Mangosteen

Lately, I’ve been noticing an “up and coming” fruit that seems to be gaining popularity, and thought I would look into it. It’s called Mangosteen.

The Latin name of the mangosteen is Garcinia mangostana L. The genus Garcinia is named in honor of Laurent Garcin, a French 18th century explorer and plant collector. Linnaeus, the “L” after the species name mangostana, honored his work by naming the genus Garcinia after him.

This amazing fruit comes in many different forms, and there are numerous claims to it’s nutritional value. Personally, I’ve tried the juice called “Xango“, and it did seem to give me a lot of energy for a week or so. Then the effects wore off. But the nutritional value seemed to be very good.

If you have a Trader Joe’s in your area, I highly recommend the Trader Joe’s brand “Freeze dried tropical Mangosteen”. They freeze dry the pit along with the fruit. Boy are they good! (And no added sugar, just the fruit!)

These little treats will fit in nicely with the Ayurvedic diet and lifestyle. They are easy on the digestion, and make a wonderfully natural, sweet snack. Give them a try and let me know how you like them!

Namaste
Tiffany

Find peace and balance. Unveil your bliss with Ayurvedic bath and body products.
Personal Alchemy offers botanical bath salts, ritual massage oils, healing balms and body creams.
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Humor and Spirituality

Most folks would not think of humor and spirituality going together. Usually, if you think of being spiritual, it involves being very serious. But according to an interview on Good Morning America with Deepak Chopra, that just isn’t the case. Humor is vital in spirituality. Watch the interview to find out why.

Namaste

Tiffany
Owner
Personal Alchemy

Find peace and balance. Unveil your bliss with Ayurvedic bath and body products. Personal Alchemy offers botanical bath salts, massage oils, healing balms and body creams.

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Do-it-yourself Ayurvedic Facials

People are always surprised when I tell them that I clean my face with olive oil and a cotton ball. I never use soap or water, and my skin looks great.

The other day, I had a conversation with my mother the other day about beauty aids you can find in your kitchen. I began to wonder how to do an Ayurvedic facial with simple, natural products that you might have in your kitchen cabinet (just like my olive oil!).

I found a blog that tells you how to do just that! So I thought I would share it with you here.

If you try this facial, let me know how it turns out! I’ll be trying it myself very soon.

Namaste
Tiffany

 

 

 
Find peace and balance. Unveil your bliss with Ayurvedic bath and body products.
Personal Alchemy offers botanical bath salts, ritual massage oils, healing balms and body creams.

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Ayurveda and Eczema

Eczema has plagued me for many years now.

While it has gotten better over time, it is still a part of my every day life. While I have not seen an Ayurvedic practitioner for the condition (yet), I did manage to take a trip into my local Elephant Pharmacy in Walnut Creek, CA.

There, I spoke with a woman who was their Ayurvedic expert. She gave me some interesting information.

She told me that Eczema typically comes from bad digestion, and encouraged me to try herbs as well as digestive enzymes.

The herbs she sold me were called “Trikatu” and “Triphala”. The Trikatu is to be taken before meals with water, and the Triphala is to be used as a tea in the morning and evening.

I will keep you updated as to wether or not this works for me. For those of you with eczema, I understand your pain, and hope that this information will help.

Please consult a physician before trying any treatment. This post is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition.

Namaste
Tiffany

 

 

 
Find peace and balance. Unveil your bliss with Ayurvedic bath and body products.
Personal Alchemy offers botanical bath salts, ritual massage oils, healing balms and body creams.

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Go ahead, you deserve it!

So normally, I don’t like to blatantly promote my products on my blog. But, today, I really wanted to let everyone know about our “Go ahead, you deserve it” summer sale. All of our balms and oils are on sale for $5 or $8. That’s a pretty steep discount, but we need to clear room on our shelves for new product. So we thought we would pass some discounts onto you guys. I hope you’ll stop by and take a look.

See our sale at: www.personalalchemy.com/summer-sale.html

Namaste
Tiffany

 

 

 
Find peace and balance. Unveil your bliss with Ayurvedic bath and body products.
Personal Alchemy offers botanical bath salts, ritual massage oils, healing balms and body creams.

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Namaste

Pancakes for your dosha

I love pancakes. So when I thought I could no longer have pancakes following an ayurvedic diet, I was just a tad bit upset. But then I did a little research, and found that with just a few adjustments, I could still have my favorite breakfast food! Yippeee!!!

Here are pancake recipes for each of the doshas. I should warn you that if you are looking for a “bisquix” recipe, you will be a bit disappointed. But believe it or not, there was life (and pancakes) before bisquix. Frankly, I like these much better. While these recipes won’t produce the “fluffy” pancakes so many people are used to, the flavor of these delicious breakfast goodies far outweighs the fluffy factor in my book.

Vata: Rice or wheat flour, 2 eggs, milk, 2 tbsp. ground almonds or almond extract

Pitta: Oat or rice flour, milk or soy milk, sesame seeds

Kapha: Buckwheat or soy flour, coconut milk, ground coconut

For all doshas: place 2 cups flour in a bowl, and stir in remaining ingredients in order listed, until you have a nice medium thick batter. Fry in a non-stick pan using ghee in dosha appropriate amounts.

Let me know how these turn out for you!

Namaste
Tiffany

 

 

 
Find peace and balance. Unveil your bliss with Ayurvedic bath and body products.
Personal Alchemy offers botanical bath salts, ritual massage oils, healing balms and body creams.

