Ayurveda and Women’s Health, Pain-Free Periods

by | Mar 31, 2022 | Ayurveda

Ayurveda and Women’s Health, Pain-Free Periods

For many women, experiencing pain several days to weeks before the onset of the monthly period is an unfortunate reality. Research shows that almost 40% of women experience premenstrual symptoms which disrupt their daily lives.

According to Ayurveda, during a woman’s menstrual cycle, the Apana vayu, which is connected to the Vata dosha and governs the downward flow of energy in the pelvis, is working to cleanse the body of the uterine lining once menstruation takes place. The increased Vata qualities in the body can result in symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, fear, and scatteredness, inability to focus, feeling cold, constipation, and tiredness.

Ayurvedic Tips for Period Pain Relief

1. Yoga

Practicing Yoga daily and certain asanas during that time of the month can help keep period pains at bay. In general terms though, it is good to take rest during the first three days of menstruation. If you suffer from cramps or lower back pain, you can practise some soft and simple poses to ease your discomfort.

Child’s Pose (Balasana)
Yoga isn’t just about external flexibility. The impact of many poses also benefits your organs, acting as a sort of internal massage. Child’s pose does this by flexing your reproductive organs, as well as releasing tension in your back, shoulders, and neck.

Inverted leg pose – Viparita Karani
Physical, mental, and emotional benefits abound in this pose. The inverted leg pose improves circulation and digestion, lowers blood pressure, boosts energy levels, and soothes your nervous system. It’s also said to increase creative thinking and problem solving. During your period, be sure to only practise inversions where the pelvis is in contact with the floor or at the same height as your head, as inversions where the pelvis is lifted – like with salamba sarvangasana (supported shoulderstand) and sirsasana (headstand) interrupt the downward wind (apana vayu), which sets when your period is about to start. This could then cause additional health problems in the long run.

Wide Angle Seated Forward Bend – Upavistha Konasana
On your period or not, the wide angle seated forward bend asana is immensely helpful when the stress of life is getting to you. Like with every other asana, the benefits aren’t singular. This forward bend helps to stimulate your abdominal organs, leading to less painful cramps, both in the short and long-term.

Reclining Twist – Bharadvaja
One of the most popular poses for dealing with menstrual pain is the reclining twist. Why? Because it feels good and has massive health benefits. For starters, your back and hips will get a great stretch (much-needed if you’re dealing with aches and pains from your period). Moreover your digestive organs will get the required stimulation due to the fresh blood flow from this pose.

Cobra Pose – Bhujangasana
The Cobra asana helps to stretch the abdominal and lower abdominal portions. Your lower back and lower belly will both benefit from the cobra position. This helps relieve menstrual cramps and tension in the lower back.

2. Eat light, warm, cooked foods

While seemingly simple, this advice can actually pose a challenge for many women, who prefer a diet of raw vegetables and uncooked foods. However, the period is an essential time to eat simple, unprocessed, cooked foods. Most importantly, stay away from raw foods such as salad, raw vegetables, unsoaked nuts, beans, sugar, and processed foods, as they are more difficult to digest. Light, nourishing and cooked dishes will give your agni (digestive fire), giving our body the chance to focus on cleansing without too much additional work that a raw food diet could suppose, especially if you are generally prone to digestive problems like bloating or constipation.

3. Get plenty of rest

That’s right, sleep! Falling and staying asleep can be hard enough, and during periods it can get even more challenging. Go to bed before 10pm and if possible, allow yourself to wake up naturally, without an alarm. Even if your schedule does not allow for an alarm-free morning, be sure to minimize overexertion, and be kind to yourself during this time.

4. Stay hydrated

During periods, hot tea can provide menstrual pain relief. They can give much-needed comfort to your distressed muscles. Along with that, herbal teas like chamomile tea, ginger tea, peppermint tea, lavender tea, green tea, lemongrass tea, and cardamom tea can provide you with some much-needed freshness. It can also decrease the pain and relieve fatigue.

5. Massage with essential oils

In the days up till your menstruation, practise self-massage. Add a few drops of any essential oil to a carrier oil and give yourself a gentle massage. The ideal proportion is one drop of essential oil to one teaspoon of carrier oil. Give yourself a massage for 20 minutes for effective results. Also, while massaging, one should target specific points in the abdomen, back, and side, applying the oil in circular movements. Please do note that it is not advised to do a self-massage with oil during the first three days of your menstruation, as you also need to digest any oil you apply once it has been absorbed by the skin and entered the organs and body channels. Since your period is a detox in itself, we want to focus on the cleanse, to then afterwards nourish the body tissues. If you suffer from PMS-related symptoms like back pain, then it is advised to practise self-massage especially during 3-5 days until your period is due.

