Something brought you to this post. What was it? What inner need do you wish to fulfill? Think about it. And now that, hopefully, you found it – good for you! Be your own handyman. You don’t necessarily need other people to meet your needs, you can do it by yourself combining yoga, meditation and plants.
Combining the science of Yoga, mudra, meditation, pranayama and herbs and plants that heal is an art. Using a little of everything, but every day, ensures a continuity that is a major factor for good health. When one starts to practice Pranayama, yoga and meditation, they also veer towards gently and mild home remedies to address the problems they encounter.
Do read this about the medicinal herbs and which ones to use to open a certain chakra.
When it comes to disciplining the body along with the mind, the unity if yoga, meditation and plants is imperative. Use all these good things you got in the world!
Then Come the Mudras
Two very important mudras – The Ganesh Mudra and The Garuda mudra can be adopted by us in our daily practice. (We also wrote a nice beginner’s guide to mudras here.) In brief, the Ganesha mudra makes our arms, chest, shoulders strong, by focusing on improving the strength of the muscles located there. It also helps in removing the stress and tension built up and stored in those areas, inadvertently by us. It helps to open up the lungs and the respiratory tract. The Garuda Mudra, is another important mudra, and when done with meditation, cultivates a sense of control over the mind and a sense of orientation, just like the mighty bird, the eagle. This mudra also helps with the proper functioning of the blood circulation and the respiratory system. These two systems are the vital ones, for survival.
Aside from Mudras, What Else Is Important?
This is a peek into a health system by itself- Yoga, meditation, Pranayama and how they attract extracts of plants and herbs for a complete physical and mental health solution. Yoga and meditation and their link with using gentle medications made from home plants is not new in a society such as in India. This is a science by itself. Usually, the female elders in the house (most often a joint family), would integrate these into the day-to-day functioning of a regular home. These get into the warp and weft of the home itself, until it becomes a way of life.
How Health Was Related To The Matriarch Of The Family
Why does that right of dispensing effective medications from plant-based decoctions and extracts rest in the hands of the eldest family member (especially the lady)? Well, a few cultures and societies in India were, and continue to be, matriarchal. She took over the charge of the general well-being of the household in her hands. So, the basic cuisine, the tradition and the habits, revolved around the family’s good health status. When rules were made by the family elder, involving the practice of yoga, meditation, the medications, everyone silently accepted them, without contesting them.
A Unified Approach
Let us first observe how these three disciplines got integrated into one whole. Every family home in the ancient times was massive, with a huge open area around the structure called as home. The house itself used to be nestled in the lap of Nature, per se. This is also an important aspect of the kind of living people did, in the ancient times. They learned to co-exist happily with Nature, in Nature, along with other creatures too.
In The Lap Of Nature
This is the root of the habit we acquired- by integrating flora in to our everyday lives, naturally. There were then, and they exist now too, those plants and trees that became part of the cuisine and the therapeutic aspects of life. Let us take a look at the perennial trees and plants that became part of the health process in those times, and continue to be so, until today.
Some Plants And Trees That Became The Crux Of Our Lives
The Neem tree, the Tulsi plant (Basil), Garlic, Ginger- fresh and the dried one, Turmeric, Curry Leaves (The sweet Neem leaves), Black pepper corns, Aloe vera, Amaranth leaves, the Hibiscus shrub, Rose shrub, Lotus flowers,leaves, stem, the Banana plant, the Coconut tree, the Oregano plant, the Clove, The Star aniseed, the Cumin seed, the Fennel seed, the bay leaf, the cinnamon, the Lemon, were all everyday plants and trees. Honey too, can be added to this-as without the presence of trees, honey cannot be made. They got into the fabric of the society, the culture and the traditions in numerous ways. Do read here for more clarity and information about the herbs we use in our cuisine.
Exploring The Dual Role Of These Plants And Herbs
The use of plants and herbs as seasonings, medicines and as part of the main cuisine, have co-existed with us in different civilizations, since time immemorial, even long before the prehistoric period. There are evidences for us to refer to, in ancient Unani manuscripts, Egyptian papyrus, and Chinese writings. . Even in the indigenous cultures and civilizations of ancient Rome, Egypt, Iran, Africa and America used herbs in their healing rituals, while other developed traditional medical systems. Unani, Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine have their roots in these traditional medicinal systems and these were the ones used for herbal therapies. They became specialized fields of study.
One herb, cannabis, is even used when practicing yoga.
Ancient India’s Role In The Scheme Of Things
Among ancient civilizations, India has been known to be rich repository of medicinal plants. The forest in India is the principal repository of large number of medicinal and aromatic plants, which are largely collected as raw materials for manufacture of drugs and perfumery products. About 8,000 herbal remedies have been codified in AYUSH systems in INDIA. Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Folk (tribal) medicines are the major systems of indigenous medicines. Among these systems, Ayurveda and Unani Medicine are most developed and widely practised in India. (Reference: Data from the nhp, govt.of India)
What Should We Do To Integrate Everything In Our Day To Day Life?
We now know that in order to experience a wholesomeness and a cohesion of the mental and the physical state, we need to adopt variety and versatility in our habits. Of the nature of versatility, Nature is our ready reckoner, no doubt. Having learnt the importance of the practice of mudras in the above segment, it is also equally important to follow the practice of asanas and breathing, with meditation, to complete the picture. In the below part, we discuss about the plausible asanas we can adopt and integrate into our everyday life, for a fit ‘us’.
