Natural beauty and hair care with Ayurveda

Beauty according to Ayurveda is an elaborate topic and physical beauty is only a tiny portion of the whole beauty of human beings. It is better to wear a smile than artificial makeup. You can’t hide what is in your mind with makeup on your face.

Following are ten simple tips that help you with better natural beauty care and hair care.

1. Get regular sleep and wakeup early in the morning. Not only for health, but also for inner and outer beauty.

2. Self massage whole body with coconut oil, almond oil or olive oil. This facilitates good circulation throughout your body and keeps skin glowing.

3. Apply coconut oil or brahmi oil on head for a cool head and thick growth of hair. Also use coconut oil boiled with henna leaves as hair oil for thickly growing, dark hair.

4. Take nutritious food and drink lot of water. Healthy body is beautiful body.

5. Exercise, meditate and practice yoga regularly. This helps in calming your mind, better blood circulation and gives a healthy air.

6. Always keep a pleasant mind. Happiness at mind is quickly expressed on face.

7. Apply sesame oil on your lower feet. Believe it or not, your eyes look more shining.

8.  Avoid applying chemical makeup on your face.

9. Mingle with good natured people only. It is one step to keep your mind fresh and healthy.

10. Learn ways to control negative emotions like anger and jealousy. Also fill your mind with pleasant thoughts and positive images of life.

Beauty is not all about appearance; it is something about being too.

According to Ayurveda, bodily pains, especially at the joints are cause due to aggravation of vata or vata dosha.

Ama (toxic wastes) can accumulate in weaker parts of body, which further strengthens the aggravation of vata. Amavata, as the disease is commonly called is characterized by painful joints. Rheumatism causes severe pain at joints. The movement of limbs becomes heavy and painful.

The pain at finger joints, knees and elbows become severe in the mornings.

The accumulation of ama can cause permanent injury to the joints. The ama also moves and quickly spreads to other parts of body. The aggravation of vata becomes common as a person ages.

There are different reasons for arthritis and rheumatism. Injury, sprain, infections etc can spark vata accumulation.

Incompatible food is a major factor that causes amavata. Excessive cold or hot food items, preserved food items etc too can cause vata disorders.

Home remedies and tips to control arthritis and rheumatism pains

Fast for a day. This will reduce vata imbalance and digestion gets back in shape. Much ama will be eliminated this way.

Take lemon juice and honey in combo two times a day.

Mix a tsp of turmeric powder in a glass of warm water. Take the drink twice a day.

Guggul is a good remedy for arthritis. Take a pinch of guggulu powder with warm water.

Take coconut water, carrot juice, beet root juice, vegetables and fruits like pineapple on regular basis. Celery, beet, carrots, etc are good for managing arthritis pain.

Walk 30 minutes in the early morning. Follow other possible exercises like swimming.

Get eight hours of sleep at night. DonÂ’t sleep in daytime.

Stay away from causes of stress and anxiety.

Ayurvedic treatment for psoriasis lasts for 21 to 28 days and effectively cures psoriasis. All types of psoriasis and skin diseases have effective treatment in Ayurveda.

Psoriasis is a skin disease that takes a toll on the confidence of a person. It is characterized by silvery scales or plaques on skin. Skin cells are easily lost. Skin will also be dry.

According to Ayurveda psoriasis occurs due to vitiation of vata and kapha doshas. The reasons can be incompatible food taking, accumulation of toxins etc.

Panchakarma, the basic body purification method is used in the treatment of psoriasis. Ayurvedic treatment for psoriasis goes through several stages viz. lepanam (application of ointments), abhayangam (oil massage), snehapanam (taking medicated ghee), pizhichil (full body massage), avisnanam (medicated steam bath), sirovasti (keeping oil on head) and other bastis (enema). A psoriasis patient is also given a strict diet regime called pathyam.

Guggul is an Ayurvedic herb useful in treating difficult conditions of psoriasis and eczema.

Neem has enormous potential of purifying blood. It is one among the best blood purifier and detoxifier known to Ayurveda. Neem enhances immune system. Neem oil is an antiseptic in itself. Neem leaf extracts are used in antiseptics and can be effectively used in treating dryness of skin, acne, psoriasis and eczema. It destroys fungus and bacteria and is best for almost all kinds of skin diseases including redness of skin and itching.

Ayurvedic treatment of psoriasis and eczema utilizes a three-pronged strategy taking into account the ahara (diet), vihara (lifestyle) and aushada (medicines). Along with the application of medicines, the person also needs to control his diet and lifestyle to attain maximum results of psoriasis/eczema treatment.

Ayurvedic Home Remedies for Eczema
Eczema is a skin disorder characterized by dry, itchy skin, blisters and redness.

