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“Every person is born perfect. Inferiority is
a mistake of the mind, a cloud covering the light. Dissolve the clouds by
observing a balanced life with healthy habits. Nourish your mind and body.
Connect with your own inner self. Celebrate your own magnificence and your
beauty will always shine through.”
—Dr. Rama Kant Mishra, renowned Ayurvedic
physician and dermatologist
The Three Pillars of Beauty
Maharishi Ayurveda (MAV), the modern,
consciousness-based revival of the ancient Ayurvedic medicine tradition,
considers true beauty to be supported by three pillars; Outer Beauty, Inner
Beauty, and Lasting Beauty. Only by enhancing all three can we attain the
balanced state of radiant health that makes each of us the most fulfilled
and beautiful person we can be.
Outer Beauty: Roopam
The outer signs of beauty—your skin, hair
and nails—are more than just superficial measures of beauty. They are direct
reflections of your overall health. These outer tissues are created by the
inner physiological processes involved in digestion, metabolism and proper
tissue development. Outer beauty depends more on the strength of your
digestion and metabolism, the quality of your diet, and the purity of your
blood, than on external cleansers and conditioners you may apply.
General Recommendations
for Outer Beauty
As we will discuss, the key to skin care is
matching your diet and skin care routine to the specific skin type you have.
Meanwhile, there are some valuable recommendations for lustrous skin, hair
and nails that will be helpful to everyone, regardless of skin type.
Without adequate nourishment, your collagen
layer thins and a kind of wasting takes place. Over time, your skin can
shrivel up like a plant without water from lack of nourishment. To keep your
skin plump and glowing:
- Eat fresh, whole organic foods that are
freshly prepared.
Avoid packaged,
canned, frozen, processed foods and leftovers. These foods have little
nutritional value and also they are often poorly digested which creates
impurities that localize in the skin. The resulting buildup of toxins causes
irritation and blocks circulation depriving the skin of further nourishment
and natural cleansing processes.
- Favor skin nourishing foods:
- Leafy green
vegetables contain vitamins, minerals (especially iron and calcium) and
are high in antioxidant properties. They nourish the skin and protect it
from premature aging.
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Sweet juicy fruits
like grapes, melons, pears, plums and stewed apples at breakfast are
excellent for the skin in almost everyone
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Eat a wide variety of
grains over different meals and try mixed grain servings at breakfast
and lunch. Add amaranth, quinoa, couscous, millet and barley to the
wheat and rice you already eat.
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Favor light, easy to
digest proteins like legume soups (especially yellow split mung dhal),
whole milk, paneer (cheese made from boiling milk, adding lemon and
straining solids) and lassi (diluted yogurt and spice drinks).
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Oils like ghee
(clarified butter) and organic, extra virgin olive oil should be
included in the diet as they lubricate, nourish and create lustre in the
skin.
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Use spices like
turmeric, cumin, coriander, and black pepper to improve digestion,
nourish the skin and cleanse it of impurities.
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Avoid microwaving and
boiling your vegetables. They lose as much as 85% of their antioxidant
content when cooked in this way. Steaming and sautéing are best.
Caring for Outer Beauty
Through Knowledge of Skin Type
Besides these general recommendations the key to Outer Beauty is to
understand the difference in skin types so you can gain the maximum benefit
from your individualized skin care regimen. MAV identifies three different
skin types based on which of the three main metabolic principles (doshas)—present
in everyone, but to different degrees—is most dominant in your body.
Vata Skin
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Description: Vata is composed of the
elements of air and space. If you have a vata skin type, your skin will be
dry, thin, fine pored, delicate and cool to the touch. When balanced, it
glows with a delicate lightness and refinement that is elegant and
attractive. When vata skin is imbalanced, it will be prone to excessive
dryness and may even be rough and flaky.
-
Potential problems: The greatest
beauty challenge for vata skin is its predisposition to symptoms of early
aging. Your skin may tend to develop wrinkles earlier than most due to its
tendency to dryness and thinness. If your digestion is not in balance,
your skin can begin to look dull and grayish, even in your 20’s and 30’s.
In addition, your skin may have a tendency for disorders such as dry
eczema and skin fungus. Mental stress, such as worry, fear and lack of
sleep, has a powerful debilitating effect on vata skin leaving it looking
tired and lifeless.
