Ayurvedic Herbs - Continue..

Dashmul

Latin Name
None

Sanskrit Name
Dashmula

Hindi Name
Dashmul

English Name
Ten Roots formula

Parts Used

These are all roots. Each plant has a different therapeutic value and must be prepared in its own way for maximum benefits.

Traditional Ayurvedic Uses

• Dashmula is the most highly prized ayurvedic formula for fatigue. Extracts of these herbs are the most effective, but powders are used in tablets in larger quantities.
• This formula is used as an ingredient in many of our herbal combinations. It aids cellular regeneration to hasten removal of dead or weak cells and replace them with fresh, vital ones.

Note: Dashmula is actually a mixture of ten herbs in equal proportion: Aegle marmelos, Premna mucronata, Ailanthus excelsa, Stereospermum suaveolens, Phaseolus trilobus, Teramnus labialis, Tick Trefoil, Uraria picta, Solanum indicum, Solanum xanthocarpum.


Gulancha

Latin Name
Tinospora cordifolia

Sanskrit Name
Guduchi, Amrita, Soma-valli

Hindi Name
Gulancha

English Name
Heart-leaved Moonseed

Parts Used

Stem and root. Each part has a different therapeutic value and must be prepared in its own way for maximum benefits.

Traditional Ayurvedic Uses

• Considered the best herb for clearing the microcirculatory system and other bodily channels (Shrotas). It is especially effective and unique in its ability to remove both exogenous and endogenous toxins (from external and internal sources). Therefore it is very often included in comprehensive Ayurvedic formulas, since such toxins interfere with all bodily functions and are a factor in almost all diseases. It clears out brain toxins that hinder mental activity.
• Guduchi also has a direct Medhya Rasayana effect, which means that it enhances all aspects of mind power, including comprehension (Dhi), memory (Dhriti) and recollection (Smriti).
• Because of its ability to cleanse the channels, it aids delivery of nutrients from your foods and from the herbs in a formula.
• Guduchi balances and purifies fat tissue, to make fats easier to break down. Fats are an important raw material for building healthy bones.
• Guduchi also aids all other aspects of healthy metabolism (the 13 Agnis). It aids digestion, assimilation and proper formation of all the bodily tissues (7 Dhatus).
• It helps balance liver function and aids proper assimilation.
• It aids purification of the urinary tract and intestines, by balancing lubrication (Shleshaka Kapha) and the downward energy of the body (Apana Vata).
• By supporting proper function of Shleshaka Kapha, Guduchi also aids proper communication and coordination between all the various cells and their many related functions for better overall health. This has the added benefit of nourishing the mind-body connection and enhances the psychoneuro immune response (called the PNI).
• Guduchi is also a powerful Rasayana (longevity enhancer) even by itself, but especially when combined with complementary herbs. It increases the quality and quantity of Ojas, the master coordinator between mind and body. It helps consciousness slide into the physiology and aids development of full potential.
• Guduchi has another rare effect -- it balances all three laws of the physiology (Vata, Pitta, Kapha) at the same time.
• Guduchi has a Keshya effect, which means that it directly nourishes the hair for better quality and strength.
• Guduchi has now been researched to verify its powerful immunomodulatory effects, meaning that it enhances overall immune function.
• When you cut a fresh sprig of Guduchi from the tree and hang it from a cord in the air, it will continue to grow without any visible means of support, gathering its life energy from the five elements in its environment. This makes it very valuable for its ability to bring life into the body. For this reason it is sometimes called Amrita, the Sanskrit word for immortality.

Gugal

Latin Name
Commiphora mukul, Balsamodendron mukul

Sanskrit Name
Guggul

Hindi Name
Gugal

English Name
Gugal

Parts Used

Resin. Every plant has a different therapeutic value and must be prepared in its own way for maximum benefits. This plant grows in Bengal, Mysore, Rajputana, Sind, Assam, Berars and Khandesh districts of the Indian continent.

Traditional Ayurvedic Uses

• Enhances all 13 of the metabolic processes (Agnis) that create all 7 categories of bodily tissues (Dhatus).

More Ayurvedic Herbs

Asgandh

Latin Name
Withania somnifera

Sanskrit Name
Ashwagandha

Hindi Name
Asgandh

English Name
Winter Cherry

Parts Used

Root and leaves. Each part has a different therapeutic value and must be prepared in its own way for maximum benefits. This shrub is common in Mumbai (Bombay) and Western India and occasionally found in Bengal.

Traditional Ayurvedic Uses

• Ashwagandha has many significant benefits, but is best known for its powerful adaptogenic properties, meaning that it helps mind and body adapt better to stress. It nourishes the nerves and improves nerve function to help you maintain calm during stressful situations.

• It is also good for people who do physical labor or exercise a lot, to help the body adapt to physical stress.

• It is a powerful Rasayana, meaning that it acts as an overall tonic for greater vitality and longevity.

• It nourishes all the bodily tissues (Dhatus), including the joints and nerves.

• It is also a powerful Medhya Rasayana, which means that it enhances all three aspects of mind power (Dhi -- comprehension; Dhriti -- memory; and Smriti -- recollection).

• Ashwagandha nourishes the crucial mind-body connection and psychoneuro immune response (called PNI). It helps coordinate the mind and senses, as well, which is essential for good quality sleep.

• It balances the mind (Prana Vata). This is essential for happiness in the face of mental or emotional stress.

