Topic: Ayurveda

[Bombi]

Recently I've become aware and interested in Ayurveda. I've studied Zen casually for years and I'm suprised it never piqued my interest before. I'm just learning about Doshas and diet and am trying to conform. My reason is for better health especially with digestion. I have a chronic condition which is Multiple Sclerosis. I feel pretty good and eat relatively healthy and do transcendental meditation twice a day but I'm looking for more. More energy, less pain and fatigue.

 So I guess I'm asking if anyone has had experience with Ayurveda, good or bad and with ashwagandha, the herb.

My son's baby momma is an herbalist and soon will be certified to advise on Ayuraveda so I'll should have a good local resource but I'm interested in all opinions. Thanks

[finewine]

I've had some experience with ayurvedic medicine thanks to many years in Asia.

Some of it really works very well, especially minor remedies for stomach upsets etc..  I remember having one such tonic and it worked brilliantly.  Note that this uses real, measurable quantities of active ingredients derived from local vegetation - and is absolutely NOT that "drop in the ocean" diluted BS called homeopathy.

Some of it is utter nonsense, though.  Too many people die of snake bites because their local ayurvedic medicine person told them to put them in a box and pack various leaves around them instead of trying to get to a hospital immediately.

Bottom line is that it's a mixture of genuinely efficacious plant extracts (for treating mild ailments) and a whole heap of superstitious hooey for everything else.

[lisagurl]

Believing in a cure and having it help has been proved with the placebo effect. Eating healthy and exercising and sleep all help your wellbeing. Some things just do not have cures only drugs to mask the inevitable.

[Bombi]

Thanks fine wine and lisagurl, I'm realistic about my expectations and hardly expect a cure but my goal of being healthier, limiting progression of MS and getting my GI system operating better I hope can be achieved.
 I was intived to a lecture  this Wednesday to learn more and to help me make a decision of how this new thing will meld into my life. At present I have no illusions that it will negate the need for all the medications I currently take but for me any pharma drug any the associated side effects I will be able to  drop will be a measure of efficacy.

[AYURNGO]

I am heading an NGO in New Delhi India and the NGO is running three clinics of Ayurvada consultation and treatment.

Besides the NGO runs a PANCHAKARMA center which caters to the patients of High Blood Pressure Diabtese , obesity and skin Related problems. Patients of Arthritis and bone related ailments are treated with conviction and positive results. The snake bite incident posted by finewine is not only anaberration but also the handiwork of uneducated persons who misuse the name of Ayurveda.

We assure results and relif to patients.

In fact the Ayurveda and Panchakarma belive in keeping a healthy person fit and treating a sick peson to healthy.

[Kim.h]

Hi there,

I would love to share my experience with ayurveda as per a trans-woman, and I would also appreciate anyones experiences or tips as well.

I started to practice ayurveda around 8 years ago, long before my transition. What I am especially thank to regarding my transition is the beauty care.
I do abhyanga massage every other day for the whole body with sezame oil and essential aroma oils. Some guys dont believe me my age (38) as my skin looks much younger and therefore more feminine. But this is also thank to the diet and yoga practice. All in ayurveda targets somehow how to stay younger.
So during my transition I added cosmetics as well - daily facial skin care, cutton dress, organic makeup etc.

what was not so helpful was, that I did ashtanga vinyasa yoga for couple of years, so my shoulders grew bigger. So I started to do hatha yoga instead, and added some butt and abdominal exercises.

What helped me psychologicaly was a good astrologic chart, which confirmed my LBGT identity. This is a bit tricky part, but the sole fact that ayurveda has been respecting trans-women for thousands of years quite a lot helped me to be more confident.

Also, ayurveda and yoga helped me to stay calm and happy, and to be overall accepting. Also, ayurvedic guidelines for sex helped to find my orientation and what I truly want in a faster way.

Because ayurvedic teaching on transgender was suppressed by british and arabic governments in India for several hundreds of years, it is hard to find relevant information today, when only few months ago LGBT was legalised in India.

 I would like to know, for example, how to feminize myself more with ayurveda. Also, the management of so called ojas and tejas energy could be an issue. And of course, there is the thing with surgery. I am not sure that I want to do it, even if I want. From organic medicine point of view, hormones and surgery has a brutal impact on the body. But I am open, and I dont want to be fanatic. I would rather find out more about what present ayurveda practicioners think about it.

But if I will want to stay a bit more non-binary, than ayurveda again offer some support, as it acknowledges that we are all mixed male and female principles, and that we should be looking for our true nature instead of trying to fit in a category.

[Rakel]

Good morning Kim.h,

I noticed that this is your first post here on Susan's Place.

I would like to officially welcome you here and let you know that Susan's Place is for anyone with gender related issues. We are moderated to keep this site family friendly as we have many members here who are underage. The moderation rules are listed in the Terms of Service. I will put links to the ToS and other useful information below.

Again welcome and your post is interesting, to say the least.

Things that you should read

Site Terms of Service & Rules to Live By	Standard Terms & Definitions	Post Ranks (including when you can upload an avatar)	Cautionary Note
Reputation rules	News posting & quoting guidelines	Photo, avatars, & signature images policy	Membership Agreement

[Kim.h]

Hello,

thank you for introducing and remining me of the rules.
A apolologize a lot. I will adjust my postings for children. I would be much happier person, if I knew about tantra and ayurveda from my childhood, but surely only when tought by my parents or guru and not from the internet.
So if anybody is interested, i would be happy to share my little knowledge on other aspects of this science.