By Karie Wik, LMBT, CYT

First of the Year Special on Gift Certificates

With the “holiday” season in the past, and at least one workweek into the New Year, many of us may already be struggling to keep up with our 2010 resolutions. Or perhaps, we are still deciding how to start the New Year off on the right foot. Whether your intentions this year fall under the category of being kinder to yourself, or to others, you might consider the gift of bodywork.

If the New Year is already off to a prosperous start and you are looking ahead, consider that Valentine’s Day is but a month away. Treating yourself and loved ones to massage treatments is a healthy alternative for expressing your appreciation and love.

In fact, the Ayurvedic Bodywork Center has an incentive for showing your gratitude all month. Purchase 2 gift certificates and receive one certificate for free this month only. Gift Certificates can be purchased easily over the phone or via email. Let us know what your needs are and we will contact you by phone to complete the transaction. Or, ask about the special at your next session.

Staying Well in Winter Conditions

Winter brings in a handful of elements that may disturb the healthy balance we maintain during more moderate seasons. Cold weather disturbs, and increases vata. Add the dryness in the air, caused by indoor heat and it increases doubly. Kapha is affected in damp, cold conditions and can also be also exacerbated by sleeping in late (rising in the Kapha hours of the day from 6-10) or from not getting much fresh air and natural light.

When the air outside remains cold, it provokes the Vata quality in us all; inside the constant blowing of dry heat can also disturb vata through the quality of dryness; remember that balancing Vata is key to all individuals since when Vata moves, it directly affects the complementary elements, or doshas, for better or worse. Cold, windy and dry conditions can be hard to avoid altogether, and the following actions can counteract disturbed Vata:

* Staying well covered in cold climates - hats, scarves, and gloves

* Nourishing the insides with warming foods, drinks and spices to promote internal fire

* Special attention to skin care in cold/dry conditions - keeping the skin, hair and nails hydrated and lubricated

* Establish and keep to a daily routine - balancing vata in this way will help to keep all the doshas in balance

Spotlight on Treatment

* Treat yourself to a full-body massage with warm herbalized oil (also known as abhyanga) that improves circulation, while the oil nourishes and protects the skin and tissues. Ask us how you can incorporate mini self-massage treatments into your daily routine between appointments.

Abhyanga - 1 or 2 Therapists
The Abhyanga is a friction massage performed by one therapist or two therapists in synchrony, utilizing warm herbalized oil and followed by a hot towel treatment. As the oil is massaged into the skin, it penetrates deep into the tissues to loosen toxins (which are fat soluble) at the cellular level. The Abhyanga enhances immunity, increases circulation and creates deep relaxation in body and mind.


Ayurvedic Tea Recipe

Bring 8 cups of water to a rolling boil. Pour it into a thermos with the following:

3 thin slices of fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 black peppercorns
a few mint leaves

Steep for an hour and sip slowly throughout the day

*recipe from Yoga+ Magazine, “Stay Warm,” By Shubhra Krishan

End of the Year Special - This Week Only

Treat yourself or a loved one to massage or bodywork this week

Book any treatment with Reuben or Karie and receive a 30% discount on treatment prices

Special Discount applies only to appointments through Saturday January 2nd with Reuben or Karie

Contact us for an appointment by calling (919) 609-3368 or book online: Go to ayurvedicbodyworkcenter.com/contact.html and click on the

By Karie Wik, LMBT, CYT

True Significance of the Holiday Season

The end of our calendar year, for many of us, marks a time for celebration, gratitude, and reunion. We reconvene with our families and good friends, some of whom we haven’t seen for the last eleven months. We exchange cards and gifts with our loved ones, share food and drink, and perform rituals passed down through generations. Over the years, the communities with which we share our special celebrations may shift and change, as will the details of our rituals. Still, for many of us, underlying stress can overshadow the beauty of these celebrations, reunions and communions. We forget about the true spirit behind the holiday season and become consumed with anxiety, attachments or grief. Although this is a very special time of the year for many, it can throw many of us off balance. Investigating the reasons behind seasonal stress can be the first step to managing it effectively.

Mental Stress

Mental stress can be caused by a Vata imbalance - specifically by the subdosha, Prana Vata (vayu) that can become out of balance due to a change in routine, overstimulation, irregular eating habits, or simply an overload in mental activity.

Physical Stress

Physical Stress during the busy holiday season is a double-sided coin. On one side is stress resulting from over-active bodies, rushing around at the shops, rising early and going to bed later than usual, or overexerting oneself in any number of holiday traditions (tree decorating, playing with children, dancing and partying, or flying around the kitchen preparing a feast.)

