Balance Pitta Without Aggravating Vata

May 29, 2015 by 7 Comments

 

“Greetings,
Which one of your tea formulas is most appropriate for morning tea before breakfast? tsmith_100323_0489__61520__28845.1405389402.1280.1280
I am a pita with slight vata imbalance.
LOVE every product I ever purchased from you, except the Triphala ghee, the aroma is unpleasant to me.
Thank you
Alan”
Dear Alan: you should start your day with SVA Pitta Tea. This SVA Pitta Tea is a unique formulation. In general, all pitta tea recipes in mainstream Ayurveda that I have examined or tasted carry primarily a cooling/freezing effect. They try to pacify pitta dosha by cooling it off but end up freezing it and thus imbalancing it! This can cause further imbalances because in the process of pacifying pitta by cooling it off, vata can get aggravated. So most pitta pacifying teas out there in the ayurvedic market are vata aggravating! However, my SVA Pitta Tea will pacify pitta dosha and keep vata dosha in check too. The secret is in the herbal synergy that will keep the balance and harmony between vata, pitta, kapha and all 15 sub-doshas that govern the channels and the power of transformation in the tissues. Let me give you an ingredient-wise description.
 th
Fennel:  gently stimulates the pacha agni without heating it, and coordinates the effects of all the other herbs;
Rosebuds: are particularly cooling for sadhaka pitta (the pitta
governing the heart and emotions); Sadhak pitta and pachak pitta work in close harmony as you know;
Rose hips: add flavor, open the “heart lotus” and pacify sadhaka pitta;
Rosemary: opens the channels of the “dehagni” (cellular metabolism) and helps connect
heart and mind; it carries just enough heat to keep things running smoothly without aggravating pitta dosha;
Indian Sarsaparilla, cools and cleans meda dhatu (fat tissue) which holds heat in the body;
Pushkarmool: pacifies pitta and clears the lung channels;
DGL (Deglycyrrhized licorice):  pacifies pitta in all the organs as well as the cellular systems, especially pitta in the stomach;
Tej patta, (cinnamon leaf) increases the intelligence of the pancreas, liver and spleen, and is less heating than cinnamon bark;
Parijat, Lord Shiva’s favorite flower, helps the pitta physiology by making it more intelligent, so the body#39DGL does not receive too much agni from the environment.
Licorice is a great pitta pacifying herb acknowledged in Ayurveda. But nowadays, because the liver has to handle too many toxins from the environment, as well as from the food we consume, the liver is unable to process the “glycyrrhizin” that is found in the licorice liver. When the liver cannot handle it, the glycyrrhizin increases sodium retention in the body. This is why crude licorice has a high risk of raising blood pressure for individuals that are prone to that condition. Or it can create other sodium related diseases. This is why, in my SVA Pitta Tea, as well as all my other SVA formulations, including all the SVA transdermal creams, I never use the crude licorice herb, but always only  deglycyrrhizinated or Deglycyrrhized (also spelt “deglycerize” licorice (DGL).
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Gain Fat and Strengthen Bones

May 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment
“Respected sir,
I am 38/F/5’2″, wt. 44 kg, mother of two kids, having lean and thin body. Facing problem of cracking sound in bones. I have vitamin D and magnesium deficiency. Tried Ashwagandha and shatavari for 2 weeks but got acne on forehead and chin. Please suggest how to gain good fat and strengthen bone.
Thanks in advance.
Aanya”
 
Dear Aanya: try to incorporate and follow the SVA Diet which consists of all only homemade food cooked with Mum’s ghee and Soma Salt. Make sure you get the Green Protein recipe on our SVA youtube channel (https://www.svayurveda.com/recipes/notorious-green-protein/) You can make the SVA Green Protein in either in its vegetarian version with homemade cheese, or the non-vegetarian version with chicken. Otherwise, here are some general tips to help ground your body type:
Do a self-massage with Vata Oil with Vitamin D and Magnesium every other day.
Use the Vitamin D Transdermal cream – apply on the lower back and on the pulse twice daily.
Incorporate some gentle pranayam or breathing exercise into your daily routine.
Take at least a 15-20 minute exposure to sunlight everyday.
Do the Samadhi set before meditation, or prayer.
Balance your rest and activity schedule so that you get some down time after every 2 hours of activity.
Make milk-date shake and drink it every night before bed. BDSDTB-img7oil milk with a couple cardamom pods, a stick of cinnamon; take off from heat, pour into a blender and add 1-2 pitted medjool dates and blend. Drink warm When prepared correctly and consumed regularly it will nourish and support your physiology in many ways.
Apply Super-Sport roll-on or Transdermal Cream followed by Bone Herb Transdermal cream wherever you experience cracking bones.
 Add Soma Cal capsules do your diet: one in the morning and one in the afternoon after lunch.
The whole logic here is that when Vyana vata goes out of balance, then we experience cracking bones. When Vyana vata is high – Vyana vata supports cellular circulation all over the body – then shleshak kapha goes low. Shleshak kapha lubricates the cellular system, as well as our joints, large and small joints all over the body. Doing massage with Vata pacifying verbalized oil will pacify Vyana vata, or your cellular vata. The Vitamin D in the oil will nurture the shleshak kapham, and the transdermal magnesium you will absorb from the oil will help you metabolize and use the calcium from the Soma Cal capsules more efficiently. This will help the Vyana vata aggravation of your joints, and the popping sound will go away, because magnesium will enhance the absorption of Vitamin D and Calcium.
Adding and eating extra protein and ghee in your diet will help pacify Vyana vata further, and support shleshak kapha.
Remember: doing too much physical activity without enough rest is aggravating to vyana vata and burns off shleshak kapha unduly. For your body type, you need to do gentle physical activity, and definitely adopt a gentle kind of yoga exercise.
So you see, you have to address your issue from all possible angles: diet, activity, nutritional supplementation, then only, eventually, specific ayurvedic herbs, such as the Bone Herb (Cissus quadrangularis), which has a specific effect on nurturing and supporting the health of the bone tissues and the joints, then only will it truly help you. This is the holistic SVA approach. This will not only address your imbalance but will make you feel more energetic and blissful overall. Thank you.
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Kulthi and Weight Loss

