Effects of Abhyanga & Swedana on Skin

Layers of Skin        Components                                               Attributes

1. Epidermis             Keratocytes                            -->            Surface protection

                                Melanocytes                          -->             Colour of Skin

2. Dermis                 Blood vessels,Nerves,
                                Lymphatics, Glands                -->             Support


                                Cells -- Mast cells                 -->              Histamine

                                          Fibroblasts                  -->              Fibres

3. Sub-dermis                Sub-cutaneous fat            -->             Cushion function

Compiled from Panchakarma Therapy

Prof. R H Singh

Love Plants

1. Amalaka : Emblica officinalis 

Goose berry

Powder of goose berry impregnated with the juice of goose berry mixed with Jaggery+Honey+Ghee (Clarified Butter) taken with milk.

(Susrutha Chikithsa 26.24 also V.M. 70.8.9)
2. Ankota : Alangium salvifolium
Ankolaabaddha Vati

Parts Used: Root (Bark), Seed, Seed Oil

Dose: Root Bark decoction - 50 - 100 ml+ Root bark powder 6gms

Seed oil is used externally

(R.Y S.I, P.46)

3. Asvatta : Ficus religiosa

Fruit + Root+ Bark + and Leaf Bud of the tree cooked in Milk with added Sugar (Jaggery) and Honey

4. Bhallataka : Semecarpus anacardium

Four Bhallataka fruits cooked in 1.28 litres of Milk

(A.S.U. 50.29)

5. Girikarnika (Aparajita) : Clitorea ternata

Leaves of white aparajita cooked with milk in the mornings

(V.D 20.20)

6. Godhuma : Triticum aestivum

Wheat

Wheat flour and seeds of Kapikachu are cooked in milk, when cooled mix with Ghee and taken

(S.S.Ci 26.30)

7. Gokshura : Tribulus terresteris

a. Powders of Gokshura + Ikshuraka (10) + Satavari + Kapikachu (8)+ Nagabala + Atibala with milk in the night (V.M. 70.14)

Nagabala and atibala are varieties of Sida cordifolia

b. Gokshura cooked in milk (G.N. 2.9.58)

8. Kapikacchu : Mucuna pruriens

Powder with milk will never suffer from semen deficiencies (Su.Sam. Chi. 26.33)

9. Karkatasrungi : Pistacia integrima

The fruit mixed with milk should be taken regularly and has to be on a diet of cereals, honey and ghee.

(A. S. U 50.44)

10. Kokilaksha (Ikshuraka) : Astercantha longifolia 

Powdered Seeds of Kapikachu + Kokilaksha + Sugar (Jaggery) taken with tepid milk (Su.Su.Chi 26.33)

11. Madhuka (Yashtimadhu) : Glycyrrhiza glabra

Madhuka powder 10gm + Ghee + Honey followed by Milk

(C.S. Chi 2.3.19 ; A. S. U 50.43)

12. Maasha : Phaseolus mungo

a. Gruel made of maasha grains with ghee and milk acts as aphrodisiac (C.S. Su 2.32)

b. 40 gm Masha + Honey + Ghee followed by milk (S. S. Chi 26.29)

c. Masha Powder impregnated with Amalaki (Gooseberry Juice) added with ample honey + Ghee , followed by milk (A. S. Su 50.40)

Parts Used: Seeds

Dose: 5-10 Gms

13. Mashaparni : Teramnus labialis

Parts used : Whole plant

Dose:  decoction 50 - 100 ml

Prep: Shashtikaadi Gulika (Tablet)

14. Munjataka : Orchis latifolia

Parts used: Tuber

Dose: Powder: 3-5 gms

Prep: Godhumadhya Ghrutha

15. Mudgaparni : Phaseolus trilobus

Prep: Shashtikaadi Gulika (Tablet)

(C.S Chi 2.2.5)

16. Musali : Asparagus adscendens

a. Musali root powder combined with Gudichi (Guduchi Tinospora cordifolia) Satva + Kapikachu + Gokshura + Jaggery + Amalaka suspended in milk + Ghee (S. G 2.6.58 also B.P Ci 72. 25-2)

b. Musalyadi Choornam (Powder) (Y.R. 446)

Parts used: Root 

Dose: Powder 3-5 gm

17. Salmali Salmali malabarica

with cows milk (H. S 3.47; also VD 20.17,23)

18. Sara (Munja) : Saccharum munja

An ingredient in Brumhani gutika ( C. S. Ci 2.1.24)

19. Shashtika (A type of rice) : 

Shashtika brimhani gutika

Dose: Powder: 10-20 gms

20. Shatavari : Asparagus racemosus

a. Shatavari gutika (C.S.Ci 2.3.18)

Shatavari + Milk (V.J.S.S)

21. Sringataka Trapa natan

Var. Bispinosa

Ingredient of Apatyakara svarasa and Vrushyaghrutha (C.S.Ci 2.2.14 22)

22. Talapatri : Curculigo orchioides

Powder with Milk (V. V 4.8)

