talk to the belly

After talking with your belly, move into a quick mental exercise to unite your mind and body. First sense the energy of the day with your non-visual senses… This morning practice will start to increase your consciousness around your habits that may not be serving your body and soul.

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 2, Old Food, New Food

tanmatras – subtle energies of light and sound

Ayurveda describes the specific processes by which we should clean the five sensory receptors early in the morning before we start our day of interacting with the five subtle energies—called tanmatras—so that we can perceive them optimally and accurately.

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 5, Washing the Face and its Orifices

praise for EveryDay Ayurveda, unedited quotation

Bhaswati has accomplished something that no other popular book on Ayurveda does. She has preserved the Sanskrit from which dinacharya emanates. Sanskrit roots its concepts with an understanding of subtle and gross, of natural, physical and social sciences. It grows with the growth of the reader and meanings change as people change. Through her unending curiosity and dedication as a well-trained physician, scientist and professor, she has brought basic concepts of A​yurveda to light. She has nicely explained the complexities of understanding Ayurveda that require a good background in Ayurveda and clinical practice. She has toiled and delved deeply with engaging clarity, a fine mind and an extraordinarily connected soul. She teaches Ayurveda authentically because Ayurveda is in her heart.
 

- Dr. Vd. Chandra Bhushan Jha, Professor Emeritus of Rasa Shastra & former Dean, Faculty of Ayurveda, Banaras Hindu University

to brush or to rub

Ayurveda advises some people to refrain from using toothbrushes or hard twigs in the morning as part of their daily routine, recommending only soft powders and their finger to clean their mouth. This includes those who are suffering from severe indigestion or diarrhoea ….

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 6, Cleaning the Teeth

praise for EveryDay Ayurveda, unedited quotation

Bhaswati is a unique doctor today. She diagnoses as good medical doctors of the past did, watching the patient rather than the test result. She is driven by dedication to her patients and students. Very well qualified in the West in allopathy she is also studied in Ayurveda. She has a centered approach, watching, listening, and advising lifestyle and dietary choices before recommending medicines, allopathic or ayurvedic, so they will be most effective. This book is a tribute to that type of overall medical care. It gives the logic of why we should pay more attention to the signals our bodies give us.

 - Ashok H. Advani, Barrister, lawyer and founder-publisher, The Business India Group

praise for EveryDay Ayurveda, unedited quotation

Dr. Bhaswati has succeeded in her mission is to bring back Ayurveda back to the hands and the hearts of people.  As a fellow Fulbright Scholar in India, I have witnessed her make the journey to her homeland and devote her life in researching Ayurveda, preserving these ancient wisdoms and making these traditions available to all.  This book gives us the insight on how our ancestors used Ayurvedic practice in their daily routines in a language that can be understood by all.

   - Gautam Gandhi, former Head of New Business Development, Google India; currently MPP student at Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government

praise for EveryDay Ayurveda, unedited quotation

Ayurved and Sangeet are both deeply-rooted subtle sciences developed in ancient times through unparalleled focus and devotion. They both reveal Indian gyan used to heal the soul, body, and mind. Just as Ayurveda has three doshas, Sangeet has three saptaks. Just as Ayurveda has sapta-dhatu, Sangeet has sapta-swara.  The similarities between the use of energy to produce healing are profound. 

For the decades we have known her, Bhaswati has been a devotee of music and has found peace and meditation in the ragas.  As a medical doctor, she combines her talents as healer with commitment to helping the underserved and passion for learning truly healing medicine to share it with clarity and vision. With her deep beauty and love for truth, she has written from the song in her heart that celebrates light, sound and connection with nature. 

- Pandits Rajan & Sajan Misra, classical Hindustani vocalists of the Banaras Gharana,
Padma Bhushan award recipients

praise for EveryDay Ayurveda

For my whole life I have believed in Ayurveda. To use its principles in a practical way, to make it available to someone who has the crazy schedule I often have, is what I was seeking. It is what many of us seek but do not find in easy, portable ways. Bhaswati does that. She makes it practical while preserving the authenticity.

- Abhay Deol, Bollywood actor, producer, eco-environmentalist

praise for EveryDay Ayurveda, unedited quotation

The age-old tenets of Ayurveda have a universal appeal and seekers from all over globe have sailed towards India since time immemorial searching for them, for health and well-being. The Ayurvedic treatises carry the wisdom keys that are contained in cryptic Sanskrit verses.    At every phase in history attempts have been made to translate them, not just to a different language, but also to an applied form suitable to different times and places. The secret of the unbroken continuity of Ayurveda is its strong and stable foundational principles that remain unchanged and the flexible nature of its application that got transformed as the time changed. This is why Ayurveda continues to be puraanam (ancient) and punarnavam (renewed; contemporaneous)  at the same time and at all times. 

