Why Choose Ayurveda For Your Well-being?

Are you an optimist, a passionate personality or a health conscious person by nature? If you think you are all the 3 then you’ve come to the right place and trust me we both are on the same track. You might be wide awake of the health concerns encircling our environment. Staying healthy does not actually mean those skinny figures with taut muscles exhibiting your strength and manliness. Real well-being in my terms means a healthy heart in a healthy body and this is the core principle of the spiritual science called Ayurveda. I’m not in a mission to force you in choosing Ayurvedic essential oils or the Ayurvedic herbs that have proven effects but unveil the truth behind the scenes. Let’s travel together and explore the reasons for choosing Ayurveda for your well-being.

  • Focuses on your entire system: The science of life doesn’t stop with treating your temporary illness that lays the root for a heady sickness in the near future. Ayurveda completely examines the entire functioning of your mind, body and spirit. It suggests the best food items and natural medications for your ill health caused due to the mental, physical, emotional, environmental and other social factors ruling your life and that is why people call Ayurveda as a common sense treatment.
  • Treats human body as a ‘Temple’: According to Ayurveda, human body is considered as a divine ‘Temple’ where the actual spirit lives in. This principle influences this divine healing method to keep the mind, body and the environment clean for the authentic spirit to dwell in, giving you a healthy harmony in high spirits.
  • More than 5000 years of high-spirited healing: Ayurveda has gifted myriad people with hale and hearty body, blissful soul and serene mind built together for sustaining ideal equilibrium and orchestrate with nature. This extraterrestrial methodology has something for everyone and that’s why it has been ruling the therapeutic throne for more than 5000 years.
  • Prevents and protects: Prevention is better than cure and that’s what the systematic living suggested by Ayurvedic treatment stands for. As this remedial practice addresses an issue by scrutinizing its root cause, it aids in protecting the entire system granting you a defensive shield to prevent such illness in the future.
  • Nurtures and nourishes your senses: The beauty of Ayurveda lies in its enormity of accepting human beings as they are. It appreciates individual differences and identifies each person according to the Ayurvedic body types also known as essential energies namely Vata, Pitta and Kapha. After which it recommends pristine food habits that can foster your health along with physical exercises, meditation and natural remedies for revivifying your senses.

Now let’s hit the ground running principle again. I’m able to see the sacred smile on your face shining to start this spectacular practice in your daily lives. Kudos! To a good start!

Reference Links:

  1. Ayurveda The Science of Life by Prakash Deep Institute of Ayurvedic Sciences
  2. Ayurveda by Wikipedia
  3. What is Ayurveda by SOLAY Wellness

Rose Essential Oil

Rose-oil-bannerKing of flowers, Queen of essential oils and Gift of Angels, can you guess? Cherished, loved and held high for its intrinsic beauty, mesmerizing aroma and stupendous health benefits Rose and its essential oil can simply make anyone addicted to the flawless elegance of Mother Nature. This mind-blowing flower is often connected with love, romance and forgiveness that it can soften even the hardest of hearts.

Held as Lord Krishna’s favorite flower, Rose is more than 70 million years old and its role in Ayurveda is predominant than most other flowers. Ayurvedic texts explain that the adoring qualities of Rose and the essential oil extracted from it is due to the strong reasons that it balances Sadhaka pitta that controls feelings and its effects on the heart and Prana vata that governs the mind, sensory perception, head, chest and respiration.

Known as Satapatri in Sanskrit, meaning ‘one hundred petals’ and Gulab-ka-phool in Hindi, Ayurvedic philosophers have documented the use of rose petals, rose essential oil, rose vinegar, rose water and Gulkand in the treatment of mental problems, gynecological disorders and as a promising aphrodisiac for enhancing reproductive health.

Pure Rose essential oil is very expensive because certain reports state that it takes about 2,000 pounds of Rose petals for extracting 1 pound of Rose essential oil, means 1 drop of Rose oil is extracted from about 500 rose petals.

There are many species of Rose flowers and the most prevalently used in extracting essential oils are Rosa damascena, cultivated in Turkey, India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Bulgaria and Iran and Rosa centifolia, widely grown in France, Egypt and Morocco.

