Learn what you can do to boost your immune system from an Ayurvedic perspective with foods and activities.

In this episode learn what Ayurveda is as Dr. Satyavani reads from the first Ayurveda book she ever purchased over 26 years ago.

Who is the Ayurvedic Woman and what is this podcast about?

The US Government’s response to the Coronavirus represents the most recent example of a dysfunctional approach to securing and supporting public wellbeing in the United States. Yes, there has been a tepid response to ascertain how to stem the communicable nature and then treat the disease. In a way, these efforts alone are analogous to stopping the wind. A responsible approach from elected officials will commit through words and deeds that all people receive the necessary resources to weather slowdowns, shutdowns and the upheaval of an economic system that has led us to the place we are today. Simply embracing and promulgating a view of capitalism and money as God’s way has brought only despair and hardship to the masses and the destruction of the earth. Capitalism does nothing to support care, compassion and love and the awakening of divine thoughts and actions. Instead, it breeds greed, otherness and indifference. So long as the people allow for elected officials to pad their own pockets, turn away from the public they swore to serve and partake of services not afforded to the general population, there will be no change in a system that is clearly broken. To ensure freedom and security, the efforts begin at home. Let us take responsibility for our families, neighbors, citizens and fellow humans and agree that everyone deserves health care, organic food, sound shelter, effective education, suitable clothing and a living wage. Then we act to build a strong and sustainable foundation that enfranchises all people. Herein lies freedom and security. Unfortunately, there is a level of avarice and entitlement of elected officials and CEO’s that is nothing less than publicly condoned robbery. This staggers the imagination that it has been allowed to exist for so long. This behavior on the part of elected officials and CEO’s is even more repugnant given their boldness in justifying they deserve it. No elected official deserves to have anything more than that provided to each and every member of the public. No CEO deserves to be paid more than ten times the amount of the lowest paid employee in their organization. There has been a longstanding saying within the maritime tradition that “the Captain is the last one off” having made sure that all passengers and crew have been safely disembarked. This is no different for elected officials and CEO’s who hold their positions. They swore to serve, and they hold their positions because of the multitudes who make that possible. The message from the 1976 film, Network, is most poignant now. “I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change.” Coarsely put, “Wake the fuck up!“ Demand action from your elected officials and your boss. Protest, write, call, make yourself heard, make your disdain felt. Let me refresh your memory of the Declaration of Independence. “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to separation ….” Among the most egregious causes today are inequality, classism, discrimination, racism, sexism, homophobia, jobless, homeless, un- and underinsured and impoverishment. The Declaration further states, “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends (albeit, I am making a case for conscious loving inspired attitudes and behavior), it is the right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely effect their Safety and Happiness … it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” So my message is this, “Elected officials and CEO’s, get it together, or the people will do it for you!”

Fear is a powerful emotional sensation - one that starts in the mind with grand and scary imagery that quickly drops us into the future of what ifs - never allowing us to be present or fully in our bodies. These days, there is a lot of this sensation getting passed around. Whether it is fear of economic downfall, the next virus that may impact us, the results of an election or generalized anxiety due to an uncertain world, fear seems to grip us and hold on tight conjuring up images of permanent annihilation. In the Yoga shastras the fear of bodily death is one of the five Kleshas known as Abinivesha. The word Klesha means “affliction” denoting that we are afflicted with conditions that do not allow us to understand that we are already Infinite, Eternal and Whole no matter what and that we are certainly not the physical body but rather, the spirit soul. In some ways Abinivesha is a natural instinct - our desire to survive on a biological level. It has an intimate relationship to our sympathetic nervous system and the activation of the “fight or flight” response that is built into our human constitution. What causes us to fall into a state of panic and resulting dis-ease is feeling the sensation of fear and believing it to be our reality instead of a temporary situation that will certainly pass. It can also get intensified by collective fear that can be seen all around us in our communities. It is not to say that if we were being chased by a tiger that this is not a real experience - it is. However, in our current western culture of social media and television most of us are not getting chased by a real tiger in the street but rather by the one on the screen with very little consciousness surrounding it. When we are experiencing the media tiger daily this has a tremendous impact on our central nervous system. From an Ayurvedic standpoint we call this resulting toxicity ama. Ama begins in the mind and travels throughout the body causing havoc on our nerves, muscles, joints, organs and systems resulting in a state of dis-ease. The endpoint is typically in the gut and that causes inflammation and a distortion in our ability to think clearly giving us a helping of brain fog. This brain fog is not just a by-product of our nervous system being taxed day in and day out but is also the beginning point of the cycle - the disbelief that we are always going to be ok no matter what - Infinite, Eternal and Whole. The great Ayurvedic Vaidyas and Yoga Rishis developed practices to circumvent this process and resulting dis-ease that are available to us today. Activate the parasympathetic nervous system and use its intelligence to override the sympathetic nervous system’s dominance in our lives was their teachings, practices and goal. We can learn from these practices today and activate them right now. The best way to start? Turn off the TV and use social media in a limited fashion that is only positive and supportive. Get outside in nature, meditate daily, breathe, practice yoga asana and yoga nidra and surround yourself with positive people. Remove the ama. Isn’t that interesting?

