Our lifestyle during the present pandemic

I am happy to have been invited to periodically share with you all bits of information that I hope you’ll find useful to enjoy a healthy life.

This winter it is very important for us to pay a lot of attention to our way of life, to our emotions, what we eat and how we take care of ourselves.

Ayurveda is a holistic healing science, which means that it concerns the totality of life. It not only takes care of the body but also the mind and the soul. It is a three dimensional therapy, involving the physical, mental and spiritual. Perfect health can be achieved only when the mind body and soul are in harmony with each other and also with the person’s surroundings. For me, in this moment, the holistic side of personal wellbeing of the individual is the necessity of the individual to be in harmony with society.

Any person’s life can be good or bad, happy or unhappy. A good life for the individual is beneficial for the wellbeing of society as well as for each person, and vice versa. A healthy person is happy, and a sick person is unhappy. Right now in this challenging time I am observing what is happening as people who are unemployed begin to suffer from what we call the Kapha-Vata disorder. In Ayurveda, we identify 3 basic body and personality types that must be balanced in order to maintain good health, Kapha, Pitta and Vata. We can identify health problems when they are unbalanced. When people live through a sudden change from an active life to inactivity, for example, they are dealing with fear and anxiety, stress, nervous collapse, depression and insecurity, causing change in habits such as excess sleeping at the wrong time of day.

I cannot emphasize more that it is very important for people to do simple yoga, stretching, and breathing exercises at home. Listening to music, singing and dancing can be very helpful. It is important to eat good, nutritious food, and remember to drink 1 1/2 litres of water every day. Right now we live our lives in bits and pieces, fragmented in time, space, body and mind, so when we wish to adopt Ayurveda in our lives, we cannot simply start the application of its principles on our disintegrated being. What I mean by a new beginning is that we need to see and feel ourselves as a whole, as an integrated unit, and then we can recognize our oneness with the Cosmos.

Holistic medicine is not possible without a holistic way of life. For example, it is important to eat food according to the season or time of day, and our intuitive feelings about the right food and the right nutrition for the moment. Seasonal fruit and vegetables and their combinations maintain our natural equilibrium, and the consumption of foods out of season is challenging to this natural balance. Especially now, in this difficult winter.

Amla is an Ayurvedic plant-based supplement that is very high in vitamin C, best for your lungs and for reinforcing the immune system. Vitamin E and Selenium work well together, being the best complement to fight this stress.

Let me give you a simple recipe for a soothing and healthful warm infusion:

– Boil water with 1 tsp of grated ginger, 2 peppercorns, cinnamon and about 6-8 basil leaves.
– Remove and squeeze in about 10 drops of lemon juice + 1 spoon of natural honey.

This is very good at this moment, and can be taken in the morning or also after dinner.

Hope to meet you all again on my next post. Wish health and luck to everyone.

Dr. S. Mohanambal