  In the book 'Everyday Ayurveda', Dr. Bhaswati does the translation as expected and as needed - it helps the principles of Ayurveda to traverse the gap that separates the knowledge and the learner.  She is known to us for more than a decade and is understood as someone with strong roots in the tradition and a willingness to branch out to the modern world - an apt requirement to speak on Ayurveda, something that is clearly evident in her writings.

   'Vidya' is the sanskrit term for both science and philosophy. Dr. Bhaswati reflects both these in her book making it precious like any true 'Vidya.

- Dr. PR Krishnakumar, managing director, Arya Vaidya Pharmacy-Coimbatore, Padma Shree recipient

praise for EveryDay Ayurveda, unedited quotation

I grew up on Ayurveda, since my parents were devoted to its practice, but found few opportunities to benefit from it during my more than three decades living abroad. But this ancient science of wellness is one of India’s great contributions to humanity. Since my entry into public life I have strongly advocated its promotion, systematic scientific documentation and world-class standards of quality-control to put Ayurveda on a par with Western systems of medicine, whose dominance has stifled our self-awareness for centuries. I believe in the efficacy of Ayurveda and hope that this ancient wisdom will flourish again. Dr Bhaswati Bhattacharyya has written a book that will help resurrect this knowledge, using scientific logic for modern scientists and slokas for ancient scientists and observers. Her writing will appeal to the intelligent seeker dedicated to achieving a good life using conscious self-care, attention to healthy habits, and respect for the wisdom of the ancients. 

- Shashi Tharoor, PhD, author, Undersecretary General of the United Nations (2001-2007),  Member of Parliament (Thiruvananthapuram), columnist, public speaker​

praise for EveryDay Ayurveda

Ancient Ayurvedic rishis developed dinacharya, a way of maintaining normal body rhythms and staying healthy. Assisted by logic and personal accounts, Dr. Bhaswati brings dinacharya alive in this book and reinforces its importance and necessity especially in busy lives.

-  Vd. Partap Chauhan, ayurvedic physician, TV personality, founder of Jiva Ayurveda

sacred time

The period from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. is sacred to Brahmins. To all who are acquainted with , when lightness of being is present, when the soul can most easily be accessed by our heavy, thick material minds. Brahma muhurta is literally translated in Sanskrit as the moments (muhurta) of Brahma, the energy of the creator

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 1, Rise and Shine

the voice deep inside

A voice deep inside questioned how some people were healthy even in their eighties, while others got sick. Modern medicine had few answers, but lots of tests and drugs to suppress those inescapable symptoms. Thus, I was provoked onto a journey of questioning whether depletion is unavoidable. I delved deeper into Āyurveda and found a road introducing me to the concepts of dinacharya (daily routine).

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Preface

auspicious objects

…when a person is feeling hopeless or depressed, Ayurveda prescribes first putting them in nature and letting them spend time observing the universe, with all its lessons and ultimate balance and awesome, unapologetic power. In addition, interactions are encouraged with small children and loved ones who will not judge them….

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 9, Auspicious Objects

disciplines discovering flow

Explaining disease by incorporating the forces underlying biology, chemistry and physics, scientists have started looking at ‘automatic’ behaviour and what determines it.

Functional connectomics of neurons studies how and why brain cells connect and flow to create brain function. Swarm intelligence looks at mass behaviour of one unit, such as bees, using intelligent flow patterns. Cluster epidemiology looks at how disease spreads between individuals and communities. Cymatics looks at the echo-type effects that sound and vibration have on solids and liquids in predictable patterns. In Ayurveda, all these flows and patterns are called vata.
~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 1, Rise and Shine

how much sleep

Modern medicine is also changing its views on the perfect amount of sleep, as emerging science validates new findings and retracts old ones regularly. Several studies, one surveying more than one million adults, and another surveying women only, found that people who live the longest reported sleeping for six to seven hours nightly.
Studies consistently show that sleeping more than eight hours per day has been associated with increased risk of dying…

On the other side, studies suggest a correlation between lower sleep hours and reduced morbidity only when those who wake after less sleep wake naturally, rather than those who use an alarm or are chronically sleep-deprived...
Ayurveda tells us to rest well, then lift ourselves out from the suppressed state of too much sleep and find reasons to live, either family, love, career, or chasing your dreams.