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Historical importance of Rose and its essential oil:

Among all the flowers in the world, Rose has the oldest history with fossil remains at the Florissant Fossil Beds, Colorado confirming it to be more than 40 million years of age and the fossil deposits at Montana and Oregon date back for about 35 million years.  This flower of love has its origin in the Central parts of Asia before 70 million years.

Rose was an incredible part of almost all the ancient cultures in the world like the Romans, the Greeks, the Chinese, the Indians, the Egyptians, the English, the Arabians, the French and the Phoenicians. All of them sang the glory of roses and cultivated it widely in their provinces.

Rose is used in perfuming and enlightening weddings amongst all the cultures on earth. It is said that the extraction of Rose oil was discovered in India when a celebrated King of India held his daughter’s grand wedding ceremony.

As a part of the wedding decoration, the moat surrounding the castle was filled with petals of rose and after a long time people noticed that the water smelled sweet and tasted great, paving way for the extraction of Rose essential oil.

According to Greek mythology it was Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of love and beauty who gave the name ‘Rose’ to this lovely flower. Theophrastus, the Greek scientist was known as the first to give a comprehensive botanical report about Rose around 300 B.C.

Greeks considered roses as a sign of the future for their culture (defined the term ‘sub rosa’). They used rose flowers to adorn the ceilings of their conference rooms during secret meetings signifying that everything conferred there was highly confidential.

The Han dynasty of China from 207 B.C. to 220 A.D. was popular for cultivating rose flowers in their gardens and the growth of roses in the Imperial Gardens of China was noted by Confucius in 500 B.C. and he also mentioned that the Emperor’s library had hundreds of books on roses.

Avicenna, the Arabian physician wrote the healing benefits of Rose water prepared using rose petals in pure water under sunlight. Rose oil is used in preparing the high quality perfumes in the Middle East known as ‘Attars’.

King Alexander the Great was inspired by the rose gardens during his visit to India and is known for introducing the cultivation of roses in Europe. Roman Emperors used rose petals to perfume their baths, in celebrations, in the preparation of scents, for decorating banquet halls and for medicinal purposes. Queen Cleopatra used rose petals in her bath, on her bed, for inviting guests and for alluring her lover Antony.

English used roses for symbolizing the two houses of the War of Roses during the fifteenth century. Red rose was used to represent the House of Lancaster and white rose stood for the House of York. The entire cosmos commemorated rose as an emblem of passionate love, affection, joy, peace and as a saga of absolute romance.

Therapeutic properties and active components of Rose essential oil:

The steam distilled essential oil extracted from rose petals have enormous healing values and the most notable among them are aphrodisiac, anti-depressant, antiseptic, antiviral, antispasmodic, antibacterial, antiphlogistic, cholagogue, depurative, bactericidal, haemostatic, cicatrisant, uterine, nervine, emmenagogue, hepatic, laxative and stomachic.

The α-pinene, α-terpinene, Nerol, Citronellol, Eugenol, Geraniol, β-pinene, p-cymene, β-caryophyllene, Citral, Phenyl Acetaldehyde, Carvone, Camphene, Farnesol, Citronellyl Acetate, Methyl Eugenol, Ethanol, Phenyl Geraniol, Limonene, Stearpoten, Phenylmenthyl Acetate and Nonanol.

Ayurvedic health benefits of Rose essential oil:

More than just a healing methodology, Ayurveda is a guiding principle throwing light on leading a balanced and health lifestyle that would prevent illnesses and promote healthy aging.

This ancient healing system identifies human beings based on their individual constitution composed of three vital energy elements known as doshas (vata, pitta and kapha), where vata signifies air, pitta is fire and kapha stands for water.

The predominance of any of these doshas determines an individual’s personality and imbalance of any of these doshas is the cause of a disease or sickness in general. The vividness of Ayurvedic healing lies in its holistic approach by treating the five senses namely the sense of vision, smell, taste, touch and sound.

According to the Ayurvedic encyclopedia, Rose oil is such a unique essential oil that is good for all the three doshas and benefits the blood, nerve, plasma, liver, heart, stomach, reproductive system, marrow, skin and gastro-intestinal system.

It transforms the moisturizing and cooling energy elements that controls negative feelings, strengthens the aura and stimulates the effective functioning of the body. It’s time to take a look at the brilliance of Rose essential oil in curing mankind through their senses.

