Enlightenment is happening here and now. Transcendent experiences allow us to gain direct knowledge of how truly unlimited we are. They give us a window into our limitless nature and the interconnected universe. But continually seeking the transcendent can become addictive and turn into an obstacle for us. Enlightenment is not "found" in any special place or experience. Enlightenment is our nature. When we awaken to that and live in it, everything in our life is a spiritual practice - laundry, doing dishes, driving kids around. There is no more need for transcendence because we are living in constant communion with the Divine Source.
The big problems we have with smoothies in Ayurveda are: 1. They combine foods that don't digest well together, such as fruits and dairy. 2. They are usually cold because they contain ice or frozen fruits. Drinking iced beverages is like pouring water on your digestive fire. These Ayurvedic objections have been circumvented in this recipe. I'm doing something a little different here. Typically, I talk about the traditional Ayurvedic ways of doing things: using only our hands as measurements in cooking, making everything completely from scratch...but here I am embarking on a quest to make Ayurvedic recipes adaptable to busy folks. We have to face it that the modern world does not allow most people much time for food preparation. I am lucky enough to have a career built around my Ayurvedic life. Most people can't do that. So we have to make more efforts to bring this incredible ancient healing wisdom into harmony with the modern world. There are some areas that the modern person can and needs to change: daily meditation is an absolute necessity for mental health, whole and real foods need to be eaten, and we all need to simplify by letting go of taking on too much and feeling guilty for not accomplishing more. But in some ways, we can also make Ayurvedic eating easier. It is better for someone do the best they can to eat healthier, than to become so overwhelmed with all of our requirements that they do nothing at all. Pumpkin Smoothie Recipe -3/4 cup Almond milk -1/2 can organic pumpkin -1 tablespoon coconut cream -1 tablespoon raw honey -1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice I made this using a mixing wand. All you need to do is put all the ingredients into a blender of some type and blend for about 5 seconds. I like texture in my drinks, so I also added a handful of sliced almonds and then blended for about 5 more seconds. Then, because presentation is important to me, I sprinkled a pinch of the pumpkin pie spice on the top before I drank it. This was delicious! Now, it's time to play some more and see if I can thicken it up to make a custard! My breakfast today: black beans and rice with green chilies. It's pretty simple. Most of you could eat this without the chilies. I am Vata-dominant, so in the Autumn I need a lot of heat in my food to keep from getting dried out and then congested. Everyone says I make the best rice, so I'm going to share my recipe for it here. How I make my rice: -Over low heat, I first put a spoonful of coconut oil in the pot and melt it. Sometimes it's more than a spoonful, it's just supposed to be enough to coat all the rice that I'm using. -Before I add the rice to the oil, I put whatever spices I'm going to use in the oil. Adding the spices to the oil allows the spice flavored to permeate the whole dish rather than just sticking to certain places on the rice. -For my basic rice recipe, I use a palm full of coriander powder added to the coconut oil. After letting it infuse into the oil for maybe 30 seconds then I add the rice. -When I add the rice to the pot, I stir it to make sure it all gets coated with the oil. -After all the grains of rice are thoroughly coated with oil, add the water to the pot. I use a 1:2 ratio of rice to water. So however much dry rice I'm using, I put twice that amount of water in. -When the water is added, I turn the heat up to high and bring the water to a boil. I do not cover the pot! -I let the water boil and make sure it's at a good rolling boil for about a minute. Then, I cover the pot, remove the pot from the heat, and let it sit for 15 minutes. -Usually, depending on the environmental conditions, after 15 minutes all the water is absorbed and the rice is done! Sometimes, if it's extremely humid outside, it takes a little longer. I hope you all enjoy playing with this recipe! You can add different spices to the oil at the beginning. You can also use ghee instead of coconut oil. Play with the flavors and have fun! Happy first day of cleansing! This is how I'm taking my morning ghee this time around. Sometimes I do "ghee pills", where I just take the ghee in solid form and swallow it with water. This time, I decided it would be fun to take it melted in this espresso shot cup. I'm going to be posting here pretty often, basically blogging my cleanse here so you all can see what I'm doing, get ideas, and be inspired. Ayurvedic cleansing literally saved my life. I cleanse every Spring and Autumn, and I am excited to be sharing this experience with all of you! 