May 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment

 

“Hi
I just want to know about kulthi. Does it help you to lose weight? How long does it take to lose weight? How much can you lose weight in a month? Do you know anyone who lost weight by eating kulthi? Any information will be greatly appreciatedsvakulthi__86145__53922.1405391430.1280.1280
Many Thanks
Alia”
Dear Alia: weight gain is a symptom which can originate in many etiological factors. Kulthi can help with weigh loss if somebody’s physical channels are not doing good, they are clogged or narrowed, etc, and due to that reason, the individual is experiencing metabolic disturbance – not able to fully breakdown and digest meals – and is thus gaining weight. For that person, kulthi will help.
Otherwise, kulthi is a dietary recommendation for weight loss programs when an individual follows a specific protocol for weight loss, tailored for their own hetu or own etiological factor. In that condition as well, kulthi is a big help.
Another reason, in general, kulthi is a good addition to diet for weight loss, is that it carries a very low glycemic index, very low glycemic load, and very few calories. It is also, in ayurvedic terms, very agneya, or fiery in nature – this means it supports and enhances the digestive fire or pachak agni, as well as the metabolic fires, or dhatu-agni-s, making sure that no ama or semi-digested material is left over from a meal, that can result in weight gain or other imbalances.
Kulthi grows in very sunny areas, so it inherently carries a lot of the energy of the sun. It also grows on rocky areas, and is endowed with the ability to break the macro-molecules of amavisha and garavisha, helping clean and clear the circulatory channels and resulting in overall good health.
Let me give you a specific recipe for kulthi which may help you in losing weight:
Kulthi with Garcinia Masala:
I have formulated three kinds of garcinia masala: for vata, pitta and kapha. Usually in weight gain situations, shleshak kapha can go high, but sometimes due to channel blockage, vyana vata can also go high, and due to a hot liver and hot stomach, pitta can go high too. That’s why we have three kinds of garcinia masala (available atwww.chandika.com), and you can choose accordingly the vata, pitta or kapha one.ffgarciniavata__37108.1406231839.1280.1280
2 oz. of kulthi soak overnight in hot water
Next morning rinse and filter
Add 4 pinches of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of your choice of SVA Garcinia Masala
 – Do not add salt ahead of time –
Assemble all above ingredients in a pot, cover and cook for 20 minutes
At the end: add salt and ghee
Sometimes kulthi takes lots of time to cook because of its hard rocky nature. In order to remedy this, add the kulthi in a coffee grinder and break it down and then soak it overnight and then cook. Have this kulthi dahl 2 or 3 times a week.
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Heartburn and Stress

May 29, 2015 by 4 Comments

“Hi,

From past few days I have been suffering with heart burning sensation, its getting severe after brushing in the morning, so immediately after brushing am unable to take anything. Even if I drink water its not coming down. And one more thing, when I eat burps are not coming when they are supposed to. After I finish my meal they are coming and that too with acid reflux. with this reflux my heart is burning like a fire. Please please please…suggest me a solution.
Thanks in advance
Shravan K.”
Dear Shravan K: based on the detail you give us, you should not delay consulting with a professional medical doctor at your earliest convenience, but there are a few ayurvedic tips you can try which may help you. Ayurveda identifies this problem of acid reflux and heart-burn, and calls it “amla-pitta” or “sour- pitta.” According to ayurvedic physiology, the stomach is the moe of “pachak pitta.” You can understand “pachak pitta” as being the “fuel” for “pachakagni, the flame in your stomach, which helps digest your food through cooking it. Due to different reasons depending on each individual, that pachak pitta becomes imbalance and highly acidic. Many factors can make packak pitta acidic: in addition to diet, stress can be a major factor in making the stomach sour. th
Stress increases “prana vata.” Prana vata mainly governs the mind. When Prana Vata  becomes aggravated, all other four vata subdosha-s may also get affected: udana (in the chest), samana (in the stomach), apana (in the lower abdomen), vyana vata (overal circulation).
When Prana vata gets aggravated, udana vata goes high and starts to flow too much upwards or goes downwards instead of going upwards – that’s when you may experience no burping after a meal.  Then this imbalances samana vata, which resides in the stomach. Samana Vata is a key vata subdosha that maintains the balance between udana vata and apana vata. When it gets imbalances, then both vata-s also go off. When samana vata is aggravated by prana-vata, acidic pitta crosses the barriers of its home and starts to flow up. That’s when one experiences the heartburn, the acidity in the oesophagus, in the upper area of the stomach.
In SV Ayurveda, the first thing we do is identify the “hetu,” or etiological factor, as the Charak Samitha teaches us: “hetu linga aushadi gyanam, swasthathur parayanam.” When we identify the root cause of an imbalance, instead of just trying to address or suppress the symptoms, then our treatment is already half way done. That’s why, in your case, we need to identify the root cause of your imbalance. In order to take care of the symptom of heartburn, we have to see what is causing it, what is the “hetu” or your problem. Here are some factors that could be at the root of your problem. You can take a look and see which ones apply to you.
Pachak pitta aggravating factors:
Skipping or delaying meals
Consuming acidic food and drink on empty stomach like coffee, sour cream, vinegar.
Consuming lots of acidic food (food that contains too much lemon, vinegar, or soy sauce, etc)
Eating too spicy food like red chillies, pickles, etc
Drinking alcohol
Going to bed late
Waking up late
Drinking soft drinks with your meals
Eating leftovers
Overeating
Prana vata aggravating factors:
Eating dry food like chips, crackers, popcorn
Eating less protein
Eating less good fat in your diet
Going to bed late
Too much EMF exposure – too much TV or computers for extended hours
Lack or proper rest: not following a good rest and work routine
What you can do:
Among all these listed etiological factors, see which one(s) apply to you and try to avoid those hetu-s or root causes.
Then, to pacify pachak pitta, start eating your meals on time. Start your day with some stewed pears. Eat this as soon as you wake up. An hour or so later, you can make some quinoa flakes with homemade almond milk for breakfast. Have lunch – on time – around 12 o’clock. Make sure your lunch is all homemade. Choose a grain – rice, millet, quinoa. Have some small lentils (mung or masoor). Have some summer squashes (zucchini or yellow crookneck squash) cooked with SVA Pitta Masala. Loki will also be very good. Have some sweet protein between lunch and dinner, such as homemade paneer cooked with pitta masala, around 3 pm.
Then make a tea with ½ teaspoon of SVA Pitta Tea, boil it in 6 oz of water. Have this after lunch.
Or you can make your own tea with the following ingredients:
Assemble:
2 pinches of DGL powder (available at www.chandika.com)
2 Rose buds
½ teaspoon of dry toasted fennelrose-buds1
Make and have this tea twice a day. Make fresh batches daily. Do not make and store and drink overnight.  Also, carry some dry toasted fennel with you and chew after breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Apply DGL Transdermal cream (available at www.chandika.com ) on the abdominal area after lunch and dinner.
For prana vata pacification, apply Super-Sport roll-on or cream on the lower spine. This will open your “shushumna nadi” – the vibrational channels in your spine, and then the aggravated prana vata will receive more support to flow in and flow properly instead of getting blocked.  When prana vata is balanced, udana vata will also get balanced, and then samana will ground udana and apana, ensuring proper bowel movements as well. Otherwise, if apana is blocked nothing will work.
To support your bowel movement, “Triphala for High Pitta” will be your best choice. 1-2 capsules at night. Also, Pitta Massage Oil, which contains all pitta pacifying herbs, in addition to magnesium. This will cool-off the cellular pitta and open the whole body channels, pacifying as well the vyana vata.
As you can see, this is holistic protocol for amla pitta – you have to address your sour stomach from all possible ayurvedic angles. Refer to article on bowel movements (prakrit…) But again I would like to request for you to see a medical doctor as soon as possible. Sometimes, if alma pitta is too imbalanced and building up too much acidity, it burns off the balancing factor in the stomach, the “kledak kapha,” and that will create local inflammation, and potentially eventually ulcers. So you must see and check with a medical doctor who will be able to scan things out, and see what s/he tells you about the current state of your stomach, and follow their recommendations for immediate help. Then you can start to slowly incorporate ayurvedic changes in your diet and lifestyle by identifying the ones that apply to you. Hope this helps.
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Why is Magnesium Necessary?

