healing

After our explorations into settling imbalances in the mind through Sight, Sound, and Smell, it’s time to turn our attention towards the body. As you recall, we are able to satisfy and support our dosha physically through the senses of Taste and Touch.

Cupping, as defined by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, is “a traditional Chinese medicine practice that involves placing cups on the skin to create suction.” Suction cups are left on the skin to draw fluid into the area, thereby speeding the healing process. Cupping follows the Chinese philosophy: “Where there’s stagnation, there will be pain.

As a daily meditator, I’ve often asked myself if I could reap more benefits from my practice.

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotis) and others are both a delicious edible mushroom and a great medicinal as well.  The wild ones are the tastiest, if you’re lucky enough to find them, though you can often find them at the grocery store or even grow your own with one of the many commercial growing kits available.  I found a small cluster this summer during what was an otherwise dismal mushroom season here in the Southern Rockies.  They smelled like aniseed…something

Your lymphatic system is a network of vessels, glands and lymph fluid and is a critical part of immunity, the transport of hormones and other bioactive molecules, and detox (think “vacuum cleaner”).  Herbalists have traditionally turned to “lymphatic herbs” to assist the body during

I’ve struggled with a fear of flying for over a decade, and have tried just about everything to help me get on a plane without feeling like I’m going to faint, shake myself to death, or wake up screaming from nightmares prior to the flight. While dealing with a fear is often a multi-faceted approach, one resource helped far and beyond all others: hypnotherapy.

We’ve got one more sense to work with when balancing dosha disharmonies in the Mind. Each of our senses are potent in their own right but, scientifically speaking, we’ve saved the most powerful for last.  

Since ancient times, labyrinths have been used for prayer and meditation. They have been carved into stones and built into floors and the grounds of sacred spaces. They have been found all over the world, in diverse geographic areas, and by people with vastly different religious beliefs.

If you are ever in turmoil, going to nature can help. There, you can find inner peace and love, coming away refreshed. But why is it nature has such a powerful healing effect on us? It's a proven fact spending time outdoors makes us happier. The answer is: We are a part of nature too, and interacting with it truly helps us connect to our truest state of being.

Our own five senses—the “gateways to healing,” as they are referred to in Ayurveda—are very powerful tools for promoting health and wellbeing. They allow us to use everything around us as medicine.

This week, we’ll dive into the world of Sound. (We previously looked at Sight.)