Hello Dear,

As the cold, dry autumn winds pick up, we think about adapting to the change of season according to Ayurveda. 

Let’s consider these two important book-ends of the daily routine to support evolutionary change with each day forward in time.

Morning Abhyanga is perhaps the most useful of all the Ayurveda lifestyle tools for westerners because we tend to try to cram as much as possible into each moment and day, crowding out the all-important self-care measures and rushing to accomplish the never-ending To-Do list.

Simply take 45 minutes after good morning elimination to apply oil head to toe, to help stabilize consciousness throughout the day.  Leave the oil to penetrate throughout the seven dhatus or tissue systems. 

Meanwhile, stretching, pranayama practice and continuing self-massage help to prepare for colder days and help reduce stress, while reducing Vata dosha and increasing a feeling of being ‘present’ throughout the day. 

Abhyanga practice can be a regular reminder of the body as the temple for our spiritual journey.

I keep two old oil towels away from other items, to launder and store separately.  Spread one on the floor of a warm space early morning, where you can apply the oil against the hair growth for maximum assimilation. 

It only takes a minute or two to apply the oil to the head and body by using a food-grade plastic bottle fitted with a flip-top lid.  Use sesame oil for a warming effect and sunflower oil for cooling, depending on your prakruti and vikruti.

Benefits include increased mindfulness, stability, endurance, softness, rejuvenation and nourishment of cells such as the nervous systems, improved digestion and elimination, immunity, anti-aging, the flexibility of joints and muscles, calmness, sound sleep, forbearance and auric brightness.

Some guidelines:  Rub upward with vigorous strokes for limbs, using circular movements around the joints, and clockwise around the abdomen.  For the back, spread the oil as best you can after applying the stream across the shoulders and spine while leaning a little forward.  For feet, sit on a towel and apply pressure to all points systematically.  For the head, come back regularly to systematically massage throughout.

Contra-indications may include rash, infection, pregnancy, obesity, aversion to oils, extreme weakness, fever, alcoholism, vomiting, early stage of digestion, high cholesterol and triglycerides, nausea and menstrual flow days.

For more information on Abhyanga, please contact:  https://lavidaveda.ca/train-with-me/abhyanga-massage-training

Evening Yoga Nidra can be done at bedtime about 9 pm on empty stomach to prepare for sound sleep by stilling the mind, systematically relaxing the body and deepening the breathing to bring an overall shift in brainwaves from Beta state, then to Alpha state, then to Theta and Delta witnessing awareness. 

It can also be done at any time to help suspend the chatter of stress, obsession, compulsion, mood swings and any mental health disturbance.

Sleep disturbance is at the root of many mental health conditions, such as addiction, bipolar or manic depression, ongoing grief, anger or rage states and anxiety and fear states. 

All these and more can appear during the evenings at the junction of wakefulness and sleep, from unresolved emotions. 

By observing our mind and consciousness with compassion, we can more easily train the mind to be our servant and not our master.

Yoga Nidra is an ancient technique of body scanning and deep letting go, breath by breath, to achieve a state of awareness between wakefulness and sleep.  By increasing the depth of conscious breathing, and making the breath quieter and quieter, the consciousness lets go of so many ‘important’ thoughts, feelings and emotions. 

Now they all seem optional and objective.  Now sleep becomes deeper, more restful and restorative.

Dreams reduce because their purpose of resolving unprocessed past experiences has been addressed by conscious awareness.

Creativity and intentionality increase because of entering the gap between thoughts where empty space prevails. 

It is a natural depository for useful downloads according to the need of the moment.

For more information and to sign up to learn Yoga Nidra, please contact:  hello@jennypietzsch.ca

This newsletter features practitioners, events and programs that are endorsed by Ayurveda-Seminars

Check out these great listings:

AYURVEDA DAY VANCOUVER

Mingle with our Ayurveda community & enjoy refreshments

JOIN US AS WE JOIN OTHERS AROUND THE COUNTRY AND THE WORLD TO CELEBRATE

INTERNATIONAL AYURVEDA DAY, HIGHLIGHTING  DHANTERAS AND THE START OF THE DIVALI SEASON

SPONSOR:  AYURVEDA ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

DATE:  OCTOBER 21, 2022 

THANKS FOR BEING ON TIME

TIME: 1 PM-4 PM

RSVP KINDLY CONFIRM YOUR ATTENDANCE TO HELP PLAN OUR PROGRAM:  INFO@SEWANTI.COM

LOCATION:  ROUNDHOUSE COMMUNITY ARTS & RECREATION CENTRE, MULTIMEDIA ROOM 181 ROUNDHOUSE MEWS, VANCOUVER, BC

National Ayurveda Day has been celebrated every year on the occasion of Dhanwantari Jayanti (Dhanteras) since 2016.

Ayurveda is perceived as one of the most ancient and well-documented systems of medicine, equally relevant in today’s modern times.

Its holistic approach whether, for healthy individuals or for diseased ones, remains unparalleled.  Prevention of disease and promotion of health is the main aim of Ayurveda.

Lord Dhanvantari is considered a divine propagator of Ayurveda.  He is conferred with the virtues of granting health and wealth. Therefore, Dhanvantari Jayanti was preferred for the celebration of Ayurveda Day to nationalize this system of medicine which can prove to be a cornerstone for its ultimate globalization.