May 18, 2015 by Leave a Comment

And why should you go the SVA Transdermal route? In a powerful enlightening talk, Dr. Teitelbaum presented her research at the SVA conference this past weekend – from helping with calcium levels in your body, to regulating your stress hormones and adrenal glands, magnesium plays a major role in our daily lives. Low levels of magnesium are the root cause behind a wide range of clinical chronic conditions. While oral magnesium supplementation can have its down sides and side-effects, transdermal absorption of magnesium is safe and highly effective over long term. The highlights of her talk will show you how and why!

Conditions Caused by Magnesium deficiency

Low levels of magnesium can result in many conditions, namely:

– cramping of the muscles, leading to

 — heartbeat arrhythmia

 — painful menstrual cycles

 — calf muscle pain (“Charlie horses”)

 — twitching of the eyelids

But not just that. here is a list of chronic conditions associated with low or depleted levels of magnesium:

Adrenal fatigue – adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol deplete magnesium. Stress is a big factor for adrenal fatigue. Stress causes excess elimination of magnesium through urine

   Alzheimer’s – Magnesium guards the external layer of the cells, not allowing heavy metals to enter

   Angina – The pain of angina is caused by severe muscle spasm in heart muscles, is caused by magnesium deficiency.  The heart ventricles have the highest levels of magnesium in the whole body, which is why magnesium is so important for the pumping function of the heart.

   Anxiety and Panic Attacks – When the adrenals are no longer protected by sufficient magnesium, the flight-or-flight hormones adrenaline and noradrenalin become more easily triggered. When they surge erratically, they cause a rapid pulse, high blood pressure and heart palpitations.

 Asthma – Histamine production and bronchial spasms (in the smooth muscles of the bronchial tract) both increase as a result of magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is a great broncho-dilator.

Atherosclerosis with calcium deposits.  Magnesium is necessary to help dissolve calcium and keep it soluble in the bloodstream.

Bowel disease – magnesium deficiency slows down bowel peristalsis, causing constipation.

Depression – Serotonin, which elevates mood, is dependent on magnesium.

Detoxification – Magnesium is crucial for removal of toxins and heavy metals from the body.  Magnesium is a co-factor in the production of glutathione and the function of the P450 detoxification systems in the liver.

Diabetes – Magnesium enhances insulin secretion and allows insulin to transfer glucose into the cells.  Otherwise, glucose and insulin build up in the blood causing various types of tissue damage.

Headaches – Prevents muscle tension in neck and head muscles when applied locally.  Also prevents spasms of the muscles in the walls of the arteries which triggers headaches.

High Blood Pressure – With low magnesium and too much calcium, the muscles in blood vessels can go into spasm and cause high blood pressure.

Hardening of the arteries – as acid toxins build up (ama visha and gar visha), they create inflammation in the wall of the arteries.  If calcium is high and magnesium is low, the calcium can deposit in the arterial wall, creating hardening or plaque.

Inflammation – Calcium is extremely pro-inflammatory and magnesium is anti-inflammatory.  Must keep a balance between calcium and magnesium.  It is not recommended to take calcium supplements – they remain stuck in the channel, and if magnesium  is low this can create inflammation and other problems like hardening of the arteries and heart attacks.

Osteoporosis – Calcium cannot build bones without magnesium. Calcium alone makes bones brittle (like chalk breaking as it hits the floor).  Magnesium makes the bones flexible and resistant to shattering.  Most people have too much calcium and not enough magnesium. Put a calcium supplement in a glass of water and it sits there.  Add magnesium and it breaks down.