6. Use a heating pad

An age-old remedy, a heating pad or hot water bottle is all you need sometimes to get some menstrual cramp relief. This is because heat relaxes uterine muscles and those adjacent to them, while the body channels also dilate, giving way for the menstrual fluid towards the vagina for elimination and promoting a good flow.. Heating pads and hot water bottles can also be used to fight lower back aches during your period.

7. Put cinnamon & ginger in your recipes

Cinnamon and Ginger have anti-spasmodic, anti-clotting, and anti-inflammatory properties, which are useful for menstrual pain relief. Cinnamon is an excellent source of fiber, calcium, iron, and manganese and Ginger is an excellent source of antioxidants. Stir one-fourth teaspoon of cinnamon powder and half teaspoon of crushed ginger into a cup of hot water, boil it for five minutes, add little honey ( optional)  when the tea becomes lukewarm, and then sip it slowly. Start drinking two to three cups of ginger cinnamon tea one to two days before your period starts to prevent cramps. Be sure you buy Ceylon cinnamon, as its quality is highly superior compared to other types like Cassia cinnamon.

We believe in collaborative relationship-based care where our Ayurvedic Doctors, Ayurvedic Practitioner, Ayurvedic Supplement Brands, Ayurvedic Nutritionists & Chefs, Yoga, and Meditation Trainers are in sync. Contact the team who passionately works together to hold your hand in this healing journey.

Ayurvedic wellness treatment in India

by | Mar 25, 2022 | Ayurveda

Ayurvedic wellness treatment in India
Ayurveda is an ancient medicine system of the Indian subcontinent with a comprehensive wellness treatment approach that is recognized as alternative treatment by the World Health Organization (WHO). Ayurveda focuses on individual wellness rather than addressing illnesses. Ayurveda is not a medical system that addresses only diseases but aims to preserve the health of the healthy with its holistic healing process.

With the vision of providing comprehensive natural health care treatment to all our guests, we collaborated with various wellness partners in India (Kerala). The healing team of ASHA traveled intensively and handpicked every wellness resort/treatment center tailored for the health needs of our guests; offering Panchakarma program and Rasayana treatments for skin problems, autoimmunity, various allergies, insomnia, weight management, arthritis, stress management, post-COVID treatment, body detox, hormone imbalance, and more

Why choose ASHAexperience for the Ayurvedic Wellness Treatment in India?

  • We are a Swiss founded wellness start-up with strong healing ethics and invariably follow European protocol of safety and security from the core for the holistic health intervention, while our guests travel to India for treatment and rejuvenation vacations.
  • The Ayurvedic doctors of ASHA consider particular physical, emotional constitution, as well as the major life force imbalance of every guestguest before undertaking any treatment or suggesting a health program.
  • The Ayurvedic doctors’ team of ASHA is from 4 continents and 25 nations with diverse expertise to understand the health challenges of each guest as per the regional lifestyle.
  • The ASHA healing team with an experience of over 45 years of Ayurvedic and yogic healing, checks the prerequisites of the treatment on behalf of the guests and recommends a suitable guest-friendly Ayurvedic treatment resort in India which supports the holistic healing process for each guest’s health challenges.
  • We have exclusive wellness programs for children, women, and men and our doctors completely comprehend and personalize the healing process.

Who can avail of this Ayurvedic wellness Treatment?

  • Anyone and everyone who is healthy but believes in sustainable health program and natural processes of wellness.
  • One who wants to go through the learning and evolving process of self care and wants to detox the mind and body.
  • One who is going through minor or major health challenges and wishes to regain complete health.
  • One whose illness is not treatable by the existing medical system.
  • One who has adverse side effects due to long-term medication.

How to book a wellness treatment program in India?

If you are new to Ayurveda, you may book an initial consultation with one of our Ayurvedic Doctors on our Virtual Clinic to discover the suitable ayurvedic treatment needed for your health condition or wellbeing.

If guests are already being treated by their own Ayurvedic Doctor, they can contact our healing team at healme@ashaexperience.com for a full travel process.

