The Maharishi Ayurveda Natural Medicine Approach to Beauty
and Skin Care
by Nancy
Lonsdorf
zone3
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.
1. Diet: 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:
A. 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.
B. Favor skin
nourishing foods.
1. 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.
2. Sweet juicy
fruits like grapes, melons, pears, plums and stewed apples at breakfast
are excellent for the skin in almost everyone.
3. Eat a wide variety
of grains over different meals and try mixed grain servings at breakfast
and lunch. Add amaranth, quinoa, cous cous, millet and barley to the wheat
and rice you already eat.
4. 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).
5. 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.
6. Use spices
like turmeric, cumin, coriander, and black pepper to improve digestion,
nourish the skin and cleanse it of impurities.
7. 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
* 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.
*
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.
*
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.
* 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.
* 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.
*
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.
*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.
* 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:
1.
Eliminate toxins and free radicals in the body: 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.
2. Add rejuvenative techniques to
daily living:
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:
a) Going to bed by 10:00 PM. This simple habit is one of the
most powerful techniques for health and longevity, according to MAV.
b)
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.
c) 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.
d) 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.
e)
Practice yoga asanas. Maintaining flexibility and circulation is key to
health.
f) 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.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nancy Lonsdorf M.D. received her M.D. from Johns Hopkins and did her
postgraduate training at Stanford. She is currently the Medical Director
of The Raj Ayurveda Health Center in Vedic City Iowa http://www.ayurveda-ayurvedic.com/
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