It is so painful to lament lost beauty and feel like there is nothing to be done. Beauty is individual and personal and has nothing to do with societal preferences or cultural impositions. It has to do with you. It is how you feel and how you feel about yourself that reflects your beauty.
Beauty is health.
In Ayurveda every one of us is created with a unique combination of the 5 elements. Our mind/body type or Dosha is determined at conception. We cannot change this. Ayurveda teaches us to love our beauty, our unique flaws and perfect imperfections exactly as we were created. And it gives us a guide and the tools so that as we grow, change and age we embrace all of it gracefully.
I will say this, it’s hard to do and aging is challenging. At some point or another we are going to feel like giving up on our beauty. You start to notice lines that weren’t there before, things going a little south, bones aching, joints cracking, mind heavy, emotions out of control, weight appearing as if plastered on overnight.
You start to wonder how you can feel great again and take back those days, weeks, months, years of casually ignoring your body, your beauty, your soul yearning for vitality.
There are certain things you can and others that you cannot take back.
LET’S FOCUS ON THE ‘YOU CAN’.
It takes the equal amount of time to heal something that it does to diminish something in your body. That’s encouraging. It means that consistent action over time at a steady and moderate level can restore you back to your vibrant healthy self. The sooner you begin a daily practice of intentional healing steps, the sooner you will notice the recovery.
One small intentional practice done daily will create lasting positive change over the long run.
4 AREAS OF HEALTH WHERE WE RESTORE OUR BEAUTY.
BODY: How do you feel about your body and your unique beauty?
Where can you restore your physical vitality?
MIND: Do you feel at peace in your mind? Is there clarity, focus, space?
Where can you revitalize your mind?
HEART: What is the measure of your emotional health? Is it joy, bliss, creative expression? Where can you access love?
SPIRIT: Does your spirit feel light, awake, and freely expressed?
Where can you free yourself up?
Get a daily plan in place to restore your four areas of vitality. Tap in to your innate healing power and rediscover your inherent beauty.
THE FRUIT OF BEAUTY
There are a multitude of incredible foods, herbs, spices, and plant essences available as our companions on the road to vibrant health. This particular tiny little fruit is so power-packed that it is known in Ayurveda as one of the most rejuvenating plant medicines in the pharmacopeia of botanical healing. This little superstar is called Amla in Hindi, Amalaki in Sanskrit, and also known as the Indian Gooseberry.
The Amalaki berry or fruit is a NATURAL BEAUTY BAR supporting and strengthening eyes, hair, nails and skin. Amla restores OJAS, our life juice of vitality. This creates youthfulness and strong immunity in the body.
Amalaki supports healthy digestion, absorption and elimination and is a gentle detoxifier. Used over time in smaller doses it keeps the body free of accumulating toxins. Amla is also one of the three herbs in triphala, the powerful cleansing Ayurvedic triad for restoring digestive health to the system.
Amalaki has an extremely high and bio-available, amount of Vitamin C. One amla fruit has 20X the vitamin C of one orange. This is great news as research shows vitamin C improves cardiac health and helps prevent degenerative diseases. Vitamin C also supports healthy blood sugar levels.
Amalaki is a powerful antioxidant and is anti-inflammatory, supporting Pitta Dosha specifically but is a gentle Tridoshic herb for all body types. This means amazing healing and support for all systems as well as prevention of cancer-forming tissues in the body.
Amalaki has 5 of the 6 tastes we need to properly digest and metabolize our food. (all but salty). This is important to nourish and build healthy tissue layers.
Amalaki is one of the main ingredients in Chyawanprash, the potent Ayurvedic rasayana (rejuvenative) formula that can be taken daily as a jam on toast, in warm water or on it’s own by the teaspoonful.
How to best apply this potent healing fruit into your AromaDosha Blueprint as a restorative beauty tonic? Add it on to your simple daily practice:
SPRING/SUMMER TRIDOSHIC AROMADOSHA BLUEPRINT
For my SPIRIT: Ghee. Apply ghee to your morning toast and add it to food, sauté veggies in it or add a teaspoon to warm almond milk an hour before bed. Ghee is sattvic and as such adds purity and lightness to the SPIRIT.
For my HEART: Rose Flowers. Enjoy daily afternoon tea of a rose petal infusion. Keep a rose water hydrosol/mister in the fridge for a quick shpritz to clear emotions if feeling overheated and overwhelmed. Roses bring peace, love, and beauty to the heart.
For my MIND: Almonds. Soak 7 almonds overnight in water. Peel skins off in the morning and eat as a daily strengthening tonic for the mind. Amalaki also helps balance mental disorders, cooling and nourishing the mind.
For my BODY: AMALAKI. Take half a teaspoon twice a day in one cup of warm water as a general tonic. Greens. Include organic fresh greens of all kinds into your daily diet to cleanse the liver while bringing important vitamins and minerals to the body.
This is only ONE AromaDosha Blueprint scenario of dozens. The idea is to keep it simple so you can assess over time how the various substances are benefitting you. I suggest adding new foods/herbs/spices/EO’s on the blueprint once a week or every few weeks so you can have diversity and pleasure in your daily routine and be mindful of introducing each thing intentionally.
2 Great Online resources for Amalaki:
Banyan Botanicals
Organic Traditions
Have you thought about how you have given up on your beauty? We would love to hear your thoughts and questions in the comments below!
Blessings of beauty abound!
With Fragrant Blessings,
Glynn and Mel
xox
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