#37 Ashoka, the Plant of Emotional Balance, Bliss, and Joy

This episode is the first of a trilogy:What is Vat?What is Pitt?What is Kaph? Vat is the more proper spelling of the dosha which is transliterated as Vata in the Western world and pronounced as "Wata". Since Sanskrit has no letters, its "alphabet" is rather a syllabary, much like the Japanese katakana and hiragana, where characters represent full syllables instead of consonantal or vocalic sounds that have to be combined to make syllables. When a Sanskrit syllable has no vowel at the end, a minuscule "A" sound is attached to it, and since Western alphabets don't know of these short or "half vowels" the transliterations frequently add a full "A" sound at the end. Furthermore, familiar words such as Yoga and Ayurveda are actually "Yog" and "Ayurved" in their original Sanskrit form, they just get a full "A" sound appended at the end. Vat or Vata is one of the three ayurvedic doshas and is the dosha of people with a physiology that is marut-predominant. It is divided into the five sub-doshas listed below (spelled Western style) on which Vaidya Mishra elaborates in this episode covering the functions and the parts of the physical body that each of them governs: 1) Prana Vata2) Udana Vata3) Samana Vata4) Apana Vata5) Vyana Vata

Have you ever wondered why your ayurvedic practitioner asks you to sleep and eat in this or that way, to choose or avoid such and such foods and cooking methods; and to follow or avoid certain lifestyle habits, practices, and routines? In this enlightening two-part episode Dr. Teitelbaum explains in depth the principles that set the foundation for health, well-being, and bliss the ayurvedic way. Part 1 covers with erudition the concepts of Prana and Doshas, which set Ayurveda apart and above Western medicine going beyond the physical body into the realm of our vibrational physiology. Part 2 addresses ojas, the subtle vibrational “tissues” that complete the physiology equation when added to the seven physical tissues. And ama, the poorly-digested/semi-processed food substances that clog our channels and create toxins, the two issues at the root of almost every human illness.

Have you ever wondered why your ayurvedic practitioner asks you to sleep and eat in this or that way, to choose or avoid such and such foods and cooking methods; and to follow or avoid certain lifestyle habits, practices, and routines? In this enlightening two-part episode Dr. Teitelbaum explains in depth the principles that set the foundation for health, well-being, and bliss the ayurvedic way. Part 1 covers with erudition the concepts of Prana and Doshas, which set Ayurveda apart and above Western medicine going beyond the physical body into the realm of our vibrational physiology. Part 2 addresses ojas, the subtle vibrational “tissues” that complete the physiology equation when added to the seven physical tissues. And ama, the poorly-digested/semi-processed food substances that clog our channels and create toxins, the two issues at the root of almost every human illness.

Ashwaganda, sometimes called the “Indian Jing Sen” is a plant with amazing medicinal properties and a vaidya’s number one tool in the reduction of cortisol due to stress. In this episode, Vaidya Mishra discusses the problems related to stress and our modern lifestyle and how this holy plant is used in its treatment.  His accomplished student, Daria, Presents her research work on the subject, after which Vaidya answers the audience’s questions. Stay informed to stay healthy; this is a valuable presentation.

Bones are living tissue, as alive as muscles, skin, and blood; and its health needs to be addressed as such. Osteoporosis and other bone illnesses that we believe can be kept away by swallowing dead calcium-supplement pills are not cured or prevented with such pharmaceutical approaches. Not only are these practices ineffective, but unintelligent calcium ingested in excess and let wondering unattended in our bodies can stiffen arteries and joints, and pretty much cause unwanted accumulations in any bodily tissue. Dr. Marianne Teitelbaum brilliantly explains how to truly keep out bones healthy without creating problems in the rest of our physiology.

Some five decades ago, the word cholesterol became a household term and the bad guy to blame for all our illnesses and health misfortunes. Heart attacks, Alzheimer’s disease, high blood pressure, you name it. As research progressed, decades later we began to hear: “But wait, there is good cholesterol too”. At present time, Western medicine is discovering that the serial killer known as cholesterol was innocent of most charges while doctors’ dietary recommendations and prescriptions to keep the assassin low caused ravages in the health of two generations depleting the human brain of indispensable fat substances that led to all kinds of physiological imbalances responsible for life-long medical conditions and death. All you need to know about cholesterol, which could have saved countless lives should the West have known what has been common ayurvedic knowledge for millennia, is presented in this episode.

