Ayurvedic Fasting – A Sacred Pause for Body and Soul

by | Jan 26, 2024 | Ayurveda

Ayurvedic Fasting – A Sacred Pause for Body and Soul

In a world filled with constant stimulation and a barrage of information, the ancient practice of fasting emerges as a beacon of simplicity and profound healing. Ayurveda, the timeless science of holistic well-being, views fasting not just as a physical detox but as a transformative journey for the body and mind. Let’s embark on a journey into the Ayurvedic perspective on fasting, exploring its benefits, and discovering how to incorporate it into a balanced, dosha-friendly routine.
The Essence of Ayurvedic Fasting:
In Ayurveda, fasting is not a mere abstention from food; it’s a conscious choice to allow the body to rest, rejuvenate, and reset. It aligns with the principle of “Ama,” the accumulation of toxins resulting from incomplete digestion. Fasting, in this context, becomes a powerful tool to eliminate Ama, promoting clarity and vitality.
Five Benefits of Ayurvedic Fasting

1. Detoxification
Fasting provides the digestive system with a break, allowing the body to divert its energy towards internal cleansing. This process aids in the removal of accumulated toxins, promoting optimal organ function.

2. Mental Clarity
Beyond its physical benefits, Ayurvedic fasting is celebrated for its impact on mental well-being. As the body purifies, so does the mind. Fasting is believed to clear mental fog, enhance focus, and elevate overall cognitive function.

3. Balancing Doshas
Ayurveda recognizes that different doshas respond uniquely to fasting. Vata types, for instance, may need a more gentle approach, while Pittas benefit from cooling practices. Kaphas, with their robust constitution, may find intermittent fasting particularly beneficial.

4. Improved Digestion
Fasting allows the digestive system to rest and recover, promoting the efficient processing of nutrients when regular eating resumes. This contributes to improved digestion and absorption.

5. Emotional Balance
The Ayurvedic perspective on fasting extends beyond the physical and mental realms to include emotional well-being. Fasting is seen as a practice that fosters self-discipline, resilience, and a deeper connection to one’s emotional landscape.

Dosha-Friendly Fasting

1. Vata Dosha
Choose warm, nourishing foods during fasting periods. Consider a short, gentle fast to avoid aggravating Vata’s natural tendencies.

2. Pitta Dosha
Opt for cooling practices, including cooling herbal teas and fruits. Embrace shorter, moderate fasts to avoid overtaxing Pitta’s fiery nature.

3. Kapha Dosha
Engage in intermittent fasting to stimulate Kapha’s slower metabolism. Include warming spices and herbal teas to counteract Kapha’s tendency towards stagnation.

How to Incorporate Fasting into Your Routine

1. Start Slow
If new to fasting, begin with shorter durations or intermittent fasting. Allow your body to adapt gradually.

2. Choose the Right Time
Ayurveda emphasizes the importance of timing. Consider seasonal and circadian rhythms when planning your fasting periods.

3. Stay Hydrated
While abstaining from solid foods, stay well-hydrated. Herbal teas and warm water with lemon can be particularly beneficial.

4. Listen to Your Body
Pay attention to how your body responds to fasting. If fatigue or discomfort arises, consider adjusting your approach.

5. Break the Fast Mindfully
When breaking a fast, choose easily digestible foods. A warm, spiced soup or a small, nourishing meal can gently reintroduce your digestive system to regular eating.

Fasting is not just about Letting Go

In the rush of modern life, the practice of Ayurvedic fasting emerges as a sacred pause—a conscious choice to reset the body, clarify the mind, and reconnect with the rhythms of our being.

It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach; rather, it’s an invitation to explore and adapt fasting practices to align with your unique dosha and individual needs.

We need to remember that it’s not just about what we are letting go of, but what we are making space for—renewed energy, mental clarity, and a profound sense of well-being that extends far beyond the duration of fasting. So, let’s take a step back, embrace the simplicity of this ancient practice, and allow our body and mind to experience the transformative power of Ayurvedic fasting.

Speak with our Ayurvedic Doctors, Nutritionists, and Healers today to learn more about how Ayurvedic fasting at www.ashaexperience.com

Team ASHAexperience offers ancient Ayurvedic treatment and practices to the world for a sustainable society by offering self-care practices through Ayurveda and Yoga.

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.

What does Ayurveda offer to today’s youth?

by | May 13, 2022 | Ayurveda

What does Ayurveda offer to today’s youth?