Rose-oil-broucher1. Sense of vision:

Among the five major therapies of Ayurvedic healing, the color therapy is appealing to the eyes and slowly transfers the absorbed energy of the color to the brain, mind, heart and the entire system.

This is one great way of balancing the tri-doshas, the key to optimal health. As most of us knew, Rose is such a splendid flower that has more than hundreds of colors. The most notable ones are deep red, white, pink, bright yellow, orange, coral and lavender colors.

Eyes are the doors to your heart and the very sight of deep red roses will certainly bring in love, charm, affection and feelings of forgiving without any second thought as it calms kapha energy in charge for love and forgiveness. This is because the color red has an in-depth meaning in Ayurveda and using red color aids in resolving issues that are pending for a long time.

Pink or maroon colors are meant for bringing the thoughts of celebration and happiness. Bright yellow indicates a good start for achievements or academic pursuits as it pacifies pitta responsible for intelligence.

White is absolutely a symbol of peace and using white roses in color therapy aids in abolishing abusive memories, pride, greed, covetousness and is the best way to trigger new friendship, creativity and augment understanding. White color aids in treating vata imbalances, which are responsible for innovation, emotions and friendship.

2. Sense of smell:

Aromatherapy is the Ayurvedic way of using aromatic compounds in treating health conditions. The aromatic molecules present in essential oils enter the nasal passage and reach the limbic system of the brain, which is responsible for controlling emotions and other major functions of the body.

Inhaling the aroma of Rose essential oil by using it in baths, vaporizers, diffusers, burners, tissues or handkerchiefs can help in treating a number of physical and psychological illnesses.

Adding 2 drops of rose essential oil in your air freshener, diffuser, vaporizer or burner can certainly aid in alleviating stress, depression, loneliness, tension headache, mental pressure and lack of confidence.

The anti-depressant properties of this oil when inhaled, influences the central nervous system and boosts self-confidence, self-esteem, mental power, positive feelings, intelligence, hope and the power of fighting back. A popular 2004 study on ‘Anxiolytic-like effects of rose oil inhalation’ proved that inhaling Rose oil reduced anxiety in a group of rats.

Rose essential oil is undoubtedly a commendable aphrodisiac that has mesmerized everyone right from the Kings and Queens of the ancient period till the common populace of this contemporary world.

There is no romance without rose in many parts of the cosmos. Inhaling the aroma of Rose oil by adding 2 drops of Rose essential oil to a sensual bath before bed or to your diffuser in your bed room or your pillows can recreate the magic of love by boosting sexual feelings in both the partners.

3. Sense of taste:

Rose petals were a prominent ingredient in many Ayurvedic preparations for enhancing overall health.  Many tonics and natural drinks prepared with rose are said to increase the complexion, enhances the tissues of the body and bring in a natural glow from within. The most popular drinks prepared with Rose are Rose petal milk, Rose petal Lassi, Rose petal thirst quencher, Rose wine and Gulkand.

Taking such rose drinks internally helps in reducing excess of pitta, the heat element in the body, purifying the blood, increasing the memory power, augmenting digestion, reviving the reproductive tissues, treating menstrual problems, promoting the process of cell-regeneration, checking constipation, treating sore throat, tiredness, acne, anemia, tonsillitis and certain other nervous disorders.

4. Sense of touch:

Skin is the largest organ of the human body and acts as a protective shield for other parts of the system against microbes, aids in managing various climatic conditions.

According to Ayurveda, skin aids in absorbing the vital nutrients in essential oils very quickly and transmit the energy through the bloodstream and the entire body. Ayurvedic treatment through the sense of touch includes Abhyanga, the traditional art of massaging, in baths, steam inhalation, in compresses and in topical application like creams and lotions.

Massaging your body with 2 to 3 drops of Rose essential oil blended with soothing carrier oils like Sweet almond oil aids in treating spasms, pain, inflammation, bloating, wrinkles, trauma, stress, nervous tension, sexual debilities, headache, infections and skin ulcers.

It also helps in regulating the acid levels and bile secretion in the stomach and gall bladder, helping with acidity and other digestive problems. The laxative and depurative properties of this oil help in eliminating toxins from the blood and stimulate the anal and intestinal muscles for cleansing the bowel.

