Toners play a major role in facial skin management. Vaidya Mishra has been conducting extensive research and trials over the past couple of years to bring us the perfect skin toner, full of herbal intelligence and effective, as well as free from any synthetic preservatives, scents, or colors.

Why use a facial toner at all?

After any deep, or even a mild facial cleanse, the pores of your skin get dilated. Why? Simply because after a cleanse or a scrub, the pores release built-up toxins and a vacuum is created there where there used to be toxins (you should be careful in your choice of facial cleansers in general, as some facial products cause more dilation of the pores, rather than less).

Vaidya Mishra’s line of Lalita cleansers, such as the Lalita’s CreamClay – either regular CreamClay or the Lalita’s Prebiotic CreamClay – are formulated to dilate the pores minimally, and to scrub your facial skin clean without depleting your skin’s natural oil content or lubrication. In addition, the Lalita’s Facial Cleanser Lotion for mild daily cleaning at the end of the day, will clean off any accumulated physical particles without drying your skin.

This is why, after a cleanse, a toner is needed to re-set your skin pores into their optimal state: to hydrate, nourish, and firm up your skin again. How does Lalita’s Facial Toner do this? Here is an ingredient-wise explanation of the toner’s effect:

• Guava leaves: the acqueous extract of tender guava leaves carry an astringent yet nurturing ayurvedic effect for the skin. Specifically, the astringent property has the special effect of “sankochan” or “shrinking.” Guava leaf extract helps reset the pores to their original size by tightening them.
• Jasmine leaves: in Ayurveda, Jasmine leaves are renowned for their “sandhania” effect: they help keep the skin layers snugly attached to each other. When our skin ages, the layers de-attach resulting in sagging. Aging results from ongoing toxic accumulation as well as the inevitable passage of time – keep in mind that good maintenance of the skin with regular proper detox cleanses can slow down aging resulting from the passage of time. Jasmine leaves are very good for helping with the cohesion of the skin layers.
• Jasmine flowers: the Jasmine flower carries the aromatic principle of “somanasya janana” which also acts as a “sandhanya.” The “somanasya janana” property means that which enhances bliss.
• Rose buds: the aromatic principle of Rose enhances the coordination between heart and mind. More specifically, it strengthens the connection between the “light of the soul” or “satwa” and the mind. Vaidya Mishra speaks about this at length in his many lectures, explaining that when the “light of the soul” is “on,” it reflects and reverberates through the face directly. When mind and heart are connected, the face glows, and rose is a good medium for achieving this, as it pacifies sadhak pitta, paving the way for a strong connection.
• Saffron is the #1 “varniya” dravya or plant of Ayurveda. “Varniya” means that which enhances the overall complexion of the skin by nurturing the layers. Scientists have long been interested in the active chemical ingredient “crocin” contained in Saffron, and studies have confirmed its anti-aging and nurturing effects for the skin. In India, as well as in other ancient cultures, Saffron has been used as a proven skin tonic since forever!

How and when to use Lalita’s Facial Toner?

You can use Lalita’s Facial Toner daily! Whenever you clean your face with a gentle soap or a gentle cleanser – Lalita’s Facial Cleanser or CreamClay – Vaidya recommends that you apply this toner to rehydrate your skin and tighten your pores.

You should definitely use Lalita’s Toner after an application of Lalita’s Prebiotic or regular CreamClay. After applying the CreamClay, rinse of thoroughly, then spray this toner over your face and neck (make sure your eyes are closed so that they don’t get irritated). You may also alternately spray the toner onto a cotton pad and gently sponge all over your face and neck. Give it 2-3 minutes and it will be absorbed right away as it is water based. You are then ready to apply the hydrating and nourishing cream of your choice. You can choose from Lalita’s Age-Defying Cream (with or without aroma); Lalita’s Face-Lift Cream (lipid based for additional nourishment); Lalita’s Facial Oil – if you prefer a more natural oil base with the same herbal synergistic ingredients; Lalita’s Pro-biotic Facial Cream – this product requires refrigeration; Lalita’s Celestial Radiance Cream – enhanced with the cosmic power of all nine planets plus the moon and sun!

Give yourself the glow you deserve, try Vaidya’s full spectrum line of Lalita’s facial products.

Get the total approach for aging skin, beyond nutrition and dosha specification. The SVA pre-biotic and pro-biotic approach was practiced in SV Ayurveda for a long time. Nowadays, scientific research recognizes synbiotic antiaging therapy as the ultimate approach for skin rejuvenation. Synbiotic means synchrony with pre and pro-biotics. In other terms: pre-biotic bacteria provide food for the friendly pro-biotic bacteria and allow them to flourish and multiply in a healthy environment. Together, in a perfectly balanced combination, Lalita’s SVA pre- and pro-biotic formulas become the perfect synbiotic approach to help the friendly bacteria of our skin do their job, sustaining and flourishing in the harsh environment of the facial and body skin.
Ayurvedically the pre-biotic and the pro-biotic bacteria enhance the pranic coordination between the skin and the environment, receiving soma from the pre-biotics and the environment, producing more ojas to support the barrier function of the skin, which, in turn, helps to protect the body from infection and the hazardous effects of xenobiotic (household chemicals) and vibrational toxins (EMFS). The scientific community is trying to prove what Ayurveda has known for thousands of years: that this symbiotic therapy improves the barrier function and supports the immune system of the skin, reversing aging inside-out.

Pre-biotic Cleanser for the face: these balanced non-drying cleansers supply food for the friendly pro-biotic bacteria to allow them to flourish in a healthy environment. Pre-biotics are necessary for healthy pro-biotic colonies in the skin. Pro-biotic health of the skin, in its turn, is necessary to reverse aging.

Pre-biotic CreamClay: experience the luxury of a non-drying deep cleansing SVA herbal facial mask, rejuvenate and refresh with Ashoka, Lodha, Triphala, Praval pista, in a base of Vegetable glycerine, Pranic clay and Coral calcium which is more suitable for body skin. Clean your skin from deep within.

