Glowing health usually requires balance, moderation, and routine. But variety is the spice of life— travel enlivens the spirit and new adventures feed the soul! However, many travelers find it difficult to happily hop around the country (or the world) without feeling some common travel woes, like disturbed sleep, poor digestion , constipation , or mild anxiety . From the perspective of Ayurveda (yoga’s sister science), most travel discomforts are due to increased vata dosha, the energy governing all movement in the body-mind. Despite constitutional differences, everyone has vata dosha, which supports movement in the respiratory, circulatory, nervous, and digestive systems (and elsewhere). When vata is in a healthy state, these systems run smoothly—breath is fluid, elimination easy, thoughts well communicated, etc. But when the momentum of external travel increases the momentum of internal vata, the emotional result is feeling wound up, scattered, forgetful, or anxious, while the p...
A Brief History of Ashwagandha Ashwagandha is a key herb in Ayurvedic medicine, a healing system that has developed over the last 3,000 years. Ayurvedic medicine is based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. Its main goal is to promote good health, not fight disease. Ashwagandha fits perfectly into this model. In Ayurvedic medicine, the root and leaves of Ashwagandha are the most valued "rasayana," or substances that possess rejuvenating properties. For over five thousand years, Ashwagandha has been much revered for its longevity-promoting and revitalizing properties. Modern science has now documented these benefits and many more. The name Ashwagandha is Sanskrit for smell of the horse. The term is fitting, not only does the root have a unique smell, but it also increases strength. Ashwagandha is frequently referred to as “ Indian ginseng ” because its rejuvenating effects parallel those of ginse...