Think Ayurveda To Think Better

Your thoughts decide your actions and your actions define ‘YOU’. There are myriad emotions that are exclusively indulged with humanity. Only you can smile, you can talk, you can discover and you can create. Thinking positive indicates that you are a proud owner of a healthy physique that keeps your thinking sound as well. Ayurveda talks about the constructive effects of positive thinking that helps you keep going on and on. Pessimism or negative thinking can even stop the functioning of your heart and collapse the brain’s functionality. Every human being has his own problems but just the severity of the problem differs. You can laugh at a person if he says he is free of troubles because in this materialistic world only a five-headed snake can be free of worries. It does not count whether you have problems or not but it matters how you deal with it and Ayurveda paves way for such an optimistic living.

Optimistic thinking: There’s a popular book named ‘You Can Win’ by Shiv Khera where the author beautifully lists the mentality of Pessimists’. 3 of my favorite lines in that excellent piece of writing are:

‘Pessimists don’t see the doughnut, only the hole,

Pessimists forget their blessings and count their troubles

Pessimists stop sleeping in bed when they hear that more people die in bed than anywhere else’

Yes my dear friends! This is the way that negative thinking affects your life and the best way to come out of this dark world is to think better with the natural and holistic healing of the ancient science named Ayurveda.

Ayurvedic treatment for optimism: According to Ayurveda, a healthy mind is the key to a healthy body and your attitude decides it. In this mechanical epoch that drains you, demands more than your potential with taut deadlines and cumbersome workload ends up in mental stress, difficulty in striking balance between your work and your family, anxiety, fear, fatigue and deep depression. When every single problem is placing you in the darker side of the world, let it know that you are strong with the real power granted by the natural Ayurvedic essential oils, meditation and yoga along with the robustness to turn the tide.

Ayurvedic essential oils for positive thinking: Essential oils of lavender, marjoram, grapefruit, thyme, sandalwood, jasmine, lemon, peppermint and ylang ylang possess an adorable fragrance in nature. These oils have soothing, calmative, stimulating, energizing and revitalizing properties that can enrich your spirits along with your mind and body. Using these essential oils either as a massage oil or to your bath tub or in your diffuser will calm your nerves, relax your muscles, alleviate stress, lighten your pressure, uplift your mood, kindle your thoughts, augment your mind power, improve your memory power, balance your emotions, fortify your immune system, strengthen your will power, encourage a peaceful sleep while invigorating your system for a replenished crack of dawn.

Meditation: Ayurvedic way of treating humanity can never be fulfilled without meditation. Spend some quality time for yourself and let that time of eminence be your meditating time especially in the early hours of the day when your environment is calm and composed. Meditation with deep breathing exercises can empower your mind while promoting positive feelings and preparing your body to adapt to new challenges and your mind to learn luminously, think undeniably, regulate stressful situations, recall your past and retain your balanced system for the days of harmony ahead you.

Being an optimist is the best way to setting your life as a role model for your younger ones to lead their life with great trust as real optimists always see an opportunity in every threat:)

Reference Links:

  1. You Can Win by Shiv Khera
  2. The healing force is within ourselves by Ayurveda France
  3. Attract more positive energy by Rejuvenation Lounge

Ayurvedic Essential Oils For Eczema

Atopic dermatitis, commonly known as Eczema is the most predominant skin problems in the world. The term ‘Eczema’ is extracted from the Greek word ‘ekzein’, which means ‘to boil out’.  Eczema is a chronic skin disorder that makes the skin dry, itchy, cracked, scaly and reddened.

It is an auto-immune disease that affects people of both the gender and many of the General Practitioners say that the number of persons diagnosed for eczema is gradually increasing every year especially in North America, Western Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia. Ayurveda, the ancient healing system considers eczema as a symbol of imbalance in the human body for which it suggests the use of enriching Ayurvedic essential oils along with herbs, yoga, meditation and following an Ayurvedic routine.

Causes of Eczema: Thousands of reasons can be attributed to this auto-immune disease but eczema is said to worsen due to mental stress. Research studies also say that Eczema is common in children and numerous children who are affected by Atopic eczema also have the chances of developing asthma.

The exact reason for eczema is still not known yet the major causes of eczema are hereditary reasons, environmental factors, food and other dietary concerns, agents that cause dermatitis or eczema also known as allergens, the effect of chemical substances present in skin care products, detergents and toiletries, pet fur and much more. A reliable research done by a group of allergy experts reveal that eczema is on the rise especially in children between 6 and 7 years old in developing countries.