Pro-biotic Cream for the face : these creams contain live lactobacillus bacteria, turmeric, guduchi, neem, manjistha, Indian sarsaparilla, aloe vera, jasmine, ylang-ylang and sweet orange in a very advanced base made mainly with vegetable glycerine and coconut with a balanced preservation system. This cream reverses aging by creating more ojas, enhances glow, supports the skin’s barrier function and minimizes wrinkle lines.

NOTE: the pro-biotic products contain live bacteria that need to be refrigerated in order to stay alive. All of Vaidya’s pro-biotic products ship out in refrigerated packs with faster delivery – express or express saver 2-3 day options only.

No matter where you may live, perfect weather conditions may not be present all the time anytime, so we have to learn to make the most out of existing conditions. And it is possible to get great benefit for the skin and physiology out of any climactic condition with the proper knowledge. Every season comes bearing its own gifts!

Out of all the seasons, cold winter weather may be the harshest for our skin, because our bodies have a hard time supporting and hydrating our skin internally due to shrunk micro and macro circulatory channels. That’s when our skin becomes dehydrated both in terms of its lipid as well as water components internally. In this situation, transdermal nutrients are the best option, since the internal pathways are already shrunk and circulation has slowed down due to the cold, so whatever is consumed orally may not reach its destination on time!

In this sense, it becomes even more crucial to use just the right product for your face in the wintertime, because you don’t want to further “freeze” your already shrunk channels by applying heavy clogging creams. If you clog your pores and channels further, you hinder the evacuation and movement of toxins or “mala”s and bring about more toxic accumulation in your skin. For those of us who carry amavisha (reactive acidic toxic build-up) and/or garavisha (xenobiotic toxins created from too much exposure to EMF or industrial chemical fumes or the us of products with preservatives), these virulent toxins do not get evacuated through the proper detox channels and are bound to eventually come out through the skin causing rashes and other imbalances. A cream that has not been intelligently formulated to have the perfect balance of Soma, Agni, and Marut ingredients, will freeze and block your skin pores making your skin dryer, itchier, and more depleted in nutrients.

Vaidya Mishra explains that in the SVA tradition, his father taught him to focus on nourishing the skin transdermally because in the wintertime the skin is already hungry and thirsty for nutrition and hydration. It readily takes in and accepts what you apply on it externally since it cannot get nourished and balanced internally.

Re-enliven your skin

When, in the wintertime, internal nutritional delivery to the skin is cut off due to clogged channels, as well as externally depleted due to cold drying weather, there are 2 important things you need to consider.

First: you will need to use slightly thermogenic channel-opening facial products, particularly cleansers. Most cleansers on the market tend to dry out the skin. Their cleansing properties can deplete the skin of Soma – the lubricating principle of the skin. Your skin will already be craving for lubricants, bothin the lipid and water-soluble format due to cold dry weather. So the first step towards balancing your skin has to start with your skin cleanser. You cleanser should carry a channel opening effect. In SVA terms, it should be slightly thermogenic. Usually when a product is thermogenic, it is also drying, but your cleanser should be thermogenic without being drying at all…

Second: in colder weather, the friendly bacteria of your skin do not receive enough nutrition because of short supply from within, so your cleanser should also address that lack and nourish your skin. It should be a balancing factor for the friendly bacteria of your skin, supplying pre-biotic nourishment for the pro-biotic bacteria in your skin so they can thrive.

When the friendly bacteria of the skin are faced with drying cold weather and the internal supply of nourishment to the skin is cut off, they suffocate and die. Probiotic bacteria are living organisms that need the right environment and nutrition to survive. The lack of friendly bacteria in your skin causes more dryness and thinning of your skin – your skin looses it healthy luster, elasticity, and glow, and eventually becomes wrinkled. This results in the lack of tolerance from environmental stressors like allergens, environmental toxins, even mental and emotional stress, particularly in the facial area.

The SVA Daily Regimen

Here is Vaidya Mishra’s daily regimen for maintaining our facial skin’s health and glow. First off, clean your face with Lalita’s pre-biotic facial cleanser. This will take care of surface impurities that clog the pores and create a layer of toxic build-up to suffocate the friendly bacteria – dust, smog, make-up residue, etc. You can do this daily, morning and evening.

Then, once a week, give your skin a deeper cleanse, with Lalita’s Facial CreamClay: a rich thermogenic facial mask that will cleanse the deeper layers of your skin, extracting toxins that have sunk in beyond the first skin layer. This CreamClay will detox without drying, leaving your skin clean and ready to absorb nutrients and hydration.

After applying the Facial Cream Claymask, it is ideal to use the Lalita’s Facial Toner to firm, reset, and ready your skin pores to receive the Pro-biotic or other Lalita’s Facial cream or oil of your choice.

During the week, after the daily cleanser, after cleaning your face use the Lalita’s Facial Toner, and then apply the Lalita’s Pro-biotic cream or the cream of your choice. You may use, depending on your skin’s needs, any of the cream for day and night time application.

The Pro-biotic cream has been specially formulated this cream to feed and balance the friendly bacteria of the skin. In addition to the live friendly bacteria that it contains, this cream also has the synergy of all 15 herbs contained in the Lalita’s Age-Defying cream. You can use this cream at night before bed to replenish and rejuvenate your skin. Or in the morning to help shield your skin against climactic vagaries.

After using Lalita’s pre-biotic cleanser, your face will feel clean but your skin will experience no dryness!

You may notice, with the full spectrum Lalita products, that your skin is re-hydrated, smooth and silky, yet without the feeling of heaviness one usually gets from facial creams.