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Breakfast for your dosha

One of my challenges when I started trying to follow an eating plan for my dosha, was in knowing what “combination foods” I could eat. It’s fine to say that a Kapha dosha should eat pumpkin seeds, but how do you turn that into a Kapha meal?

Here are some breakfast ideas for each dosha to get your day started right.

Vata - Warm cereals are wonderful for you. Cream of wheat is a great start to your day. Just add milk, and you’re on your way! Warm, sweet and milky is your best bet. You need warmth and comfort in your foods.

Pitta- eat cold cereals, toast and tea. Avoid caffeine such as a morning cup of joe. It’s not good for your doshic balance. Try herbal tea instead.

Kapha- You want to stay away from a fattening breakfast, such as sausages, bacon, etc. You also need to stay away from sugar breakfast items. So what can you eat? My favorite morning breakfast is buckwheat or barley pancakes. You can add fruit to these, in place of sugar. Try fruit butters. They are easy to make at home, and there are a ton of recipes for them on the internet. While most of them call for sugar, you can easily make them without. 

Monday, I will post a pancake recipe for each of the doshas. See you then!

Namaste
Tiffany

 

 

 
Find peace and balance. Unveil your bliss with Ayurvedic bath and body products.
Personal Alchemy offers botanical bath salts, ritual massage oils, healing balms and body creams.

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Panchakarma Explored (Part 5)

There are five basic methods of therapy used in Panchakarma.

Vamana - induced vomiting
Virechen - purgation (therapeutic laxative)
Basti - enema
Nasya - nasal detoxification
Rakta Moksha - blood detoxification

In this blog series, we will explore each method of therapy, and why it is used.

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Rakta Moksha

Blood detoxification, or “Rakta Moksha” in Ayurveda, is imperative therapy in toxemia, infections and hypertension.

Many skin disorders can also occur when the blood is toxic. Conditions such as eczema, herpes and hives. Typically, increased Pitta will cause problems in the blood.

Blood letting is still practiced to relieve this problem. However, it is not the most popular method, especially here in the USA. Typically, the blood will be cleansed through the use of herbs or color and gem therapy.

It should also be mentioned that when the need arises for detoxifying the blood, correct diet is vital, as are the products you put on your skin. Eat organic food whenever available, and use only natural body products, as anything that you put on your skin, will be absorbed into the blood stream.

Have you experienced any panchakarma therapy?  If you have, I encourage you to comment about your experience here. It is my hope that by exposing what panchakarma is, it will seem a little less foreign and disagreeable to people. So please, feel free to share via comments below, or email me any time.

This concludes our series on panchakarma. I hope you have found it to be helpful.

Namaste
Tiffany

 

 

 
Find peace and balance. Unveil your bliss with Ayurvedic bath and body products.
Personal Alchemy offers botanical bath salts, ritual massage oils, healing balms and body creams.

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Panchakarma Explored (Part 4)

There are five basic methods of therapy used in Panchakarma.

Vamana - induced vomiting
Virechen - purgation (therapeutic laxative)
Basti - enema
Nasya - nasal detoxification
Rakta Moksha - blood detoxification

In this blog series, we will explore each method of therapy, and why it is used.

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Nasya

In Ayurveda, the nose is considered to be the pathway to not only the brain, but also the consciousness.

When ayurvedic medication is administered through the nasal passages, it is called Nasya. This method is used to help Prana (life energy) enter the body appropriately and with good function, through proper breathing. If Prana does not enter the body correctly, many issues can ensue. Headaches, memory loss, loss of concentration and sinus congestion are just a few of the problems which can arise.

Treatment can involve inhalation of herbal vapors, drops of herbal remedies in the nose, or even herbal remedies being gently massaged on the inside of the nose.

This may sound like a very strange procedure. But it can be very effective when Kapha problems arise, such as problems with the ears, eyes, nose and throat, migraines and even bronchitis.

Talk to your ayurvedic practitioner about this therapy to help you understand the process and the method of application.

This coming Wednesday’s Blog: Rakta Moksha (blood detoxification)

Namaste
Tiffany

 

 

 
Find peace and balance. Unveil your bliss with Ayurvedic bath and body products.
Personal Alchemy offers botanical bath salts, ritual massage oils, healing balms and body creams.

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Panchakarma Explored (Part 3)

There are five basic methods of therapy used in Panchakarma.

Vamana - induced vomiting
Virechen - purgation (therapeutic laxative)
Basti - enema
Nasya - nasal detoxification
Rakta Moksha - blood detoxification

In this blog series, we will explore each method of therapy, and why it is used.

________________________________________________________________________

Basti

Basti is the term in Ayurveda used for therapeutic enemas. It is used to treat Vata disorders such as: constipation, sexual disorders and joint pain.

This highly therapeutic method uses mixtures of oils and herbal preparations in liquid form. When introduced into the body, these mixtures help alleviate and ease Vata imbalances. Medication given rectally penetrates deeply into the body’s tissues, and is therefore very effective.

To the western mind, the mere thought of this treatment is extremely unpleasant. But when performed by a qualified practitioner in a comfortable setting, the procedure itself is not all that bad. In fact, this form of treatment will often work when everything else has failed.

This coming Monday’s Blog: Nasya (Therapeutic treatment via the nasal passages)

Namaste
Tiffany

 

 

 
Find peace and balance. Unveil your bliss with Ayurvedic bath and body products.
Personal Alchemy offers botanical bath salts, ritual massage oils, healing balms and body creams.

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