Stay or Go? What is Freedom?

“Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose” ~ Janis

There is a full moon tonight. It sits on my chart squaring my natal sun (self) in Pisces. Jupiter (freedom/expansion) got in on the game along with Uranus (the unexpected/change). The effect it is having on this Pisces (which is the escape artist) is an intense desire to be free. An unexplained irrational impulse to run away...to simply go.

I have a studio to run, a business to grow, two kids, two dogs and a cat. I have a family, a boyfriend and yogis. I have not just obligations but intense longings to be with all of these creatures so I’m not going anywhere. Fantasies of horse back riding through Tuscany, climbing to base camp at Everest, backpacking through Australia must all be put on hold as I finish living this portion of my life. I think of a mini “stay”cation where I simply slip into my back yard, turn off the phone, the computer and the TV. I could hide when people come to the door. Fear rears its ugly head because the truth of Pisces is that they don’t do “alone” very good. Pisces needs a little quiet a little bit at a time.

I hope yoga tonight will clear my head. Perhaps I will come out of Shavasana and want to rejoin my life. What if I don’t? What if I still intensely crave freedom? What is freedom in this world anyway? In yoga, freedom is called “Moksha” and it really is about freedom from the suffering of the wheel of life or “Samsara”. The concept is that we are continuously spinning out bigger and bigger. Imagine a snow ball rolling down a hill getting larger and larger as it sticks with more snow. Now imagine that the snow ball stops and occasionally rests on its journey ...it becomes placid....it becomes bored...it stirs up some drama of snow ball life and then starts to roll again. That’s how Samsara works. It’s simply living your life and dealing with Karma.

If you could stop and rest and not become bored, then you would not stir up drama (Karma). Imagine the snowball floating in boiling water not melting...just floating. Simply floating you would become free, detached and realize your true nature. That’s called bliss. To me it sounds lonely and boring which simply means I’m not ready to be there yet. To me it sounds lovely and divine and so I continue my practice of yoga to actualize....and then there is fear again. How do you go there and stay here at the same time? Do you have to lose your daily life to be free? Do you have to run off to a cave in the Himalayas. Do you have to leave behind your family like the Buddha? Do you never experience a family like Jesus?

Some snowballs figure out how to go and stay. Mother Theresa comes to mind as she intensely enjoyed her every experience with no separation from spirit. That’s the goal and the magic of yoga and to me it is a sensation in my heart and I can’t find the words to describe it or the craving for it. Go and stay. Go and stay... Go and stay? For now I will stay in my life. For now I will go in yoga and meditation. Someday, I will be a big snowball able to float in boiling water and not melt. I will stay and go.

Coming off your Cleanse!

We are wrapping it up at EOM. The final week of the cleanse has includes a nutritious and easily digestible diet. Meditation twice daily. Yoga, walking, being silent and working on various emotional clearing exercises.

I can honestly say that at this moment in time, there are no other people in Lebanon as healthy and as connected as these participants. I don't know why the news crews haven't shown up yet. It is such a blessing and honor to me to see everyone show up, do their work and to see them reap the benefits. People have eliminated habits, lost weight, skin has cleared, some hard life questions have been asked and some tangible experiences of spirit have been had. Thank you!

Coming off of the cleanse needs to be performed very gently.

Nutrition:
Gradually add back to your diet the things that were eliminated...or don't add them back. If you never eat red meat or drink milk again, that would be wonderful! As you add alcohol, caffeine, dairy, sugar and fried or processed foods, notice how your body reacts. Eat very consciously. It won't take but a few sips of coffee and you will feel that Vata buzz. One glass of wine will probably be enough. A filet and cheesecake will make you throw up if that is your celebration dinner. Listen to your body.

Eat for your dosha now that you are balanced. If you want to continue to lose weight, stay on the plan or eat a Kapha reducing diet which is a Vegan Diet.

Body:
Continue with your yoga practice. Practice 2 - 4 times per week. Allow one of your practices to be a yin practice to ground you. Hot yoga is great, but not for Pittas. Vatas need a grounded practice. Kaphas need to get it moving.

Mind:
Of all the things we have done, your meditation practice is the most important. Make it part of your life. If you fall off, notice that your mind starts to run crazy and you become stressed. Commit back to it. Ten minutes a day will change your life.

Continue to work on your Intentions and Desires once a week. In the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, we work on our Intentions and Desires every Thursday. Make it a practice. Set long term goals to eat for your Dosha and stay with Meditation and Yoga.

Supplements.
You may continue on the Neem and Triphala for life! The Guggulu is not necessary to stay on unless you are pushing weight loss or have high cholesterol. A lot of people stay on it because it hardens their nails and thickens their hair. Choose to do the Sesame Oil Massage for the rest of your life! In addition to Neem and Triphala, I recommend Flax Seed Oil daily and a probiotic.