Most creams add a lipid or water-soluble layer to give your skin moisture and elasticity. That may actually further clog your pores. The Pro-biotic cream supplies live friendly bacteria that get to work by feeding on the pre-biotic left by the cleanser. They create a live dynamic shield that nourishes your skin by enlivening it. Many satisfied SVA patrons have written us back saying they even experience inner bliss after applying Lalita’s facial creams.

“In order for our daily diet to be balanced, it must contain a share of protein,” says Vaidya Mishra. SVA recommends using either, or both, vegetarian or animal sourced protein – depending on individual needs: yogurt, paneer or fresh homemade cheese, chicken, etc.

For the SVA vegetarian diet, lentils are an additional essential daily source of vegetarian protein. Mung and masoor (red lentil)are favored, along with “kulthi” dahl – a therapeutic detox lentil.

Given that this is a limited range of options, creativity has to be teamed with necessity to create new flavors out of the same ingredients, since Ayurveda emphasizes that taste is as important as the nourishing or detoxing properties of a food item.

So let us introduce you to a North Indian vegetarian specialty item called: vadi, and pronounced “ba-ree!” The best way to define a vadi is: “lentil dumpling.” Vadi-s are a popular food item because they add a unique texture and flavor to any meal, in addition to being extremely easy and fast to prepare, and light yet highly nutritious in content.

There can be different varieties of vadi-s. Mung vadi-s, or dumplings, are the most popular. They are made exclusively from Mung dahl, perhaps with some added turmeric and salt.

Mung vadi-s are commonly available in Indian grocery stores. You should watch out for quality and beware of content though. They may contain food coloring agents, synthetic salt and flavors, pesticides, etc.

Vaidya Mishra’s great fondness of vadi-s has led him to put together SVA vadi-s. His SVA vadi-s are made from certified organic mung dahl, certified organic turmeric, and Soma Salt. And nothing else! However, in view of making the best of this recipe not just for nourishment but for ongoing nutritional detox as well, he has put together not one, but 4 kinds of vadi-s for us:

• Mung vadi – plain: with turmeric and Soma Salt
• Spicy Mung Vadi: with Mum’s Masala and green Thai chilies
• Mung and Kulthi Vadi: 80% Mung and 20% Kulthi for mild nourishing detox protocols
• Spicy Mung and Kulthi Vadi: 50% Mung with 50% Kulthi, along with Mum’s Masala, Thai chilies, as well as traces of Asafoetida and Black Salt for deeper detox.

Why Mung and Kulthi?

Kulthi has long been known and used in India as a favorite food item for disintegrating urinary stones. The basis of this popular home-remedy probably originates in the “asmari nasan” prabhava or ultimate post-digestive and post-absorption property of kulthi. The term “asmari” comes from “asm” or stone, and “ari” or enemy. Calcification appears as stone deposits in the body, a hostile unwanted presence that can cause many complications – an “asmari.” Then, “nasan,” means to eliminate or do away with. This is how kulthi is considered an “asmari nasan” and used as a home-remedy for that purpose in one’s diet.

My father was also very fond of this particular lentil due to its many desirable properties and overall health benefits. He taught me how to use it properly, and our SVA experts have been following the kulthi protocol for detox with great success.

My father explained that it was a natural daily event to make ama or toxins from situations and diet, but that the problem would arise when that accumulation of ama was not addressed in a timely and proper manner. We have learnt and now understand that when accumulated ama is not burnt off by more agneya or metabolism enhancing food item, it will transform into amavisha – highly virulent toxins. Ama may just block channels and hinder activity; but amavisha will create inflammation and tissue imbalances. Amavisha gets circulated as highly toxic micro-molecules floating in the physiology.

We don’t only accumulate amavisha from a bad ama-genic diet or emotional and mental stress, Garavisha or xenobiotics – environmental toxins – are also highly poisonous. But we can also make toxins out of good ingredients, for example, if we overdose on indigestible calcium, or make ama of calcium, then we also create a highly toxic situation where molecules of calcium bind with molecules of amavisha and garavisha to create hardened toxic crystals.

These crystals of amavisha can be very hard to get rid of and can cause deep tissue imbalances and organ disruptions.

And this is where the great benefit of the regular consumption of kulthi comes in. Since kulthi carries the “asmari nasan prabhava” it easily disintegrates the hardening and crystallization of calcium and virulent toxic molecules.

Based on ayurvedic pharmaco-dynamics of the kulthi lentil, we understand that it unblocks the micro-circulatory channels, even when they are blocked by micro-crystals of amavisha and garavisha. In addition, incorporating kulthi dahl to your weekly diet is great for regulating weight and supporting weight loss because it creates lightness, “laghu guna,” in the body.

Vaidya and his SVA experts have been recommending the consumption of the kulthi lentil once or twice a week, however here is the problem: kulthi is hard as a rock itself! Even after soaking overnight, it may take up to 2-3 hours to cook. Almost all SVA detox diet followers have, at one point or another, complained about how time-consuming the preparation of kulthi can be. This is why Vaidya is now happy to give you his Mung and Kulthi vadi that will cook within only minutes!

For more information about the Kulthi dahl, watch Vaidya Mishra on his YouTube SVA Health Channel on Kulthi and Detox with Kulthi.

Minimize Lectin Intolerance

Here is another reason vadi-s are a great thing to adopt into your daily diet: they are easier in terms of their lectin content. Vadi-s are not pre-cooked, so when you purchase a bag of vadi-s, it is recommended that you dry toast them for a few minutes on top of your stove in a dry pan. This dry toasting reduces the levels of lectin that cause lentil intolerance in many individuals (for more information read Vaidya’s blog article on Lectin Intolerance dated September 11, 2013).

Dry toast your vadi-s in a dry pan just enough to see them get toasted gold/light brown and their aroma released. After this, add a little ghee, Mum’s Masala or your favorite spice mix, stir and toast for a few more minutes. At this point, you can add any vegetable of your choice, or you can just add water, to make plain a vadi dish with a clear broth that you can consume with rice, quinoa, or some bread. You can also top off by adding fresh chopped cilantro leaf, then sprinkle a few drops of olive oil.