Massaging the soles of your feet with 2 drops of Rose essential oil blended with Jojoba oil for promoting good sleep, treating nightmares, insomnia, sexual problems, depression, fear and fatigue. Massaging the soles of your feet grants instant relief because it is regarded as the most absorbent part of the body for absorbing the healing molecules present in essential oils by the bloodstream.

Rose essential is a gift to women as it is known to treat womanly problems like menstruation, menopause and frigidity. Mood fluctuations, abdominal pain, muscular cramps, vomiting, headache and other problems associated with PMS can be treated aromatically by gently massaging your abdomen with 3 drops of rose essential blended with coconut oil or by using 2 drops of rose oil either in cold or warm compress.

This formula works like a magic as Rose essential oil has emmenagogue properties that help in regularizing menstruation, treating blocked periods and enhancing fertility by promoting the secretion of estrogen, the female reproductive hormones. A 2008 study on effects of essential oils massage on 52 women undergoing menopause, proved that weekly massages with essential oils like rose, lavender, jasmine and rose geranium showed positive effects on menopausal symptoms.

Inhaling the remedial aroma of Rose essential oil by adding 3 to 5 drops in steam bath will aid in treating migraine pain, asthma, liver congestion, cold, chest congestion, cough, nausea, hay fever and certain other respiratory infections.

Adding few drops of Rose oil to your skin care cream or lotion will aid in treating pimples, oily skin, scars, wrinkles, eczema, dry and lifeless skin. It enhances blood circulation, moisturizes the skin, repairs and replenishes the dead cells and cleanses the pores deeply for granting spotless skin naturally.

The antibacterial and antiviral properties of Rose oil strengthens the immune system by fighting against the harmful bacteria and viruses causing illnesses like typhoid, cholera, diarrhea and other infections.

Rose oil assists in strengthening the heart and nourishes the ‘heart-yin’, which helps in healing emotional illnesses.  A 2009 research on ‘Relaxing effect of Rose oil on humans’ demonstrated that the transdermal absorption of ‘Rose oil caused significant decreases of breathing rate, blood oxygen saturation and systolic blood pressure, which indicate a decrease of autonomic arousal’. The results of this research also proved the relaxing effect of Rose oil instilled great relief from stress and depression.

Rose essential oil has been in use for more than thousands of years for implanting spiritual feelings and augmenting mental clarity.

It is for these strong reasons fresh Rose flowers and its essential oil are used in prayers, meditation and other spiritual ceremonies. Rose oil is known to benefit the heart chakra that is purely responsible for unconditional love and that is what Rose is known for all over the world.

Disclaimer:

Do not ingest or apply essential oils directly on your skin without the advice of your healthcare professional as pure essential oils are highly concentrated liquids and may cause harm. Consult with your Ayurvedic practitioner before using essential oils for your specific constitution and health conditions.

Thought for the day:

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”                                                                – Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet

Suggested Reading:

  1. How to Use Rose Essential Oil (Aromatherapy) by Miriam Kinai
  2. Ayurveda & Aromatherapy: The Earth Essential Guide to Ancient Wisdom and Modern Healing by Dr. Light Miller, Dr. Bryan Miller
  3. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils: The Complete Guide to the Use of Oils in Aromatherapy & Herbalism by Julia Lawless
  4. The Ageless Woman: Natural Health and Beauty After Forty with Maharishi Ayurveda by Nancy Lonsdorf

Reference Links:

  1. The Great History of Roses by Rose Farm.com International
  2. Why the Rose balances the Heart? By Maharishi Ayurveda
  3. Health Benefits of Rose Essential oil by theResearchpedia
  4. Relaxing effect of Rose oil on humans published in PubMed

Myristicin

Myristicin is an organic compound present in the essential oil of Nutmeg, Mace, Parsley, Black pepper, Carrots and Dill. It constitutes about 4-8% of the essential oil of Nutmeg.

The chemical formula for Myristicin is C11H12O3. It is also known by other names such as methoxysafrole and Myristicine.

Attributes of Myristicin:

It is a colorless transparent liquid with a spicy smell.

The therapeutic attributes of Myristicin includes hepatoprotective, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cytotoxicity and anti-proliferation of cancerous cells, psychoactive and anti-cholinergic effects.