Prevention of Eczema
Drink plenty of water, fruit juices and include protein rich food items in your daily menu. Adjust your daily activities to bring stress and tension under control.

Remedies
1. Apply coconut oil over the affected area. This keeps the skin from drying.

2. Make a paste with camphor and sandalwood apply it on the affected area.

3. Take tomato juice.

Bronchitis is inflammation of bronchi or air passages that carry air to lungs. People suffering from bronchitis see a heightening of this disease in damp climate.

In Ayurveda, bronchitis is termed as kasa roga (casa roga). Germs cause the disease.

According to Ayurveda cause of bronchitis is directly linked to failure of digestive system. Thus treating bronchitis primarily aims at treating abnormalities in digestive system. The medicines also have curative powers to treat lung diseases.

Herbal remedies for Bronchitis

Tulsi (Holy Basil Ocimum sanctum), adathoda (Adathoda vasika), linseed, etc are used in the treatment of bronchitis.

Precautionary measures include avoiding exposure to humidity, dust and other allergens.

You should also take care of your food and diet. Include a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables in your daily diet. Avoid smoking, alcohol and other addictives. Canned foods items are also best avoided.

An allergy is said to be a condition in which any part of the body is un-naturally sensitive to external elements like dust, pollen, temperature difference, chemicals, sound, light etc.

The reaction of the body is the result of our immune system alerted about the presence of external factors.

It is to be noted that external factors are not the reason of allergies. Many people are exposed to dust, smoke, quick temperature changes etc. Only the persons who are allergic react strongly to the external factors.

Some children are born with allergies, while most allergies are acquired over time.

Sometimes the allergens are easily avoided. Certain food items, chemicals etc come under this category. There are times when the person is accidentally or compulsorily exposed to the allergens.

The root cause of allergies lies in the food habits of a person. A person taking food items that are not easily digested and absorbed by the body compromises on the effective utilization of the food he or she eats. Incomplete digestion of food causes accumulation of bodily waste called ama in different parts of the body. This ama turns toxic and is called amavisha.

This amavisha reduces immune capacity of a person and causes the person to respond strongly to external stimuli like dust, pollen and changes in climate in a violent manner.

In fact the allergens react with the toxic wastes of the body. This strong reaction is what we call allergy and the stimulants that cause the reaction – allergens.

Ayurvedic body cleansing therapies like panchakarma, specialized massage therapies etc are the best solutions for allergies.

If the bodily wastes are accumulated on skin, an allergen can cause rashes and inflammations. With digestive system, it can lead to diarrhea. With respiratory system, it causes mucus.

Here are a few quick tips to fight allergy

Since food is the starting point, one needs to take a critical look at his or her daily diet.

Avoid cold food items. Cold food items are hard to digest. Eat warm food items. Too hot food items are also not good.

Eat food items that are easily digestible. Replace meat with seafood.

DonÂ’t eat stored or refrigerated food. Prepare food before the meals time only. DonÂ’t keep the food in refrigerator to be used on the following day.

Include spices like turmeric, coriander, ginger, fennel, etc in your food. These spices have detoxifying effects.

DonÂ’t eat after sunset. The body has a natural cleansing process starting from midnight and lasting through mid day. DonÂ’t interfere with this cleaning process. Eating after 10 pm will cause accumulation of more bodily wastes.

Practicing yoga can help. Different yoga meditation postures and pranayama techniques have good detoxification capabilities built in.

Kidney stones are formations of hard masses formed as a result of accumulation of minerals or salts. Kidney stone can be the size of a sand grain or can grow up to three centimeter. The most common type of kidney stones is of calcium oxalate.

The common symptoms are:

Severe pain at lower back, abdomen and genital area

Burning sensation while urinating

Prevention of Kidney Stones

Diet is the first thing to regulate. Take 10-15 or more glasses of fresh water daily. Reduce salt and sugar. Refined food, dairy products, alcohol, carbonated drinks are to be avoided.

Ayurvedic Home Remedy to Prevent Kidney Stone

Nothing is as beneficial as banana stem juice. Crush the inner core of a fruited banana plant and drink the juice. Make it a regular habit to dissolve stones and fight infection.

Coleus aromaticus is another plant that is beneficial in treating kidney stones. The plant is known as pashan bhedi in Sanskrit, which means stone breaker. The leaves of this plant have powerful components capable of dissolving kidney stones. In India this leaf is used in home made Ayurvedic decoction (kashayam) for cold and diseases caused due to climatic changes. Children of the past were also forced to eat a leaf of this plant on a daily basis.

Ayurvedic medicines containing leaf extracts of this plant are available in the market. Consult your Ayurveda physician before you start using the herbal formulation.
 
Carrot juice, lime juice, radish juice, tender coconut water and fresh water are beneficial. Some vegetables to avoid are cabbage, cauliflower and spinach.

