CONTENTS How to use this eBook Foreword Ayurveda and the four goals of life YOU AND YOUR BODY Ayurveda and the body The three doshas Reveal your constitution The vata mind and body The pitta mind and body The kapha mind and body How the body builds immunity THE AYURVEDIC LIFESTYLE A healthy lifestyle A daily routine Looking after your body Self-massage Step 1: Working toward a healthier lifestyle Step 2: Achieving a healthier lifestyle Step 3: Expanding your healthy lifestyle MAINTAINING GOOD HEALTH How to recognize problems Pacifying vata Pacifying pitta Pacifying kapha Strengthening agni FOOD, DIET, AND RECIPES The healing power of food The six tastes Sattvic diet Consider vegetarianism Herbs and spices Ghee, sugar, and honey The vata diet Foods for vata The pitta diet Foods for pitta The kapha diet Foods for kapha Supporting agni Fasting for health Cooking at home Breakfast recipes Lunch recipes Dinner recipes Dessert recipes YOGA: ASANAS, PRANAYAMA, AND RELAXATION Ayurveda and yoga Your yoga session The yogic breath Alternate nostril breathing Lung purification Neck exercises Sun salutation Single leg lift Shoulderstand Plow Fish Sitting forward bend Inclined plane Cobra Child’s pose Camel Tree Crow Spinal twist Triangle Active relaxation Relaxation using autosuggestion POSITIVE THINKING AND MEDITATION Ayurveda and the mind Monitoring the mind The mind and the Self Positive thinking Refining our values Meditation practice The power of mantras Karma yoga The bigger picture SEEING AN AYURVEDIC PRACTITIONER Ayurvedic diagnosis Your examination Body treatments Panchakarma Ayurvedic medicines HOME REMEDIES FOR COMMON AILMENTS Treating common ailments by dosha How to prepare home remedies Remedies for common ailments Remedies for respiratory tract ailments Remedies for digestive tract ailments Remedies for ailments of the eyes, hair, skin, and teeth Remedies for trauma and musculoskeletal ailments Glossary of Ayurvedic and yoga terms International Sivananda Vedanta Yoga Centers and Ashrams Acknowledgments How to use this eBook Preferred application settings For the best reading experience, the following application settings are recommended: • Colour theme: White background • Font size: At the smallest point size • Orientation: Landscape (for screen sizes over 9”), Portrait (for screen sizes below 9”) • Scrolling view: [OFF] • Text alignment: Auto-justification [OFF] (if the eBook reader has this feature) • Auto-hyphenation: [OFF] (if the eBook reader has this feature) • Font style: Publisher default setting [ON] (if the eBook reader has this feature) Editor Toby Mann Senior Art Editors Emma Forge, Tom Forge, Saffron Stocker Editors Anna Davidson, Tia Sarkar US Editors Christy Lusiak, Kayla Dugger US Executive Editor Lori Hand Designers Amy Child, Vanessa Hamilton Jacket Designer Saffron Stocker Producer, Pre-production Tony Phipps Producer Ché Creasey Managing Editor Dawn Henderson Managing Art Editor Marianne Markham Art Director Maxine Pedliham Publishing Director Mary-Clare Jerram Illustrations Aurora Gritti, Keith Hagan Photography Laura Edwards Food Styling Maud Eden Prop Styling Polly Webb-Wilson First American Edition, 2018 Published in the United States by DK Publishing 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 Copyright © 2018 Dorling Kindersley Limited DK, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 9781465468499 eISBN: 9781465479471 A WORLD OF IDEAS: SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW www.dk.com IMPORTANT NOTICE All participants in fitness activities must assume responsibility for their own health and safety. If you have any medical conditions, consult with your physician before undertaking any of the activities set out in this book. The information in this book cannot replace sound judgment when it comes to reducing the risk of injury, and you must take care. Do not try to self-diagnose or self-treat serious or long-term problems without first consulting a qualified medical practitioner as appropriate. Do not exceed any of the recommended dosages. Always seek professional medical advice if problems persist. If taking prescribed medicines, seek medical advice before using home remedies. FOREWORD Yoga and Ayurveda are sister sciences. Together, they show a way to live naturally and achieve radiant physical, mental, and spiritual health. As one of the most important spiritual and healing traditions of the world, Ayurvedic and yogic scriptures describe the ethics and daily, monthly, and yearly practices of a healthy life; this covers topics including diet and exercise, as well as the use of the breath, senses, emotions, and mind. Their approach to meditation provides a step-by-step guide to complete peace and harmony—a balance of the mind and the heart— opening up the deeper potential of human awareness. Practical Ayurveda follows the vision of Swami Sivananda (1887– 1963), a renowned Indian yoga master and medical doctor who wrote over 200 books on all aspects of yoga, as well as on Ayurveda. It was Swami Vishnudevananda (1927–1993), an eminent disciple of Swami Sivananda, who, sent by his Master, brought the practice of yoga from India to the Western world. After establishing Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers in the Americas and Europe, Swami Vishnudevananda founded the Sivananda Yoga Dhanwantari Ashram, a unique training center in Kerala, South India, where the practice of yoga and Ayurveda are combined. The daily Ayurvedic routine allows you to gradually develop a healthier lifestyle. The food choices presented in this book work for both the individual person’s constitution, and the practice of yoga and meditation. While Ayurveda increases your prana (life energy) through diet, herbs, oils, and minerals, the practice of yoga and meditation teaches you to stabilize that prana in a more direct way—through postures, breathing exercises, deep relaxation, and meditation. We hope that Practical Ayurveda will help you to heal yourself and to help you to manifest your full potential in body, mind, and spirit. Swami Durgananda