Symptoms of eczema: Eczema is a long-term disease that requires intense treatment. When left unnoticed, eczema gets aggravated and may lead to other serious conditions. The most prevalent symptoms of Atopic dermatitis are:

  • Dry, broken and cracked skin on the body mainly legs, arms, neck, back of the ears, hands, kneels, face, wrist, upper chest and eyelids.
  • Itchy, reddened, swollen and inflamed skin on the affected areas. This gets worsened in the night time and prolonged itching might end up in thickened and raw-looking skin.
  • Reddish or pale brown color patches appear on the skin and may develop small bumps and blisters.
  • In the extreme cases skin becomes hot, scaly, extremely dry, and sensitive. It starts oozing liquid and will attract other infections due to bacteria and other harmful foreign bodies.

Ayurveda and eczema: Eczema is termed as Vicharchika in Ayurveda. It is said that the imbalance of all the three doshas namely vata, pitta and kapha cause eczema. This skin disorder due to vata imbalance causes extreme dryness and induces severe pain and itching on the affected part. Eczema due to pitta vitiation causes burning sensation and induces oozing from the bumps whereas Kapha predominant eczema makes the skin thick along with oozing and swelling. Ayurveda is a holistic healing science that considers every individual unique with a unique constitution. Though eczema is a universal disease, Ayurvedic treatments for this disorder is specific to an individual’s physical, mental, social, environmental and spiritual set up.

Ayurvedic remedies for Eczema: Ayurvedic experts state that ‘Vicharchika’ occurs mainly due to the human body’s incapability to generate enough moisture in the skin and the abridged functioning of the immune system and the imbalance of the doshas. Ayurvedic treatments recommend keeping yourself away from those food items that are sour or salty as these can intensify your eczema. Adding turmeric, coconut, avocado, yogurt, ghee, butter to your diet has the potential to improve your skin by reducing inflammation and increasing the moisture in the skin. Ayurvedic herbs like licorice and valerian root soothes the nerves and promotes the physical balance of your body.

Turmeric is an excellent antiseptic and a renowned Nutritionist and Chinese Herbalist Daniel C. Luthi in his extensive research on Atopic Dermatitis says that the yellow pigment known as Curcumin present in Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties and is an excellent remedy to inhibit the release and production of leukotrienes and other mediators that are inflammatory and helps in removing the toxins from the body that cause eczema and other skin disorders.

Ayurvedic oils for Eczema: Essential oils are the purest form of oils and are perfect in healing numerous skin disorders including eczema. The best recommended Ayurvedic essential oils for eczema are Lavender essential oil, Patchouli essential oil, Rosemary oil, Tea tree oil, Cypress oil, Thyme oil, Cedarwood oil, Chamomile oil and Palmarosa oil.

Physicians from the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy in California suggest the use of a natural blend of essential oils for eczema. This blend contains 1 ml of Lavender oil and Palmarosa oil along with 10 ml of calophyllum diluted in Rose Hip Seed oil (6 teaspoons). Topical application of this blend on the affected areas will stimulate repair of cells and gradually reduce itching.

Adding few drops of Evening primrose oil to your bath tub or when used as medicated oil increases the level of omega fatty acids lacking in people affected by eczema. This oil contains gamma-linolenic acid known as GLA, which is frequently used to treat people with such skin conditions as it checks skin inflammation and allergy while evading the conversion process.

In the popular book named ‘Aromatherapy Workbook’, Shirley Price suggests the use of Frankincense essential oil, Myrrh essential oil, Hyssop essential oil for weeping eczema and Juniper essential oil and Geranium essential oil for normal eczema. Carrier oils like Borage oil, Almond oil, Calendula oil are also recommended for treating eczema.

Along with these Ayurvedic treatments, practicing simple Yoga and meditation can calm your senses, soothes your nerves and brings in tranquility to your mind thus lessening the severity of eczema.