For lectin-intolerant individuals, plain Mung Vadi-s are a great source of lentil protein: easy to digest, flavorful, and nutritious.

Probiotic Vadi-s

You can add yogurt to your vadi-s to make them even healthier. At the stage where you would add room temperature water after dry toasting, adding spices and oil. Add yoghurt and mix in. You may also garnish with fresh chopped cilantro leaves. The benefits of probiotics in your daily diet are innumerable: from weight regulation (lose or gain weight as per your body’s needs); probiotics support your brain and its neurotransmitters by supporting your gut; probiotics enhance your absorption of nutrients so you actually get nourished by what you eat; probiotics support your overall immunity; bone and teeth health; etc.

In general, plain Mung Vadi-s take 3-5 minutes to be fully toasted. As a rule, Kulthi vadi-s take about 5-10 minutes longer than that. Still beats the 2-3 hours of stove-top cooking though!

Vadi with Garcinia to regulate your weight!

Prepare your vadi-s according to the general guidelines, pre-toasting, then adding the oil and spices, then vegetables and/or protein, then water. At this stage add ¼ tsp Garcinia chutney to the broth and mix it in. It will add a nice subtle flavor, and help keep the agni in all your seven tissues running smoothly. You may also add the Garcinia chutney to the probiotic version of your Vadi preparation.

Kulthi lentils grow onthe hard rocky soil in the Himalayan mountains. Thus, they have that intelligence to break down toxins which have crystallized in our bodies. These are the very toxins that, if they wind up in our feet can cause gout, or in our fingers can cause the hard bumpy arthritis nodules, they can calcify arteries and glands. And they can form kidney stones.

I love these lentils -­ Vaidya had taught me how to use them first to break up kidney stones. My first case history using them for breaking up kidney stones was in a 60-year-old man who had an extremely large stone. His doctors warned him that it was going to be extremely painful when he passed it. He came to me to see if there was anything he could do to shrink it. I put him on a regimen of kulthi lentils for 3 months. Then he went back and had an ultrasound and the stone was completely gone!

Since then I’ve used it for cleansing in all the patients. At the moment I have a patient who has had a team of cardiologists monitoring her arteries, which have lots of calcium deposits in them. I have her eating them as well. I will let you know how she is doing once she gets her arteries examined again.

In the meantime, keep eating these tasty lentils to prevent all the problems that can occur from toxins calcifying in the physiology.

Yours in good health,
Dr.Marianne Teitelbaum
Cinnaminson, New Jersey
856-786-3330

Garcinia cambogia is a small, sweet, exotic fruit native to South India and Southeast Asia tat has garnered a lot of attention of late as a popular natural weight loss aid. People have long used the dried Garcinia rinds for chutneys or curries, and sometimes as an aid for stomach problems. But in the late 1960s, scientists identified a substance in the rind of the fruit called hydroxycitric acid, or HCA, which has made it a revolutionary supplement, currently a rage in America, Japan, Europe, and other western countries – ever since it aired on the Dr Oz show in late 2012. Its active ingredient, a derivative of citric acid, called hydrocytric acid or HCA, hinders the work of citrate lyase in the body. Citrate lyase is the enzyme responsible for changing carbohydrates into fatty acids. By halting the carbohydrate conversion process, HCA blocks fat and produces weight loss.

HCA has also been found to be a serotonin booster – this brain chemical regulates mood, appetite and sleep. Elevated levels tend to curb hunger and eliminate food cravings. By lifting depression, serotonin reduces the emotional eating that leads to overweight. But what does Ayurveda say about this fruit?
Garcinia indica also known as Garcinia cambogia (“vrikshamla” in Sanskrit) is mentioned in the ayurvedic “nighantu”-s (or glossaries) as a vata and kapha dosha pacifying dravya or food ingredient. It is known to enhance absorption due to its thermogenic potency; to sharpen the taste buds, clearing away ama or toxic build-up in the oral cavity; and to make the body lighter because it carries the following 3 rasa-s or tastes: amla (sour), katu (pungent) and kashai (astringent). These 3 rasa-s  enhance metabolism in general. More specifically, the amla rasa or sour taste also enhances and supports protein metabolism because it enhances agni in the mamsa dhatu or muscle tissue. In addition, the 3 rasa-s together help clear and unclog the channels too.
Garcinia’s first property is “amla” or sour, and we know that the sour taste is “agneya” or thermogenic. Due to this property, it pacifies kapha in all the 7 “dhatu”-s or tissues. But it also pacifies thirst because it pacifies vata in the stomach, samana vata, as well as in the chest or udana vata. In general, it is a wonderful fruit that balances the entire stomach and all the dosha-s in the stomach, enhancing coordination amongst them all: samana vata, pachak pitta, adn kledak kapha – the 3 principles which support digestion: a) movement of space and air in the stomach; b) enzymatic levels; c) lubrication levels. When the stomach dosha-s are balanced, so many aspects of overall health also follow suit.
But yet another great attribute of this fruit is that it helps produce ama free rasa dhatu, or the very first dhatu or tissue that gets formed after we eat. In general, many health imbalances arise from just this, that an individual makes ama or toxins from the food they ingest. Rasa dhatu is the foundation for all the dhatus, and if it is free of toxins and balanced, all the other tissues that get built on this foundational dhatu or tissue will also be more balanced. In this sense, Garcinia or “vrikshamla” is a very balanced and balancing fruit with unique properties that optimize the healing processes in the body. But modern research has been most interested nowadays in its weight loss properties primarily.
Making ama free rasa dhatu helps to make ama or toxin free rakta  or blood. However, pacifying kapha for all the 7 tissues does not only balance the medha dhatu or fat tissue, but it supports total health. Ayurveda reminds us that for total health we need to consume food ingredients that balance all the dosha-s or tissues, “samadoshaha,” and enhance  metabolism overall in the body (cellular and more) in a balanced way, in Sanskrit “samagnischa.” Garcinia carries these 2 highly desirable properties already. It is because of these that it helps clean the fat tissue and can result in weight loss. It is because it is good for overall total metabolism and a toxin free body that it can help individuals who are trying to detox their fat tissue. And there is an added bonus here as well, because when Garcinia supports the fat tissue, it is also supporting the bone tissue since good fat is food for the bone tissue.
Vaidya’s SVA lineage always recommends that food items be consumed as food, not as capsules with active ingredients isolated – for example consume turmeric as part of your meal, not as a capsule. And the same applies to Garcinia. To achieve the purpose of optimal health or even just weight loss, you need to have a total program including diet and lifestyle. And this involves a very important other ingredient: thakra or buttermilk. In traditional India, in the areas where the use of Garcinia was popular, you would also find that they consumed a lot of buttermilk or lassi. The presence of friendly bacteria only helps to further enhance the benefits of Garcinia.

