Frequently Asked Questions

You will find answers to some the most frequently asked questions to Vaidya Mishra below. If you have a general question about Ayurveda (not a personal question about your health) that is not answered here, please email us your question in the form below.

If we feel that the question will be helpful to others, we will post the answer here. Please do not expect an answer, as we do not answer every questions posted here. For specific information regarding your health, please schedule a consultation with Vaidya Mishra, or with one of his Shaka Vansya Ayurveda practitioners.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Vaidya?

Have you heard the term vaidya? It comes up in Ayurveda quite a lot. If you’re new to Ayurveda, we welcome you here to a wealth of information about the body, the mind, the spirit, and the effect of everything in the environment on us. This site is all about a very ancient and complete science of how to take care of yourself, the science of Ayurveda.

It can be frustrating not to know basic terms when studying a new area. We invite you to take the time to listen to and read all of the frequently asked questions here. When you go through this knowledge step by step, the other pages of this website will be easier to comprehend, and will be more valuable for your life.

This one minute audio recording by Vaidya Mishra gives you the big picture of what the Sanskrit term, vaidya means.

Take a minute to listen to the definition of the word vaidya by Vaidya Mishra (below). Shaka Vansya Ayurveda practitioner and yoga teacher, Linda Rocco, presents the question to Vaidya in audio form.

What is a Vaidya? (MP3 audio file)

When you’ve listened to this clip, you may like hear the next question that Linda asks Vaidya Mishra: What is Ayurveda?

What is Ayurveda?

This two minute audio clip with Vaidya Mishra and Linda Rocco gives you the simplest, most traditional definition of Ayurveda.

What is a Ayurveda? (MP3 audio file)

When you’ve listened to this clip, you may like to hear the next question that Linda asks Vaidya Mishra: What is Shaka Vansya Ayurveda?

What is Shaka Vansya Ayurveda?

In this two minute audio clip with Vaidya Mishra and Linda Rocco, you’ll get a first introduction to Shaka Vansya Ayurveda.

What is Shaka Vansya Ayurveda? (MP3 audio file)

When you’ve listened to this clip, you may like hear the next question that Linda asks Vaidya Mishra: What is the single most important factor for health in Ayurveda?

You may also want to read a more detailed description of Shaka Vansya Ayurveda below:

According to the Bhavishya Puran, Lord Krishna’s son, Sambh, contracted leprosy due to a karmic debt. Sambh traveled to the Shaka Island in search of the Shakadwipi Brahmins who were renowned for their ability in the ayurvedic healing of leprosy.

Their healing protocols were also known to be intimately connected with the rituals of Sun worship. Interestingly, modern science today acknowledges the positive relationship between sunshine and the leprosy bacterium.

Ten Shakadwipi Brahmin couples were invited to move to India to treat Sambh. Complementing their herbal protocols, they built sun temples, performed sun worshiping rituals, and cured Sambh. These families then settled in Jharkand, Bihar, Eastern Uttarpradesh, Rajasthan and various other states of India.

Most of the Shakadwipi Brahmins who settled in India still practice Ayurveda today. Just as Acharya P.V. Sharma, a famous ayurvedic scholar, is of Shakadwipi descent, Vaidya R K. Mishra’s ancestors issued from these migrant Shakadwipi families.

Vaidya Mishra’s paternal ancestors have always been Ayurvedic physicians serving the Kings and Royal Families of India. His immediate paternal ancestors lived in a village called “Vaidya Chak” (literally: small village of healers) in the district of Bhagalpur in the state of Bihar, India for at least the last ten generations.

Although Vaidya Mishra has completed his formal training in institutional Ayurveda he also practices according to the guidelines of his ancestry. His practice is informed by modern ayurvedic scholarship as well as modern western scientific medicine, in addition to the ancient knowledge held in his tradition.

He refers to his practice as “Shaka Vansya Ayurveda- SVA”. Vaidya RK Mishra’s lineage never strayed from Carak Samhita’s ancient school of Ayurveda.

Their practice was augmented by handed-down secrets and recipes, always formulated and kept in the spirit of the original classical teachings, not contradicting or subtracting from the essence.