Ayurveda is traditional Indian medicine that aims to prevent disease, cure and maintain health, and promote longevity.

Health is a state of complete well-being that goes beyond the absence of disease, involving different areas of human life. In fact, according to Ayurveda:

“We are what we think.”

The content of our mind in terms of thoughts, attitudes, and emotions determines our way of being and our general health.

“We are what we eat.”

The choice of foods suitable for our constitution (Prakriti) but also the way in which these are combined with each other, the way in which they are prepared and again, the time of meals and the state of mind in which they are consumed affect the balance of our body and mind.

Ayurveda is traditional Indian medicine that aims to prevent disease, cure and maintain health, and promote longevity.

Health is a state of complete well-being that goes beyond the absence of disease, involving different areas of human life. In fact, according to Ayurveda:
Furthermore, Ayurveda has handed down detailed knowledge of herbal medicine with its natural preparations, traditional treatments such as massage, and other techniques to strengthen and detoxify the body. These, described in ancient texts and handed down today, offer a valuable contribution to improving the lifestyle, especially in modern society where the natural rhythms are often distorted.

Finally, remember that Ayurveda has been fully recognized as “traditional medicine” by the World Health Organization.

Common problems faced by today’s youth and how does Ayurveda help them?

Nowadays, youth face many problems from anxiety to insomnia, depression and obesity to infertility. Why?

Because we lead a life outside of the rhythms of nature, we eat food that is not always healthy; we work at absurd pace and times, and we are stressed and anxious. This creates an imbalance in our life and immune system, thus affecting our physical and mental health and overall well-being.

Ayurveda, Indian natural medicine, has always helped humanity, especially youth, prevent disease and fight aging and its negative effects, including mood and mental processes, through multiple approaches.

Let’s discuss some common problems faced by today’s youth and how Ayurveda is helping overcome them :

Lower the stress and anxiety levels

Stress is a typical problem in young professionals and is linked to every aspect of health. If you are depressed or overwhelmed by your hectic routine then Ayurveda can help you.

Ayurvedic medicine uses several natural techniques to alleviate anxiety and the symptoms of depression. And, consequently, lower cortisol levels in the body. These techniques include meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, herbal supplements, visualization, or mantra repetition.

Keeps skin healthy and glowing

Everyone wants beautiful and healthy-looking skin. Ayurveda has hundreds of remedies to help keep skin velvety and glowing. Vegetables such as cucumber, lettuce and daikon have purifying properties and high water content. For this reason, they are also easy to digest.

Physical activity keeps the body firm and muscular and helps eliminate toxins through sweat.

Nuts and seeds oil contain good fats and Omega 3s that help keep the skin healthy and reduce inflammation in certain skin conditions.

For skin cleansing, you can use a neutral Ayurvedic Neem-based soap.

Promotes hormonal balance

Ayurveda naturally helps to “maintain hormonal balance”, resulting in a pain-free period or other symptoms and healthy pregnancy. In 2010 a study done by the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka highlighted that the use of certain essential oils, medicinal plants and a healthy diet help to balance the hormonal system.

For centuries, Ayurvedic medicine has also helped women resolve amenorrhea (lack of periods) or irregular periods, make hair stronger, limit body hair growth, and prevent numerous symptoms of PMS, including acne and oily skin.

Support against infertility

Ayurveda supports mothers and fathers before, during pregnancy and after childbirth. Evaluate each individual case and propose specific individual therapies if there are infertility problems. In addition, it offers advice for a healthy conception, and taking care of nutrition. For the body, it offers physical activity, yoga and personalized massages right up to the time of delivery.

Ayurveda in motherhood

Ayurveda helps the future mother because it tries to make the child who is born stronger and healthier.

It helps before pregnancy. If you decide to have a child, you start by taking care of yourself with detoxification and tissue strengthening practices. In fact, pregnancy affects the baby’s life. For the first 9 months, the universe for the fetus is mom’s belly, and everything she does will affect the future of the baby. So the nutrition, behavior, psychological and mental attitude of the mother is crucial for the fetus, for the newborn and for the adult it will become.

Ayurveda teaches to take great care of nutrition during pregnancy, favoring the alternation of foods according to the organ that is developing.

It cleanses the body

Ayurveda is beneficial for purifying the body through medicinal plants, herbal teas, healthy foods and plenty of rest. In addition, some practices increase circulation and liver functions.