Namaste, Pamela

Ayurvedic Medicine: An Introduction to Panchakarma

Ayurvedic Medicine: An Introduction to Panchakarma


Immersion Participants!! This is a wonderful article about Pancha Karma. This is for use in a clinical setting. Please keep in mind we are doing "self-administered" and are intentionally avoiding some of this as it does need to be performed under supervision of an Ayurvedic Physician....sooooo what I'm saying is don't make the tea and drink it because you think you might have something going on.....

Ghee...Ayurveda's magical cure

Ghee is used extensively in Ayurveda in and on the body to treat a variety of disorders. Ghee is clarified butter. It is considered to be "sattvic" or pure and is a digestive aid. When unsalted butter is heated, it clairifies, or separates into components:

lactose or sugar

milk protein

fat

The heat makes the moisture evaporate, the sugar and protein separate into the white curds that float or sink to the bottom. The leftover is pure sweet nutty and yummy ghee. If you find that your digestion is slow, take a teaspoon of ghee in warm milk before bedtime. Use ghee in place of butter. Cook with it and drizzle over your steamed veggies.

RECIPE

• 1 pound of unsalted organic butter

Place the butter in a heavy, medium-sized pan. Turn the heat to medium until the butter melts.

Turn down the heat until the butter just boils and continue to cook at this heat. Do not cover the pot. The butter will foam and sputter while it cooks. Whitish curds will begin to form on the bottom and top of the pot.

The butter will begin to smell like popcorn after a while and turn a lovely golden color. Keep a close watch on the ghee, as it can easily burn. After a while it will become a clear, golden color. You will have to take a clean, dry spoon to move away some of the foam on top in order to see if the ghee is clear all the way through to the bottom.

When it is clear and has stopped sputtering and making noise, remove from heat. Let it cool until just warm. Pour it through a fine sieve or layers of cheesecloth into a clean, dry glass container with a tight lid. Discard the curds at the bottom of the saucepan.

The ghee is burned if it has a nutty smell and is slightly brown.

1 pound of butter takes about 15 minutes of cooking time. The more butter you are using, the more time it will take.

The medicinal properties are said to improve with age. In fact, ghee that is over ten years old is considered a cure for all disease. Don’t ladle out the ghee with a wet spoon or allow any water to get into the container, as this will create conditions for bacteria to grow and spoil the ghee. Make sure the ghee is completely cooled before you put the lid on.

Two pounds of butter will fill a quart jar with ghee. Store ghee away from sunshine and moisture and it will keep for up to 12 months without refridgeration.

Protein

Every cell in the human body has protein. Protein helps your body to repair cells and make new ones. A balanced diet provides most healthy people with adequate protein. Protein supplements are not necessary for health.

Animal Protein - the role of Meat in Ayurveda.

Many people switching to an Ayurvedic lifestyle are concerned that they have to be Vegetarians and will not receive the appropriate amount of protein. Many people simply "crave" a little meat and believe they are craving protein. This may or may not be true.

Ayurveda is a system of health and balance that encourages people to eat meat consciously. Depending on your Element, meat may or may not be balancing for you.

If you are The Wind or Vata, meat is balancing

If you are The Fire or Pitta, meat is okay

If you are The Earth or Kapha, meat should be avoided.

Meat can be balancing, but even for The Wind types, it is strongly suggested that meat be consumed no more than 3 times per week. The biggest problem with Meat is that it is hard to digest. Ease of digestion increases your digestive fire or agni and therefore increase metabolism. Meat is dulling to agni.

Red Meat is to be completely avoided by all Elements.

Protein Facts

In general, people need 7 grams of protein for each 20 pounds of body weight. Children, pregnant woman and nursing mothers need more. That means that a 140 pound person needs 49 grams of protein. (140 pounds/20 pounds= 7 x 7 grams)

Meat as a Source of Protein

Pros: Meat contains “complete” proteins and is therefore easier to absorb than the “incomplete” proteins found in nonmeat sources. A "complete" protein is a protein that contains the necessary amino acids to break down the protein source to facilitate absorbtion in the body.

Cons: Along with absortion of protein, you are also absorbing fat. Meat is hard to digest and slows agni (digestive fire)

Nonmeat as a Source of Protein - Variety is the key!

Examples: vegetables, legumes, seeds, nuts, fruits, whole grains and dairy including cheese, milk, eggs and yoguart

Pros: Is there anything bad to say about whole wheat products and veggies? Easy to digest, contains tons of other nutrients!

Cons: You must eat a variety of nonmeat sources to create a “complete” protein. This requires thought and planning. Luckily, your combining of proteins need not take place all in the same meal, but throughout the day.