Thakra or fresh buttermilk
The benefits of friendly bacteria or probiotics have been recognized in Ayurveda for thousands of years. In the SVA lineage they are called yogini-s. Here is a verse from Bhav Mishra’s Bhav Prakash that discusses the properties of thakra or buttermilk:

It’s grahi: so it enhances absorption. That is: it enhances the absorption of minerals and nutrients. It has two main rasa-s or tastes: kashay (astringent) and amla (sour), and its vipak or post-digestive effect is madhur. These properties create lightness in the body, particularly since its potency is warm and it enhances the digestive and metabolic fires. Thakra or fresh buttermilk also increasese the reproductive fluids; it enhances the pranic flow in the cellular system; and it pacifies cellular vata. When people have chronic mal-absoprtion of any kind, it’s the best healthy addition to the diet, because of the unique combination of properties, nurturing yet creating lightness in the body. Vaidya Mishra recommends to make fresh buttermilk by combining 20% fresh yogurt with 80% water (room temperature). Blend for 5 minutes in the blender, take out the foam top, sprinkle Soma Salt to taste. You may also add ¼ tsp toasted cumin seeds or some Mum’s Masala per 16oz of buttermilk.
Make sure to drink only with lunch not dinner. Best is to have a sip and then a bite. The combination of this thakra and Garcinia as a chutney is the best way to balance weight – not just to lose weight, but to maintain a balanced overall weight. Read also Dr Teitelbaum’s article on probiotics in relation to weight loss/balance through the support of probtioics.

This article is authored by Dr. Barbara Davis, MD. Dr Davis has an active practice in Fishers Indiana where she brings together allopathy and ayurvedic knowledge, specifically from Vaidya Mishra’s SV tradition, to address contemporary health issues and concerns. Her practice is called “Mind in Light/Body in Balance, LLC”. For more information or to setup an appointment, contact her clinic at (317)842-5771.

Vaidya Mishra has asked me to outline the benefits of four Ayurvedic herbs that individually and collectively nurture the male physiology: ashwagandha, gokshura, mucuna, and deer antler. Herbs that support the male machine need to support certain energetic principles while balancing those energies with others that are complementary. Students of Vaidya Mishra’s Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda (SVA) are familiar with these, but let’s briefly review.

Male physiologies generally have a lot of agni, the heating, activating, energizing, and accomplishing energy in nature. Agni is complemented by soma and marut. Soma is the stabilizing, lubricating, nurturing, cooling, and connecting energy of nature, transformed into kapha and ojas in the physiology. Ojas is the purest and semi-vibrational form of biological intelligence. Marut is the circulating, distributing, managing, and regulating energy of nature. Together, agni, soma, and marut operate as the three sub-energies of prana, the life-supplying vibrational substrate of the material universe.

You’re probably thinking, “Dr. Davis, that’s a lot to absorb in a single paragraph.” True, but we will use these abstract concepts as we now shift to the concrete, beginning with the most common of the aforementioned herbs, known in Sanskrit as ashwagandha and Latin as Withania somnifera.

Ashwagandha
“Ashwagandha” is typically translated as “having the smell (gandha) of a horse (ashwa),” no doubt appealing more to lovers of all things equine than to the rest of us. Vaidya Mishra, as a Sanskrit scholar, takes a fresh look at the etymology of the word by noting that “gandha” also means “character.” In the latter sense, ashwagandha gives us certain characteristics of a stallion, in particular its stamina, endurance, and ability to ramp up the stress it bears to meet the need of the moment. Think of Secretariat, the most famous racehorse ever, and how many of his own records he broke. If you seek your next level of best mentally, physically, and sexually, especially if you are male, ashwagandha could be the right herb for you.

From the standpoint of Ayurveda, ashwagandha is pacifying to vata and kapha, indicating that it is to some degree heating. Perhaps its key benefits physiologically are as a rasayana or adaptogen, a substance that improves the body’s ability to tolerate stress and adapt to new situations, and as a so-called aphrodisiac. Ayurvedic aphrodisiacs, known as vajikarna herbs, increase the strength of the sexual organs and the reproductive tissues. Rather than increasing sexual desire, as some might assume, they give the ability to have fulfilling sexual relations and to be more fertile, though they can also raise libido that has fallen to unhealthy levels. Reproductive tissue is known in Sanskrit as shukra. Ashwagandha creates lots of both the subtle and gross forms of shukra. The subtle form, full of soma, converts to ojas in a healthy physiology. In men, the gross form is semen. Vaidya Mishra’s ashwagandha Herbal Memory Nectar drops and transdermal cream focus mainly on enhancing the subtle form of shukra and moving the herb past the blood-brain barrier.