Thought for the day:

Glamour is about feeling good in your own skin.   -Zoe Saldana

Suggested reading:

  1. Absolute Beauty: Radiant Skin and Inner Harmony Through the Ancient Secrets of Ayurveda By Pratima Raichur, Mariam Cohn
  2. Aromatherapy for Eczema By Miriam Kinai
  3. New Choices in Natural Healing: Over 1,800 of the Best Self-Help Remedies from the World of Alternative Medicine By Doug Dollemore

Reference links:

  1. Eczema: Treatment, causes, symptoms, types and diagnosis by MedicineNet.Com
  2. Childhood Eczema Still On The Increase In Developing Countries by Medical News Today
  3. Eczema or Atopic Dermatitis by Nutritional and Herbal Solutions

Linalyl acetate

Linalyl acetate, an ester is one of the most naturally found phytochemical seen in many spices and flowering plants. It is an acetate ester of linalool, and it can be known as linalyl acetate or 3, 7-dimethylocta-1,6-dien-3-yl acetate, it also goes under the names Bergamiol, Bergamol, and Linalool acetate.

It is rarely used as an adulterant in essential oils to make them viable. It is occasionally added to lavandin oil which is sold out as lavender oil. Esters are sedative and antispasmodic generally non-irritant and mild except Methyl Salicylate, which is found in Wintergreen.

It also forms an vital component of essential oils of Bergamot, and it is found in a conjunction of the acetate ester of linalool, it is also seen in Mentha citrata which is deadly to daphnia, mildly toxic to humans and fish.

Linalyl Acetate’s attributes to essential oils:

Linalyl acetate and Linalool are the primary constituents of many essential oils and are known to possess several biological actions, traceable to these monoterpene esters. Linalyl acetate is considered as a perfume and essence based compound, and it is responsible for imparting an extensive amount of flavor and fragrance of lavender.

It has a pleasant fruity odor suggestive of bergamot mint oil, and tastes similar to its odor. Linalyl acetate has power over several biological activities, and is attributable to these monoterpene compounds of essential oils.

It’s also found in clary sage in high concentration of 78% along with, lavender, bergamot and lavandin, as well as lemon, neroli, lime, and some mint varieties.

Therapeutic qualities of Linalyl Acetate:

Anti- Inflammatory:

Linalyl acetate is good on skin as it reduces skin inflammation and heals rashes. It also helps to balance natural oils in the skin, acting well on both dry and oily skin making it look beautiful.  The oil can be used directly, or mixed with carrier agents like almond oil for utmost absorption and to achieve better results.

Linalool and linalyl acetate found in Clary Sage oil acts as a tremendous anti-inflammatory agent as per a study in 2002, hence it can be used to minimize the effect of skin redness, calm irritation and more.

A study carried out in Italy in the year 2003 on the topic ‘Anti-inflammatory activity of linalool and linalyl acetate constituents of essential oils’, stated that, “The results obtained thus for support the hypothesis that linalool and linalyl acetate play a major role in the anti-inflammatory activity displayed by some essential oils containing them. The present data suggest that all plant species producing a relevant amount of these monoterpene compounds are potential anti-inflammatory agents.”

Analgesic:

Studies also talk of how linalyl acetate and linalool caused reduced duration of menstrual pain, and even relieved them from menstrual pains.

A research carried out in 2012 on ‘Lavender and the Nervous System’ found that,  “Aromatic oil massage with essential oils blended with lavender, clary sage, and marjoram in a 2 : 1 : 1 ratio in forty-eight outpatients with primary dysmenorrhea alleviated the pain and reduced the duration of dysmenorrhea.

Aromatherapy by using lavender essence was also reported as a successful and safe complementary therapy in reduction of pain after the cesarean section in 200 term pregnant women and after episiotomy in 60 primiparous women as well as in perineal discomfort following normal childbirth in 635 women.

It has been shown that lavender aromatherapy through an oxygen face mask with two drops of 2% lavender oil can be used to reduce the demand for opioids in twenty-five patients after immediate postoperative period of breast biopsy surgery and for other analgesics in fifty-four patients undergoing laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding.”

Anti- hypertensive:

Few other studies proved that linalyl acetate is capable of relaxing blood vessels and reducing the blood pressure in patients. A study conducted in 2012 explained results such as ‘It has been shown that foot massage using lavender essential oil in 100 ICU patients of whom 50% were receiving artificial ventilation was effective in lowering blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, wakefulness, and pain’.

Reference Links:

  1. Anti-inflammatory activity of linalool and linalyl acetate constituents of essential oils by Department of Science, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Italy, published in PubMed
  2. Linalyl Acetate by Wikipedia
  3. Lavender and the Nervous system published in Hindawi, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.