New Healing Herbals

We are extremely excited to now be offering some Ancient Indian Powerhouse healing herbs... Ashwagandha powder and Triphala powder. These are some of the most important functional herbs used in Ayurveda, a 3,000-year-old natural medicine tradition from India. While living in India, we took a sojourn down to southern India so Mary could take a course on Ayurveda while I got my yoga teacher certification. Mary lived in a coconut grove with our 18-month-old daughter Tara while I lived at the yoga ashram.

The Ayurveda tradition is alive and well in the South of India. People from all over India and the world visit there for healing. Many of the Ayurveda treatments take time to balance the doshas – energies of the body. It is quite common for people to stay for a month or longer in residential hospitals. Mary did her training at one of the premier Ayurvedic hospitals and learned a great deal. However, Ayurvedic training takes many years – in fact, it takes much longer to become an Ayurvedic doctor than a traditional doctor. The aim of Ayurveda is to get to the root of the problem.

During Mary’s training, she learned how vital it is to keep the body in balance. She learned how to use herbs to balance the body. Part of her training involved making herbal remedies under strict supervision of the experts and learning how to use medicinal plants to treat specific ailments.

During these stressful times, you may want to consider trying our organic organic Ashwagandha powder to relieve stress. This potent healing plant has been used for thousands of years in Ayurveda medicine and gaining renewed attention in this modern world filled with daily stressors adversely impacting our health. Many studies have shown Ashwagandha powder reduces cortisol levels. Its classified as an adaptogen plant helping to promote the body’s ability to respond and adapt to physical, emotional, and environmental stress. It can also promote restful sleep. Ashwagandha powder is simple to make – just add boiling water and steep for about 10 minutes.

The next powerful Ayurvedic healer we would like to share with you is Triphala powder, a poly herbal concoction consisting of dried fruits from three medicinal plants of India supporting your GI tract. The combination of these synergistic herbs: Amla (Emblica officinalis); Bibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica); and Haritaki (Terminalia chebula) provide a powerful treatment with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties to support good digestion and regularity. A healthy gut helps the body stay in balance and keep disease at bay. Western medicine is now beginning to recognize the importance of a healthy gut and starting to conduct more research on the topic. Triphala powder has got quite a bitter flavor so you can either take a ½ teaspoon of dry powder and swallow quickly or mix with warm water. You may want to add a bit of honey. Either way, it is worth the effort!

It has been interesting to see the growing popularity of Turmeric in the west. In India, Turmeric powder is one of the everyday spices that is put in every stew and curry. Food-centric Indian households - which is very Indian household - believe that turmeric powder is good for digestion. It is also used on skin as a beauty treatment. Well, now we know that it is also rich in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties. Now you can buy turmeric powder from us that has added curcumin and piperine. The latter is the active ingredient in black pepper which helps the body to absorb turmeric, while curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric.   

And here is a picture of Mary many moons ago at her Ayurvedic clinic in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerela. We remain grateful for this opportunity we had and continue to enjoy the benefits of it in our lives.