The six other tissue types defined by Ayurveda are also strengthened and balanced by ashwagandha, most prominently majja, the tissue type related to bone marrow and nerves. Beyond use as an adaptogen or aphrodisiac, indications for ashwagandha include inflammation,1 autoimmune problems (especially vitiligo),2 and tissue emaciation,3 the most extreme form of which is tuberculosis. Because ashwagandha can provoke pitta, contraindications include peptic ulcer, acid stomach, and high blood pressure caused by excess pitta. Authentic Ayurvedic preparations containing ashwagandha have balancing factors or processing to prevent undesirable side effects. It is very important not to use ashwagandha indiscriminately, without proper understanding of its energetics.

Animal research studies point toward future clinical applications such as:

• radiosensitization (for cancer treatment)⁴
• anti-tumor⁵
• anti-lipid peroxidization⁶
• cardioprotective⁷
• nootropic (“smart” drugs)⁸
• Parkinson’s⁹
• anti-dementia¹⁰

Gokshura
“Gokshura,” the Sanskrit name for Tribulus terrestris, translates as “having the shape of a cow hoof.” In some respects, gokshura has related nourishing benefits to ashwagandha and shatavari (a rasayana for women). In fact, men’s rejuvenative formulations commonly contain gokshura and ashwagandha, along with mucuna, which we’ll discuss next. Women’s rejuvenative formulations can contain gokshura as well, but in combination with other herbs more appropriate to female physiologies. Although not technically a vajikarna herb itself, it is useful as a component of a vajikarna formulation in that it increases both the subtle and gross forms of shukra, while also building all the other tissues. In men, this promotes the production of semen as well as ojas.

Apart from its physical value, gokshura is a satvic herb. Satva is the principle in nature of purity, expansion, and evolution; it is the light (consciousness) of the soul, radiating into and enlightening the mind. Vaidya Mishra’s SVA tradition recognizes the primary importance of satva for those on a spiritual path (which is really everyone, whether they yet know it or not). Gokshura brings the light of the soul into the mind. It is also full of soma. Nature has given this herb an unusual property of having the cooling quality of soma alongside the ability to increase the body’s transformative “flames,” ensuring that the soma gets used by the tissues. These qualities help bring balance to the qualities of both ashwagandha and the agni-dominated male physiology when the herbs are used in tandem.

Animal studies indicate gokshura increases testosterone,11 though to date this has not been demonstrated in human males. Nevertheless, Ayurvedic tradition holds that it does increase physical and sexual stamina. Gokshura is thought to support the intelligence of the urinary bladder and of the whole genitourinary tract. Individuals prone toward renal stones can be helped by gokshura, so long as their diet is correct (especially avoiding the nightshade family). In general, gokshura is a great friend to apana vata, the downward, eliminative force in the body, due to its generous helping of soma. The soma restores the dryness caused by acidic toxins in the elimination organs. Constipation, menstrual problems, prostate issues, hemorrhoids, bladder infections, and slow urination all are symptoms of imbalanced apana vata.

Ayurvedic texts tell us that gokshura gives strength to the lungs and blood and is helpful in chronic cough and breathing problems. Also, the heart needs gokshura’s ability to prevent harmful toxins residing in the urinary system from traveling back to it and causing cardiac imbalances. Men are more prone to heart disease, so this is yet another reason for them to use gokshura.

Research studies of gokshura include its role in:

• diabetes mellitus¹²
• antihypertensive¹³
• diuretic¹⁴
• BPH¹⁵
• anti-inflammatory¹⁶
• adaptogenic¹⁷

Mucuna
This herb is known in Sanskrit as kapikacchu and atmagupta. The Latin name is Mucuna pruriens, from which the common name comes. It is also called cowitch and cowage. “Pruriens” comes from the Latin “prurire,” to itch. This refers to mucuna’s itch-provoking pod barbs. Occasionally, that which superficially annoys has a deeper value. This annual climbing shrub provides one of the best rasayanas for the reproductive system.

Mucuna is best known in Western science as containing high concentrations of L-dopa, a precursor of the neurotransmitter dopamine and the gold standard in the treatment of Parkinson’s. Ayurveda has long known that mucuna is an effective treatment for Parkinson’s, and modern science can specify why. A small clinical trial in 2004 indicated that mucuna possibly offers a superior benefit to Parkinson’s patients than L-dopa.18 Most notably, primate studies show that mucuna does not induce involuntary movements, compared to conventional medications.19 Despite these encouraging findings, Parkinson’s patients are not advised to use mucuna without the supervision of a qualified medical practitioner. Patients should add SVA protocols—including diet, lifestyle, and other herbal support—as a foundation for success with this herb.

The other primary use of mucuna, as mentioned, is maintenance of reproductive vitality. In this respect, mucuna is often combined with ashwagandha, shatavari, and gokshura. Animal studies and long-term traditional use confirm mucuna’s powerful effects of normalizing sexual dysfunction and erectile problems20 and reversing oxidative stress causing reduced sperm count, motility, and viability.21 Other areas of study include:

• diabetes²²
• anti-tumor²³
• metal chelation²⁴

Deer Antler
The first known use of deer antler as a medicine comes from China. A 2000-year-old Chinese scroll documents 52 diseases responding to it.25 The growing bone and cartilage that develop into deer antlers lie in an unusual zone of biological activity. In general, mammals cannot regenerate complete bodily appendages. Apparently, deer somehow use a stem-cell-based process to regenerate antlers, a mechanism distinct from limb regeneration in amphibians. Despite their enormous growth rate, antlers resist malignant transformation, and this makes them of interest to cancer research.
Traditional uses of deer antler preparations include:

• high blood pressure
• increasing hemoglobin levels
• recuperation from exertion
• glandular health
• inflammatory arthritis
• erectile dysfunction
• menstrual disorders
• enlarged prostate
• raising testosterone levels

Clearly, deer antler has related benefits to ashwagandha, gokshura, and mucuna. It can help both men and women, in that it contains both androgens and estrogens. It also contains enzymes, minerals, vitamins, anti-inflammatory prostaglandins, and IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor).

