The Maharishi Ayurveda Approach to Beauty and Skin Care
"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.
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.
- 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.
- Sweet juicy fruits like grapes, melons, pears, plums and stewed apples at breakfast are excellent for the skin in almost everyone.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- Use spices like turmeric, cumin, coriander, and black pepper to improve digestion, nourish the skin and cleanse it of impurities.
- 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.
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