• It increases the quality and quantity of Ojas, the master coordinator between the body and consciousness. It helps pure consciousness slide into the physiology.

• It has a Sothara effect -- which means it helps clear impurities (Ama) from the various channels of the body.

• Ashwagandha enhances virility and has aphrodisiac properties, especially for men.

• It is also well known for its powerful immune enhancing benefits.

• It is considered among the best of all substances for balancing Vata. It also pacifies Kapha at the same time, which is a rare combination.

• As with almost all single all herbs, there is one small caution. Ashwagandha should always be used with other herbs such as licorice to balance out possible heating effects (especially for the heart).

Khareti

Latin Name
Sida cordifolia

Sanskrit Name
Bala

Hindi Name
Khareti

English Name
Country Mallow

Parts Used

Roots, leaves, seeds and stems. Each part has a different therapeutic value and must be prepared in its own way for the maximum benefits.

Traditional Ayurvedic Uses

• This is one the most often used Ayurvedic herbs because it simultaneously balances all three laws of the physiology (Vata, Pitta, Kapha), a rare effect.

• Bala is primarily known for giving stamina or inner strength.

• It helps balance proper amounts of the male hormone, testosterone, and increases sexual desire.

• Bala has a Vrishya effect, meaning that it enhances the quality and quantity of reproductive fluids (Shukra Dhatu) for conception of healthy offspring.

• It builds general immunity (the word Bala can actually be translated as immunity).

• It is a good Rasayana (overall tonic and longevity enhancer).

• Bala is a good tonic for the lungs.

• Bala contains five of the six tastes, a very rare property indicating that it provides nourishment of all aspects of nature's intelligence (the five Mahabhutas).

NOTE: As with most single herbs, Bala should always be taken in balanced combinations with other herbs, to prevent aggravation of any existing congestion.

More Definations ...

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture literally means 'needle piercing," the practice of inserting very fine needles into the skin to stimulate specific anatomic points in the body (called acupoints) for therapeutic purposes. Along with the usual method of puncturing the skin with the fine needles, the practitioners also use heat, pressure, friction, suction, or impulses of electromagnetic energy to stimulate the points. The acupoints are stimulated to balance the movement of energy (qi) in the body to restore health.

Acupuncture involves stimulating. In the past 40 years acupuncture has become a well-known, reasonably available treatment in developed and developing countries. Acupuncture is used to regulate or correct the flow of qi to restore health.

To really understand how acupuncture works, it is necessary to become familiar with the basics of Chinese philosophy. The philosophies of the Dao or Tao, yin and yang, the eight principles, the three treasures and the five elements are all fundamental to traditional Chinese acupuncture and its specific role in helping to maintain good health and a person's well-being.

What is Aromatherapy?

Aromatherapy means "treatment using scents". It is a holistic treatment of caring for the body with pleasant smelling botanical oils such as rose, lemon, lavender and peppermint. The essential oils are added to the bath or massaged into the skin, inhaled directly or diffused to scent an entire room. Aromatherapy is used for the relief of pain, care for the skin, alleviate tension and fatigue and invigorate the entire body. Essential oils can affect the mood, alleviate fatigue, reduce anxiety and promote relaxation. When inhaled, they work on the brain and nervous system through stimulation of the olfactory nerves.

The essential oils are aromatic essences extracted from plants, flowers, trees, fruits, bark, grasses and seeds with distinctive therapeutic, psychological, and physiological properties, which improve and prevent illness. There are about 150 essential oils. Most of these oils have antiseptic properties; some are antiviral, anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, antidepressant and expectorant. Other properties of the essential oils which are taken advantage of in aromatherapy are their stimulation, relaxation, digestion improvement, and diuretic properties. To get the maximum benefit from essential oils, it should be made from natural, pure raw materials. Synthetically made oils do not work.

Aromatherapy is one of the fastest growing fields in alternative medicine. It is widely used at home, clinics and hospitals for a variety of applications such as pain relief for women in labor pain, relieving pain caused by the side effects of the chemotherapy undergone by the cancer patients, and rehabilitation of cardiac patients.

Aromatherapy is already slowly getting into the mainstream. In Japan, engineers are incorporating aroma systems into new buildings. In one such application, the scent of lavender and rosemary is pumped into the customer area to calm down the waiting customers, while the perfumes from lemon and eucalyptus are used in the bank teller counters to keep the staff alert.

Essential oils are very effective in the treatment of stress and in the encouragement of relaxation.

Scents of vanilla, orange blossom, rose, chamomile and lavender {and other floral fragrances) have a noticeable calming effect on the way you feel.

Scents of lavender, sandalwood and nutmeg help you shrug off the ill-effects of stress.

Patchouli oil helps eliminate anxiety and lifts the mood (it is also said to be an aphrodisiac.).

Clary sage is a sedative and tonic.

Ylang-ylang is euphoric, regulator, sedative, and tonic. Use it in moderation. It can cause headaches in some people.

Lavender is probably the most useful of them all for relaxation. It is a sedative and a tonic. It helps you to relax, at the same time, it also eases aches and pains, such as headache. Sprinkle four drops on a tissue and inhale deeply for sudden stress. Our ancestors carried with them handkerchiefs perfumed with lavender water or rose water.

The most effective methods for using essential oils to help calm the mind and relax the body include massage, baths, and vaporization. You can use them singly or in combination.