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Recommendations for care: With a
little knowledge, you can preserve and protect the delicate beauty of your
vata type skin. Since your skin does not contain much moisture, preventing
it from drying is the major consideration. Eat a warm, unctuous diet (ghee
and olive oil are best) and favor sour, salty and sweet tastes (naturally
sweet like fruits, not refined sugar) as they balance vata. Avoid drying
foods like crackers. Drink 6-8 glasses of warm (not cold for vata types!)
water throughout the day and eat plenty of sweet, juicy fruits. Going to
bed early (before 10 PM) is very soothing to vata and will have a
tremendously positive influence on your skin. Avoid cleansing products
that dry the skin (like alcohol-based cleansers) and perform Ayurvedic oil
massage to your whole body (abhyanga) in the morning before you shower.
Pitta Skin
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Description: Pitta dosha is composed
of the elements of fire and water. If you have a pitta skin type your skin
is fair, soft, warm and of medium thickness. When balanced, your skin has
a beautiful, slightly rosy or golden glow, as if illuminated from within.
Your hair typically is fine and straight, and is usually red, sandy or
blonde in color. Your complexion tends toward the pink or reddish, and
there is often a copious amount of freckles or moles.
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Potential problems:
Among the many beauty challenges of pitta skin types is your tendency to
develop rashes, rosacea, acne, liver spots or pigment disorders. Because
of the large proportion of the fire element in your constitution, your
skin does not tolerate heat or sun very well. Of all the three skin types,
pitta skin has the least tolerance for the sun, is photosensitive, and
most likely to accumulate sun damage over the years. Pitta skin is
aggravated by emotional stress, especially suppressed anger, frustration,
or resentment.
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Recommendations for care: Avoid
excessive sunlight, tanning treatments and highly heating therapies like
facial or whole body steams. Avoid hot, spicy foods and favor astringent,
bitter and sweet foods which balance pitta. (Again, naturally sweet, not
chocolate and refined sugar!) Sweet juicy fruits (especially melons and
pears), cooked greens and rose petal preserves are especially good.
Drinking plenty of water helps wash impurities from sensitive pitta skin.
Reduce external or internal contact with synthetic chemicals, to which
your skin is especially prone to react, even in a delayed fashion after
years of seemingly uneventful use. Avoid skin products that are abrasive,
heating or contain artificial colors or preservatives. Most commercial
make-up brands should be avoided in favor of strictly 100% natural
ingredient cosmetics. And be sure to get your emotional stress under
control through plenty of outdoor exercise, yoga and meditation.
Kapha Skin
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Description: Kapha dosha is composed
of the elements of earth and water. If you have a kapha skin type your
skin is thick, oily, soft and cool to the touch. Your complexion is a
glowing porcelain whitish color, like the moon, and hair
characteristically thick, wavy, oily and dark. Kapha skin types, with
their more generous collagen and connective tissue, are fortunate to
develop wrinkles much later in life than vata or pitta types.
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Potential problems: If your skin
becomes imbalanced, it can show up as enlarged pores, excessively oily
skin, moist types of eczema, blackheads, acne or pimples, and water
retention. Kapha skin is also more prone to fungal infections.
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Recommendations for care: Kapha skin
is more prone to clogging and needs more cleansing than other skin types.
Be careful to avoid greasy, clogging creams. Likewise, avoid heavy, hard
to digest foods like fried foods, fatty meats, cheeses and rich desserts.
Eat more light, easy to digest, astringent, bitter and pungent
(well-spiced) foods as they balance kapha. Olive oil is the best cooking
oil and a little ginger and lime juice can be taken before meals to
increase your characteristically sluggish digestive fire. Take warm baths
often and use gentle cleansers to open the skin pores. Avoid getting
constipated and try to get some exercise every day to increase circulation
and help purify the skin through the sweating process.
Inner Beauty: Gunam
Happy, positive, loving, caring individuals have a special beauty that is
far more than skin deep. Conversely we all experience the quick and
deleterious effect on our skin from fatigue and stress.
Inner beauty is authentic beauty, not the kind that shows on a made-up face,
but the kind that shines through from your soul, your consciousness or inner
state of being. Inner beauty comes from a mind and heart that are in
harmony, not at odds with each other, causing emotional confusion, loss of
confidence, stress and worry. Inner peace is the foundation of outer beauty.
Maintain your self-confidence and a warm, loving personality by paying
attention to your lifestyle and daily routine and effective management of
stress (I highly recommend the TM technique for its scientifically-verified
benefits on mental and physical health and reduced aging.) You will also be
healthier and feel better through the day if you eat your main meal at
midday and make a habit of going to bed early (by 10 PM is ideal.)