Helps to lose weight or to maintain it

Ayurvedic supplements are helpful when you want to lose weight. The extra pounds can be lost thanks to the consumption of natural and healthy foods. According to some studies conducted, changing your diet can help you lose weight more effectively.

Common in Ayurvedic medicine is trikatu, based on ginger and pepper of different types, which helps speed up the metabolism.

Helps fight insomnia

Having a late dinner, drinking caffeinated beverages before bed, watching TV or mobile phones, and eating spices or heavy foods in the evening can disrupt sleep and aggravate the nervous system.

Ayurveda can help you sleep thanks to simple tips such as the use of jasmine essential oil or coconut oil to massage on the scalp or soles of the feet, drinking a cup of hot almond drink or herbal tea, or saying a positive affirmation.

Finally, the words of wisdom for young people

Everyone wants to be healthy so that they have the best chance of realizing and enjoying their full potential in life. But that of “optimal health” seems such a complex issue that it is not always easy to know how to reach this “holy grail”.

Although, at first, it may seem like a foreign concept to our way of thinking, understanding your constitution provides considerable help in achieving perfect health.

In Ayurveda, the individual constitution is known as Prakriti, which means “nature” and is linked to one’s genetic typology. Ayurveda teaches us how to determine our constitution by observing ourselves and our sensations; this is a very simple and valuable lesson in terms of individual enrichment.

By discovering our true nature, we can live a truly authentic existence – a life that satisfies us and allows us to enjoy good health.

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.

Food practise as per Ayurveda

by | Feb 23, 2022 | Ayurveda

Food practise as per Ayurveda

Food practice as per Ayurveda

Food which can be taken daily:

  • Old Sastika ( Medicated Navara Rice)- 4-6 months
  • Old Saali(Red Rice)
  • Mudga(Green gram)
  • Saindavam(Rock salt)
  • Amalaka(Gooseberry)
  • Yavam(Barely)
  • Paya(milk -warm in nature)
  • Sarpi(Ghee)
  • Madhu(Honey) – Last three categories should be taken depending on nature or constitution of an individual

Food which should not be taken daily:

  • Valloora(Dried meat and fish)
  • Suska saakam(Dried vegetable)
  • Milk products like Cheese , Butter etc
  • Pork, Beef, Fish, Curd, Masha(Black gram)
  • Curd / Yogurt -especially for Specificic Prakriti (constitution). Instead of Curd / Yogurt can be consumed

Virudha Ahara (Incompatible food):

Any food or drink when combined wrongly together will lead to imbalance in doshas(humors), hamper digestion , produce Aama(Toxins)- leading to diseases or Roga

Each food has its own quality (heavy , dry, oily, soft etc), taste(sweet, sour, salty, pungent etc), energy (hot/cold) and post- digestive effect (vipaka)

List of Incompatible foods :

  • Fish with black gram, honey , milk, spouts , jaggery, radish.
  • Chicken with curd , Yogurt
  • Samyoga Virudha- Banana with milk( or any Sour foods with milk)
  • Milk with green leafy vegetables; milk with dates.
  • Eating contrary to climates- eg- Cold food during winter
  • Mixed in wrong proportions- honey and ghee equal quantity.
  • Agni virudha – intake affecting digestion – eg- eating heavy when hunger is low and vice versa.
  • Dosha virudha- eating sweet, sour and salty food when having kapha related disease – eg- Sinus issues.
  • Upachara virudha- D.Eating heavy during Panchakarma.

Health definition according to Ayurveda:

SAMA DOASHA SAMA AGNISCHA SAMA DHATU MALA KRIYAAHA
PRASANNA ATMA INDRIYA MANAHA SWASTHA ITI ABHIDHEEYATE

Sushrutha Samhita

If there is Normalcy of Dosha, Agni, Dhatu, Mala, (Physical aspects of body) along with pleasantness and contentment of Atma / Soul, Indriya/ Senses and Manna/ Mind then the person is Healthy Only the absence of disease is not considered as Health.

In Ayurveda, to maintain good health we have to concentrate on healthy and wholesome food practices

Balanced Diet:

(According to Charaka Samhita)

  • One should take food in the proper quantity.
  • Quantity depends on the power of digestion. Whatever amount of food is consumed and digested in a timely manner without disrupting normality might be considered one’s correct quantity.
  • Stomach should be filled with – 2 part solid food + 1 part liquid + 1 part air.

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.