Yashtimadhu – Learn About the Somagenic Properties of Licorice and DGL

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Description

Yashtimadhu is one of the most well used herbs in Vaiyda Mishra’s stockroom today. You may recognize it more readily by the name DGL (deglycerized licorice).

Actually, yashtimadhu just means licorice, not deglycerized licorice. A number of scientific studies have observed that licorice which has not been deglycerized retains sodium in the body and can raise blood pressure.

This was not observed in Vaidya Mishra practice in rural India, nor in his long family tradition of Ayurveda. It may be that the stress factors which elevate blood pressure in the West have made us more vulnerable to the blood pressure raising ability of licorice.

When Vaidya Mishra came to the West, he tested the theory and found that licorice does indeed raise blood pressure for people living in modern, Western culture. For this reason, he uses deglycerized licorice (DGL) in all his formulations. DGL has almost all of the properties of the crude herb yashtimadhu (licorice), but without the glycyrrhizin content that raises blood pressure.

The main prabhava (special property) of yashtimadhu is somanasya janana, which means that it increases the reception of soma in the body. This is the main reason that yashtimadhu (licorice) is used so frequently in Vaidya Mishra’s formulas. In the world today, agni (the heating, transforming vibration of nature) is available in overabundance, while soma (the cooling, nurturing vibration of nature) is often lacking.

Yashtimadhu (licorice) has a sweet taste (madhu rasa), and stays sweet even after digestion (madhu vipak). In fact, yashti means “woody root” and madhu means “sweet” in Sanskrit. Yashtimadhu is the “woody root that tastes sweet.”

Sweetness usually indicates alkalinity, and the fact that the post-digestive effect of licorice is also sweet indicates that licorice has a good ability to buffer acid. Yashtimadhu (licorice) maintains alkalinity even in the small and large intestines at the end of the digestive process. This can be a huge help for many of us who suffer from too much agni and low pH in the body.

Another advantage of yashtimadhu’s pro-alkaline property is that it is able to help neutralize any highly acidic toxins in the body (amavisha). It is also able to help bind those toxins and slide them out of the body, due to its susnigdha guna (excellent lubricating quality).

For toxins, yashtimadhu is a great help. It neutralizes their acid nature, binds them and gets them out, all while increasing coolness (sheeta guna) in the body. Almost all of the benefits that are described in this shloka (Sanskrit verse), which Vaidya Mishra decodes in the audio file here, can be traced back to the visha hara prabhava (toxin removing quality) of yashtimadhu.

For example, yashtimadhu is chakshushya (it improves the health and life span of the eyes, which are very sensitive to toxins in the blood). It helps reduce shotha (inflammation caused by toxins), vrana (ulcers caused by too much acid toxins), vishachardi (vomiting due to excess toxins), trishna (excessive thirst due to overload of toxins) and glani (hangover which can be caused by alcohol consumption or high amavisha load in the bloodstream).

In addition to yashtimadhu’s ability to neutralize and bind toxins, it is used in a lot of formulations as a balancing bridge between one herb and another herb. Ayurveda often prefers to use several herbs together in a formulation so that any extreme effects of one particular herb are balanced by the effects of the other herbs.

If you put two herbs with opposing qualities together in a formula you could start a war inside the body when they are ingested. One herb would be trying to make the body warmer, and the other would be trying to make the body cooler. Or one herb might try to make the body absorb better while the other may be giving a laxative effect. This kind of disparate effect is not helpful in the physiology.

When DGL (deglycerized licorice) is used in a formulation that has two or more herbs with opposing effects, it forms a kind of communication or bridge between the two opposites. With DGL as the mediator, the different herbs are able to work in harmony to bring the desired result.

It is the somagenic quality of yashtimadhu that allows the opposing herbs to work side by side. This can be compared to a friend who is able to maintain good relations with two people who don’t get along with each other. It is the sweet, earthy quality (soma), of the one friend that is able to absorb the opposite tendencies of his two opposing friends. If there is enough sweetness and acceptance there, all three could work very harmoniously together. In fact, a harmonious team of opposites could be a most effective team, because of all the complimentary abilities.

Yashtimadhu does the same thing. Due to its binding and buffering ability, it is very nourishing and accepting (it does not even oppose harsh amavisha toxins). It has enough soma to absorb the intense qualities of different herbs and help them work together.

What You Will Learn in This Section of the Course

In this 29 minute audio lecture, you will learn from Vaidya Mishra all about yashtimadhu (licorice) direct from the Sanskrit verses of Bhava Prakash Nighantu, an ancient text of Ayurvedic herbology

You will get a herbal tea recipe for hangover (glani).

You will learn the physical properties of yashtimadhu and several prabhavas (special properties) not mentioned above, and you will learn about many imbalances which yashtimadhu helps to improve.

DGL In Our Herbal Products

DGL is featured in the following formulations (and is included as a minor ingredient in many of Vaidya Mishra’s other formulations).

DGL Herbal Memory Nectar

  • Gently cools the body while binding toxins.
  • Is medhya (enhances coordination of dhi, dhriti and smriti) to improve mental function.
  • Bypasses the digestive system and liver, which may be weak, to deliver the vibration of the herb directly to the areas it is needed.
  • Should be added to 1 to 2 liters of cool water and sipped throughout the day.
  • Balances pitta and vata doshas.

DGL Transdermal Cream

  • Delivers the deglycerized licorice directly to the tissues that need it without having to go through the digestive or metabolic system if they are corrupt.
  • Can remove amavisha through local application.
  • Balances pitta and vata.

DGL Powder

  • Can be used in herbal tea to sweeten the taste.
  • Delivers the physical properties of the herb for maximum toxin-binding, alkalizing and lubricating effect.
  • Can get corrupted by poor digestion or weak liver, proving it to be ineffective.
  • Balances pitta and vata.

How to Use the Course Materials

When you download the zip file for this section of the course (and unzip it using a free unzip program like 7-Zip), you will find a PDF file (which can be opened with the free Adobe Reader) and an MP3 file (which can be played on any MP3 player such as iPod or iTunes).  You can listen to the audio alone, but for the first time through (at least), we recommend that you follow along with the PDF document to make sure that all of the concepts are clear.  The PDF’s sometimes contain visual diagrams in addition to the Sanskrit verses.  If you learn visually, reading along with the PDF will be helpful.

We also recommend reviewing the PDF, and re-listening to the MP3 file many times, so that you begin to recognize the knowledge and own it.  These MP3 files are especially good to put on your MP3 player so you can listen in the car.  Just as it is easy to remember songs you hear over and over on the radio, you will find that the knowledge in these lectures will stick to you with no effort when you hear them over and over.  You will also find that your understanding of the material deepens each time you hear them.

Disclaimer

This product and statements have not been evaluated by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and are not intended to be used to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. All of the information above is intended for educational purposes only and may not be used to replace or compliment medical advice.

Disclaimer

The sole purpose of this blog is to provide information about the alternative healing modalities of Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda (SVA) as practiced in Vaidya Mishra's ancestral family tradition. The information contained herein is not intended for use in the diagnosis, prevention or cure of any disease. If you have any serious, acute or chronic health concern, please consult a licensed health professional who can fully assess your needs and address them effectively. Otherwise, for more information, you may call Vaidya Mishra's Prana Center toll free in the USA at 1.888.3CHANDI (888.324.2634). or 1.818.709.1005 globally, or email us at: info@prana-center.com. You may also visit: www.vaidyamishra.com, or www.chandika.com

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