Ashoka means in Sanskrit that which takes away the grief. This holly ayurvedic plant is known for its beneficial effect on the hridya (the emotional heart); it lifts the spirit and conveys a feeling of blissful joy. Its medicinal properties include cooling effects that help to balance the excess of agni (fire) in the liver, pancreas, colon, and other organs reducing inflammation and the production of ama and amavisha (toxins). It is also an excellent sugar regulator that helps in the production of insulin, the cellular absorption of sugar and nutrients, and the overall management of diabetes.

Is it really that vaccines have never been proven to have a direct connection with autism, Alzheimer’s, and a roster of other endemic diseases that were a rarity half a century ago? Or is it the greatest big pharma cover-up of present time? America is sadly by far the country with the busiest vaccine schedule in the world. Children are expected to have taken as many as 70 vaccination rounds by the age of 18, in contrast with a handful of vaccines their grandpas received during their childhood and adolescence. Before the “golden age of vaccines” (sarcasm intended), the US had the third lowest child-mortality rate in the world. Today, it ranks at about #46; well behind all developed countries. Vaccines are loaded with a myriad of harmful ingredients that include mercury, the deadliest neurotoxic known to science, and aluminum, another high-ranking poison, just to name a few. Every responsible parent should make informed decisions about the vaccine schedules of the “Vaccination Nation” that can have irreversible consequences in the health of his/her children. PART 1 covers the toxicity of vaccine ingredients, the damage they produce in the brain and physiology, and the evolution of the vaccination schedule in the US over the past decades. PART 2 covers the research, medical literature, and conclusive factual evidence about the harms of vaccination that every parent should know.

Is it really that vaccines have never been proven to have a direct connection with autism, Alzheimer’s, and a roster of other endemic diseases that were a rarity half a century ago? Or is it the greatest big pharma cover-up of present time? America is sadly by far the country with the busiest vaccine schedule in the world. Children are expected to have taken as many as 70 vaccination rounds by the age of 18, in contrast with a handful of vaccines their grandpas received during their childhood and adolescence. Before the “golden age of vaccines” (sarcasm intended), the US had the third lowest child-mortality rate in the world. Today, it ranks at about #46; well behind all developed countries. Vaccines are loaded with a myriad of harmful ingredients that include mercury, the deadliest neurotoxic known to science, and aluminum, another high-ranking poison, just to name a few. Every responsible parent should make informed decisions about the vaccine schedules of the “Vaccination Nation” that can have irreversible consequences in the health of his/her children. PART 1 covers the toxicity of vaccine ingredients, the damage they produce in the brain and physiology, and the evolution of the vaccination schedule in the US over the past decades. PART 2 covers the research, medical literature, and conclusive factual evidence about the harms of vaccination that every parent should know.

In this episode, Dr. Lisa Rasking, D.C., Vaidya Mishra’s accomplished student and research collaborator, explains the dangers of consuming vegetables from the nightshade family. These veggies, which include eggplants, bell peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes, contain several neurotoxic substances, like nicotine and particularly solanine. These toxic chemicals are produced by the plants to protect themselves from insects and are in reality nature’s-made pesticides, which modern laboratories utilize to manufacture rat poison and herbicides. Solanine, which accumulates in the body’s involuntary muscle tissues and the intestines’ lining, is directly related to osteoporosis and general calcium and vitamin D deficiency. It “deviates” the calcium causing it to accumulate and build up in the wrong tissues instead of being put to work on building healthy bones. It also interferes with neuronal synapses and affects our joints among several other disruptions. Modern Western research is corroborating today what the ancient sutras of ayurveda knew since time immemorial and Vaidya Mishra learned from his father and ancestors in his Shaka Vanshyia lineage of healers. This lecture was recorded from a live event with in-person and remote participants (via phone connection) and is included on the DVD set “Principles of SVA Food” available for purchase at Chandika.com.