The other side of this coin involves inactivity. It is customary in our culture to overindulge in food and drink, to sleep in on our vacations, to skip our gym time to spend time with visiting family, or to simply treat ourselves to some well-deserved downtime. Kapha dosha is particularly disturbed and involved when we slow to a halt, and eventually we begin to accumulate ama, or impurities that can clog the channels of the body, further disconnecting the body from the mind.

Emotional Stress

Emotions can cause extra stress to the body and mind at this time of year as well. Losing a loved one prematurely, feeling alone, or handling tenuous family relations can cause a rise in emotional reactions, depression, frustration or anger. Pitta imbalance can occur as a reaction to these stressful situations, causing a disruption in our digestion, which can cloud the body and disconnect our mind from our bodies. When we overload our bodies on sweets, fats and alcohol our digestion also finds it impossible to keep up, forcing impurities to accumulate in the body.

Treatments

Mind (Mental) - Balance Vata and Pitta by striving to remain calm, centered, and grounded. Treatment to soothe an overactive mind is Shirodhara


The Shirodhara is a profoundly relaxing treatment in which a soothing stream of warm oil is poured over the forehead. The oil pour follows a head, face and neck massage. Time is permitted after the treatment for the mind to integrate and re-awaken. This treatment calms the central nervous system and integrates the mind and body.



Body (Physical) - Balance Vata and Kapha by maintaining your regular sleep pattern as much as possible. Modify your yoga practice to reflect and balance your other activity (slow restorative practice for an overactive, hectic schedule, and brisk, flowing practice for those prone to too much lounging over the winter break.)

Spirit (Emotions) - Balance all three doshas, but pay close attention to emotional eating or irrational emotional behavior; add Marma Therapy to your next appointment to help unblock subtle energy points and reconnect body to mind.

By Karie Wik, LMBT, CYT

Late Fall/Early Winter - Staying Healthy in Cold & Flu Season

Cold and Flu Season has hit, and especially for those of us who live or work around children it has already claimed it’s first victims. In addition to good hand-washing habits, getting a flu shot, eating nutrient rich foods and getting our rest, what else can we do to stay healthy this winter?

The basics of Ayurvedic theory on immunity are simplified a bit by introducing some terms below.

Ama and Ojas

Ojas is a Sanskrit term translating loosely as “vigor,” or vitality - your personal vital energy. It varies from day to day, year-to-year, etc. In a Western medical model, one of the first things a physician checks is your “vital signs.” When our vitality gets too far off from our set-point, more room exists for disease to set in, whether from internal or external sources. Similar conclusions can be made in regard to ojas. When ojas is low, we are not being nourished to our fullest potential. When what we take in cannot be assimilated and turned into ojas, instead it is left behind in the body as ama.

Ama is “partially digested food matter” left behind in the body by “incomplete or inefficient” digestion

Build-up of ama in the system can occur due to ingesting improper foods (highly processed, greasy fast food, too much food late in the evening, etc.) or by eating when you are upset, angry or stressed. Bottled up emotions can cause ama to collect in the body. Bodies with more ama become fertile ground for all kinds of infection, disease and allergens quickly. Ayurvedic treatments and practices aim to keep one’s ojas strong and to decrease the accumulation of ama. Preventative measures serve to increase immunity rather than to simply fight the invading viruses, infections and diseases once the individual has already become sick.

Agni and Changing Seasons

Ama accumulates throughout the season and is usually highest at the change of seasons when Agni, or the internal digestive fire may be disturbed and cannot burn through ama as efficiently. “Agni refers broadly to our ability to process all aspects of life, including food, experiences, memories, and sensory impressions.” In the fall, the air element kicks up, things become drier and cooler and Agni can be disturbed - thus ama accumulated over the summer months remains in the body and when flu season starts you are now more susceptible to catching every passing cold.

Ways to Boost Natural Immunity

* Stay warm as the temperatures drop - avoid iced drinks, they tend to put out Agni like a bucket of cold water on a campfire
* Warm Oil Massage (such as Abhyanga) treatments for full body care (see note on Panchakarma below)
* Steam treatments (such as Swedana) with specific herbs to combat dryness - a healthy mucous membrane will naturally usher out germs (see note on Panchkarma below)
* Avoid heavy, fried, greasy foods, meat, and simple carbohydrates, and over-stimulating the body with alcohol, or caffeine
* Favor light, warm but hearty and healthy foods - soups, grains, and warming spices (also see the recipe below)

Panchakarma

Panchakarma is a series of ayurvedic detoxification treatments specifically designed for your needs. It can be administered at any time and is recommended at the change of seasons to detoxify the system.


