Winter weather can be hard on our bodies and minds! Deep cold weather takes a toll on our skin, slow us down in general by shrinking our channels, but also ushers in the “winter blues” resulting from the gloom of grey skies and shorter days. Here are a few quick tips:
- Keep a SVA diet and routine, with specific attention to your body type so as not to put-out agni; this is key to staying on top of your health. The SVA diet targets the health of your channels so you won’t put on or lose weight when you don’t need to.
- Maintain a regular self-massage or abhyanga routine: this supports your winter-shrunk channels further but also keeps your skin moist and well lubricated, nourishing it transdermally
- Use aromatherapy to chase away the winter blues! Scientists are not yet quite sure how the chemistry of aromatherapy works, but none questions its effects! Vaidya has put together new soap bars that can help you stay on top of things through aromatherapy, even as they nourish and balance your skin with a rich creamy base of organic Shea butter.
You know our skin is the largest organ of our bodies. The skin is not just a barrier between us and the world, it is an intelligent portal, governed by different ayurvedic principles. Ayurveda offers a lot of insight about the proper care of your skin during the different seasons of the
year. Keeping your skin moist and lubricated with regular daily – or at least weekly – self-massage is utmost; using massage oils that contain herbal synergies or nutrients is even better! Using a good toxin-free moisturizer to keep things balanced is of course recommended, but even if you do not heed regular massages or use moisturizers, what gets your skin most is the use of commercial soap bars.
What’s in the Aromatherapy Soaps
Energy
-Nutmeg energizes and balances the body, it is also known to support the nervous and endocrine system. Its sweet and musky aroma brings encouragement and spontaneity. Nutmeg has antiseptic properties.
-Sweet orange is an uplifting aroma whose properties also include: digestive, diuretic, expectorant, fungicidal, stimulant, stomachic, tonic, anti-inflammatory, bactericidal, carminative.
Inspiration
-Neroli properties range from being a gentle antidepressant, aphrodisiac to being a soothing sedative and tonic substance amongst many other benefits.
-Tangerine is rich in the powerful antioxidant d-limonene. It also helps to release stress and occasional nervous irritability! Its fresh and citrus aroma is very calming to the mind and body.
Clarity
-Cedar wood properties: Cedar wood Essential Oil has an earthy aroma that is soothing and grounding. It is a well documented oil, used by the Sumerians, Egyptians and Tibetans.
It is also a known to have been used as a tonic, astringent, diuretic, insecticidal, sedative and fungicidal substance. Cedar-wood oil contains the highest amount of sesquiterpenes.
Sesquiterpenes are a hydrocarbon group that is found in essential oils. They stimulate the limbic system of the brain which helps to elevate our mood and helps us relax (overcome stress), hence Cedar wood’s potential in relaxing and helping with focus.
-Ylang-Ylang provides relief from stress, anger, expression and anxiety it strengthens the nervous system and helps maintain healthy skin.
Serenity
-Lavender can relieve nervous tension; it has been used to disinfect the scalp and skin,enhance blood circulation and treat respiratory problems.
-Rosemary is a rich source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds- these are thought to help boost the immune system and improve blood circulation. Laboratory studies have shown rosemary to be rich in antioxidants, which play an important role in neutralizing harmful particles called free radicals. It is also known to enhance memory and concentration.
This Winter, luxuriate in the bounty of Mother Nature through SVA flower essence blends – calm your mind and heart and nurture and hydrate your skin with Vaidya’s unique soap bars.
addition to our ongoing daily professional or familial obligations, we may find ourselves carried away by the whirlwind of back-to-back parties; endless shopping lists; painfully crowded malls and supermarkets; under-the-gun baking, cleaning and entertaining; family obligations and traditions that may involve challenging emotional settings. So it’s very easy to lose sight of ourselves and get caught in dizzying activity, compromising our own health. By the time it’s finally time to celebrate, you’re probably already exhausted having tried to make things perfect for everybody, but your diet is off, your can’t seem to get a full night’s sleep, and you are mentally tense, emotionally fragile – in a word: you’re a wreck! True, you may not be able to change how things are going to unfold and how stressful they are going to be, but you can manage how you are going to go through and respond to the stress.
and body release specific chemical toxins, such as cortisol, that create metabolic imbalances that trigger inflammatory conditions. Stress compromises your body’s acid-alkaline balance, bringing down your immunity and making you prone to ill-health, weight-gain, depression, and more. Did you know that you can correct your body’s response to stress? This involves more than a mind-over-matter trick – when stress is at its peak, it’s hard to stop and regroup no matter what you tell yourself to do. However, with Ayurveda, and specifically SV Ayurveda, we learn that there are herbs and ingredients that can naturally boost our bliss, or “correct” our behavior by increasing the “happy chemicals” in our brain: serotonin; dopamine; endorphins. With Ayurveda, you can also help curb those undue holiday errings of the senses: the overeating; the hang-overs; unruly sleep, etc.