A review of the scientific literature indicates that this complex substance is powerful and poorly understood and must be used with caution. Vaidya Mishra’s bhasma (calcined ash) of deer antler reduces it to a more gentle, non-toxic form that can be used safely in a balanced formula, as part of comprehensively applied SVA.

Conclusion
The outlined herbs are a pharmacopeia unto themselves and deserve much more coverage than the present overview allows. Nonetheless, this quick survey makes an adequate case that combined use of the herbs can provide the male physiology with a significant boost of energy and sexual vigor. Men desiring peak performance in the bedroom and boardroom have an important ally in Ayurvedic herbs coming from antiquity.

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1.  Mishra, L.C., Betsy B. Singh, and Simon Dagenais. “Scientific Basis for the Therapeutic Use of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha).” Alternative Medicine Review 5 (2000): 334.
2. Venkata Subbaiah, K.P., and N. Savithramma. “Antimicrobial Efficacy of Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized from Withania somnifera—An Important Ethnomedicinal Herb of Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh, India.” Int. J. Pharm. Sci. Rev. Res. 22(1), Sep–Oct 2013; no 40: 216–222.
3. Nagavalli, D., T. Vetrichelvan, N. Gayathri, P. Poongothai, K.P. Sivasankari, and S.V. Vadamalai. “Validation of Ashwagandha Churnam.” Ancient Science of Life 20, no. 4 (2001): 86.
4. Devi, P. Uma. “Withania somnifera Dunal (Ashwagandha): Potential Plant Source of a Promising Drug for Cancer Chemotherapy and Radiosensitization.” Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 34, no. 10 (1996): 927.
5. Mishra et al., “Scientific Basis” 335.
6. Ibid., 339.
7. Mohanty, I., D.S. Arya, A. Dinda, K.K. Talwar, S. Joshi, and S.K. Gupta (2004). “Mechanisms of Cardioprotective Effect of Withania somnifera in Experimentally Induced Myocardial Infarction.” Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, 94: 184–190.
8. Tohda, C., K. Komatsu, and T. Kuboyama. “Scientific Basis for the Anti-Dementia Drugs of Constituents from Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) (Chemical & Pharmacological study).” (2005) http://hdl.handle.net/10110/2316.
9. RajaSankar, S., T. Manivasagam, and S. Surendran. “Ashwagandha Leaf Extract: a Potential Agent in Treating Oxidative Damage and Physiological Abnormalities Seen in a Mouse Model of Parkinson’s Disease.” Neuroscience letters 454, no. 1 (2009): 11–15.
10. Tohda et al., “Anti-Dementia Drugs.”
11. Hussain, A.A., A.A. Mohammed, H.H. Ibrahim, and A.H. Abbas. “Study the Biological Activities of Tribulus terrestris extracts.” World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 57 (2009): 433–435.
12. Amin, A.M.R., M. Lotfy, M. Shafiullah, and E. Adeghate. “The Protective Effect of Tribulus terrestris in Diabetes.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1084, no. 1 (2006): 391-401.
13. Sharifi, A.M., R. Darabi, and N. Akbarloo. “Study of Antihypertensive Mechanism of Tribulus terrestris in 2K1C Hypertensive Rats: Role of Tissue ACE activity.” Life Sciences 73, no. 23 (2003): 2963–2971.
14. Phillips, O.A., K.T. Mathew, and M.A. Oriowo. “Antihypertensive and Vasodilator Effects of Methanolic and Aqueous Extracts of Tribulus terrestris in Rats.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 104, no. 3 (2006): 351–355.
15. Arora, R.P., R.L. Nayak, V. Malhotra, N.K. Mohanty, and S.K. Kulkarni. “Role of Herbal Drugs in the Management of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Himplasia.” Medicine Update 11 (2003): 55-8.
16. Kamboj, P., M. Aggarwal, S. Puri, and S. K. Singla. “Effect of Aqueous Extract of Tribulus terrestris on Oxalate- Induced Oxidative Stress in Rats.” Indian Journal of Nephrology 21, no. 3 (2011): 154.
17. Shivakumar, H., T. Javed, T. Prakash, R. Nagendra Rao, B.H.M. Jayakumar Swamy, and A.V. Goud. “Adaptogenic Activity of Ethanolic Extract of Tribulus terrestris L.” Journal of Natural Remedies 6, no. 1 (2006): 87–95.
18. Katzenschlager, R., A. Evans, A. Manson, P.N. Patsalos, N. Ratnaraj, H. Watt, L. Timmermann, R. Van der Giessen, and A.J. Lees. “Mucuna pruriens in Parkinson’s Disease: a Double Blind Clinical and Pharmacological Study.” Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 75, no. 12 (2004): 1672–1677.
19. Lieu, C.A., K. Venkiteswaran, T.P. Gilmour, A.N. Rao, A.C. Petticoffer, E.V. Gilbert, M. Deogaonkar, B.V. Manyam, and T. Subramanian. “The Antiparkinsonian and Antidyskinetic Mechanisms of Mucuna pruriens in the MPTP-Treated Nonhuman Primate.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012 (2012).
20. Suresh, S., and S. Prakash. “Effect of Mucuna pruriens (Linn.) on Sexual Behavior and Sperm Parameters in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Male Rat.” The Journal of Sexual Medicine 9, no. 12 (2012): 3066–3078.
21. Suresh, S., E. Prithiviraj, and S. Prakash. “Effect of Mucuna pruriens on Oxidative Stress Mediated Damage in Aged Rat Sperm.” International Journal of Andrology 33, no. 1 (2010): 22–32.
22. Majekodunmi, S.O., A.A. Oyagbemi, S. Umukoro, and O.A. Odeku. “Evaluation of the Anti–Diabetic Properties of Mucuna pruriens seed extract.” Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine 4, no. 8 (2011): 632–636.
23. Rajeshwar, Y., M. Gupta, and U. K. Mazumder. “Antitumor Activity and in vivo Antioxidant Status of Mucuna pruriens (Fabaceae) Seeds against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma in Swiss Albino Mice.” Iranian Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics 4, no. 1 (2005): 46–53.
24. Dhanasekaran, M., B. Tharakan, and B.V. Manyam. “Antiparkinson Drug—Mucuna pruriens Shows Antioxidant and Metal Chelating Activity.” Phytotherapy Research 22, no. 1 (2008): 6–11.
25. www.lef.org/magazine/articles/velvet.htm

 

Male health as a medical specialty, or andrology (from the ancient Greek for andros or man, + logia or study), developed only in the late 1960-s. But it has been in place for thousands of years in Ayurveda. Ayurveda has known and used many different herbs, plants, preparations and methods to address ill-being and diseases for men, specially pertaining to the reproductive organs.

