Blood isn’t just platelets and plasma; it is our vitality. Blood carries the story of our ancestry. It is essential, and it is everywhere! Both Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda share a recognition that blood operates within the larger and deeper context of our being. Both these ancient systems know that blood is vital and symbolic. It is both physical and archetypical, and carries meaning beyond its movement through capillaries, veins, and arteries. In thinking about the circulatory system and the blood that enlivens it, it is vital to understand this bodily system not just for its individual components and physical function, but for its significance on a primal, symbolic level.

Read more…Nourishing the Blood: TCM and Ayurvedic Perspectives by Greta Kent-Stoll

 

If you enjoy the taste of ghee and the feel of a luscious body oil, it’s for good reason! Not only are fats tasty and skin smoothing, these lipids have the power to tremendously benefit our well-being.

In this article, we will largely explore the uses of herbal ghees. You will also be exposed to other Ayurvedic uses of herbal oils, such as abhyanga oils (herbal massage oils) and nasya oils (oils used in nasal administration). The use of herbal oils in Ayurveda is vast. This is an exploration of some of the more common and convenient Ayurvedic uses of herbal oils.

Read more…https://theherbalacademy.com/ayurvedic-uses-of-herbal-oils/

Forget bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens—chai is one of my favorite things. For me, a great cup of chai is right up there with puppies, autumn leaves, and twinkling Christmas lights. I don’t know if it’s the perfect blend of sweet, warming spices, the creaminess of the milk, or the happy caffeine buzz that follows, but a well-made cup of chai can definitely improve my outlook on the day. Ever since I visited South India in 2011, I have been making chai at home, seeking out that ginger-infused perfection that I encountered in India. I can’t say that I could make it as a street chai wallah yet, but I have learned a few things about chai over the years. Hopefully, the recipes and tips you find in this article will not only inspire you to make the perfect cup of chai but will teach you how to tune your chai recipe to your Ayurvedic dosha as well.

Read the rest of the article here! How to Make the Perfect Cup of Chai for Your Dosha

Thank you Mountain Xpress for this feature!

Living in harmony

The ancient Indian philosophy ayurveda teaches that all things in nature are composed of five elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether. These elements combine in various permutations to form the three doshas: vata (air and ether), pitta (fire and water) and kapha (earth and water). Practitioners believe each person has a unique balance of the three doshas, called their prakruti.

At Asheville Ayurveda, specialist Greta Kent-Stoll assesses each client’s physical constitution and physiological, psychological and emotional habits. She also looks at the person’s appetite and metabolism, ability to gain and lose weight, ideal number of meals per day and reaction to missing a meal.

Kent-Stoll says one or two of the doshas usually predominate in each person and natural tendencies reinforce these, which can lead to problems. “If we are eating foods and living in such a way that simply exaggerates who we are, and we keep doing that day after day over time, then that will eventually create some kind of imbalance,” she says.

Read more…https://mountainx.com/living/ideas-differ-on-how-to-eat-right-for-your-body-type/

Full disclosure. This cookie recipe was born out of my own laziness. While living in San Francisco, I was lounging on my couch one foggy afternoon, dreaming of fresh baked cookies. The only problem was that I was feeling too cheap and lackadaisical to go to any great lengths to procure baked goods that required much thought or effort. Any recipe that needed more than one step and a few simple ingredients was out of the question. I also wanted something relatively wholesome—no yuck ingredients, such as white sugar or bleached flour for my cookies!

Like all good San Franciscans, I turned to my smartphone for an answer. I don’t remember exactly what I typed into my keyword search, but it was something to the effect of “really easy cookie recipe” or “cookies for really lazy people.”

Read more…https://theherbalacademy.com/sunbutter-cookies/