Recipe

A light and tasty grain, Quinoa (pronounced |keen-wah|) is Vata-balancing, as well as containing ample amounts of more than a half dozen vitamins/minerals. Search for more involved ways to serve it, or follow the basic recipe below to serve as a side dish.

Basic Quinoa

You will need:
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup pure water
Rock salt to taste (optional)
1 tsp ghee (optional)

Wash the quinoa thoroughly by rinsing it several times. Drain.
Heat a pan and roast the quinoa dry for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add water, stir and bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat and cook at a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes until grains are translucent.
Stir in the salt and ghee.
Enjoy warm.
(Serves 1)

By Karie Wik, BA, LMBT

The Vata Dosha

Of the five natural elements described in ayurvedic science (air, earth, fire, space and earth,) air and space combine to create Vata. Those of us whose primary dosha is Vata have a small or slender body frame, thinner musculature with prominent joints, and dry, cool skin. Like the wind, vata types may also adapt easily to change; they are flexible, quick thinkers and responders. They are generally light-hearted, can be very funny and lively, making friends easily. Vata also controls imagination and creativity lending them a fluid and inspired communication style.

The shadow side of all Vata’s positive aspects is that all of this dosha's movement and quickness can become imbalanced quite easily. Qualities associated with imbalance are dry skin, and joints, brittle hair and nails and cold hands and feet. The internal physiology can be prone to digestive irregularity resulting in constipation, gas or bloating as well as muscle spasms, cramps or chills. Mental imbalance may lead to an inability to ground oneself, insomnia, anxiety and lack of attention or focus.


Vata - Importance of a Daily Routine

Vata is balanced by routine. Some of the best ways to create a vata-balancing routine this fall are as follows:

*Wake up and go to sleep at the same time each day
*Drink warm tea, avoid stimulants such as caffeine or nicotine
*Stay warm by dressing appropriately in layers as the wind kicks up and the temperature drops

During the change in seasons detoxifying the body is essential for good health, and a hot oil massage treatment will warm you up, lubricate the skin and hair, while calming the central nervous system – Some choices for treatments include:

*Abhyanga enhances immunity, increases circulation and creates deep relaxation in body and mind
*Shirodhara calms the central nervous system and integrates the mind and body
*Marma Therapy promotes subtle energy cleansing and rebalancing by stimulating the marmas, dissolving blocks due to stress and improper diet
*Practice Gentle Yoga daily – even for 10-15 minutes each morning, a gentle yoga practice will help you ground and center yourself for a more productive day
*Prepare yourself for bed with soothing music, rather than crime-scene dramas on TV, and warm milk or herbal tea rather than beer or wine – all the excitement of the day can make it difficult to wind down and relax for bedtime

Vata Food Choices

Foods that please the vata dosha are sweet and warm, moist and lubricating. Whether your primary dosha is vata, or you are feeling the effects of an increase in vata in the cool, dry months of October and November, experimenting with a vata-pacifying diet can be helpful and comforting.

To aid in lubricating the gastrointestinal tract:

*Warm vegetable casseroles cooked with high quality oil - olive and sesame are great but for vata-types most oils work just fine - see the directions for making ghee, a clarified butter to cook with or add to many foods
*Light vegetables soups are great for rainy or cooler weather days - vata, being air, benefits when gas-producing vegetables and legumes are omitted from the recipe, so think about leaving out the black beans, chick peas - and avoiding raw cabbage, broccoli and any bitter greens
*Avoid dried fruit, raw veggies and hard to digest raw fruits (like apples) and all bitter greens
*When in doubt, seasonal produce cooked slowly until it is warm, soft and easy to digest usually does little harm, and for true vata types adding oil to foods is always recommended

Ghee Recipe

1 pound of organic unsalted butter

Heat the butter in a saucepan until it starts to boil, and then turn the heat down to medium heat and simmer. Do not stir, heat the butter watching to make sure it does not get hot enough to burn or boil. It will froth up on the top, and eventually be reabsorbed leaving a clear mixture with a deep golden-yellow color. Milk solids will settle at the bottom of the pan and turn brown. Leave on a simmer for about 15 minutes to up to an hour. Pour the liquid into a clean dry glass jar through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to catch any residue at the pot's bottom.

Once the mixture cools, the butter will solidify, does not require refrigeration, and will keep in a tightly covered jar for 2-3 months.


For further reading, references for this month's subject included:

Chopra, Deepak. Perfect Health. Three Rivers Press, 2000.
Frawley, David. Yoga & Ayurveda. Lotus Press, 1999.
Krishan, Shubhra essential ayurveda. New World Library, 2003.