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Personal Ayurvedic Programme
For __________________
Prepared by Matthew
Remski, AHE
Assessment:
Lively vata-pitta
physiology with bright and intense vata-pitta
mental prakriti tending towards rajas in action
and racing creativity punctuated by ambiguity
and self-doubt. (Vata= air and space funtion;
Pitta = fire and water function.)
Very sharp intelligence and
naturally vibrant outlook, but these mental
gifts are not always supported by physiology.
Erratic eating and sleeping patterns have
ungrounded agni (digestive fire) and made it
irregular generally and cumulatively throughout
each daily cycle.
Breath tends to be very
shallow – ribcage is consistently winging –
through habit and chronic sinusitis, making oral
breathing more comfortable. Shallowness of
breath also depresses digestive strength.
General self-mothering
through vata-pacification is required (warmth,
liquidity, oiliness). This is a general period
of movement, creativity, passion, and being a
bit unsettled: astrologically, it began at age
17 and it will last until 2014. It can be used
for learning about the self with a detached
observatory eye. In the interim, grounding of
all elements is needed, beginning with
digestion, daily rhythm, anxiety release. High
blood pressure is purely related to vata
aggravation – the dryness and coldness of
fear/anxiety/doubt is contractile to the
circulatory system. Breathwork,
contemplation, and herbs will be profoundly useful.
According to your natal
chart, longterm support of reproductive tissue
will be of great benefit, as will the
establishment of clear boundaries in intimate
relationship. There is a tendency for the
partner to overtake your will and presence:
nurturing self-confidence through an
appreciation of the divine within is the
necessary path. Gayatri mantra is
essential -- let me know when you'd like to
learn it.
Goals:
- Relaxation of breath
- Elimination of candida
and yeast through raising of digestive fire
- Clearing of sinuses;
reconnect with earth element through the sense
of smell
- Decrease of rajas guna
in all activities, especially repetitive
activities
- Creation of morning
space
- Exploration of sattvic
meditation objects
- from all of these
things: lowering of HBP
- developing a long view –
looking ahead to Jupiter dasha (fall of 2015)
for clarification of dharma and stability of
familial and domestic life
Challenges:
- ambivalence about career
- ‘bachelor’ food habits
- disjointed daily
patterns in domestic relationship
- anxiety about need to
accomplish, difficulty in recognizing that all
things happen in their own time
- finding 1 hour more per
day for self-care
Structure – 60 days:
- targeted diet with
adequate stable and calming nourishment,
strengthening metabolism and reducing poor
food combinations
- neti pot and nasya oil
morning and evening
- daily self massage with
vata-reducing oil
- steam-sweating 3x weekly
- herbs to relax the mind,
circulation, and to sweeten sleep
- optional: anuvasana
basti with ghee: 1x weekly
Background Reading
(optional):
- Ayurveda: the Science
of Self-Healing by Vasant Lad, for a good
overview of Ayurvedic practice
Herbal framework:
- 12 oz warm water with
juice of ½ lime upon rising (to stimulate
early bowel movement)
- Optional: 1tsp honey
with 5 drops of apple cider vinegar in 1C of
hot water first thing in the morning: (for
blood pressure)
- 10 minutes before every
meal: ½ tsp of
hingvastak in ¼ C warm water – knock it
back like a shot (for absorption, to clear ama
and bloating)
- after every meal: ½ tsp
of jatamamsi/musta/tagar
churna in ½ C water (for blood pressure)
- tea of fresh ginger with
lunch and dinner (strengthening digestive
fire)
- if you have a juicer: 1C
fresh sweet peach juice with 1tsp of coriander
and a pinch of cardamom, between meals (for
blood pressure)
- cinnamon tea: ½ tsp of
ground herb per C, 3 times per day (for blood
pressure and to increase agni)
- 1 tsp of
blood pressure
rasayana between meals (calming vata,
strengthening nerves, easing circulation)
Diet:
Themes:
·
vata pacification (warm, mung
beans with garlic are king, soupy, good ghee
content, easily digestible)planning and cooking
your lunch!
·
full enjoyment of food in relaxed
circumstances always
·
root vegetables roasted in ghee to
ground the body
·
cooked whole grains to encourage
muscular growth
·
warming spices: garam masala,
cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, garlic
·
healthy amounts of cooked garlic
(roasted with ghee, salt, and turmeric is best,
roasted in the bulb is good too)
·
cold light snacks will not be
sustaining
Restrictions:
·
bottled juices, carbonation,
refined sugar; no cold drinks, no cold raw fruit
(sweet juicy yellow mangos and sweet papaya are
okay, but eat them room-temp, and not mixed
together or with anything else)
·
because you show mild candida
symptoms, I would limit your intake of sweetener
to raw honey
·
no fruit with other foods (explain
combining theory)
·
no dried foods
·
no complex pasta sauces: pestos
etc.