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 40, Getting to Bed on Time

excess toxins

The reality is that in modern, urban life, it is difficult for many people to wake up early. Yet, it is easy for others. Why? Āyurveda tells us that if our bodies are laden with residues and toxins (aama), its natural ability to rise with the sun will be hampered; Just as the sun cannot be seen on a cloudy morning, so we cannot find our fire when we are clouded with toxins. Waking after 7am is a sign that your body has excess toxins. Use this signal to cleanse yourself, and as you cleanse, watch how you spontaneously waken earlier.

Healthy children over four years of age wake up annoyingly early and energized to start the day of exploring and learning….

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 40, Getting to Bed on Time

aggravated pitta

Ayurveda clearly diagnoses the craving for sex as a state of aggravated pitta. Especially when the person is craving the act and not the person with whom to engage, Ayurvda advises that we are isolating the action from its purpose, driving the car without knowing where we are going. 

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 37 - Real Sex: Intimacy

the enigma of privacy vs. education around real sex

This enigma of privacy around the sexual act prevents proper education about the development of intimacy.  Add to this mix a kitchari of complicated cultural norms around marriage, love, and sexual practices, and one has no instruction on how to behave unless successful family and friends can teach. And even there lies a complication: family and friends cannot instruct a person how to behave intimately with a lover, how to allure, where to touch, where to kiss, how to press.

Kautilya and Vatsayana solved this problem by creating a user’s manual at a time when Buddhism had swept the land and more men were finding God than finding a partner.... 

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 37 - Real Sex: Intimacy

the indriyas

Jnana-indriyas (Sanskrit, jnana=wisdom) are the five sensory organs; karma-indriyas (Sanskrit, karma=action) are the five motor organs; and manas is the organ for sensing the soul and connecting it to the language of the senses. Together, these eleven organs act to help the soul journey around in the material world on its path of discovery and healing.
~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Part II. Opening the Five Senses

the inner radiance of Ojas

Ayurveda tells us that the purpose of our daily routine is to keep us healthy, to build our fire and give us the energy, the power, and the focus to do what we are here in this life to do. When the transformative properties of the body are balanced and transmuting matter and energy back and forth as needed, there exudes an inner radiance, a subtle energy of fire, primal vigor, radiance of vitality, and unfoldment of all higher perceptual capacities, called Ojas. The person shows courage, perception and insight.

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 41, Rasayana: Vitality and the Raising of Agni

unmasking benefits of squatting vs. sitting

Modern biomedical researchers have not bothered to spend funding and the complications of a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial (RCT) on the vast potential benefits of squatting vs. sitting as we empty our bowels.  The methodology would be difficult to blind, and to find a placebo would be comical.
Anything that would be proven, like most non-drug interventions, would be easily questioned for the true conclusion of the study. In fact, RCTs bias all science toward drugs that can be masked, not lifestyle interventions. But without an RCT, how is any medical conclusion credible or reputable? Without NIH funding, does anyone who is trained in Science believe the research?

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 3, Morning Ablutions

kindling the fire

…When your fire is low, all the routines of the day should focus on nurturing the fire, kindling it and helping it to grow. Rest, light food, fasting, exercise, sex, cold baths, and certain herbs will kindle the fire.  When the fire is high, all the routines of the day should focus on keeping the fire centered in the gut …

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 41, Rasayana: Vitality and the Raising of Agni

brahma-charya

Discriminative and selective practices, and engagement with conscious intimacy, are believed to be the best path to hita, best translated as a harmonious and good life.  Often mistranslated in English as celibacy, brahmacharya does not mean the absence of sexual contact. This translation was probably propagated by the Christian, puritanical influences on Sanskrit translations since the 1750s. 

Brahma-charya is the charana, or walk, toward Brahma, the Creator, signalling an attitude toward oneness and mental purity.

As taught by the masters, brahmacharya is the purposeful engagement into relationships with other humans using choice. There is a choice to engage others on different levels: either only mentally and emotionally, as we do with family members and friends; or in physical proximity, as in housemates and family with which we live; or in both emotional, physical and spiritual intimacy, as with our sexual-emotional partner.

True brahmacharya involves conscious work to understand people who may harm our development by not supporting our mind’s growth. 

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 37 - Real Sex: Intimacy 

a brass bowl filled with mustard oil and turmeric

As tiny tots, my sister and I would spend some of almost every sunny winter afternoon on the patio naked.  At the time of our bath, we would start in the kitchen. Someone would get us completely unclothed, then sit us on the marble floor next to a brass bowl filled with mustard oil and turmeric.