Remember, kindness, friendliness and sincerity naturally attract people to
you. On the other hand, being uptight or tense makes people want to walk the
other way, regardless of your facial structure, body weight, or other outer
signs we associate with attractiveness.
Lasting Beauty: Yayastyag
In
order to slow the aging process and gain lasting beauty there are two
additional key considerations beyond those already discussed:
The main deteriorating effects of aging come
as toxins and impurities (called ama in Ayurveda) accumulate throughout the
body. These toxins may begin as free radicals in the body, or over time may
become oxidized into free radicals, all of which contribute to premature
aging in the body. For lasting health and beauty it is essential to avoid
and neutralize free radicals, to prevent impurities of all kinds from
accumulating and to remove those that have already become lodged in the
body.
The most powerful cleansing therapy in
Maharishi Ayurveda is "panchakarma" therapy, a series of natural treatments
ideally performed twice yearly, that involves 5-7 days in a row of massage,
heat treatments and mild herbal enemas. Ayurveda emphasizes the importance
of undergoing this cleansing program once or twice a year to prevent
impurities from accumulating, localizing and hardening in the tissues. Just
as we change the oil in our cars regularly for optimal performance and
lifespan, Ayurveda recommends that we cleanse the “sludge” from our tissues
on a regular basis through panchakarma treatments.
Best of all, panchakarma treatments are
luxurious, blissful, and make you feel (and look) completely rejuvenated in
just a few days time. I have had many a patient who told me that friends
asked them afterwards if they had gotten a facelift, they looked so fresh
and youthful!
Other free radical busters include: reducing
mental stress, eating antioxidant foods like leafy green vegetables, sweet,
juicy fruits and cooking on a daily basis with antioxidant, detoxifying
spices like turmeric and coriander.
The daily activities of life in the modern
world systematically wear us down and speed up the aging process. Ayurveda
maintains it is crucial to practice daily rejuvenative regimens to
counteract the stressful wear and tear of everyday life. According to
Ayurveda the most important rejuvenative routines for your life are:
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Going to bed by 10:00 PM. This simple habit is one of the most powerful
techniques for health and longevity, according to MAV.
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Meditate daily. Any meditation that does not involve concentration
(which has been shown to increase anxiety) can be very helpful. I highly
recommend the twice-daily deep rest and enlivenment of the
Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique, whose benefits have been
verified by over 700 published research studies.
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Eat organic, whole fresh food that is freshly prepared. There is an
Ayurvedic saying: "Without proper diet. medicine is of no use. With
proper diet, medicine is of no need." Be sure to avoid those leftovers,
processed and microwaved foods for better nutrition and vitality.
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Perform Ayurvedic oil massage in the morning (abhyanga). Morning oil
massage purifies the entire body, reduces anxiety and stress, helps
prevent and heal injuries and supports circulation. It is especially
helpful in creating a radiant complexion and keeping your skin youthful.
Research shows it may also help prevent skin cancers.
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Practice yoga asanas. Maintaining flexibility and circulation is key to
health.
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Practice pranayama (yoga breathing) techniques. Pranayama enlivens the
mind and body. Ideally practice the following sequence twice a day.
Asanas, pranayama and meditation.
Summary
Everyone's unique beauty shines forth when they have radiant health and
personal happiness. Beauty is a side effect of a balanced, fulfilled life.
Supreme personal beauty is accessible to everyone who is willing to take
more control of their health in their day-to-day life through time-tested
principles of natural living.
For most of us, beauty is
not a gift but a choice. Every woman can be radiantly beautiful simply by
beginning to lead a healthier life. You will be rewarded by the glowing
effects you will see in your mirror each day and the powerful,
bliss-producing effect your special beauty has on everyone in your life.
Nancy Lonsdorf M.D. received her M.D.
from Johns Hopkins and did her postgraduate training at Stanford. She has
studied Ayurveda with some of the world's most renowned Ayurvedic physicians
in India, Europe, and the U.S. Dr. Lonsdorf has 17 years of clinical
experience with Ayurveda and is currently the Medical Director of The Raj
Ayurveda Health Center in Vedic City, Iowa. She has authored two books on
Ayurveda and women's health:
A
Woman's Best Medicine and A Woman's Best Medicine for Menopause. You can
reach Dr. Lonsdorf at
info@ayurveda-ayurvedic.com
or through her website:
www.ayurveda-ayurvedic.com. |
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