The alternate inhalation and exhalation method is one of the best to adopt as a regular form of practice everyday. This makes all the toxins from the body come out. This practice itself will make us feel light and easy.
Let’s Talk About The Mode Of Using The Herbs And Plants
THE NEEM
We start with the Neem leaf, and the Neem twig. A single leaf of tender neem leaf should become part of our weekly well-being regimen. Inorder to not feel the bitterness too much, we can just chew one small tender leaf with our lunch or dinner once a week. This will help to keep the worms and the vermin at bay. Many people break off neem twigs from the tree. They use this to brush their teeth. This enhances the health of the gums and the teeth, and prevents tooth decay.
THE CURRY EAF/ SWEET NEEM LEAF/ Murraya koenigii
The curry leaf is a herb that is both a therapy leaf as well as a taste enhancer, used for seasoning food. It is added raw in hot soups to enhance the flavour. People also make special dips called chutney with it. It is quite simple:
INGREDIENTS AND METHOD:
Take about twenty to thirty curry leaves; a quarter slice of lemon (or tamarind or gooseberry) ; a few flakes of garlic; a green chilly (it can go up to three if you like it really mindblowing spicy); a few spoons of freshly grated coconut; salt to taste. Grind all these together and then in a thick bottomed pan, add a tablespoon of any oil, to it add a dash of asafoetida and some mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Temper the chutney with this. This chutney or dip is a fun way to have your food with. Most Indian people add this asafoetida, which is a tree resin (natural food ingredient) to help with the digestion.
DRUMSTICK LEAF OR THE MORINGA
Suddenly the world over, people are talking non-stop about the greatness of the moringa leaf. Tests conducted in special labs have verified its rather special status. This leaf is a powerhouse of minerals, vitamins and everything that one needs for maintaining excellent health. This is the leaf of the drumstick tree. It is filled with iron, pottassium, manganese and vitamin B12.
TULSI/ BASIL
The Basil leaf is a leaf that has a lot of power; it is a storehouse of antibiotics and also anti-fungicide, helping to fight the small infections that take over us. The leaf also helps us to keep our immunity levels intact and also fight any disease too. It is also anti-bacterial.
HIBISCUS FLOWER, LEAF
The hibiscus leaf and flower adds to our physical beauty, and enhances it. The flowers are usually red or deep orange in color; they are also found in pink, yellow. The tea of the flower helps with vitamin C and iron. The juice of the flowers and the leaves is used as a shampoo and conditioner to enhance the beauty of the tresses. The ancients saw the power of this plant and therefore decided to induct it into the customs and the traditions of the everyday life.
COCONUT FRUIT/ COCONUT WATER
This tree is an integral part of our tradition- because of its ubiquitous presence throughout the length and the breadth of the land we live in. The kernel of the coconut fruit is used as part of the cuisine. The oil that is extracted from the coconut is one of the most important ingredients in the beauty industry and the gastronomic arena. It has important nutrients in it that has made it one of the most crucial ingredients in our life.
BANANA TREE
The banana tree or plant is a big part of the culture of most countries and civilizations. It perhaps is the only vegetable whose stem, vegetable, fruits, leaves are used. Right from weaning a baby from the milk drinking stage to the normal stage of eating food, the banana fruit forms a link in the daily process. The banana fruit helps in the easing the discomfort of the intestines during constipations, as well as loose motions. This fruit matches the digestive processes of the elderly, the young as well as the infants. The banana stem helps with the weight loss aspects. The banana leaf is used instead of a plate, so much so that this plant has been completely integrated into the cultural fabric of a society or a civilization.
THE LOTUS PLANT
The lotus plant is a plant of great beauty – the flower with its beauty is most appealing to the sense of sight. Most people offer it to their favorite deity, as an offering. The stem of the lotus plant is also not wasted. People use the stem in the cuisine. The big leaves of the lotus plant are part of the tradition of a place too. People use these leaves as plates for eating food. Such are the versatile ways of the plants and herbs around us.
THE OREGANO PLANT
Oregano is an amazing plant. Its leaves are used to help with digestion. People eat them raw. You can just pluck the leaves off the plant and chew them raw, or you can grind it into a tasty chutney or dip, in the following manner:
Take a few Oregano leaves, ass a green chilly, add a few flakes of garlic and a few flakes of coconut to it. This becomes a dip. Add a dash of salt. To this, add some seasoning by heating some oil. Then add a dash of asafoetida along with mustard seeds. After it splutters, add this to the dip. This is a dip that will help with digestion and also has the power to enhance the dish. That is the greatness of knowing, of being aware of the potency and the power of the plants in around where you live. They become an integral part of the system.
THE SEASONINGS AND THE HERBS
Al other things such as bay leaf, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, oregano seeds, star anise, cloves etc., are part of the cuisine- so they have the power to add flavor as well as being of therapeutic usefulness. This is an amazing thing, as our forefathers knew all these qualities of the herbs and the plants around us. They skillfully integrated them into our tradition ensuring that each one stood out for the qualities and the healing power it encapsulated.
Shanti Arunkumar, Senior Contributor At L’Aquila Active
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