Mouth ulcer is characterized by a painful sore on the tongue, gums or inside the lips or cheeks. It is also characterized by a burning sensation or a tingling feeling due to inflammation. In most cases mouth ulcer lasts only for a few days.

There are different types of mouth ulcers caused due to multitude of reasons.

Nutritional deficiency is the prime cause of oral ulcers. Nutrient deficiencies, especially iron, vitamin B12, folic acid (vitamin B9), vitamin C, etc.

Virus attack, specifically herpes simplex virus causes cold sores. Bacteria and fungus also cause mouth ulcer.

Stress or mental trauma can also cause mouth ulcer.

Poor oral hygiene, diseases in digestive tract, bowel diseases, biting, skin diseases etc can also be the reasons for mouth ulcer. Hormonal imbalance too can be a potential cause of mouth ulcer.

Aphthous ulcer or canker sore mouth ulcer is found as a painful sore inside the mouth. There will be a break in the lining tissue.

Biting of tongue or the lining membrane inside mouth also causes ulcer. This type of mouth ulcer is classified minor.

Home remedies for mouth ulcer

Ayurvedic home remedies –
Boil a cup of water with some coriander seeds for five minute. Cool till slightly warm and gargle with the water.

Put some fenugreek leaves in warm water for a minute. Remove the leaves and gargle with the water.

Boil some crushed cardamom in a glass of water. Gargle when water reaches moderate temperature. This also cures bad-breath.

Chew some tulsi leaves (holy basil leaves).

Eat raw tomato.

Take a pinch of turmeric powder and apply it over the blisters.

Alternately gargle with warm and cold water.

Other precautionary measures include drinking tender coconut water, including different fruit and vegetables in daily diet are good measures to control mouth ulcer.

According to Ayurveda, prameha (diabetes) is a kapha disorder characterized by diminished functioning of agni (digestive fire). This leads to incomplete break down of food nutrients, which prevents the nutrients (sugar or glucose) from reaching the target cells or tissues. This sugar retains in the blood, while leaving the tissues to starvation.

Ayurveda classify diabetes into 24 types. Four of them are due to Vata imbalance, 6 due to Pitta imbalance and 10 due to kapha imbalance.

The causes of the disease are accumulation of bodily wastes due to lifestyle imbalances.

Panchakarma usually is the body detoxification/cleansing therapy, which lasts over many days and goes through several processes.

The main Ayurvedic medicine used in treating diabetes is Shilajit (asphaltum, mineral pitch). It helps in taking nutrients to the deeper tissues. Reduces the level of sugar in blood and takes it to the cells where it is required.

Other herbs are neem, bitter gourd, turmeric, guggul, arjuna, aloe vera gel, ginger etc.

Taking bitter gourd juice (bitter melon, karela) before breakfast is beneficial in treating diabetes.

Researches conducted in India have proved the beneficial effects of yoga on diabetes. Yoga postures that stimulate pancreas functioning are beneficial. Yoga practice also helps in mental relaxation, regulating breathing and control lifestyle.

Dietary controls – there is not a diet program that fits all. Measure your blood sugar levels before and after meals and during workouts. You can discuss your diet with a dietician and find a diet that is fit for you. There is no need to give up all your favorite dishes either.

According to Ayurveda, constipation is caused due to aggravation of vata. But it can also be caused due to aggravation of pitta or kapha.

Wrong eating habits and bowel habits are main reasons for constipation. Eating too much of food that the digestive system can’t handle, eating food items that are not easily digested by body, not taking enough fibrous food like fruits and vegetables, irregular sleeping pattern, mental tensions, etc can cause constipation.

The best laxative is triphala. When used as a laxative, triphala strengthens colon. Other laxatives are harsh on colon, which is unfavorable condition. It balances metabolism, thereby ensuring more nourishment to blood. Take a teaspoon of triphala powder at bed time.
Dietary recommendations to Prevent Constipation

Include fruits like papaya, mango, banana, grapes, oranges, apple etc in daily menu.

Carefully chew your food.

Avoid spicy, frozen food items. Also avoid food items that have preservatives.

Avoid food items that are overcooked, refrigerated, preserved or canned. Replace refined starch food items with whole grain food items.

Food prepared with cumin seeds, coriander, turmeric and fennel as condiments are easily digested.

Lifestyle Recommendations to Prevent Constipation

Avoid stressful conditions.

Squat for 10 minutes in the morning and preferably while eliminating.

Make going to toilet early in the morning a habit.

Fast a day per week.

Don’t wear very tight belt.

Practice yoga. Several yoga postures are especially beneficial in strengthening colon, promoting appetite and facilitating digestion.

There are generic directions to help you prevent constipation. Follow these rules to prevent constipation.