Vaidya RK Mishra’s lineage has always held a complete understanding of:

  • The vibrational body and its relation to the physical body
  • How the vibrational body influences/impacts the physical body
  • Vibrational communication between the universe and the physical bod
  • Nourishment on the physical level
  • Pacification of the three doshas on the physical level
  • Balancing the three doshas from the source
  • Detoxification beyond the simple pacification of disease
  • Detoxification without creating new imbalances SVAH (Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda Health) Practice
  • What is SVA Health? How is it different? Who can learn it? Why should one learn it?
  • The Whole Picture of You: physical and vibrational
  • Understanding the physical body in light of the vibrational body
  • Understanding the imbalances and balancing factors of the physical body in light of the vibrational body
  • Practising Tri-sutra Ayurveda as taught by the Carak Samhita
  • Understanding the etiological causes both from the perspective of ancient wisdom as well as modern day principles and factors
  • Detailed understanding of physical and vibrational channels, what they carry, and how they communicate with each other
  • Four kinds of toxins and how to identify them
  • Proper detoxification protocols – how to prepare different channels, margas or routes through which these toxins came in, how to re-direct those toxins to evacuate the body
  • Preparing the channels, pacifying the reactivity of toxins, binding the toxins, eliminating the toxins, repairing the physical damage and reestablishing the intelligence of the channels
  • Deeper understanding of the liver
  • Specific guidelines for liver detox minus the detox crisis
  • Special thoughts on connecting the mind with the enzymatic system, the liver system and colon
  • Ayurvedic understanding of marma points with special insights from SVA
  • Ayurvedic understanding of pre and pro-biotics
  • Understanding modern day etiological factors like EMF (electro-magnetic frequency)

What is the Single Most Important Factor for Health According to Ayurveda?

Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by information about health? Do you get confused by the constantly changing ideas about what is healthy and what is not?

Interviewed by Linda Rocco, Vaidya Mishra gives his family’s age-old understanding of what’s most important in Ayurveda in this five minute audio clip.

When you have listened to this audio file, you may want to hear the next question: What are the best three foods to eat, according to Ayurveda?

What Are the Three Best Foods to Eat According to Ayurveda?

In this five minute audio clip with Vaidya Mishra and Linda Rocco, you will hear Vaidya Mishra’s perspective on the best foods to eat on a regular basis as a staple.

What Are the Best Three Food to Eat (MP3 audio file)

When you have finished listening to this audio file, you may want to listen to the next question: What is the role of spices according to Ayurveda?

What is the Role of Spices According to Ayurveda?

In this four minute interview by Linda Rocco, Vaidya Mishra talks about the important roles that spices play in Ayurvedic cooking.

The Role of Spices in Ayurveda (MP3 audio file)

After listening to this audio file, you may want to listen to the next question: Should I take spices in capsule form, like turmeric for example?

Should I Take Spices in Capsule Form, Like Turmeric For Example?

Many people recommend taking spices, such as turmeric, cinnamon, and fenugreek in capsule form. Learn about the dangers of this kind of use of spices in Vaidya Mishra’s eight minute audio interview with Linda Rocco.

Should I take Spices in Capsule Form, Like Turmeric For Example? (MP3 audio file)

When you have listened to this audio file, you may want to hear Vaidya Mishra answer the next question: Do I have to cook my own food?

Do I Have to Cook My Own Food?

Vaidya Mishra always recommends to cook your own food. Interviewed by Linda Rocco, Vaidya Mishra gives a five minute explanation for why this is essential.

Do I Have to Cook My Own Food? (MP3 audio file)

Once you have listened to this audio file, you may want to listen to Vaidya Mishra’s answer to the next question: What are vibrational channels?

What Are Vibrational Channels?

Vaidya Mishra’s family tradition of Shaka Vansya Ayurveda gives great importance to channels in the body. In this two minute interview with Linda Rocco, Vaidya Mishra describes what are vibrational channels.

What are Vibrational Channels? (MP3 audio file)

Once you have listened to this audio file, you may want to listen to Vaidya Mishra’s answer to the next question: What’s the next most important thing after food?

What is the Next Most Important Approach for Health After Food?

In addition to food, what other approaches to improving health does Vaidya Mishra offer? In this three minute audio interview with Linda Rocco, you will learn about Vaidya Mishra’s alternative delivery systems.

What is the Next Most Important Approach for Health After Food? (MP3 audio file)

After listening to this audio file, you may want to listen to Vaidya Mishra’s answer to the next question: How can a skin cream be an effective treatment?

How Can a Skin Cream Be an Effective Treatment?

Vaidya Mishra uses transdermal herbal creams as part of his protocol to deliver herbs to targeted organs and systems in the body. How can putting something on your skin be of any real theraputic value? Find out in this eight minute interview with Linda Rocco and Vaidya Mishra.

How Can a Skin Cream Be an Effective Treatment? (MP3 audio file)

Once you have listened to this audio file, you may want to listen to Vaidya Mishra’s answer to the following question: Are tofu and soy products bad for you?

Are Tofu and Soy Products Bad for You?

Over the past few decades soy products, such as tofu, have become a mainstream food item for sale in almost every grocery store. Yet there is a growing controversey about soy. Listen to Vaidya Mishra’s perspective on soy, in this two minute interview with Linda Rocco.

Are Tofu and Soy Products Bad for You? (MP3 audio file)

After listening to this audio file, you may want to hear Vaidya Mishra’s answer to the following question: Why don’t you recommend garlic and onions?