The first step to a bath was to get oiled up.  This oil would first be massaged onto the top of my head, then my face, ears, hair, neck and slowly work its way down my limbs, under my feet, then my trunk and back, inspecting each part as it was oiled. We would then be sent out to the verandah with its high walls and marble floor to bake in the sun, especially in the winter to ward off the phlegmy, mucousy ails of the winter kapha season.

After our skin was hot, by which time coincidentally there were lots of tiny oily yellow handprints and footprints along the floor and walls of the verandah, we would be taken inside.

If there was any place where we were itching, it would be rubbed with a dry herbal powder, usually sharp in odor and smell, made of neem or babul. On Sundays, my aunt would inspect our nails, clipping as needed with a tiny pair of scissors.

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 17, Oil Massage

judicious choices

… rituals end the day with contemplation, gratitude, awareness and preparation, giving us tasks to adjust ourselves if traveling, making us aware of the environment for the hours of night, when our visual sense is less strong. Ayurveda counsels on judicious choices when we are tired or unable to see: the use of alcohol, the engagement in sex, the evening meditation practice, conscious conclusion of the day with recall and review; and then the rasayana of sleep, or nidra yoga.

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 40, Getting to Bed on Time

soap, sandalwood and sodium lauryl sulfate

Since a very young age, I watched my mother, aunts, and elders wash their morning face with clean cold water. No soap, no scrubs, brushes, washcloths, or other tools. Just a series of rinses. That is how I began.
During the adolescent years, I was introduced to unperfumed clean soap only for the oily spots, and never the neck or eyes; oily dirt was removed only with oil, ghee, or water. A few years later I rediscovered sandalwood soap for summer and olive oil soap for winter. These soap bars were kept away from handwashing during the day, and from bathing. Liquid soap had extra chemicals, including sodium lauryl sulfate for foaming, so I avoided it.
If something traumatic like a pimple happened, we immediately rushed to the kitchen, applied turmeric, or lemon, or yogurt for five minutes, then applied fresh sandalwood paste at night.  If the skin turned red from sun, heat, trauma, a scratch, or tired late nights, cucumber or the cold cream from fresh raw milk would be applied, then ghee at night for nourishment and inner cooling.

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 5, Washing the Face and its Orifices

morning ablution

Yoga practices specify that one should evacuate natural urges in the morning gazing toward the north, sitting in a proper private place, not gazing toward auspicious objects, …

One should tighten the abdominal muscles and do a brief muladhara contraction before release.  To aid this, ancient urinals were designed to have men bend on one knee to urinate. The closer we are to squatting, the more easy we will release fluids and solids from our bladder and bowels. 

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 3, Morning Ablutions

altering imbalances

Ayurveda does not specify a particular time of the day for the daily bath. It specifies a checklist and an order for things to be done. The optimal time of day varies on the individual and depends on weather, work, availability of warm water, activities planned after the bath, meals, travel, puja, visitors, and distance from the bathing water.  

While Ayurveda seems unwieldy with its many options, it follows several constants that allow universal application of its principles in every situation.  The consistency of Ayurveda is in its prescriptions aligning a person with the laws of Nature as summarized by the principles of vata, pitta, kapha, ama and agni. 

Every prescription is designed to alter imbalances by first analyzing their nature, then by reducing vata, pitta, and kapha based on the gunas of the substances, activities, or natures being added to the body.

 ~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Part III.  The Bath

 

recalling the day

As often as she could, my mother would come into my room late at night, after all the guests had left or been put to bed, and all the rooms were clean and closed. 

On special days, such as holidays or birthdays, she would recount an earlier year, showering me with blessings for the coming future and reciting spontaneous Sanskrit mantras for invoking the gods. She could make any day special, by remembering anniversaries of our multitude of family members, ancestors, her various journeys through many countries, or my father’s colorful career. She would begin with a sigh, then recount her father or her mother who had died when she was nineteen, and a story would emerge from the ethers and land in my bedroom, transporting us to Calcutta or Kashi or Jessore of an earlier decade.  

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 38 - Recalling the Day

31 billion rolls

It is unlikely that a scientific study would be done exploring the benefits of using water vs. toilet paper to clean after a bowel movement. How would they blind that study…?  It is also unlikely that the environmental impact of toilet paper vs. water will soon undergo a cost-benefit analysis.
We know that the paper lobby representing 5000 bathroom tissue companies profits from the 31 billion rolls used annually on the planet.  But it seems obvious that the convenience of using paper and dryness has won compared to the reality of the cold and wetness of water residues.  

~ EveryDay Ayurveda, 2015, Chapter 3, Morning Ablutions