23. Tila : Sesamum indicum

Tila + Ghee + Triphala + Honey + Trikatu + Bhallataka + Jaggery all in equal quantity

(CD 50.62; also A H U 40.25)

24. Vidaari : Pueraria tuberosa

Vidari Powder impregnated with its own juice + Ghee + Honey (S.S.Ci 26.23)

25. Vrudhadaruka : Argyreia speciosa 

Ghee cooked with vrudhadaaruka root taken internally with milk (B S Striroga 174)

Compiled from Ayurvedline

Dr. A Nadkarni

Disclaimer:

This information is based on Ayurvedic scriptures only and is not intended for any treatments or should not be considered as an advice for treating your self. For any medical conditions please take advice from your GP or an Ayurvedic practitioner

10 Benefits of Swimming

1. You just might Live Longer

     Research have shown that those who swim had a 50 percent lower death ratethan runners, walkers or men who got no exercise. The research scientist have concluded that the same benefits would be recieved by Aqua women as well as men.

2. Lower Stress, Higher Spirits, and Better brain

    Swimming aids in the release of the feel good chemicals known as Endorphins- one of swimming's most pleasant side effects. In addition to a natural high swimming can also evoke the relaxation response similar to the way Yoga works on the body. This is due in large part to the constant stretching and relaxing of your muscles combined with deep rhythmic breathing. Swimming is also a meditative exercise, with the sound of your own breathing and the splash of the water acting as a mantra of sorts that can help you "Drown out" all other distractions.

Aside from the metaphysical benefits of swimming, research have shown that  it can actually change the brain for the better through a process known as Hippocampal Neurogenesis, in which the brain replaces cells lost through stress.

3. Lower Risk of Diabetes

    When it comes to warding off diabetes there are few prescriptions as powerful as aerobic exercise. According to american diabetes association, diabetics should get 150 minutes per week, spread across at least three days per week, of moderate- intensity physical activity like swimming to aid glycaemic control

4. Improved Cholesterol

    Being healthy is more about having the right ratio of cholesterol in your body than just having low amounts of the stuff in your blood.. Specifically it is beneficial to have higher levels of "Good" cholesterol (HDL) and lower levels of LDL, "Bad" cholesterol

Swimming can get these levels in the right balance thanks to its aerobic power, which has been proven to raise HDL levels. And for every 1% increase in HDL reduces the risk of dying from heart disease drops by 3.5 percent

5. Improved Asthma Symptoms

    Unlike exercising in dry air of the gym, or contending with seasonal allergies or frigid winter air, swimming provides the chance to work in moist air, which can help reduce exercise- induced asthma symptoms. Even those Asthma could benefit from swimmingm say the study's authors, as the exercise can increase lung volume.

6. Weight Control.

    Swimming is considered as one of the best and most efficient calorie burner around, and it is great for keeping weight under control. As a general rule every 10 minutes of swimming

a. Breast stroke- 60 Calories

b. Backstroke- 80 Calories

c. Freestyle- 100 Calories

d. Butterfly stroke- 150 Calories

7. A Healthier Heart

   In addition to toning visible muscles like pectorals, triceps and quads, swimming also helps improve the most important muscle in our bodies: the heart.

Because swimming is an aerobic exerccise, it serves to strengthen the heart, not only helping it to become larger, but making it more efficient in pumping; leading to better blood flow through out the body.Research evidence is also pointing that aerobic exercise can combat the body's inflammatory response as well.

8. Improved Flexibility.

    Unlike exercise machines in a gym, that tend to isolate one body part at a time (like a biceps curl machine, for example), swimming puts the body through a broad range if motion that helps joints and ligaments stay loose and flexible. The arms move in wide arcs, the hips are engaged as the legs scissor through the water, and the head and spine twist from side to side. Plus, with every stroke, as you reach forward, you're lengthening the body, which not only makes it more efficient in the water, it also helps give you a good stretch from head to toe.

9. Increased muscle tone and Strength

    Swimming simply is a great way to increase muscular strength and muscle tone-especially compared to several other aerobic exercise. Take running, for example. When a jogger takes a few laps around the track, that jogger is only moving his or her body through air. A swimmer, on the other hand, is propelling himself through water-- a substance about twelve times as dense  as air. That means that every kick and every arm stroke becomes a resistance exercise-- and its well known that resistance are the best way to build muscle tone and strength.

Yet another bonus of a watery workout: swimming has also been shown to improve bone strength-- especially in post-menopausal women.

10. The ability to do more with less

      Swimming offers something that no other aerobic exercise does: theability to work your body without harsh impact to your skeletal system. When the human body is submerged in water, it automatically becomes lighter. When immersed to the waist, your body bears just 50 percent of its weight and that number reduces to around 25-35 percent; with water all the way to the neck, you only have to bear 10 percent of your own weight.