Magnesium is a co-factor for ATP production. ATP, created in mitochondria, is main source of energy in our cells. ATP must be bound to magnesium in order to be active. ATP is made in each of the 100 trillion cells in our body

For purposes of cellular detoxification and tissue purification, the most effective form of magnesium is magnesium chloride. Has a strong excretory effect on toxins stuck in the tissues of the body, drawing them out through the pores of the skin. Magnesium chloride, when applied transdermally increases DHEA. DHEA is the “mother of all hormones.” DHEA is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands and the ovaries. DHEA is converted in the body into several different steroid hormones – estrogen, testosterone and other hormones as needed

Magnesium is a required co-factor for over 800 enzyme systems in our bodies. 3,751 receptor sites for magnesium have been found on human proteins. Magnesium is a requirement for RNA and DNA production. Magnesium is a co-factor involved in transporting hormones like adrenaline into the cells because the hormones can’t pass through the cell membranes by themselves

   Why choose Transdermal over Oral?

Most magnesium supplements are made from the wrong form of magnesium. Oral supplementation is not very effective because of low bowel tolerance (creates “striations” – areas of damage) on the bowel wall with prolonged use. Oral magnesium passes through the digestive tract too quickly creating low levels of absorption

Transdermal application bypasses the liver, providing less chance of an overdose or under-dose. Our skin is very porous, allowing many substances in or out of the body, it can thus take in the magnesium easily and eliminate many toxins back out through the skin itself, safely and effectively.

Why do we get low on magnesium?

There can be many causes for magnesium deficiency. Here are the most common:

1) Ingesting synthetic Vitamin C – this competes with magnesium and pulls it out of the system.

2) Poor diet: starving yourself and/or consuming unwholesome processed meals puts a great strain on your entire physiology, draining your body of its minerals and nutrients

3) Drinking processed purified water lacking in minerals from the earth – always favor natural spring water over tap or other types of purified recycled water

4) Prescription medications – bronchodilators, insulin, digitalis, antibiotics, corticosteroids, cocaine: if you find yourself having to depend on medication for your health condition, do not discontinue them, instead add a  good protocol of transdermal magnesium to your daily regimen to support your levels of magnesium even as you take your medicines.

5) Stress: in addition to correcting your daily sleeping and eating routine, add yoga and meditation, or other relaxation techniques to your life.

6) Avoid ALL kinds of processed sugars – steer clear of processed sugary drinks and sodas! Get your sugars naturally from natural sources such as fruits, raw honey, etc.

7) Make sure the friendly bacteria in your gut are taken care of, because malabsorption of nutrients due to their absence  – lack of friendly bacteria in the gut is the primary cause of malnutrition and malabsorption when you are maintaining a healthy daily diet yet experience imbalances.

8) Supplementing with Calcium for healthy bones, without having a proper balance of magnesium vs calcium.

9) Using alcohol, coffee, sodas, birth control pills, nicotine…

10) Supplementing with synthetic Vitamin D: this  binds magnesium and pulls it out of the body when you need it most!

Clinical Application of SVA Transdermal Magnesium

I have been using Vaidya Mishra’s SVA Transdermal Magnesium products in my practice since he came up with them a couple of years ago. I have great feedback from patients with different kinds of chronic conditions. I have used it for: 1115

1) Cataract Reversal:  I ask the patient to apply the Transdermal Magnesium Roll-on to sub-occipital region. Cataracts are caused by loss of elasticity of the lens (due to lack of magnesium) and calcium deposition into the lens causing cloudiness of the lens

2) For headaches: I use the Magnesium Roll-on down the spine and on the forehead twice a day.  Also use SVA ALA Cream in these same areas to decrease swelling and heat in the capillaries, opening up the channels to reduce the pressure

3) Blood Pressure – use the Magnesium Roll-on and/or Vata Oil with Magnesium and Vitamin D for abhyanga or daily self-massage.

4) Arrhythmia – use Magnesium Roll-on, Super Sport Cream and Arjuna Cream down the spine twice a day, or whenever the arrhythmias are occurring

5) Menstrual Cramps – apply Magnesium Roll-on to lower abdomen and lower spine twice a day along with the Prakrit cream down the lower spine to pull Apana down and pacify the situation. Consume natural healthy sweets 5 days before and 5 days after the menstruation to have a steady supply of estrogen and support the flow of the menses.

As always: thank you Vaidya Mishra for the priceless knowledge – from sutra to science!
– Dr. Marianne Teitelbaum
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Questions about cinnamon, salt, electronic toothbrushes and more!

April 24, 2015 by 4 Comments

Hi,

I just watched the oral care video and learned a lot. And I just gargled with coconut oil and my mouth and mind feel wonderful.Electric-Toothbrush-Reviews

I wonder what Vaidya’s thoughts are about electric toothbrushes and waterpixs. Since they are electric near the mucous membrane, I am guessing he would not want the body to absorb those emf. Anyway, just thought I’d ask. Also, what toothbrush bristles are best – soft, medium, hard?

Thank you,

Mary

Vaidya Replies:

Dear Mary , yes you are right in that I would not recommend electric toothbrushes or water pixs that run through electric current to clean your oral cavity. In general, you want to avoid using EMF devices in the oral cavity. What works best is massaging your gums with coconut oil using your own fingers that will transmit your own healing vibration to your gums instead of electric devices. This would not replace flossing which is always a healthy way of making sure we rid the crevices between our teeth of food residues.

Otherwise, I generally recommend medium bristles, neither too soft nor too hard, unless one has a specific sensitivity or gum condition, in which case it is best to use soft bristles.

If you chose to use coconut oil, first do the massage with your fingers and then floss.

The ideal order for oral cavity hygiene would be as follows: oil massage, floss, then brush, then scrape the tongue, and finally gargle with the oral mist and the end.

Soma Saltsoma_saltb__76389__68336.1340580089.1280.1280

I realize that many of your products use proprietary processes and ingredients and I would not want to jeopardize your business in any way. However, I have found your Soma Salt to be so entirely different (and far better in every way!) from any other sea or land salt that I have used (and I have tried many through the past few decades) that I am left wondering two things:

1. Is anything added to the originally mined salt (eg to create the high amount of potassium)?

2. How is it processed?

I would appreciate any information on these two points to allay my concern regarding exactly what I’m eating! Thank you.