·
reduce meat intake if possible –
better to go with chicken and fish than red,
consider investing in organic meats if you plan
on eating it in the long run
·
meat is much easier to digest for
you in broth form, small portions, plenty of
digestive spices and herbs, and at noon
primarily
Breakfast:
·
best option: steel cut oats cooked
with ghee and cinnamon and cloves, topped with
almond milk sweetened with raw honey, OR cream
of wheat with ghee and cardamom and almond milk
and raw honey
·
best option for topping your
cooked cereal: learn how to make whole milk
yoghurt: use it 1:1 with warm water to dress
your cereal
·
OPTIONAL: another vata and toning
food for first morning food, for when you have
time to make it:
- ½ date, soaked in ghee
(for vitality and iron)
- squeeze 15 fresh
dates into a quart jar, pour 1 pint of
melted ghee on them. Add 1 tsp ginger,
1/8 tsp of cardamom, and a pinch of
saffron. Cover loosely and let sit in a
warm place for 1 week. Have a half-date
as first morning food (cooked grain comes
later)
Lunch:
·
Get a thermos – acquaint yourself
with morning food preparation: we want to
soothe, simplify, and ground lunch preparation.
A thermos will also hold a lunch for two – and
it’s economical
·
Mung dal soup: a staple for blood
pressure reduction and nerve strength
- 1C green mung beans
- 6C water
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 3 cloves garlic,
crushed
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- spoonful of ghee per
bowl
- wash the dal until the
water runs clear, and bring all ingredients
to a boil: pour into a thermos: soup will
cook itself over 4 hours: have with a little
leftover rice or flatbread
·
soak all legumes overnight
·
side dishes for lunch or dinner,
depending on convenience, steamed/roasted beets,
steamed Jerusalem artichoke (sunchoke), summer
squash, cucumber, kale, beet greens
Dinner:
·
this is difficult, because your
domestic schedule is organized around your
relationship; take these changes slowly. Once
you see some reduction in bloating/discomfort
because dinner is light and more consistently
eaten by 7pm, it will become more and more
attractive
·
start at least with organizing
your dinnertime properly around the two
evenings that your fiancé is out at work
·
dinners should be lighter than
lunches: digestive fire reduces in potency from
2pm onwards
·
OPTION: simple cleansing soup: can
be prepared at the same time as lunch, in a
slow-cooker: you can have this alongside:
basmati, quinoa
- ¼ cup of either yellow
or green dal, or urad dal soaked overnight
and rinsed
- 1T ghee
- large pinches each:
cumin seeds, fennel seeds, turmeric, dry
ginger, nutmeg
- 1 chopped carrot
- pinch of hing
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1” fresh ginger
- 2 cardamom pods
- throw all the above
into the slow-cooker with 4-6 C of water
- (or, to prepare in a
thermos: in a pot, sauté the spices and
ginger then add drained dal, sauté, add
boiled water, bring to a boil, close into a
thermos – should be well-cooked in 4 hours
Self-care
- daily self massage with
vata oil:
before your bath, warm the oil, let it soak in
for 1 hour before bathing, special
concentration on self-intimacy
- steam sweat 3x weekly:
sweat strongly but not to the point of fatigue
- makeup: check out “Bare
Escentuals” mineral oxides (at Sephora)
- use scents: musks,
camphor, cinnamon, patchouli
- exercise:
- repetitive movements
that let your mind fly away (treadmill) are
not helpful for you
- swimming would be
excellent (the JCC has a saltwater pool)
- you need less cardio
than you weight training – get a trainer to
show you how to safely use the symmetrical
machines
- in Ayurveda, the
building of appropriate musculature
increases confidence and courage
- yoga classes: Anusara
style is best: controlled movement pacifies
vata, focus on strengthening and stabilizing
the natural joy of being in a body.
Morning practice
(think about working up to these elements over 3
months):
-
silence for
as long as possible in the morning
-
neti pot
and nasya
-
Nadi
shodhana
-
Meditation
on Stanley Park scene, facing the ocean,
perhaps using the mantra you compose (see
below)
Scheduling:
- Protecting the openness
of your mind in the morning is very important
- You’ll have to work out
a compromise with your fiancé re: dinners.
Late dinners will never work for you, unless
you eat far lighter than he does
- When you’re back at
work, make a concerted effort to design
control and regularity into your off-days, as
though you were on retreat. This will balance
the inherent chaos and aggravation of you
chosen profession
- Choose at least two days
per week to implement some of the following:
- The night before, get
to bed by 10pm
- Rising at 6:00, dress
in golds and earth tones
- water, trataka,
breathing, meditation
- First food at 8
- The most calming and
inspirational book you have after breakfast
- Media/communication
fasting until 10am
- Lunch and dinner in
silence and with no distractions (unless
socializing, and then – make sure you don’t
over-talk while eating)
- Take all of your herbs
(esp if it’s been hard to take them while
working)
- Take extra time with
self-massage
- Media/communication
fast after 8pm
- Savasana with
candlelight at 9:30
- Bed at 10pm
Contemplation:
- Essay question: “Why
am I deserving of love?” 200 words
- Mantra composition
- Theme: “The sea
and mountains are perfect as they are,
and so am I”
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