🌻 The truth about setting boundaries is that not everyone is going to like it when you do it, but it is a necessary and healthy practice. Your time and energy is equally valuable to everyone else's time and energy. Some people are more aware of overstepping boundaries than others, and there will be moments in life when you have to firmly establish your boundaries with someone who continually tries to push them. Remember that it is your responsibility to take care of yourself and your needs - not in a greedy or selfish manner, but out of love and respect for yourself and others. Letting other people ignore or overstep your boundaries is not being generous; it is allowing yourself to be disrespected. And you don't deserve that, whether it is in a personal or professional setting. 🌻 Ayurveda FAQ: Regarding Probiotics Q: Why do you often recommend that people stop their use of probiotic supplements? What is the Ayurvedic perspective on probiotics? A: When I see a patient in my office who has been taking probiotics for more than a month, that is usually a sign of an underlying problem. Unless that patient is on long-term antibiotic therapy under physician supervision, their physician is recommending that they take probiotics daily, or some other such health condition exists, I will often recommend that the patient discontinue probiotic use. The reason for this recommendation is that we need to see if the digestive system can function properly without the external probiotic input. Your body should be able to maintain a healthy bacterial balance in the digestive tract without the input of probiotic supplements. Dietary sources of probiotics should be sufficient, and these should be eaten in moderation. I have noticed that Americans tend to hear that something is good for them and then proceed to eat it in excessive amounts. If your body is not able to maintain a healthy bacterial balance without the continual input of probiotic supplements, that is a sign that there is a serious underlying issue in the digestive system that needs to be addressed. If your body cannot digest normally without you taking probiotics, it is important to address the underlying cause of poor digestion, rather than putting a band-aid on it with supplements. Long-term use of probiotics supplements does not fix the problem, it masks the symptoms of underlying digestive illnesses. Some signs of poor digestion include: depression; anxiety; acne; heartburn; constipation; loose stools; stools that are yellowish, orange-colored, or greenish; belching; passing gas; bloating; recurrent yeast infections; and allergies. From the Ayurvedic perspective, the human body in its natural healthy state is capable of performing all necessary functions without the long-term use of supplements. This is why Ayurvedic Practitioners use herbal medicines as a temporary input while we address underlying causes of illness by guiding our patients to implement dosha-appropriate diet and lifestyle practices. In the case of probiotics, an Ayurvedic Practitioner may recommend them as one aspect of a complete process to reset digestive function. The Ayurvedic digestive reset protocol involves evaluation of you as an individual to determine what specific issues exist in the digestive system. We will often recommend that you undergo the Ayurvedic Detoxificaton process is called "panchakarma", which means "five actions". For details about the five actions, click this link: http://michelleshealthrevolutionblog.weebly.com/3/post/2015/09/colon-cleansing-vs-panchakarma.html These five actions have been clinically proven to eliminate toxins from the body. The panchakarma process eliminates all excess doshas from the body, restoring healthy digestion. Without addressing underlying causes of the need for probiotic use, treatment is incomplete. I hope this helps! Blessings, Michelle 🌻 This is a recipe that I have been sharing with my patients for years. This recipe is balancing for Vata and Pitta doshas and makes a very easy breakfast. It only takes about 5 minutes to make! I recommend eating it warm in the winter. These are the ingredients you will need. I use the whole container of coconut milk and the whole container of chia seeds. First, mix the coconut milk and chia seeds together with a fork so that all the chia seeds are wet. The other ingredients you add by handfuls according to personal preference. After mixing everything well, cover and place in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, your chia pudding will be ready to eat! This recipe also works well with mango chunks or cherries instead of the cranberries. Image ©2015 Michelle Dexter Garber I'd like to share a few words about Ayurvedic detoxification (Panchakarma) and draw attention to important distinctions between "colon cleansing" and Ayurvedic detoxification practices. I see "colon cleansing" programs advertised all the time, in stores and circulating on Facebook. When I read the details about these programs or look into the supplements involved, what I find out is that these "cleanses" are just ways to increase bowel movements. The herbal supplements involved are simply laxatives. It is true that bowel movements are an important aspect of our body's natural daily elimination of toxins. However, the idea that our colon should be "cleaned out" through extreme measures is very misguided. Having the bowels cleared out makes us feel lighter, and often results in temporary weight loss (which is really just loss of the fecal matter from the colon). You can poop all you want, but taking laxatives is not equivalent to detoxification.