Regards,
Anonymous

Vaidya replies:

Dear SVA follower: Soma Salt is Himalayan in origin, but once we get the crystal rocks, we have a multiple-step purification process to rid it of impurities, and offer the powder of only the purest white crystals. Every rock has a mixture of white and pink strands, we sort through the batch to select only the white crystals, and discard the pink! So, in general, we remove rather than add to it!

The rocks come from North West India, currently a Pakistani area. Many of these rocks are obtained through the use of explosives. Our first task is to make sure these rocks are not contaminated with explosive chemical residues – for that we send every single batch to be tested in a lab, to make sure there is no lead content.

Rock SaltAfter we have our selection of pure white crystals, we expose the rocks to a proprietary herbal steam to flush out unwanted minerals and residues.

We do not add any potassium, or calcium, or any other nutrients or ingredients. The salt that is packaged comes rich with its own natural mineral content, cleansed by our herbal steaming cleansing process.

White crystals are harder and more precious to acquire than the pink crystals or rocks. Traditionally, in India, all know not to use the pink crystal salt as it is higher in sulphur content and can be heating and pitta-provoking, as it is more agneya – contains ingredients that are fiery in nature. That’s why we select only the white crystals that are more somagenic, hence the name “Soma Salt” as known in my SVA lineage.

We flush the white rock crystals with distilled water, to give you only the purest rocks available. We do not even add any anti-caking agents or chemicals, and you may have noticed that the salt sometimes may cake in the presence of moisture.

Unlike other salts mentioned in the shastra-s, this salt is known to be the least pitta-provoking – all salts provoke pitta with their sharpness to some extent. But as this salt is so rich in flavor, one needs to add a least amount to get the benefits and the flavor. Thank you for your question.

Skin care questions

Dear Vaidya Mishra,

The following questions apply to a 59 year old female, 5′, 100 lbs, red headed, freckled, Scotch-Irish descent, pitta-vata body type.

1. Which face cleanser and cream and any other products would you recommend for aging, wrinkled, dry, pale, lusterless facial skin? Sun exposure has been a major contributor to the wrinkles, although I’m sure other internal and emotional factors exist. Wrinkles are mostly around mouth and eyes. Mouth: smile lines and vertical lines around lips.SONY DSC

Eyes: crows feet and bags under eyes. Forehead: vertical lines between eyebrows and horizontal across top of forehead. I am interested in any other advice you have for this condition, such a diet or lifestyle changes.

Vaidya replies:

Dear SVA Follower: for this and similar conditions, internal rehydration and oleation are needed, so eating good fats such as ghee, or olive oil, and drinking enough amounts of water are necessary. Delaying or skipping meals will not help. Prevention from further sun exposure is necessary as well. Consume more sweet juicy fruits in your diet, make sure you are eating enough easy to digest protein – no aged cheeses, no red meat, favor chicken and fish cooked with spices.

Otherwise, you can use our SVA Real Rose Soap to clean your face, and then apply the Age-Defying cream at night. Do a gentle cleanse with the soap, then apply the water-based toner, and then the cream. You can also do the Facial Marma Massage – please contact the Prana Center to get the poster for the marma points and directions for how to do it. Doing a daily marma massage with the verbalized Lalita’s creams will help support the flow of “prana” to the skin that can nourish and revitalize it, helping it defy further aging.

2. Which body soap and cream would you recommend for dry, lusterless body skin that is starting to sag on the same person?

First do a warm Pitta oil with magnesium massage, rest for 10-15 minutes, then use turmeric soap to wash off in the shower.

3. Does the Tumeric Soap stain one’s towels, clothing, bedding etc. ?turmeric

Our turmeric soap will not stain any of your clothing or bedding, nor will it turn the skin yellow. It will nurture and nourish and strengthen, allowing your skin to absorb to benefits of turmeric transdermally.

Cinnamon

Hello – can u tell me if your cinnamon sticks are made from true cinnamon or cassia cinnamon? Thank u so much !

Vaidya replies:

Dear “Desilu,” we use cassia cinnamon. We use “sweet cinnamon” in the recipes for the “Kid’s Masala”-s, and “indian cinnamon” in our “Mum’s Masala.”

Suffering from Skin Diseases : Guidance

Shree Vaidya Mishraji:

Namaste !

I have visited your web site ” S V Ayurveda” – Prana Center , interested to get Guidance & remedies of my skin disease, 70 years, male , residing in CA.

I would like know more about treatments, diagnosis of my skin disease.

It itching very much, with blackish brown patches on my back side ( Vasama ) Also, on different part of my body.

Please, let me know more about various treatment for vegetarian with simple home prepared food diet.

Vinod T.coconut

Vaidya replies:

Dear Vinod: there are very many different protocols in Ayurveda, and the response would vary based on what specific imbalance is there in your body causing your specific skin disease. You will need to have a full medical evaluation to determine the cause and the possible remedies. However, here are some pointers that you can try that may help you get some relief. Try them for three months and email us back.

Apply coconut oil on the dry itchy area

Increase your intake of good turmeric in your cooked meals – 1/4 tsp twice a day cooked in your vegetables or lentils. Make sure to use “real” turmeric! Unfortunately the yellow powder sold in most Indian grocery stores tends to be tinted clay!

Discontinue the use of tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, bell pepper, onions, garlic, garbanzo and pinto beans.Try these tips for three months and let us know how you feel.

SVA Mum’s Ghee

I am curious about the source of butter for your ghee. Is the butter locally sourced in CA (or elsewhere in the U.S?) or is it from India? Can you guarantee no GMO feed for the cows?

Vaidya replies:gheeweb

Dear Iris: the organic raw material for our ghee (cream from milk to make yoghurt and then butter) comes from pasture-raised free roaming cows raised and bred in the United States, that are given non GMO feed. We do not use milk or any milk products from India.

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More Health, Happiness, and Prosperity this Spring!