Why Don’t You Recommend Garlic and Onions?

In Shaka Vansya Ayurveda, the system of Ayurveda practiced for the past 5000 years in Vaidya Mishra’s family lineage, garlic and onions are sometimes used medicinally, but are never used as a regular part of the diet. In this eight minute interview with Linda Rocco, Vaidya Mishra explains why.

Why Don’t You Recommend Garlic and Onions? (MP3 audio file)

After you hear this audio file, you may want to listen to Vaidya Mishra’s answer to the following question: Why did you create a line of Herbal Memory Nectar drops?

Why Did You Create a Line of Herbal Memory Nectar Drops?

Vaidya Mishra created what he calls Herbal Memory Nectars, which people add to their cool spring water water and drink throughout the day. Learn why Vaidya Mishra created these drops, and understand the the theory behind why they work in this six minute interview with Linda Rocco.

Why Did You Create a Line of Herbal Memory Nectar Drops? (MP3 audio file)

After listening to this audio file, you may want to read Vaidya Mishra’s answer to the following question: Why is winter squashe not recommended for health?

Why Is Winter Squash Not Recommended For Health?

This question was submitted by Martin Gluckman. Thanks Martin!

Why is Winter Squash Not Recommended for Health?

Vaidya Mishra very much understands the appeal of winter squash, and he likes to tell this story on himself.

As a vaidya’s son, he grew up without exposure to winter squash because his father knew the problems associated with eating any kind of winter squash regularly. However, when he finally left home after his many years of internship with his father, Vaidya found that he really liked pumpkin (a form of winter squash).

One of his patients in Ranchi had a big harvest of pumpkins one year and offered Vaidya a steady supply for his kitchen. Vaidya happily had pumpkin almost every day.

Then one day, his father came for a visit. During the visit Vaidya mentioned that he had developed a very deep cyst on his chest that was quite painful. His father told him that he should not be eating any winter squashes like pumpkin.

Amazed at his father’s perception, he asked him how he knew that he had been eating pumpkin. To which Vaidya’s father replied that the pumpkins were stacked up outside the house!

Why is Winter Squash Hard on the Body?

Winter squash, which includes pumpkin, butternut squash, acorn squash, spaghetti squash and many others, has the special quality (prabhava) of being stambhana. Stambhana is a Sanskrit word used in Ayurveda to describe any material which blocks the physical channels (shrotas) after digestion.

Winter squashes are tasty, and yes they do have a lot of nutritional value, but the ultimate effect on the shrotas (physical channels) is to plug them up. This not only applies to the large channels of elimination, but also to the smaller channels, and even the micro-channels throughout the body.

According to the Nigantu Adarsha Ayurvedic text, stambhana foods and herbs are raukshmyat (drying) and kashayatvat (full of astringency) even after they have been digested. This dryness causes the digested squash material to stick to the walls of the channels in the body and eventually cause a roadblock.

Vata Goes Up When The Channels Are Blocked

Vata likes to flow in the body. When the channels become blocked, or partially blocked by stambhana foods like winter squash, vata cannot flow in the channels. This causes discomfort at first, and pain if there is a strong blockage.

Also, when the circulation of nutrients is blocked, and likewise the removal of toxins from the tissues is also blocked, the stage is set for infection and disease. That’s why the pumpkin caused a cyst for Vaidya.

Health in Ayurveda is sometimes gauged by how open your shrotas (channels) are in the body. When they are fully open and free flowing, health is generally good. Nutrients can reach each cell in the body, and toxins can be removed regularly. When the channels are open, you feel blissful, clear and balanced.

Winter squashes oppose the nature of the body’s channels to remain open, and therefore contribute to imbalance and health problems.

Substitutes for Winter Squashes

When we are accustomed to eating certain things, it is easy to think that there are no other options if we leave them out of our diet. But there is a rich world of vegetables which not only satisfy our taste buds, but do not compromise our health.

Sweet potatoes or yams, for example, do not have the stambhana prabhava which winter squashes have, and can be used as a nice substitute for pumpkin (like in pumpkin pie). Taro root is another root vegetable that is very healthy for the body. It binds toxins and tastes great when made into french fries.

Ratalu is an Indian vegetable which is available in many Indian grocery stores (Vaidya doesn’t even mind the fresh frozen cubes of this vegetable if you can’t find the fresh vegetable). Suran is another Indian root vegetable highly recommended by Ayurveda. Suran is Ayurveda’s favorite vegetable to help with hemorrhoids.

The best way to move away from foods like winter squashes is to introduce new, delicious recipes into your diet. Cook with plenty of taste-enhancing spices and branch out into foods you may have never tried before. With a little care, you can be satisfied without running the risk of clogging your channels.

Disclaimer

The information found herein is only for educational purposes. It has not been evaluated by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). It is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.