Souces of Protein

	SERVING	GRAMS
SOURCE	SIZE	PROTEING
chick peas	7 oz	16
baked beans	8 oz	11.5
tofu	6 oz	14
milk	1/2 pint	9.2
lentiles	4.12 oz	9.1
soy milk	1/2 pint	8.2
muesli	2.25 oz	7.7
boiled egg	1	7.5
peanuts	3.5 oz	24.3
whole grain bread	2 slices	7
hard cheese	1 oz	6.8
brown rice	1 oz	2.1
broccoli	1 oz	3.2
potatoes	1 oz	1.4
soy protein pasta	1 oz	22.75
asparagus	3.5 oz	3
beans in general	3.5 oz	9
brusses sprouts	3.5 oz	3
cabbage	3.5 oz	1
carrots	3.5 oz	.5
cauliflower	3.5 oz	3
lettuce	3.5 oz	.7
mushroom	3.5 oz	2
almonds	3.5 oz	16.9
Pine nuts	3.5 oz	14
sesame seeds	3.5 oz	26.4
sunflower	3.5 oz	24
spinach	3.5 oz	2
sweetcorn	3.5 oz	2.5
yam	3.5	2
lean meat, fish & poultry	3.5	24.5

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Ghee and the Dhatus

We are heading into the final week or Pancha Karma Phase of the Immersion. Pancha Karma is a methodology used in India to flush out toxins within the mind, body and emotions. It is a powerful way to connect or reconnect to spirit. It is typically undertaken with the changing of the seasons or when disease is in the body. It cleanses the body, improves digestion, improves metabolism and reestablishes life purpose and Connection to Spirit. It should be performed, at a minimum, once a year by all people. If you are suffering a serious illness, depression or weight gain, it should be performed with your course of treatment or ideally before so that your body can receive treatment and process efficiently.
In India, Pancha Karma consists of oleation (ingesting oil through nose, enemas, eating and skin) laxatives, heat therapy, vomiting and blood-letting. In a self-administered Pancha Karma, you do not participate in vomiting and blood-letting as this must be guided by an Ayurvedic Physician with a Medical Degree. Both practices can be dangerous if performed without supervision.
Panchakarma works on the dhatus or tissue layers as following:

• The immune system is flushed (Rasa or lymphatic fluid and plasma). This improves immunity and the bodies ability to fight disease. Emotionally, Rasa is associated with the ability to feel joyous. Rasa is thought to be a sacred fluid that sustains life.
• The blood (Rakta) is purified. Emotionally, Rakta is associated with the ability to live passionately and to have vigor.
• The skin and muscle (Mamsa) release toxins. Emotionally, Mamsa is associated with the ability to discern in any situation.
• The fat or Medas is flushed. Medas is assiciated with feeling loveable and giving love.
• The Ashti or bone is rejuvenated. Emotionally, this will give you confidence and clarity of intention.
• The nervous system or Majja is soothed. This gives calmness and clarity.
• The reproductive tissues and fluids are restored (shukra) giving creativity.

It becomes obvious from the above discussion that your physical and emotional bodies are not separated. The flushing of ama is on all levels.
Ghee and Enemas Part of the Immersion includes a couple of things that seem rather....odd.
The first is the ingestion of Ghee. Ghee is clarified butter. In small no larger than one teaspoon at a time, ghee is heating and stimulates digestion. If you are constipated, you can actually heat a little milk, place a teaspoon of ghee to melt and drink and it will facilitate elimination. We ingest ghee prior to our final intensive week to loosen up the final bit of Ama (toxins) that have been brought to the surface dhatus by the three initial weeks of good living and eating. The ghee also paciifies the Wind or Vata, cools the Fire or Pitta and nourishishes the Earth or Kapha. The ghee, in combination with the ginger tea and the extra cumin and turmeric added through our Detox Dish (Kitcheri) cause the cells to "spit out" the toxins. Finally, the small intestine is flushed with castor oil and all the loosened toxins come out. You then go into the final phase of eating easily digested food and then rebuilding Agni or Fire by eating for your dosha.
The Tea below is the perfect additional to your Immersion: Yogi Bhajan’s YOGI TEA You have probably seen packaged Yogi Tea in its many delicious flavors on the shelf at your natural food store or grocery market. Here is how you can easily make it from scratch! The spices are known in Ayurveda to help improve digestion, purify the blood, improve immune fitness, ward off intestinal parasites, and increase vitality. As the saying goes, "A cup a day keeps disease away..."
I like to make at least a gallon at a time. When it’s done, strain it (you can freeze the spices and save to make another smaller batch another day) and pour into a jar or lidded pitcher. Then when you desire a cup, just add the milk of your choice, bring it to the boiling point, sweeten if desired, and enjoy.
Plain Yogi Tea keeps refrigerated for several weeks. 4 qts water 25 whole cloves 30 peppercorns 6-8 3-4" cinnamon sticks 25 green cardamom pods 3-4" gingerroot (scrubbed clean, not peeled) thinly sliced 1 tsp. black tea (or 1 tea bag), optional Bring water to a fast boil in a stainless steel pot. Add whole cloves and let them dance for about 1 minute. Add peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamom and ginger root. Turn heat down so it is just simmering, cover, and let lightly boil for 45-60 minutes. Remove from heat, add black tea, and let sit for another hour (or overnight). This way it gets nice and strong so you can best enjoy this potent spice blend! Then strain and refrigerate.
VARIATIONS:
Add 1 Tbsp. or more of Fennel seeds with the other spices. This will make the tea somewhat diuretic, and gives a nice sweet flavor.