March 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment

How can you invite (more) health, happiness, and prosperity in your life? The Charak Samhita explains that the desire for life (praneshan), prosperity (dhaneshan), and the continuation of total happiness through extended life and prosperity in the after-life (paralokeshana) are part of the make-up of human nature. We are all born with the these 3 innate pursuits:

Screenshot 2015-03-19 15.35.57
(Charak Samhita Sutrasthan, Ch. 11, Verse 3).
Ayurveda is not only about herbs and disease. It’s a complete “scientific” approach that addresses matters of the physical, mental, and spiritual health, encompassing matters of social life as well. However, one thing is clear: total health (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) is the foundation for all other aspects of life. The Charak Samhita reminds us:

Screenshot 2015-03-19 15.36.08

A-rogya, or the absence of disease, is the root of the tree of life. When health is present, then the tree of life can branche off into four main extensions: a) dharma: fulfilling one’s life purpose; b) artha: generating prosperity physically and spiritually in order to thrive; c) kama: partaking of the joys and pleasures of life whether physical or spiritual; d) moksha: reaching a state of fulfillment where we carry no unfulfilled frustrated desires and we long for union with the source of all life, or God. When we are healthy physically and mentally, we can experience the four stages of life in a fulfilling manner.
Desiring prosperity is for one and all. But prosperity and generosity go hand in hand. The prosperous thrive and generate more wealth by sharing it even as they grow. That is why, in the vedic tradition, invoking Laxmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, is considered highly auspicious. Kuber is a great devotee of Laxmi, and has been bestowed with the title of “treasurer of universal wealth.” Invoking him, and keeping his yantra, or geometric motif, is said to initiate wealth and prosperity.

The Kuber Kolam is a yantra, a vedic geometric diagram in the form of a grid containing the numbers 20-28 arranged in such an order that all lines, whether read horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, add up to 72.

The SVA Kuber Kolam in pure Sterling Silver is an auspicious object that will help you usher Screenshot 2015-03-19 15.36.22in wealth and prosperity when established in the North East corner of your residence. You can recite the Kuber mantra when installing your yantra or play the Kuber mantra – as recited by Vaidya Mishra – in the background, on soft volume. You can keep the mantra playing in that room 24/7 on soft volume.

In Vedic culture, Lord Kuber is recognized as the initiator of wealth and prosperity. He is the celestial treasurer of the riches of the universe. In an ancient story narrating the marriage of Lord Vishnu (as Venkateshwara) to Padmavati, he is said to have advanced all the money needed to pay for the lavish wedding expenses. Lord Vishnu remained in his debt; hence, to this day, devotees go to the Tirupati temple in South India to donate money in Venkateshwara’s Hundi – “donation pot” – is so that he can pay it back to Kuber!

Screenshot 2015-03-19 15.36.32He appears in many ancient Vedic texts with many different epithets: he enjoys the title of “king of the whole world”, “king of kings” (Rajaraja), “Lord of wealth” (Dhanadhipati) and “giver of wealth” (Dhanada). Kubera is also called Guhyadhipa (“Lord of the hidden”). He is also “dikpala” or protector of the North direction although he is also sometimes associated with the East – it is thus good to install his yantra in the North-East corner of your residence. The Atharvaveda calls him the “god of hiding.”  In the Manusmriti, he becomes a respectable Loka-pala or “world protector,” and the patron of merchants. In the epic Mahabharata, Kuber is described as the son of Prajapati Pulastya ,and his wife Idavida and the brother of sage Vishrava.The Puranas and the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana grant Kuber unquestioned “godhood” – executer of the laws of Nature that usher in wealth and prosperity. He is also known as Loka-pala – “world protector.” As the treasurer of the riches of the universe, he is known to have Laxmi Devi’s express blessings, and is usually remembered during Diwali, or the Autumn Festival of Lights in India. Installing Kuber’s Kolam is considered to be highly auspicious.

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Alopecia Universalis

March 6, 2015 by 12 Comments

 This little girl (age 9) came to us, along with her twin, who had the same diagnosis, in February of 2014.  The hair in their entire bodies (including facial hair, leg hair and eyebrows in addition to their scalp) had fallen out entirely, at age 3 1/2.  They had been to numerous endocrinologists, dermatologists and family practitioners.  They were prescribed thyroid hormone (at age 6!) and had therapies directed toward the scalp, including steroids and laser therapy — all to no avail.

This case history is an excellent example of why the Ancient Doctors always said get to the hetu, or underlying problem, before determining how to fix any health problem.  It was true that their thyroid glands were weak, and it is quite common for the hair to fall out when the thyroid is weak like this.

But this wasn’t the underlying problem.  It was just a symptom.

So when I saw them, I had them discontinue their thyroid hormones.  Instead, our approach was to fix the REASON why the thyroid was weak, take away that problem, and allow the thyroid to heal, giving it every opportunity to make its own hormones again.

Here is what I found:  The thyroid was being attacked by the immune system.  As we’ve talked about in previous case histories, there is too much pharmaceutical intervention during the early childhood years — with 70 shots, flu shots every year, recurring rounds of antibiotics — so that the foundation of the immune system, the friendly bacteria in the gut, are killed with each round of new shots or each new antibiotic.  The friendly bacteria are the foundation for the rest of the immune system — so when they die off, the immune system starts spiraling out of control, and quickly loses its intelligence, going into the attack mode, and starts attacking the body.  In this case, the immune system was attacking the girls’ thyroid gland.

Another part of their hetu was that the girls were given soy formulas as babies.  It is a well-known fact that the isoflavones in soy depress the thyroid gland function.

So, once we regrew their friendly bacteria and a few other parts of the gut’s normal physiology, directed gentle support to the thyroid gland to help heal it, changed their diets, and gave them our beautiful scalp oils to 1) nourish the hair follicles and 2) regrow the hair follicles, the hair started growing back almost immediately!

I took their pictures every time they came in for their 2-month check-up — and they just continued to show steady progress, until this last visit, last week, which marks our one year anniversary of working together — as you can see the hair is fully grown back now!

