ayurveda, health and wellness, healthy eating, healthy living, stress reduction

Ayurveda Herbs for Dissolving Stress

In Ayurveda, we understand that there is a need to create inner calm without diminishing our alertness and awareness of our surroundings. Herbal remedies are a great way to support this naturally without creating brain fog (which is often a side effect of pharmaceutical drugs).

When herbs are ingested, your body receives the natural medicine right from the plant. Pharmaceutical drugs are also created from flora, only the drug companies extract the natural medicine from the plant and tinker with the chemical composition in ways that can have harmful side effects.

Scientific research has shown that utilizing herbs can reduce stress and anxiety as well as create a sense of calm and heightened alertness. They allow us to build up Ojas, the essence that helps keep our immune system strong.

There are several herbs that I like to call the “worry-free” or “stress-free” herbs because they enhance the power of mental processing. The herbs I’m about to talk about have a special nature: they relax the anxiety in the mind, bring us a sense of awakening and enlightenment, and help us to feel connected with Mother Nature in a natural, nourishing way.

Jatamansi, Greater Galangal and Ashwagandha

These herbs help enhance the mind’s overall ability to fight stress. They’re thought of as the cleansing herbs because they clean out the toxins of the mind and help open up the gap for understanding and awareness.

Between stress and calmness is a gap where our intelligence resides. We always want to tap into this intelligence to heighten our level of clarity and enlightenment.

How to Use Them

I suggest making a tea with these three herbs. You can combine all three of them together, or use the one at a time.

Place ½ – 1 tsp herbs into a tea steeper with boiling water. Allow the tea to sit about 3-5 minutes. The longer you let it steep, the stronger and more effective it will be.

You can use natural sweeteners like agave nectar, but the tea will be delicious without any sweetening as well. Sip on the tea and watch what happens with your mind: you will find yourself becoming more clear, focused, stress-free and anxiety-free.

How to Buy Them

Often these herbs are already formulated in tea bags, but you can also get them in capsules at different health food stores. The capsules are basically the dried herbs that is crushed and put in the gel caps.

I recommend purchasing the best quality, organic, non-GMO herbs online from Banyan Botanicals or Mountain Rose Herbs. Sometimes these herbs are imported so you’ll have to wait a little longer; often there may be a wait for Jatamansi and Ashwagandha because they are such potent and powerful medicines. You can also contact me at info@healthhealingwellness.com] for help in purchasing the products.

If you’re ready to improve your health in a meaningful and natural way, visit http://www.stressassessmentmagic.com] for some easy and free ways to enhance your well-being.

Wishing you much health and wellness!

Namaste,

Rochel Marie Lawson, RN,AHP,CMS

The Queen of Feeling Fabulous

http://www.rochelelawson.com

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ayurveda, health and wellness, healthy living, Uncategorized

7 Ways to Boost Your Immunity and Energy – Part II

Often we think about boosting our immune system during cold and flu season, but throughout the entire year things come up that can throw us off-kilter and create havoc to our system and energy levels.

Last blog, I talked about Ojas and Ama https://ayurvedahealing.org/2014/03/24/7-way-to-boost…-energy-part-1 and explored how food choice can affect toxin-levels in our bodies. Today, I’m going to share a few more strategies that I use with my clients to help them stay healthy and energized 365 days a year.

Spices

Cooking with immune-promoting spices is a really smart way to boost your system. The beautiful thing about cooking with spices is that the natural nutrient balance in the food remains undisturbed, and they add wonderful new flavor and texture.

In Ayurveda, we use a lot of herbs in natural medicine and cooking, and spices play a very important role in assisting our bodies to absorb the intelligence that we eat. When you add spices to your cooked vegetables, grains and legumes, the food can more quickly convert into the essence of Ojas that helps naturally build our immune system and increase our energy. Try some of these spices the next time you’re whipping up a meal:

Turmeric

This spice has an immune modulating effect. It is a detoxifier and enhances the intelligence of the immune cells. Turmeric is really delicious and is often found in East Indian cooking.

Cumin

Often found in Latin dishes, this spice burns away the Ama in the digestive tract. It has a great smell and tastes wonderful.

Black Pepper

This spice clears tissue channels so the essence of the Ojas travel deeper into the body and build a healthy and stable foundation for good health.

All three of these spices are great for any dosha type.

Fruit

The main goal in eating fruit is to keep your bowel cleansed and free of undigested foods that can create Ama. Organic, tree-ripened fruit is the best option. If you don’t have access to fresh fruit, frozen is next best, but be careful to avoid canned fruit. It’s dead, it’s dead, it’s dead.

Apples contain antioxidants, and insoluble and soluble fiber which helps cleanse the bowel. They are also sweet and juicy. Whoever said that an apple a day keeps the doctor away was really tapping into some higher intelligence.

Pears, peaches, plums, sweet pineapples and mango are some fruits that transform quickly into the essence of Ojas. Pomegranate seed juice or chutney keeps the body in balance as well.

I love having some papaya after a big meal to satisfy my sweet tooth without adding excess fat in the middle of my waist.

Essential Oils

Essential oils are a really powerful way to support the immune system. If you’re newer to essential oils and would like to find out how you can use them and where to find them, there is more information HERE [LINK: previous essential oils post].

Peppermint Essential Oil naturally supports the respiratory system and is awakening and energy enhancing. It gently increases the essence of Ojas in the body.

Lemon Essential Oil helps to naturally jumpstart the liver into detoxification mode and push Ama out of the body. It’s great at assisting the body in absorbing the nutrients from our food without over-taxing the system (it’s also really great for naturally increasing energy levels).

If you do all these things, in no time you will be digesting your food in a much more healthy and productive manner! Did you love all this information, and want to go a little deeper? Visit http://www.stressassessmentmagic.com for more tips.