Mt Madonna Founder Baba Hari Dass “Ayurveda is for freeing the mind which is trapped in the body. Yoga is for freeing the soul which is trapped in the mind.” --Baba Hari Dass The Essence of Ayurvedic Healing Both Ayurveda and Yoga accept the principles of Samkhya philosophy. While there are many foundational principles, for our [...]
Revealing Ayurveda in Ayurveda Unveiled Filmmaker Gita Desai has established herself as a sincere student and enthusiastic chronicler of the deep wisdom and extensive history of India’s Vedic arts and sciences. Her first two works, Yoga Unveiled and Raga Unveiled, elucidate the traditions of yoga and Indian classical music. They have traveled the world and [...]
Rebirth of the Light: Tending the Inner Fire at the Winter Solstice – New Year Inside the fertile darkness the light emerges... The Winter Solstice on December 21 is the darkest point of the year. At this time, ritual and celebratory fires are lit across the Earth. This includes Yule logs in Northern Europe and the [...]
If you have been living under the impression that yoga is just a sweaty physical activity involving the union of the head to the knee and the frivolous merging of fancy tank tops to costly bottoms, you might want to reset your spiritual router. Sun, Moon, and Earth: The Sacred Relationship of Yoga and Ayurveda [...]
History of Shilaji Shilajit (pronounced shee-lah-jeet) is a nutrient-dense humic resin derived from the high Himalayan Mountains of India and Nepal. It is famous throughout Indian history as a rasayana. This is a Sanskrit term for substances and herbs that enhance overall health, such as superfoods and adaptogens. (Adaptogens are stabilizers of homeostasis that increase [...]
The first time I heard of “kitchari” was during preparation for my first Panchakarma (the Ayurvedic cleansing and rejuvenation process) treatment at the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico. Kitchari (pronounced kich-ah-ree and sometimes spelled khichadi) is a staple of Indian cuisine and Ayurvedic medicine. It was first used to nourish babies, the elderly, and the [...]
Ayurveda is translated as the “knowledge of life” (ayus: life, veda: knowledge). The Indian holistic medical system first mentioned Ayurveda with yoga in the Vedas around 3,500 years ago. It is considered the healing side of yoga, and the practice of yoga is the spiritual side of Ayurveda. Both strive to help us stay connected [...]
Cinnamon Tea is a powerful Ayurvedic remedy for traveling. When we’re flying through the air (sometimes literally) one of our greatest challenges is to keep our feet firmly planted on the ground. Fortunately, there are a number of techniques from Ayurveda for travelers. The teachings of Ayurveda tell us that the fall [...]
In 1990, I was a culinary student at the Cordon Bleu in San Francisco and worked for Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley. My goal was to study and work in France and ultimately I spent a year-and-a-half honing my craft in Paris and Provence. With all my formal education I must admit that [...]
Retrain your Taste Buds We are creatures of habit and our habits then perpetuate everything about us as a creature. For example, our relationship with our taste buds is in some ways a habit. We become habituated to taste and this affects how we we then make choices about what we eat based in part [...]