I am very appreciative of Vaidya Mishra’s family lineage, and Vaidya Mishra himself, for their work in the field of dermatology and hair loss in particular.  Vaidya sat with me for 15 years, seeing these types of imbalances that are so prevalent in this modern day and age, and created hundreds of new formulas for everything he saw.  The ancient doctors left the chapters of Ayurveda open for any new practitioner to come along and cognize what was needed for these very types of things they couldn’t foresee.  

Vaidya Mishra is writing the new chapters of Ayurveda, to make it easy for us practitioners out in the field, to help our patients overcome these types of imbalances that the ancient doctors couldn’t have predicted would arise.  Thank you again Vaidya, for making our work not only

easy, but highly effective.

Dr. Marianne Teitelbaum

Cinnaminson, New Jersey 856-786-3176

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Make your own Digestive SVA Spice-Mix, and Mouth-Freshener with Fennel and Ajwain Seeds

March 6, 2015 by 2 Comments

Ill-health starts with poor digestion. Eating an easy-to-digest freshly prepared meal is ideal, but sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we may end up eating something heavy, or not-so-terribly-fresh, or suiting our body’s

needs. This SVA digestive spice mix is a simple and quick recipe that you can make and carry in your purse or pocket, and use throughout the day. It will keep your digestive fire well-stoked, and ensure that your meals are all properly absorbed and digested – whether you “cheat” or not!

Optimal digestion is when you make zero toxins, or ama, from the food you eat. Ama-free optimal digestion occurs when your digestive flame (pachakagni) is neither low nor too high. Due to stress, or when you eat heavy processed indigestive food, or left-overs, the digestive fire can go either low (mandagni), high (teekshnagni), or sometimes-low-sometimes-high (vishmagni).

Low agni (mandagni) makes ama; when you have low agni, it means you are not able to break-down and absorb all that you are eating, and you produce semi-digested toxic matters after you eat. You will usually feel lack of appetite, or feel heavy even after eating something very light, and in general not desire food.

If your digestive fire is high, then after consuming a meal, your body produces “amavisha” or poisonous acidic toxins, also known as free-radicals. When you have “teekshnagni” then no matter what you eat, you crave more! You will also crave sugar a lot. You may wake up hungry in the middle of the night.

If you have “vishmagni,” that is: if your digestive fire is sometimes slow and sometimes too high, then you will make both ama and amavisha. With “vishmagni,” you sometimes feel hungry and then at other times, not. You will experience a feeling of fullness alternating with a feeling of excessive hunger.

“Samagni” is the state of a balanced digestive fire – neither too low nor too high. When you have “samagni,” you have a balanced appetite for food, attuned with the needs of your body. After consuming a meal, you feel satiated, and blissful.

If you have not been experiencing the blissful state of “samagni” after consuming your meals, then you probably need to support your digestion. To have “samagni” you need to have “pachak pitta” and “pachak agni” in your stomach balanced out. Packak pitta is the fuel, while pachak agni is the flame in your stomach. The fuel feeds the flame, so your stomach can break down and cook the food.

This SVA recipe is very simple, consists of only 2 ingredients, but it works like a charm. Fennel cools off excess fuel or pachak pitta; while ajwain sharpens the flame, or pachak agni.

In an open pan, or in your toaster-over, dry toast Fennel and Ajwain seeds in the following proportions:

80% Fennel

20% Ajwain

Mix them. Let the mixture cool off. Then add to a container and it’s ready to be used.

Chewing a teaspoon at a time, after lunch or dinner. Or as needed. This spice mix also serves as a delicious natural mouth freshener!

Note: Fennel is highly estrogenic. If, for any reason, you restrict your intake of estrogenic foods, simply replace the Fennel seeds with Coriander seeds in the above recipe and follow the same steps.

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“Lights On!” Inside and Out: Total SVA Eye Care with Marma and Ayurvedic Herbs

February 20, 2015 by 6 Comments

Without our eyes we would not only not see the world we live in, but we would also not be connected to our inner light, says Vaidya Mishra. Our “inner light” is our “satwa,” the incandescent source that keeps us connected to cosmic life. In SVA, we learn that the physical eyes are the gateway that guide us from the individual satwa to the universal satwa, from jivatma to paramatma. When we close our eyes and shut out the hustle and bustle of the sensory world, it is our eyes that yogically turn on the inner light, and re-connect our subtle being with its source, guiding us back home to ourselves. Keeping our eyes physically healthy is therefore key.

In Ayurveda, the eyes or “chakchu” are a predominantly agneya organ, characterized by transformational energy. Through the eyes, we not only see, but we also “cook” or transform what we see into information and experience.

 The eyes are run by several sub-doshas, but “alochak pitta” is the primary subdosha to address when trying to keep your eyes healthy.  Alochak pitta works in tandem with all other four pitta sub-dosha-s that govern our body: pachaka in the stomach, ranjaka in the liver, sadhaka in the heart, and bhrajaka in the skin. Alochaka, however, shares a special relation with ranjaka and sadhaka. In this sense, if one of them those go off, the likelihood of the others going off is greater.

To keep our eyes healthy, there are several things SVA recommends locally, as well as generally.

Diet: is always key for pacifying subdoshas, and particularly so for pitta. Avoiding pitta-aggravating sour, pungent, acidic foods, salty foods, and instead eating lots of colorful vegetables, as well as seasonal sweet juicy fruits can work wonders. Also, not skipping or delaying meals will help keep pachak pitta in balance in the stomach.

Take care of sadhak and ranjak pitta: taking care of of our sadhak pitta and ranjak pitta can work wonders for the care of your eyes. Sadhak pitta governs the heart, and processes our emotions and thoughts. Ranjak pitta governs the liver and processes the food we ingest. Making sure that both sadhaka and ranjaka are cool and balanced will help support the eyes. All the things that help keep your emotions happy and healthy will keep your sadhak pitta in balance: from garnering positive mental habits to avoiding horror movies, going to bed on time and making sure you get some laughs and down time daily, you can keep sadhak pitta in check. Ranjak pitta gets affected by mental and emotional predisposition as much as bad food, and stress. So putting attention on managing your life and diet will help keep ranjak pitta in check.