Hepatoprotective effect:

Myristicin found in Nutmeg offers protection to the liver. This attribute of Myristicin was focused in the study titled “Hepatoprotective effect of myristicin from nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) on lipopolysaccharide/d-galactosamine-induced liver injury.”

This study was carried out on rats suffering from liver injury caused by Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and d-galactosamine. It was found that Nutmeg exhibited significant protection to the liver and its main constituent, Myristicin showed remarkable hepatoprotective activity by inhibiting the release of TNF-alpha from macrophage.

Antimicrobial activity:

Myristicin shows antibacterial activity. In the study ‘Antibacterial principles from Myristica fragrans seeds’, the antibacterial effect of the constituents of the essential oil of nutmeg, namely myristicin, trimyristicin and Myristic acid were evaluated. It was determined that trimyristicin, Myristic acid and Myristicin exhibited remarkable antibacterial activity against selected gram positive and gram negative bacteria.

In the research article ‘Chemistry, antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt)’, it was mentioned that Myristicin is one of the important constituents of nutmeg that is responsible for the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of nutmeg.

Anti-inflammatory effect:

Myristicin is characterized by its anti-inflammatory properties. This attribute of Myristicin was discussed in detail in the study “Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Myristicin on RAW 264.7 Macrophages Stimulated with Polyinosinic-Polycytidylic Acid.”

This study revealed the anti-inflammatory effect of Myristicin which is accomplished by the inhibition of Nitric oxide, cytokines, chemokines and growth factors in dsRNA – stimulated macrophages through the calcium pathway.

Antioxidant:

A study titled “Evaluation of antioxidant activity of parsley (Petroselinum crispum) essential oil and identification of its antioxidant constituents” was carried out to evaluate the antioxidant potential of the essential oil of parsley and its constituents. It was brought into light that the essential oil of parsley showed antioxidant effect and its main constituent Myristicin presented a reasonable antioxidant effect.

Cytotoxic:

Myristicin exhibit cytotoxicity and apoptosis in human neuroblastoma cell line. Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer occurring outside the cranium of the brain. In the research article “Myristicin-induced neurotoxicity in human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells”, the cytotoxic and apoptotic activities of Myristicin on Neuroblastoma cells in humans were evaluated. It was unveiled that Myristicin was cytotoxic to Neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells by stimulating the apoptotic mechanism in the cells.

Rhabdomyosarrcoma (RD) is a type of soft tissue cancer in childhood and in teenage years. Myristicin from nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) is cytotoxic to Rhabdomyosarrcoma cell line which is focused in the study ‘Cytogenetic study of the pure myristicin from nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) on habdomyosarrcoma cell line (in vitro).”

Further, in another study labelled ‘Antimicrobial and anti-proliferative activity of Athamanta sicula L. (Apiaceae)”, it was demonstrated that Myristicin present in the essential oil of the herb Athamanta sicula L. displayed anti-proliferative activity against human cancer cells in blood, lungs and breast namely blood cancer cells K-562, lung cancer cells NCI-H460 and breast cancer cells MCF-7.

Psychoactive:

Myristicin is considered to be one of the psychoactive component of nutmeg that alters the functioning of the brain bringing changes in attitude, insight and consciousness. This is evident from the study “Toxicity of Nutmeg (Myristicin): A Review”.

In another article “Myristica fragrans: An exploration of the Narcotic Spice”,it is stated that the psychoactive effect of myristicin is because of its metabolism into 3-methoxy 4, 5-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MMDA), which is a psychoactive compound.

Anti-cholinergic effect:

Myristicin in nutmeg was found to possess anticholinergic effect by constraining the psychological action of neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the central and in the peripheral nervous system. This attribute of Myristicin was stated in the study “Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Myristicin on RAW 264.7 Macrophages Stimulated with Polyinosinic-Polycytidylic Acid.

Reference Links:

  1. Myristicin by Wikipedia
  2. Hepatoprotective effect of myristicin from nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) on lipopolysaccharide/d-galactosamine-induced liver injury.
  3. Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Myristicin on RAW 264.7 Macrophages Stimulated with Polyinosinic-Polycytidylic Acid.
  4. Myristicin-induced neurotoxicity in human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells
  5. Cytogenetic study of the pure myristicin from nutmeg (myristica fragrans) on habdomyosarrcoma cell line (in vitro).
  6. Toxicity of Nutmeg (Myristicin): A Review