The Ayurvedic detoxification process of Panchakarma is a clinical protocol designed to reset the dosha balance in the body. Unlike with "colon cleansing", the specifics of the treatments are individualized to treat specific health conditions. Panchakarma means "five actions", and each of the actions has the effect of eliminating excesses of a particular dosha. The five classical actions include: 1) Therapy to remove excess Kapha/mucous from the lungs and sinuses. 2) Herbally medicated enema given to nourish the colon (dry colon mucosa is often the cause of chronic constipation) and balance Vata dosha. Some people have strong aversions to this step and we can work around it if that is your preference. 3) Nasya: herbal therapies for the sinuses. 4) Rakta moksha (“blood cleansing”): either donating blood to stimulate the spleen to produce new blood cells, and/or herbal support of these systems - liver, spleen, gallbladder, female reproductive system. 5) Purgation to remove excess Pitta and toxins from the digestive tract (this is usually the final step of the program). In addition to these five actions, the following techniques are employed, with the specifics of each treatment catering to individual needs: 1) swedana (sweating): some form of sweating (sauna, herbal steam, exercise, etc.) to facilitate the elimination of wastes through the skin 2) snehana (oleation): intake of oil to draw fat-soluble toxins from tissues in the body, massage to circulate lymph and facilitate the movement of toxins to the digestive tract, other oil treatments such as shirodhara (pouring warm, herbalized oil over the third eye) and picchu (application of warm, herbalized oil to the third eye using an oil-soaked cloth) 3) dosha-balancing diet: a very simple diet is eaten to facilitate ease of digestion during the program 4) meditation practices: for release of toxic emotions The "colon cleansing" that most people associate with detoxification is actually one of the final steps in Panchakarma. In Panchakarma, individualized therapeutic actions done for a specific number of days draw toxins from their stored locations in the body and bring them to the digestive tract for elimination. In the final stage of Panchakarma, purgative therapy is done to eliminate the contents of the bowels, including the toxins that have been drawn to the digestive tract during the detoxification period. The purgative therapy also eliminates excesses of Pitta dosha. No Panchakarma program is complete without rejuvenation. After detoxification, a rejuvenation program is created to replenish the body with nourishing foods, herbal treatments, and daily practices such as Yoga and meditation. In contrast to the popular “colon cleansing”, Panchakarma is a complete program, designed by a trained Ayurvedic health professional, to facilitate healing for a specific condition. Rather than just making us feel lighter, Panchakarma is known to heal conditions such as lethargy, allergies, digestive disorders, acne, and foggy mind. My first Panchakarma practice healed my recurrent pancreatitis. My second round of Panchakarma got rid of my allergic asthma. I have experienced the benefits of this therapy firsthand, and I continue to practice it every Autumn and Spring to maintain my health. I hope many of you can also experience this wonderful healing technique! If you ever want to really understand how the doshas interact in the body, build a campfire and watch it. The wood won't light unless it is dry enough (Kapha must be low and Vata must be high). Unless there is enough air (Vata) available to flow through the wood, it will not burn. If the wood is dry and air flow is good, the spark of fire (Pitta) will quickly become a strong and roaring flame. The fire will catch even more quickly if you add a wax fire starter (a fatty, Kapha substance). In the same way, Pitta in the body will move quickly to places it doesn't belong if Vata is unbalanced. Vata dries out the Kapha moisture in the body and makes it more vulnerable to Pitta inflammation. Vata also moves quickly when unbalanced, and the situation inside the body is then like the wind blowing on a fire. An example of one such condition is irritable bowel syndrome, where stress in the nervous system creates inflammation in the digestive tract. The flames of Pitta are made stronger by the motion of Vata, and fueled by Vata and Kapha. Kapha can create blockages in the body, which prevent Pitta from moving where it should, and cause extra flow in other places. One example of this is coronary artery disease, where arterial blockages prevent or restrict blood flow. Build a campfire and watch the elements interact. Or just build a fire