Ashoka, Arjuna, Rose, DGL, and more: can play a central role when used daily and properly. For example, Ashoka, Arjuna, Rose,  De-glycerized Licorice, are wonderful herbal support for pitta subdoshas. SVA formulations that can readily help you pacify pitta subdoshas: the Samadhi Set (cream or roll-on) with Ashoka; rose is a balm for pitta! You can use it in any form or shape as an external transdermal application, as an aroma therapeutic addition, or ingest it in the SVA Rose preserve form. Then DGL  – either as a loose ingredient to make tea with (1 pinch DGL powder, 2 rosebuds, 1/4 tsp fennel seeds, 1/4 tsp coriander seeds – these proportions are per cup – drink no more than 2 cups a day); or as a cream or roll-on to apply on the liver area. Of course, SVA Pitta Tea, and SVA Pitta Masala are always great delicious additions to daily diet. Other ingredients that are also known to be of great help for the eyes are the amalaki berry (Wild Amla Capsules), Calcium (Soma Cal capsules), Triphala (Triphala for High Pitta Capsules).

  Marma point massage for the eyes: particularly for alochak pitta, doing eye marmas with Lalita’s age-defying cream or Vaidya Mishra’s ALA cream, or the SVA Triphala ghee before going to bed are ideal. If you do spend too many hours a day working on the computer, do the eye marma massage protocol in the morning as well. In this day and age, whether we are working on the computer, or starting at one of our many electronic devices’ screens, our eyes are overexposed to EMF and EMR. This electric that has been a technological boon is burning the “soma” of our eyes. Our eyes being agneya organs need a continuous supply of soma either through food, or from the environment. For example, you may consider keeping some plants in your work area, or take a break from work by going out into a garden or a park, and giving your eyes a break by staring at long distance objects to release and relax the eye muscles as well. You can also spray Vaidya’s Vayu Shudhi air freshener, it will not only refresh the air but its herbal aromatic ingredients will replenish the soma in the air.
Herbalized Clay to Soak EMF/EMR: for those working extended hours on the computer, or surrounded by many computers, the impact of EMF and EMR excessively reduces the soma in the eyes. Here is a soothing and restoring remedy one can use after a long day of overusing the eyes at the screen!

One teaspoon of SVA Skin Clay

2 tablespoons of warm or room temperature (not cold) water

Mix together in a bowl and turn into a thick paste,

Apply a spoonful on a band of clean cheesecloth, and then apply another spoon on the other side – measure so each spoonful will coincide with your eyelids once you lie down and place the cotton band on your eyes. Leave the cheesecloth on until your eyes are feeling or getting cold. Remove and discard the cheesecloth and wipe your eyes with cotton balls or cloth to remove any clay residue, then apply SVA Triphala Ghee on your eyelids and the temple area, massaging the eye marma-s. It is good to do this clay protocol before bed, as it will relax the brain, giving better sleep, even as it refreshes and soothes your tired eyes.

The SVA Eye Marma points for overall eye health are:

phana marma points help to inhale soma and agni: soma through the left phana marma, agni from the right one. So constant cooling energy of soma to keep the eyes cool, and transforming the energy of agni to help the eyes process the images and deliver them to the brain.

Staphani marma in between the eyebrows to enhance the coordination between the eyes and brain.

Ajna Marma to connect the inner vision of the eyes with the light of the soul.

Shankha marma to release the stress built-up in the eyes

Apanga marma also releases stress

Urdhwa and Adhoakshi directly supply pranic energy to the whole visionary system.

6) Ayurveda has a wide array of unique ingredients for every organ and organ-system : For our eyes, Chakchushya is the best specific herb for healthy long eye life. Vaidya Mishra has added this ingredient into his SVA Lalita’s Eyeliner along with, bhasma of  Mameera – bhasma means cooking it until it turns into a fine ash. Mameera is the traditional non-toxic ingredient for eye health. In addition, it supplies the rich black tint of the eyeliner. Then, Triphala if of course well-known for its three-dosha pacifying, detoxifying and nurturing effect on the eyes. Vaidya has made a special formula for the eyes that has Triphala and SVA Mum’s Ghee made from raw cream (not butter). Ghee made in the  traditional method is particularly considered best for the eyes, because ghee carries a balanced amount of soma and agni. When Triphala is infused in the ghee it becomes nectar for the eyes!  It will then not only nurture but also pacify alochak pitta and support alochak agni. Then, rose  is ideal for eyecare. A preparation of rose water to rinse the eyes on a daily basis will work wonders for your eyes. Vaidya Mishra has added the very best rose essence to the Lalita’s Eyeliner, in addition to ghee, Chakchu Mameera, beeswax – which s also good and nurturing and gives a good consistency to the eyeliner.

7) ALA for the eyes: Vaidya has also formulated Alpha Lipoic Acid cream which is great for eye care. Due to chronological aging, or the  extensive drying effect of EMF on the eyes, the circulation of blood to the optic nerve and retina gets slowed down. Alpha Lipoic Acid has been shown to have the specific beneficial ability to enhance the blood supply to the nerves. The eyes being an agneya organ (fiery and hot organ), ALA is ideal for soothing without overheating or stimulating the eyes further even as it enhances blood flow and circulation. Ideally, if you have tired sore eyes, it is great to do the marma protocol at night with SVA Triphala ghee, and then, in the morning, do the marma treatment with the ALA cream. The ALA cream is also a great cream to use fro eye care and eye marma massage, as it works like a gentle non-greasy facial cream base. You can do the eye marma massage with ALA and then continue your usual SVA facial marma massage with Lalita’s Facial oil or Age-defying cream.

The idea of having an ayurvedic herbal eyeliner is not a concept unique to SVA! The ayurvedic shastras are filled with different kinds of herbalized eyeliners, called “anjan,” to support and/or enhance the health and activity of the eyes. An eyeliner is a great way to address the health of your eyes on a daily basis, since it is easy to use and apply. With Vaidya Mishra’s total Eyecare Marma protocol, products, and Lalita’s Eyeliner, you can have the best of all worlds: benefits from ancient ayurvedic herbs, marma remedies, and ingredients to help you keep going looking and seeing you best in the modern world!

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