Schools of the Future

"The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence"- Sri Rabindranath Tagore

"Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain and runs riot there, undigested all your life. We must have life-building, man-making and character-making assimilation of ideas." Swami Vivekananda

The Oxford English Dictionary have defined life as ceaseless change till death. "Anything that does not change does not come under the definition of science," wrote a federal judge in the USA while delivering his judgement in a dispute between the Creationists and Scientists.

Human life history is the story of the evolution of this universe itself. If one wants to understand the nature one wants to understand human nature which is a minuscule of this universe itself.

We are obsessed with science today. The word science brings goose bumps on many of us. There are many schools which still follows certain set paths and syllabus without any change to the same. Of course there have been some cosmetic changes with the schools becoming big corporate businesses. However the philosophy of feeding the young creative minds with useless dead information seems to be our goal. Rote learning for getting grades is the order of the day. Grades should make wealthy careers at the end of the day is the philosophy accepted by majority of the parents as also the powers that be in the educational system, and some of the powerful industrial honchos who see nothing wrong in education being a business.

The vital part of education, which is to try and make healthy minds is all but lost in this milieu. 

The first life came as  a single cell which could do all that you and I can do today, breathe, eat, excrete, think and work. That stage went on for more than a trillion and half years when these single cell individuals wisely thought that it is better to get together as a colony to work more efficiently with least expense.

They had a fertile brain in their cell wall (membrane), called the membrain by a famous cell biologist, Bruce Lipton. They could sense their environment through antennae in their cell walls, their brain, called  Integral. Membrane Proteins (IMPs). Figuratively life gets born then like your actors on the TV Screen. When that antennae does not get message (when you switch off the TV) life ebbs out just as the TV actor dies when the switch goes off. The consciousness gets into, maybe another cell immediately after that-life again. So death is only a part of life and not it's end

Why did the single free floating cell come together then? They realised that they are better off and stronger if they came together in larger groups as they could expand their individual consciousnesses many fold by increasing the IMPs exponentially! How wise of them! As time passed they realised that each one of them need not do all the work that needs to be done, they could share their responsibilities. Some cell groups inside the body became what we call today organs doing specific tasks more efficiently. But they did not lose sight of the fact that they were all functionally identical even when they were morphologically different to fit that organ e.g, brain looking after overseeing the total function of locomotion etc. in this new role they found that they could care for others better, his evolved  the ohilosophy of spirituality - sharing and caring. This could be seen under the electron microscope in disease conditions.

In a fresh wound site RBC (red blood cells) in the clot could gradually change to pluripotent stem cells to heal the wound eventually! Same cells but different work. These endogenous stem cells are our best do tors in all disease states. 

Education, therefore, should teach the young mind that it is in Sharing and caring that the world can go on for good.

Whereas the current competitive system of education puts negative thoughts of greed hatred, jealousy, anger and pride into that innocent, creative, loving and compassionate mind of a child, this is later on amplified in their work and life. Which can thus create a world devoid of compassion, love, care and share.

Scientific studies have shown that if students in a class with varied levels of intelligence could be taught the principles of collective compassionate sharing efforts, they all get high grades in their examination and their lives in the future! this is conducive to good health as well since body cells enjoy working together anyway. Health is defined as " enthusiasm to work and enthusiasm to be compassionate."those who do not have either or both of those are really sick! In that definition we could classify the whole society is becoming sick today. 

I guess rest of what needs to be done... One could only guess...

 
                                                                                                   Compiled from BVB Journa;

Stress Management

Stress is a natural physiological and physiological effort to cope up with the external and internal stimuli, which produce a strain or disequilibrium. Every single human being feels stressed out by either or all of these factors in their life like their lifestyle, work, dietary habits etc at different stages of their life. Stress have been a part of life for every living being but we are not bothered about every living being but from primitive human being to the present day human beings.

Eustress and distress are the two kinds of stress one could be affected with. Eustress is experienced while involved in entertainments, sports, sex and other hobbies. In Eustress we experience a state of joy at the end of consciously happening events. This is considered as healthy and necessary to fight against distress or Stress as we commonly know.

When a stressful situation occurs without our control without our control and continues for more time or occurs repeatedly, it causes discomfort to the organs or mind. This is termed as distress. They are classified into two- Acute distress and Chronic distress. 

Acute distress.

Is caused due to severe mental shock followed by an incidence like motor accident, fire, physical assault, rape and sudden discovery of severe illness, death of spouse or close relatives, major loss of memory etc. acute stress disorders are lasting from as short as 2 days to at the most 4 weeks. Depending upon the severity and vulnerability of the person this may prolong and cause other ailments. They are commonly classified as Post. Traumatic stress disorders (PTSD).

The core symptoms of an acute stree are Anxiety and Depression, other symptoms include feeling of numbness, shock, insomnia, restlessness, poor concentration and physical symptoms of autonomic arousal.

Chronic Stress

Our fast life, demanding jobs, family environment, and social environment create a number of situations that cause distress. The main causes are 

Work overload,  Time over speed/deadlines. Information (mostly negative), Illness (over anxiety), Desire (over ambition), Relationships