Post consultation, Ayurvedic doctors will advise the guest for the appropriate and actual healing methods which will be followed in India. The pre-healing process may take 45 days to 90 days depending upon the physical condition and the health challenges the guest is expericing.

Once the guest is ready to travel for the treatment, ASHA healing team will arrange a suitable treatment center in India and process all the treatment-related documents to ensure safe travel of the guest.

ASHA will design the most comprehensive treatment travel for the guest for a complete hassle-free travel experience, beginning with picking them up from the Indian arrival airport till dropping them back safely from where they initiated the journey after the treatment.

The personalized wellness treatment and therapies will be constantly administered by the healing team of ASHA as well as competent Ayurvedic doctors of the treatment resort/center for holistic healing and restoring the desired and perfect health of our guests.

We believe in collaborative relationship-based care where our Ayurvedic Doctors, Ayurvedic Practitioner, Ayurvedic Supplement Brands, Ayurvedic Nutritionists & Chefs, Yoga, and Meditation Trainers are in sync. Contact the team who passionately works together to hold your hand in this healing journey.

How ayurveda can help reduce screen fatigue

by | Mar 21, 2022 | Ayurveda

How ayurveda can help reduce screen fatigue
For most people over the last two years, days are spent shuffling between the table and bed, typing away on laptops or phone screens. The pandemic has brought with it many major lifestyle shifts, but one of the most jarring ones has to be the shift to a digital lifestyle. Computers and phones have a purpose in times of isolation, they have been proven to help work through a pandemic – but finding a balance is a necessity. Schools have shifted to online classes and in-person brainstorming sessions have become Zoom meetings. Connecting with loved ones has turned into virtual interactions and most social interactions take place behind a screen.

Since COVID has begun, exposure to screen time has only increased around the world. A study published by WHO links a decline in sleep quality, neck pain, headaches, high blood pressure to increased screen time. Another study has found links between poor mental health and a rise in anxiety and depression with an increase in screen time. Ayurveda teaches living in harmony and with the seasons and the natural flow of every day. This innate rhythm is disrupted by technology.

People around the world have spent the pandemic locked in their homes, doom-scrolling through Instagram, juggling work-from-home emails and binging on streaming sites – and most have felt its consequences. The nagging pain at the back of our eyes, a dull headache, sensitivity to light and difficulty concentrating. Fatigue and exhaustion from screens is real and it manifests itself both mentally and physically. Technology naturally stimulates the Vata Dosha (Vata manages all the movement in our Mind and Body). When Vata is out of balance, we can feel ungrounded and too much screen time tends to make this feeling worse. As we shift into this digital reality – screen time is here to stay.

So, here are some things one can do to combat that tiredness and practice some much needed digital self care.

Follow the 20-20-20 Rule – Akshi Tarpana (that translates to eye rejuvenation) or soothing the eyes is a part of dinacharya. When working on a computer, remembering to take a break every twenty minutes is a great first step. It almost sounds redundant to say this but everyone forgets to take a break. When one looks at computer screens, they tend to blink 66% less than average. Rest your eyes by looking at an object twenty feet away for twenty seconds and give your eyes a chance to relax. Whatever you’re working on, will always be there when you get back from your break.

Meditate – One of the best ways to cope with digital fatigue is Sattva Vijaya (increasing the quality of clarity). To increase Sattva we can exercise, eat nourishing food, practice breathwork and meditation. A moment of quiet self-awareness can set the tone for the rest of the day. Meditation provides the much needed downtime our brains need to recuperate and be mindful.
Set digital boundaries – Healthy boundaries between our personal and professional spaces have always been important, but with work-from-home it is important for us to separate our workspaces and screen spaces from the spaces in our homes we use to unwind and rest. This helps us balance our Vata in our everyday life.

Connect with nature – Nature helps us soothe our senses, cures Vata imbalances and is grounding. Going on regular walks and connecting with nature supports calm and stable energies, proper digestion and gives the balance we need to manage challenging tasks. Schedule 15-30 minute walks without any screens to practice a physical and mental detox.

Just including these small changes as part of one’s daily lifestyle can provide a lot of relief from the constant screen time that has worked into our lives. Some other basic things to keep in mind are staying hydrated, eating healthy and remembering that prevention is better than the cure. Even if fatigue isn’t felt in the body, practicing and cultivating these values have a great impact in the long run.