will highlight everything that may have recently changed in your lives — a divorce, a death in the family, estranged family members, etc. If you are missing someone special this holiday season, if someone close to you has recently died or you can’t be with loved ones, first thing is to tell yourself it’s ok to feel sadness and grief. It’s OK to take time to cry and express your feelings, to give yourself the space to work through your emotions instead of suppressing them. You should not force yourself to be happy just because it’s the holiday season! But do not dwell on the sadness longer than you need to. Acknowledge it and release it. But isn’t that the tricky part?! How do you release sadness?
obligations and errands run us down. Due to mental and physical over-activity prana and vyana vata go out of balance, leaving us feeling frazzled, unable to settle down, and constantly haunted by the feeling of “always more to do!”
nd sip. This tea will enhance your sugar metabolism, by converting the sugar molecules into energy.
epic tale of India, the Mahabharata. Rishi Chyawan was a great seer. He was fully enlightened and thus carried no desires in his heart, except for union with the cosmic divine. It is said that he sat immobile, his senses fully retracted into the silent self-referral bliss of meditation, for numerous years, until one day, Sukanya, the young and beautiful daughter of King Sharyati, found him and accidentally awoke him from his yogic trance. The aging rishi and the young princess were soon wed. However, their conjugal bliss was overshadowed by the rishi’s old ascetic body. 
Vaidya’s Story
infusing their balancing properties into the base of the alma berry paste (amalaki) is thus a challenging process that has to go through different time-sensitive steps. But when it is done properly, when the powerful molecules have been duly prepared and mixed in with the organic sugar and honey, the formulation is fully potent and active, benefiting the body as soon as it touches the oral mucosa. Once in the stomach, it detoxifies traveling through the gaps of the tissues and nourishing all the aspects of the physiology.
not flavoring agents. And since they are consumed in conjunction with the dozens of herbs that are in the formula, they body is able to process and metabolize them fully. You will not make ama from the ghee, the sugar, or the honey – no one should experience discomfort or imbalance from the sugar and fat content. However, if you have fat and sugar sensitivities or prefer to avoid consuming either or both, I have put together a Chyawanprash Syrup that contains no added fat (ghee) and no added sugar (honey or raw can sugar). For those who have concerns consuming fat and/or sugar, this will be the ideal way to get the rejuvenative benefit of all the rasayana and other herbs that are part of the original formula. 
energy. Antioxidants attack and neutralize “free radicals.” Free radicals are waste bi-products created when the body turns food into energy. When they are not properly and fully evacuated, free radicals cause harmful chemical reactions that can damage cells in the body. Overtime, they can also damage organs and tissues.
received lipoic acid after taking their chemotherapy reported improved symptoms.
6. ALA has been shown to increase vasodilation of the blood vessels due to its effects on the inner lining (endothelium) of the vascular system. High levels of cortisol released from the adrenal glands under stress can create the opposite: vasoconstriction, where the blood vessels can tighten up, creating high blood pressure, both systemically and in the eyes, causing glaucoma. Thus, ALA shows promise for reducing the pressure in patients with both high blood pressure and glaucoma.
12. ALA promotes better eye health by increasing levels of essential antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase, which will help prevent cataracts, glaucoma and retinal cell death.
not. We get sick when our immunity goes down and our body becomes prone to contracting bacterial infections. Boosting our immunity is the foremost thing you can do as a preventative step.
harmful bacteria.
4) Apply on sore achy muscles before and also after exercise to mobilize and evacuate toxic build-up and ease blow flow for enhanced mobility
y to keep close by, rain or shine!
Prakriti vighat is when one creates a targeted environment for the bacteria, for the krimi-s, to subdue and eliminate their growth. Vaidya Mishra explains that the best example for this is in the oral care he has formulated: his toothpastes and oral sprays. In these, he has brought together Gymnema, Neem, and Indian kino, along with other potent herbs, to cut the supply of sugar molecules to the bad bacteria that feed on it in. The SVADanta line contains these herbs to help support the mucus membrane and oral cavity, helping you also manage bad breath, and inflammation of the gums. Gymnema is called gurmar or literally sugar-killer. As soon as this herb reaches the oral cavity, it neutralizes all the residue of the sugar molecules, thus supporting the environment for the good bacteria to flourish. Once bad bacteria are deprived of sugar molecules to feed on, they die away. The result is a healthier oral cavity with fresh breath.