Bring your friend, family member or colleague to help contribute to this annual gathering, replicating many others around the world this weekend!

NEW FEATURED RETREAT PROGRAM WITH

JYOTI NATASHA SAMSON

“I Want More From Life” Ayurveda & Yoga

DO YOU WANT TO feel more vibrant and healthy?

JOIN WITH JYOTI NATASHA SAMSON, AYURVEDA PRACTITIONER/YOGA TEACHER AND PARTICIPANTS.

The focus is to shift our mindset, using tools from sister sciences AYURVEDA & YOGA, to move TOWARDS EMBODYING the life you want.

DATES: November 4-6

TIMES: FRI. 2:30-9 PM, SAT. 7-9:30 PM, SUN. 7 AM-2 PM

LOCATION: Saltspring Centre of Yoga, Saltspring Island, BC

PROGRAM Includes:

ASANA classes, AYURVEDA theory, PRANAYAMA breathing exercises, Meditation sessions,

PRACTICAL Cleansing Principles, GUIDED Self-Abhyanga, OPTIONAL sauna.

Accommodation AND Ayurveda meals are ALSO INCLUDED!

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHEDULE, INVESTMENT AND REGISTRATION, PLEASE CLICK HERE:

https://saltspringcentre.com/programs-retreats/ayurveda-and-yoga-retreats/

OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Each year, I provide free information from Ayurveda on the prevention and management of Breast Cancer during October. 

Here is a reprint of an article written in the nineties to help highlight important concepts to help women today avoid the dreaded diagnosis.

All disease precipitates from subtle causes in disturbance of the Ojas, Tejas and Prana expressions of the psycho-spiritual energies, whether genetically informed or self-generated through choices, conscious or unconscious. 

Meditation is always the first and last medicine of Ayurveda because meditation helps us to face and realize our unique life in the context of all of life. 

Through the stillness of the mind, harmony restores itself.

Over long years, I developed Turiya Therapy as an art and science of still-point bodywork to support the inner equilibrium of an empty mind state, leading to the transcendence of the root causes of dissonance in our energy body. 

For more information and to sign up for next year’s launch of my course, please email me at: jaisri@ayurveda-seminars.com

Remember all those who have gone through this disease by wearing pink this month. 

C.A.R.E. FOUNDATION UPDATE

Fall is now the time for the activation of our four important start-up goals:

• To develop an Ayurveda Elder Home Care-Aide Training Program
• To further develop the Ayurveda Self-Care for Multiple Sclerosis Program
• To create an Internet Portal for Ayurveda Research Worldwide
• To research Local Indigenous Medicinal Herbal Classifications According to Ayurveda

Elder Home-Care Aide Training Program

This program is in the development stage to create the curriculum, budget and funding for launching in September 2023. 

Qualified, interested volunteers are invited to join our team to help meet this goal. 

Do you have related professional skills, experience and a desire to serve the Ayurveda community by working with our team until our BC gov’t approval? 

To discuss more together, please email me: at jaisri@carefoundation.net

Multiple Sclerosis & Ayurveda

This program is nearly ready to launch as a free guide for those with a Multiple Sclerosis or Neuro-Muscular disease diagnosis, who can view six introductory hours of Ayurveda science. 

The transcripts are being compiled as a manual for those who prefer to read the recordings, or to study both print and video media together. 

Thanks so much to Micheline Wong who is taking this project forward for those who need a support system beyond this introduction to Ayurveda.

Contact Micheline Wong, P.T, at:  michelinewong@hotmail.com

Internet Portal for Ayurveda Research Worldwide

A vast storehouse of reliable Ayurveda research is available from many Indian, American and foreign sources such as Universities, Hospitals, Clinics, Laboratories, Libraries and Colleges. 

Our aim is to have one portal accessible to all physicians and front-line healthcare workers, to easily, quickly and reliably access up-to-date data. 

We are embarking on a ten-year project to digitize the mega-data of Ayurveda, specifically for the western physician, and are currently seeking volunteer support to organize our project and funding applications to help systematize this vast knowledge. 

Are you inspired, professional, and passionate?

Local Indigenous Medicinal Herbal Classifications According to Ayurveda

Ayurvedists worldwide know the traditional dravya guna (properties of substances) through the language of Rasa (taste on the tongue), Virya (thermal effect), Vipak (post-digestive taste) and Prabhau (unique, exceptional effect). 

Together, these classifications can render a full picture of the substance, its actions and affinities. 

Though much is known and even published by reliable sources, the existing local medicinal herbal knowledge does not provide a complete Materia Medica, as is needed by tomorrow’s clinicians.

By combining the indigenous herbal science of Ayurveda with local indigenous knowledge and historical experience, a complete compendium can be available for the doctor of tomorrow. 

“Be Your Own Doctor” was a slogan from the 1960s and 1970s to encourage individual responsibility for health outcomes.

Illnesses of tomorrow’s world will need plant-based solutions to serve those who may only have access to local sources.  Sustainability is the keyword.

This project is to encourage reliable documentation of the many species of wild-crafted substances, growing everywhere, even for urban foraging, and to provide insight to the next generation of herbal practitioners and healers in our region. 

This project can be replicated in all regions of Canada in due course by local residents.

You know I love hearing about your Ayurveda journey and your comments/suggestions for this newsletter.  

With good wishes as we celebrate International Ayurveda Day on Friday, Oct. 21 from 1-4 pm in Vancouver together!