandalwood oil, ylang ylang essential oil, palmarosa essential oil, tangerine essential oil, mandarin essential oil, chamomile essential oil, geranium essential oil and few other. You can add few drops of any of the above essential oils in your favorite lotions, creams, carrier oil, carrier lotion, cocoa butter etc, to get set with your ultimate skin care pack.
  5. Diffuser/Air-Freshener: Using essential oils in your diffuser or in your Air-freshener will help you kill germs, bacteria and other harmful viruses in the air while giving you an everlasting aroma especially in the rainy season.
  6. Cold/Warm Compress: Circulation problems, sprains, muscular tension and other pains can be easily treated either with a warm or cold compress. It will be a brilliant idea if you add few drops of essential oils with absolute healing properties like peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil etc to your compress the next time when you feel like getting instant remedy from excruciating pains like menstrual cramps.
  7. Vapor inhalation/ Facial steam: Adding few drops of Ayurvedic essential oils like Eucalyptus oil or Peppermint oil to steaming water and inhaling the steam will help you keep away from the persisting problems like sinus, bronchitis, cold, flu etc. You can also add few drops of refreshing oils like lavender oil or other cleansing oil like chamomile oil to warm water and use it as a facial steam for deep cleansing.

Note: The way of using Ayurvedic essential oils plays a dominant role on its healing potential. Do not use essential oils directly to the skin as more pure the oil, more concentrated it is.

Reference Links:

  1. Essential Oils by Wikipedia
  2. Methods of Application by Nature’s Gift
  3. How to Use Essential Oils Effectively by David Crow, L.Ac. Published in Yogi Times
  4. What is Aromatherapy by National Association For Holistic Aromatherapy

Ayurveda Everyday: The Absolute Art Of Living

Each rising day makes us grow older and of course augments our responsibility in shielding and sheltering ourselves along with our friends and family. Do you have the habit of spending few minutes before you go to your bed in analyzing the things that you have done for the day? Have you ever calculated the difference between what you have planned and what you have actually achieved in a particular day? Not much of us do that and trust even I was not one among those few who knew the ways to lead a meaningful life until I learnt the real essence and tried practicing the sovereign science called as Ayurveda. I have a handful of touching reasons to tell you why Ayurveda everyday is the absolute art of living.

The Art of Living: Most of us would have heard about the popular topic known as ‘The Art of Living’. It is a part of the value-based education systems in many renowned universities and there are certain celebrated volunteer-based institutions like the Art of Living foundation working with United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and is also known as the Association for Inner Growth in Europe. The founder of this institution Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has rightly told that ‘Health is not mere absence of disease. It is the dynamic expression of life’.

How many of us know the real meaning of this solid and solitary statement known as the ‘The Art of Living’? Numerous humanitarian institutions and Non-Governmental organizations are striving hard to teach humanity the real value of life that is free of stress and violence, filled with human values for inner growth, respect for individuals and mental power to lead a peaceful life in a challenging manner. Art of Living is the way of living entirely and expressively.

Ayurveda Everyday: You may now wonder about the role of Ayurveda in ‘Art of Living’. You will stop questioning if you know the essence of this holistic healing science. It talks about everything that plays a vital role in your life, treats human body as a ‘Temple’ and teaches numerous ways to maintain healthy relationships paving way to a serene and tranquil survival. It does not focus only on maintaining a healthy body but trusts in building a healthy mind and has ultimate solutions for controlling emotions, which is known as the major cause behind the aggressive and fiery activities happening around us.

Practicing Ayurveda everyday in your life will make you a complete individual with noble thoughts, hale and hearty physique, positive thinking and pave way for developing yourself as an active part of your society setting up classic role models. Instead of attending the classes for learning the ‘Art of Living’, why can’t you discover the real art of living by taking the most precious science that our forefathers have left for our better lives? It has nothing to say or set ways against nature as it is a comprehensive approach of healing naturally with natural herbs, Ayurvedic essential oils extracted from plants, balanced diet, simple physical exercises, basic steps for hygienic living, systematic meditation, methodical yoga and a revitalizing Ayurvedic massage therapy by the experts.

With all these inevitable values for a rejuvenating physical fitness and emotional well-being, undoubtedly Ayurveda can be your best pal right from the dawn till dusk everyday throughout your life.

Reference Links:

  1. Art of Living Foundation by Wikipedia
  2. Ayurveda in Daily Life by Indianetzone Ayurveda
  3. Art of Living and Ayurveda by The Art of Living Foundation