Self regulating and actively engaging with computers instead of passively absorbing what is on the screen, practicing mindfulness and healthy digital habits as well as actively connecting with friends, family and peers beyond laptop screens are all healthy boundaries one needs to set for themselves – so we can lead our best lives and be our best selves in these uncertain times.

We believe in collaborative relationship-based care where our Ayurvedic Doctors, Ayurvedic Practitioner, Ayurvedic Supplement Brands, Ayurvedic Nutritionists & Chefs, Yoga, and Meditation Trainers are in sync. Contact the team who passionately works together to hold your hand in this healing journey.

My Ayurvedic Experience Online with ASHA

by | Jan 26, 2022 | Experiences

My Ayurvedic Experience Online with ASHA
I didn’t always use my body much or walk the planet for miles and miles, eat well, or feel gratitude for each day, each moment, each sunrise. But I did have the great fortune to grow up in Australia which is a place where almost everyone lives outside to some degree. And because life 40+ years ago in Australia for a child was pure freedom with promises to parents early in the morning that I’d be home by dinner before heading off on my bike to whatever farm, beach, or bush adventure awaited me. Because of this, the earth, the water, and the vast Australian skies have always been etched deep in my soul. A childhood spent trampling Mother Earth and being watched over and protected by Father Sky can only lead to an adulthood of curiosity and exploration about the world we live in and the myriad of systems that support it and us.
Sri Lanka was one of my earliest big adventures and I traveled there on my first mission with the Red Cross after the devastating Asian tsunami. It was also my first dipping of toes into the ancient science of Ayurveda and my stay on this beautiful island left me with an explosion of tastes, feelings, new recipes, and more. Many years later and still living my humanitarian life, still practicing and teaching yoga wherever I went, I traveled to Kerala in India to learn to cook dhal (lentil preparation) in a bazillion ways. I returned to Sri Lanka and dove back into Ayurveda, yoga, and more, and finally, I arrived in Switzerland where I now have the chance to be back walking the planet and heading out for days of freedom and adventure, just as I did as a child growing up in Australia.

My Ayurvedic Experience Online with ASHA – The Ayurvedic Healing Platform

One thing nature has taught me is that life arrives over and over again in cycles. Sometimes you’re in the dip and sometimes you’re riding the high but nothing ever stays the same. And it’s often in those highs that incredible people and wonderful experiences surprise us in the most beautiful ways. And it was on one of those highs in the middle of a global pandemic that I met Bijoya, Co-Founder of ASHA Experience, right as I was starting my studies in Ayurvedic yoga. Given my long-time fascination with Ayurveda and Yoga, both sister sciences, it seemed like a miracle connection. I began joining the ASHA Experience online wellness sessions which were such a much-needed offering when so many people were experiencing lockdown and major health challenges due to the pandemic. One of the incredible things about Ayurveda is it honors where we come from and where we are right now including both our internal and external environments and how they impact us deeply. Over the years I’d had the occasional consultation with an Ayurvedic doctor, always incredibly useful and revealing and recently I was lucky enough to consult with one of ASHA’s amazing Ayurvedic doctors. I always feel like this experience gives me two things:
1) an important acknowledgment that I’m investing in me and my own health and
2) an objective reset on my health.

I had a great connection with Dr Anoosha who I can only describe as highly experienced, deeply insightful and full of compassion. What I loved about her approach is that she really honoured my own lived experiences and built her advice and recommendations upon that. She asked a myriad of questions about my life, work, lifestyle and health but she did it in a way that just felt like we were having a conversation rather than a medical consultation. She offered me some simple ideas to integrate into my daily routine or dinacharya, things to help me relax more and calm down the vivid dreams I was having at night time. Ideas like bathing and / or massaging my feet before bed and tips to let stressful thoughts release at night time.

Ayurvedic Doctor at ASHAexperience

Dr. Anoosha gave a sense of normalcy to my issues which gave me a feeling of confidence that things would change for the better. Because her suggestions weren’t complicated it also made it easy and fun to try them, and I felt like I was in control of myself and could take positive action for my own health. There was also an offer of different herbal prescriptions if I wanted to try them. I decided to test the non-herbal recommendations first and have found them to be really helpful.