in your fireplace, backyard grill, or whatever you have available. The best way to understand the doshas is to observe them in nature. As your Pitta fire burns, you will notice how the heat completely evaporates all of the Kapha moisture in the wood. The wood dries out and cracks, eventually losing form completely and turning into dusty ash. This process illustrates how Pitta can increase Vata: fire burning too hot and uncontained causes destruction. Vata has a catabolic (destructive) quality, which is enhanced when Pitta is acting upon it in an excessive way. In our bodies, Pitta in excess creates Vata imbalances. Examples of such conditions are chronic and adrenal fatigue, also known as "burnout". We push ourselves to do too much, never taking time for stillness and play, until one day we discover that we can no longer push. Our adrenal system is dry and tired, and we have no energy. Our Pitta has burned out all our Kapha. Kapha gives us our vitality (known as "ojas" in Ayurveda). This burnout creates a Vata state of nervousness, worry, fear, poor sleep, and low endurance. When it is finally time to put out your campfire, you probably will smother it by throwing dirt (Kapha-earth) on it, and then by pouring water (also Kapha). Now you see how the Kapha can either contain the Pitta, or increase it, depending on the conditions. To make a successful campfire, all the elements must be present in the right balance. The wood must be dry enough, air flow must be optimal, and a good fatty fuel will enhance the ability of the fire to catch. The fire must also be contained by an earth-type substance such as rock, metal, or earth, in order to keep it from spreading. This campfire situation also exists inside our bodies. We need enough of each dosha to perform the functions of life, but a dosha moving in a wrong place will cause problems. Health in Ayurveda is about learning to maintain a balanced state of the doshas, not only in the physical body, but in the emotional and spiritual bodies as well. Learning about how to create this balance is a process of learning by experience, observing the world around us, and learning to trust our intuitive knowledge. We are all part of nature so we all have this knowledge within us. Ayurveda teaches us how to awaken this inner healing knowledge and claim our birthright of health and wholeness. How long does it take to heal? I get asked that question all the time. The truth is that healing time is widely variable, depending on several factors, including: -the degree to which the individual follows through with the treatment plan, - individual readiness to incorporate the full range of Ayurvedic healing practices into their life, and -the amount of time that the condition has existed. Ayurvedic wisdom is that it takes an average of one month of healing for every year that a condition has been present. I have seen people heal much more quickly than the conventional timeline and much more slowly. People experience the quickest results when they are willing to engage with the full range of Ayurvedic healing tools (herbs, energy healing, meditation and breathing exercises, Ayurvedic approach to physical exercise, Yoga, Ayurvedic eating habits, Ayurvedic daily routine, and spiritual practices according to their chosen tradition). My own healing took 2 years for me, after 5 years of severe illness. I felt continually better over that 2-year period, but it took that amount of time for me to address the physical, psychological, and energetic causes of illness. Many people realize that Ayurvedic healing requires active participation and decide not to continue with treatment. That is alright. We are all in a process of learning and growing, and if the time is right for someone to work with the Ayurvedic system, they will be excited to take action to create their own healing within that framework. Not everyone is ready to do that at the same time, and that is ok. With the exception of energy healing and oil treatments, Ayurvedic practitioners do not do the healing work. They use their expertise to analyze pathology and provide guidance to their patients about how they can heal themselves. This is an incredibly empowering experience! Working with an Ayurvedic practitioner is not like visiting a doctor who sees a patient for five minutes and writes a prescription. A good Ayurvedic practitioner provides education in each session, gradually teaching the patient how to heal and then how to maintain their personal best level of health. This process does take time and commitment, for the practitioner and the patient. It is well worth the effort. Imagine the freedom of understanding yourself so well that the only visit to the doctor is for your annual physical (or if an injury occurs, but still the freedom is there). Before engaging with Ayurvedic treatment, it is best to commit to following it through to the fullest extent. People have revolutionary healing experiences when they stay the course. I lived through revolutionary healing in my own practice of Ayurveda, and that's where my practice got it's name: Health Revolution Ayurveda. Blessings to All- Michelle |