GOT MILK?

Dairy................is it necessary?

United States Department of Agriculture, facts:

The United States Department of Agriculture suggests daily allowances for vitamins and minerals based on the "average American". What this means is that some people will need that amount and some will not. Ayurveda believes each person to be unique, not average. The Wind and The Fire can consume the most dairy as it is sweet and cooling. The Earth should not consume dairy. If you are experiencing an Earth imbalance, give up the milk!

USDA Requirements for Calcium Consumption

Age		Milligrams
4 - 8		800
9 - 18		1300
19 - 50		1000
50+		1500

By simply consuming one glass of fortified OJ, one glass of fortified soymilk and one tablespoon of Sesame Seeds to your diet each day, you can reach 948 milligrams of calcium. Add to that some beans and leafy greens and you are well taken care of!!

It is widely recommended that adults take a multi-vitamin daily and woman should take a calcium supplement. Elemental OM agrees with this recommendation.

Ayurveda and Milk Consumption

Dairy holds a special place in Ayurveda. Cows are considered to be sacred animals. The milk from a cow that has been well-loved and well-cared for rejuvenates tissues and nourishes the body. Unfortunately, these cows are few and far between in the West.

If you are the Earth, you can and should avoid all dairy.

Elemental OM believes that most Elements thrive without DAILY dairy. If you choose to consume dairy on a regular basis, buy whole, organic, non-homogenized, and much loved products.

Milk is Sweet and is to be combined with other Sweet tastes. However, it is never to be combined with meat or fish.

Milk should never be drank cold. Bring it to a boil first and then turn down and let it slowly boil for 5 or 10 minutes. This changes the molecular structure of the milk and makes it easier to digest.

Think of milk as a snack or a digestive aid. You can replace breakfast with warm milk adding a little bit of nutmeg, cinnamon, honey and almonds. Warm milk taken 30 minutes before bedtime will aid in sleep. Warm milk and ghee taken prior to bedtime will aid with constipation.

Dairy facts for our Western Culture:

A high protein diet, especially proteins from animals, causes CALCIUM LOSS in the Body. The proteins in cow's milk actually inhibit absorbtion!

75% of adults show some degree of lactase activity (lactose intolerance) worldwide. Interestingly, countries consuming the most amount of milk which are largely in the West show lower intolerance due to more consumption. Eastern countries where milk is not consumed as an adult show the highest percentage of intolerance. This would imply that your body does adjust to milk consumption, but it is truly "adjusting" over a lifetime of consumption. However, as you age, you may develop lactose intolerance because your body produces less lactase enzymes. If your stomach churns, if you experience gas, bloating, nausea or diarrhea after ingesting dairy, then you may be lactose intolerant.

Jersey (small, honey-brown, friendly) cows provide the highest quality milk, however 85% of the milk produced in the United States is provided by Holstein cows (typical black and white cow).

Cows are typically milked up to 3 times per day and given hormones such as bsT to boost milk production.

Organically produced milk does use up to 80% more land. That's because the cows are actually getting out and enjoying life a little. If you are worried about the environment, drink less milk overall. As a matter of fact, just consume less of everything!!

Non Dairy Sources of Calcium, in milligrams, about 1 cup:

Soymilk 93
Fortified Soymilk 368
Quinoa 100
Rainbow Trout 73
Mung Beans 56
Baked Beans 128
Navy Beans 128
Refried Beans 88
Bok Chow 158
brussel Sprouts 56
Turnip Greens, boiled 158
Celery, raw 48
Broccoli 72
French Beans 111
Kelp, raw 144
Sweet Potato 76
Blackberries 46
Figs 269
Orange Juice, fortified 300
Papaya 72
Ocean Perch 116
Collard Greens 226
Mustard Greens 104
Sesame Seeds 280 (1 oz)
Basil 85 (1 Tbsp)
Cinnamon 74 (1 Tbsp)
Thyme 76 (1 Tbsp)