What I like a lot about ASHA is that there is a vast array of different experts and so you can choose someone with who you feel you’ll be a good match rather than be connected randomly. And without doubt, the doctors, nutritionists, and yoga experts are all highly experienced, many having studied in India, the ancient home of Ayurveda. Bijoya who is so much the driving force behind ASHA once told me that she spent weeks visiting a multitude of Ayurvedic experiences and hotels in India only to realize that she had to create her own Ayurvedic experiences to really be able to offer something deeply meaningful to people. That level of commitment and research gives me huge confidence in ASHA and everything it offers. Before the pandemic, I had planned to head to India to really immerse myself in one of ASHA’s multi-week Ayurvedic retreats so I’m very much hoping that 2022 will be the year I’m able to dive deep into my own health and wellbeing in this way and learn first-hand some of the more traditional aspects of Ayurveda. For me, I feel like Ayurveda offers me a way to be the absolute truest version of myself, physically, mentally, and spiritually. I call it being the ‘Youest version of You’. And when we strip off all the layers and are just ourselves, well this is when we find freedom, and who doesn’t want some of that?

We believe in collaborative relationship-based care where our Ayurvedic Doctors, Ayurvedic Practitioner, Ayurvedic Supplement Brands, Ayurvedic Nutritionists & Chefs, Yoga, and Meditation Trainers are in sync. Contact the team who passionately works together to hold your hand in this healing journey.

Ayurvedic Corporate Online Wellness Camp with ASHAexperience

by | Jan 19, 2022 | Lifestyle

Ayurvedic Corporate Online Wellness Camp with ASHAexperience

What is Ayurvedic Corporate Online Wellness Camp

We at ASHAexperience have carefully designed one of its kind wellness camps offered to the Corporate world for the first time by bringing all our global Ayurvedic doctors and healers under one virtual roof.

 

  • Ayurvedic Corporate Wellness camp is based on Ayurvedic Healing Science which is more than 5000 years old.
  • Designed to cater the corporate world virtually irrespective of the location of their team members.
  • Designed to take care of any kind of physical, emotional and lifestyle related health challenges.
  • The Wellness camp is organised by bringing highly qualified and experienced Ayurvedic Doctors around the world.
  • The Ayurvedic Wellness camp can be for 1 day or more depending upon the number of team members who want to visit the camp.

What is expected from Ayurvedic Online Wellness Camp ?

During the days of Wellness Camp, Ayurvedic Doctors of ASHAexperience will be available online from morning till evening ( as per the preferred time of the corporate ) from all across the globe.

The corporate team members can visit our Ayurvedic Doctors online at any time during the camp by logging in and booking the session as per their preferred doctor and time.

The Ayurvedic doctor will meet team members virtually for 30 mins over a zoom meeting.
The Ayurvedic doctor will understand the current and past lifestyle, professional stress, emotional situation, habits and health, and many more to analyze the individual’s body and psychological patterns based on Ayurvedic science.

Based on the analysis the Ayurvedic doctors will determine the constitution of the body and offer a detailed analysis.

The Ayurvedic doctor will also offer a personalized diet plan, as per each individual’s body constitution and guidance to yoga therapies if needed

The Ayurvedic doctor will also guide some specific dos and don’ts that can help in building holistic health

Why do Corporate need Ayurvedic Online Wellness Camp

  • People have a high level of stress and fatigue due to irregular professional career
  • Change in the work environment
  • Lack of social interaction causes so much stress.
  • Ayurvedic Online Wellness Camp is the most sustainable and natural healthcare approach that focuses on both physical and emotional wellbeing.
  • Easy to access anywhere anytime by any team members.
  • This is the most economical CSR activity for the corporate.
  • Let the team members be happy and know that you think about their health and take care of them.
  • Giving the opportunity to the team members to participate in a unique wellness camp which is
    organized by ASHA by bringing highly qualified and experienced Ayurvedic Doctors around the
    world on one virtual platform which has never happened before.

How does Ayurvedic Online Wellness Camp help Corporate team members ?

Team members become aware of their body and mind’s intricate patterns as mentioned in the time trusted natural science of Ayurveda.

They learn the art and science to align both mind and body with the help of Ayurvedic Doctors. Eventually, team members get to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Ayurvedic Online Wellness Camp boosts the confidence of team members and guides them to take charge of their own health & lifestyle and successfully maintain a healthy balance between the personal and professional spheres.

Team members get to learn small remedies based on food and herbs that can help them to take care of their families.

We believe in collaborative relationship-based care where our Ayurvedic Doctors, Ayurvedic Practitioner, Ayurvedic Supplement Brands, Ayurvedic Nutritionists & Chefs, Yoga, and Meditation Trainers are in sync. Contact the team who passionately works together to hold your hand in this healing journey.