Kerala is an herb basket, spice basket and produce basket! Valuable aromatics like cardamom, clove and black pepper had adventurers landing on Kerala’s shores as early as a thousand years before Christ. And Kerala is the source of thousands of pounds of Ayurvedic medicinal plants used in formulas consumed locally and all over the world. But don’t forget another aspect of Kerala’s botanical bounty: an amazing abundance of fruits and vegetables!

Tasty Papaya growing at Rasa Ayurveda

At Rasa Ayurveda, we serve Kerala cuisine, prepared according to Ayurvedic guidelines for each patient. Even during pancha karma, everyone enjoys a variety of tasty, easy-to-digest, cleansing and nourishing meals. Some fruits and vegetables possess distinctly medicinal qualities, like muringakku (drumstick), pavakku (bitter melon), nellikku (amalaki) and cheryaulli (shallot). I’ve counted at least 14 types of bananas here, some indicated for digestive upset, some for cooling the body, and more.

Bananas on the Tree at Rasa Ayurveda

When you come to Rasa Ayurveda, try to set aside a morning at the end of your stay to walk around the produce market. You’ll be amazed to discover edibles you never new existed…! In the topmost photo, you can see the veggies on offer at one small stand: red amaranth, garlic scapes, bitter melon,  three varieties of fresh chili, one of several varieties of green bean, carrot, tomato, bhringal (eggplant), ginger and tasty green mango. (Too many mango varieties to count here…!)

Far in the back–under wraps–is a big bunch of karrivepella – the fresh ‘curry leaf’ that brings so much fragrance to many Kerala dishes, while treating high cholesterol and parasites, too.

Muringella Dosa - stuffed with a highly nutritive (and tasty!) medicinal leaf

Kerala meals are made up of rich, multi-cultural culinary–and even spiritual–tradition. When you come to Rasa Ayurveda as a patient, or with a group trip or retreat thru AyurvedaTrip.com, you can enjoy impromptu cooking classes and an intimate introduction to the edible beauty of Kerala at every meal.

Looking forward to welcoming you to Rasa Ayurveda~

Niika Quistgard, CAS

Niika Quistgard :: Jul.07.2010 :: Cuisine, Culture, Spirituality, Medicinal Plants :: No Comments »

June isn’t summertime in Kerala. Summer went out with the first rains! June is the beginning of two months of monsoon. It’s a great time to come to Rasa Ayurveda. Just be prepared to share the grounds with a few puddle fish and beautiful wild birds…!

Monsoon Treatment

Monsoon is traditionally considered to be the very best time to take Ayurvedic treatment for most conditions, and for overall detoxification thru pancha karma therapies. Luscious and moist,  a sudden abundance of tender, green leafy medicines spring into being. All of Mother Nature’s resources seem to brim over in service to cleansing and rejuvenating the body, and the mind. For details about the qualities of monsoon, see this previous post, Monsoon in the Right Time.

Monsoon is natural time for turning one’s attention within, and for experiencing the world at its most peaceful. Meditation comes easily now. The air is quiet, and every storm washes the inner and outer worlds clean.

Enjoying Meditation Together

With just a little bit of guidance, one can fall effortlessly into a state of unity at this time… Don’t believe me? Give it a try!

Here’s a wonderful awareness practice I hope you enjoy:

Sit comfortably on the floor, or on a supportive chair. Feel where your body–hip bones, feet–touches the ground or chair. Get a feeling and even visual sense of your postural foundation.

As you inhale, allow your spine to lengthen upward gently, almost as if someone were pulling a small handful of hair up just a little, right at the crown of your head.

Notice that some of your attention remains grounded in your foundation as you exhale completely through your nose. Soften your face. Soften your neck. Soften your belly.

Inhale, allowing the spaces between the vertebrae, ribs and the tops of the shoulder to open.

Exhale, feeling the support of the ground beneath you. Allowing that support to just be there, holding you.

Inhale, releasing the eyes as your spine lengthens. Pull your chin in just a little bit.

With simultaneous awareness of both the downward-grounding and upward-reaching energies, feel your whole body as you exhale completely and inhale completely. Continue to soften any areas of holding you become aware of. Continue to enjoy the feeling of your spine, straight and elongating.

Turn your head from side to side a few times, slowly, and lubricating your movement with your breath.

Come back to center. Breathe and enjoy.

When it’s time, continue your full breathing, and open your eyes just 15% to see the floor in front of you. Allow your energy to remain in full engagement with your whole body, and with your internal beingness. No need for the energy behind the eyes to to jump out and run across the room.

After a few breaths, open your eyes a bit more, keeping your foundation intact.

Place your hands together in gratitude for the enjoyment of being. Slowly stand, walk and move into the rest of your day, smiling, and keeping your self-awareness with you as long as you like.