In the ancient tradition of yoga there is the concept of Shiva and Shakti. Shiva, represents the male form of matter, our physical form and Shakti the female essence of energy. It is written that Shiva is considered almost fully inert, Kaphagenic, if you would in his manifest state whereas Shakti is pure power and movement, Pitta and Vata combined; without her Shiva does not move. Today, International Women’s Day, is a celebration of the divine feminine that exists in all of us regardless of what gender you identify with. I like to call it Shakti Day because it is a celebration of the power and movement of pure consciousness that exists inside each of us. Cultivating our power and movement to be a force of truth, Satya, in the world is one of the highest missions we can have in this embodied experience that we call life. How we use our Shakti gives us insight into whether we are in a state of wellness or dis-ease from an Ayurvedic perspective. Shakti and consciousness go hand-in-hand. Using our energy to cultivate good in the world, to stand in the face of injustice in all of its forms - racism, sexism, homophobia, speciesism, etc. in a state of Satyagraha (nonviolent resistance)— is how we grow our Shakti as a balanced force to exist in the cosmos and within our physical bodies. On the reverse side, using our Shakti to cultivate violence, hate, anger and separatism will only lead to an energetic imbalance in the universe and land in our bodies as a state of distortion and imbalance; it’s simple Ayurveda AND simple physics - for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. And, where does this begin? This begins with our consciousness. How we use our Shakti comes from our state of being. My mother always said to reflect before acting. At the small age of 6 she taught me that raising my consciousness would serve me well. Isn’t that interesting?

In the ancient medical science of Ayurveda it is said that digestion begins in the mouth. The sister Vedic science of Yoga says the same. Swami Kripalu has a famous quote that captures the essence of this thought around consciousness perfectly - “Before you speak decide whether it is an improvement upon silence.” Consciousness is a tricky thing. Being aware and being conscious are not the same thing despite dictionary definitions. In the Vedic sciences they have a close relationship but are not synonyms. I can be aware that I am articulating a thought but am I conscious of it? So much of our time is spent doing and not being - not being conscious of the vibration that we are transmitting with our words even though we know and are aware that they have been said. In Ayurveda, consciousness effects our Agni (digestive fire) and the process of digestion itself. Digestion is not just seen from a biological perspective that enables food and drink to be processed through us and ultimately turn into waste. Ayurveda also sees digestion from a mental-emotional perspective that has just as much of an influence on our health as the biological process itself. Our ability to properly digest our food, liquid and experiences begins with our thoughts and words. If we have a self-deprecating mind-set and language as part of our being this can result in constipation, inflammation or pain. On the other end of the spectrum, if positive thoughts and uplifting speech are our mind-body connection this can enable us to have easy digestion and regular elimination that keeps us healthy biologically and emotionally sattvic. In addition to our thoughts and words, what we actually put into our mouth to consume influences our Agni, metabolism, digestion and transformation - all functions of Pitta dosha from an Ayurvedic perspective. In addition, if we look at consumption from a yogic point of view, we come to understand from the shastras that it influences our spiritual progress. Gandhi said in his text The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism - “I do feel that spiritual progress does demand at some stage that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants.” Gandhi also did not take milk or eggs as part of his diet either. Consciousness of what we are doing, how we are doing it and the implications of that doing all start with what is created and put into our mouth. If we want to live in a sattvic way, creating a consciousness around what we think, say and eat is key not only to our physical heath but also to our spiritual growth. Isn’t that interesting?