The Vedic shastras speak of human objectives or “purusharth:” “dharm, arth, kam, moksh.” These four objectives sum up the pursuits of humans: dharm or ethical duty towards oneself and the collectivity one is born into; arth or pursuit of affluence; kam or pursuit of desire. Kam is usually understood to be carnal desire, and this is not a deviation that leads to the gates of hell, but rather a natural and necessary part of an individual’s evolution towards the final stage of total spiritual liberation, or moksh. In the vedic tradition, the human lifespan is understood in 4 strokes: 1)Brahmachari ashram or early childhood and youth when one is primarily a student in many ways and where one abstains from sexuality; garhasta ashram or the stage of the householder when one is active professionally and personally; vanaprasht ashram or turning away from the “things of this world” to develop a detachment; and sanyas ashram or leading the life of a total renunciant.

Garhasta ashram is about being together with a partner, supporting one other to thrive and to develop through and as a family, inviting new souls into the world, to keep the wheel of evolution going. In this sense, in Ayurveda, the topic of male virility is particularly important, as it goes hand in hand with the continuation of the world as we know it. The Charak Samhita devotes a specific chapter to this topic entitled “Vajikarna.” In this chapter, several approaches are discussed to maintain, cure, and improve male virility. From recipes to the use of single herbs or herbal synergies, different protocols are listed and explained (to learn more on this topic, listen to Vaidya Mishra’s Love and Prana II available on www.chandika.com

In particular, the chapter discusses herbs that carry the following “prabhava”s or ultimate subtle post-digestive and post-absortpion effect: vrishya – increases shukra dhatu or the reproductive tissue; bhringhana – supports all 7 tissues including shukra or the reproductive tissue; vajikarna – increases libido; and rasayana – overall rejuvenative also essential for healthy and graceful aging. The Charak Samhita lists and discusses herbs or recipes that containing any dravya-s or plant materials that carry these properties. Some of these herbs have already been the subject of scientific studies that have confirmed the conclusions of the ayurvedic texts – see Dr. Barbara Davis’ article for the scientific references. Here are some of these herbs that help balance and rejuvenate the male physiology physically, emotionally, and mentally, as discussed in the Sanskrit sutra-s.

Mucuna – also called “kapikachu” in Sanskrit. The seed of the mucuna plant is “vrishya” or increases the reproductive tissue; it has a sweet rasa; it is bhringhana or nourishing to all the 7 tissues, and particularly the reproductive tissue; it can be a little heavy on digestion; bitter in taste; it pacifies vata or the principle of air and space in the body; it increases stamina, pacifies pitta and kapha doshas or principles as well. It is also vajikar or increases libido. It carries all 4 qualities that are needed for male stamina. It is cited by both Bhav prakash and Shodhal.

White Musali is another important dravya or plant. It is sweet, cooling, and vrishya – enhances the reproductive tissue. It supplies nourishment and stamina overall. Due to its slippery properties it supports kapha and pacifies pitta, eliminating inflammation and fatigue.

Gokshura – tribulus: cooling, enhances stamina, sweet, and vhringhani – increases and nurtures all tissues particularly the reproductive tissue. Supports the flow of urine; de-crystalizes urinary stones; cools the urinary system; it’s a rasayana for the genito-urinary tract; enhances stamina; it’s vrishya – nourishes the reproductive tissue.

Ashwagandha: just as famous as Gokshura, it is astringent in taste; pungent; bitter; it pacifies vata and kapha; enhances shukra or the reproductive tissue; enhances stamina; is a well known rasayana.

Shring bhasma: or deer antler calcined ash, has been used by the ancient rishis or seers in so many ways, including the support of male health overall. For more information on this subject, watch Vaidya Mishra’s YouTube video on his SVA Health channel.

Yasad bhasma Zinc calcined ash, is a famed rejuvenative mineral that supports the nerves. It is an essential ingredient for male health as the prostate gland needs ample amounts of zinc to maintain its healthy balance. Watch Vaidya Mishra on YouTube on this topic for more details.

Daily Protocol: with the SVA alternative advanced delivery systems, you can add all these herbs to your daily routine.

Herbal-Memory Nectar Drops are a subtle efficient trans-mucosal way of getting the “intelligence” of these herbs into your physiology safely and effectively.

To 32 oz of high pH spring water, add:

• 3 drops of zinc,
• 3 drops of musli,
• 3 drops of aswhagandha,
• 3 drops VJK

Then take 1 capsule of Tribulus Plus after breakfast, and 1 capsule after lunch.

Crush 1 tablet of Ashwagandha with 2 tablets of Mucuna plus, add to spring water, bring to a boil, filter and drink as a tea after lunch.

Needless to say, to get the full effect and benefits of any of these herbs you will need to keep an optimally fresh and intelligent diet and routine, also keep a balance between rest and activity. Daily self-massage or abhyanga with Vata massage oil with Vit D and magnesium will help nurture and relax the physiology. With a balanced life-style and the “prabhava” of these herbs, you are sure to live according to the tenets of the shastra-s enjoying the most out of each stage of life in accordance with the desires that animate us all humans.