Even if you can’t come to Kerala for  monsoon, you can savor the rejuvenation that come with  peaceful mind and expanded body sense, wherever you are…

Whenever you can come, we look forward to welcoming you to Rasa Ayurveda~

Niika Quistgard, CAS

Niika Quistgard :: Jun.10.2010 :: Ayurveda & Siddha, Culture, Spirituality, Environment, External Medicines, Patient Outcomes, Rasa Ayurveda News :: No Comments »

We’ve just returned to Rasa Ayurveda after leading a group of women from Chicago on a learning expedition to Medicine Mountain in Tamil Nadu. The great Indian epic, the Ramayana, tells the story of Lord Rama and his servant–Hanuman, the monkey God–who is the embodient of service and devotion.

In the Ramayana,  Hanuman travels to Mount Sanjeevani in the Himalayas–known for its vast variety of living medicines–to find and harvest a rare flowering plant for Rama’s army physician. He looks and looks, only to see many plants that more-or-less fit the description of the one he needs to carry. Time is of the essence, so Hanuman scoops up the entire top of Sanjeevani, just to make sure he has the correct plant. In one famous leap,  Hanuman flies across the entire length of India and across the Indian Ocean to the island of Sri Lanka to deliver his precious cargo. As he passed overhead, it’s said Hanuman dropped a clod of earth, which now stands as Medicine Mountain,  300 feet high and studded with countless medicinal plants.

Sanju Shares his Knowledge of Native Medicinal Plants

On Medicine Mountain, Sanju introduced many medicinal botanicals, including the sacred Koovalam (Aegle mermelos), a perennial small tree now on Kerala’s endangered plants list. (In our work thru The Muthashi Project, we hope to take action to help propagate this rare and valuable botanical.)

Students learn about the Sacred and Medicinal Koovalam Tree

The fruits of the Koovalam tree are astringent and regulate digestion in cases of diarrhea and dysentery. Koovalam has also been used traditionally as a cardiac depressant, and a powder of the bark is used to poison fish.

Medicinal and Sacred Koovalam Tree

The Koovalam tree is sacred to Lord Shiva and the tree is often planted on temple grounds. It is never planted near homes, however, because of it’s sacred and sensitive nature. Devotees of Lord Shiva lucky enough to have access to a few leaves of Koovalam will no doubt be offering light green garlands this Friday night on Shiva Rathri, the annual Night of Shiva,  celebrated by all who worship MahaShiva who is one of the three main Hindu deities.

Healing, Learning & Enjoying!

While our main goal for the trek was to study the rare medicinal plants on the mountain, we also a taste of perfect bliss in a small Shiva temple–one of many pilgrimage spots along the mountain trail–where I led the group in intoning the primal mantra–OM. The deep resonance of spiritual energy and pure vibration we experienced together within the cave walls cannot adequately be described in words!

Thanking Our Friend and Mountain Guide

We’ve now returned to Rasa Ayurveda Traditional Healing Centre, where all the participants are settling in for an extended period of residential traditional Ayurvedic treatment, and quiet study of Ayurveda. As these women learn about Ayurveda’s value for every stage of a woman’s life, we are appreciating that this particular group includes women of all ages, from twenty-something to grandmother hood! Thanks are due to Sandia Bachman, the “group catalyst” for this special 14-day Women’s Ayurveda Retreat. Sandia is a yoga teacher and new practitioner of Ayurveda from the Chicago area, who’s always looking for beautiful ways to be of service to nature and humanity. Thank you Sandia for bringing such a lovely group of women together at Rasa Ayurveda!

Wishing you all the Blessings of our Mother Earth~

Niika Quistgard, CAS, Managing Director
MayaShakti Ayurveda, Pvt. Ltd.

Niika Quistgard :: Feb.10.2010 :: Ayurveda & Siddha, Culture, Spirituality, Environment, Internal Medicines, Medicinal Plants :: 1 Comment »

In Kerala, there are five kinds of manjal we frequently use. Four are members of the very populated Curcuma genus of the Zingiberaceae (ginger) family. But two of these four are actually the exact same plant! And one isn’t related to turmeric at all…! Still, we count five.

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Niika Quistgard :: Dec.01.2009 :: Ayurveda & Siddha, External Medicines, Internal Medicines, Medicinal Plants :: 2 Comments »

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Niika Quistgard :: Oct.17.2009 :: Rasa Ayurveda News :: No Comments »

Tona Leiseth came to Rasa Ayurveda for group trip last year thru AyurvedaTrip.com. She’d been struggling with health issues for years, and still lacked a diagnosis she  could trust. We felt  confident that if she extended her stay to focus on her health, we could help  her–at the very least–receive an accurate diagnosis, and quite possibly an improvement in her symptoms as well. So instead of leaving with most of her trip group, she changed her airline ticket, delayed her departure and dedicated herself to her health for a time. We employed our team approach, calling in the expertise of an allopathic OB/Gyn doctor to help with comprehensive modern diagnostic procedures, and applying the wisdom of traditional Ayurveda to help Tona achieve both a healing understanding and positive physical results.

Tona recently wrote her story to share with you here on the Rasa Ayurveda blog.

Enjoy!

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Niika Quistgard :: Sep.19.2009 :: Ayurveda & Siddha, Patient Outcomes :: No Comments »