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Niika Quistgard :: Oct.17.2009 :: Rasa Ayurveda News :: No Comments »
A Team Approach to Healing
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!
Niika Quistgard :: Sep.19.2009 :: Ayurveda & Siddha, Patient Outcomes :: No Comments »
The Muthashi Project: Keeping the Circle Whole
Dear Friends,
When women come to Rasa Ayurveda for group programs, one essential activity is to interact with local Malayalee in a meaningful way thru The Muthashi Project. This week, women attending the Women’s Ayurveda Retreat at Rasa Ayurveda participated in our fourth Muthashi Project event. Although I’m far away in the U.S. helping my son recover from his injuries, Sanju, Dr. Geetha, Sandia Bachman, Rema and all the staff and students did a fantastic job showing up to offer another great program, inspiring young Malayalee women to carry on valuable ancient traditional knowledge.
The Muthashi Project, founded in 2008, seeks to sustain the traditional relationships between Malayalee women and the native botanicals they’ve successfully relied on for medicine for thousands of year. ‘Muthashi’ means ‘great-grandmother’ in Malayalam, the language of Kerala. ‘Muthashi’ represents the potential every woman has to live and heal thru her personal connection with Nature, the knowledge and experience of the generations of women that came before her, and the depth of her own wisdom.
The Muthashi Project sponsors Women’s Outreach Programs to inspire younger Malayalee women to continue the age-old practice of recognizing and using native plants as medicine. We usually offer these programs in communities lying just outside the city, where there is undeveloped land and backyard space for plants to grow, but where traditional knowledge and life-ways are evaporating quickly.
Niika Quistgard :: Jul.15.2009 :: Ayurveda & Siddha, Culture, Spirituality, Environment, Medicinal Plants, Rasa Ayurveda News, The Muthashi Project :: 3 Comments »
Prayers for Gabe
Namaskaaram to you~
With sadness and concern, the staff at Rasa Ayurveda received the news that my son–Gabe, 19 years old–was terribly injured in an accident in the U.S. in which he lost both of his legs.
Since then, our Rasa Ayurveda family has been a wonderful support and source of abundant prayers for Gabe’s survival and recovery. We’re all hoping Gabe will be able to return to Kerala for a visit and further healing sometime soon. To learn more about Gabe’s progress, visit the blog:
http://gabesalive.wordpress.com
Prayers for Gabe
Sanju and Dr. Geetha have teamed up to formulate a new bathi incense–dedicated to Gabe–and hand-rolled by the staff. The first batch will arrive in the U.S. any day now. And of course, everyone at Rasa Ayurveda has dedicated themselves even more vigorously to their work, so that while I stay by Gabe’s side for a little while longer, the clinic is open and ready to receive patients and students for another fantastic year of traditional healing in Kerala.
We welcome you to visit Rasa Ayurveda soon~
Niika Quistgard, Director
Niika Quistgard :: Jun.18.2009 :: Culture, Spirituality, Rasa Ayurveda News :: 2 Comments »
Traditional Thatch
Namaskaaram to you~
The weather in Trivandrum is hot and dry now, so it’s a good time to re-thatch the treatment rooms on the roof at Rasa Ayurveda. It won’t be long until monsoon begins in June, the classically perfect time to take traditional therapies.
Kerala, as you might know, is often referred to as “Land of the Coconuts.” This natural resource is incredibly well-utilized in food, medicine and other practical needs, and thatch construction is a good example of how valuable the coconut tree is to life here.
Niika Quistgard :: May.01.2009 :: Environment :: No Comments »
Earth Day, 2009
Happy Earth Day!
Photo: The paddy field, adjacent to Rasa Ayurveda.
Our Mother Earth is even more vital to our survival than–well–our actual mother…! We all arise from Her, take all our sustenance from Her, and rely on Her to deal with our wastes. And ultimately, our body returns to Her. Whether we personally feel the great connection or not, our relationship with Mother Earth is unarguably intimate and interdependent…
At Rasa Ayurveda today, we are doing a bit of spring cleaning. We’re closed for the hot season until June 3rd–when monsoon begins–so we’re taking this time to tend the grounds, expand Rasa’s rich collection of medicinal plants, and create a new coconut-leaf thatch structure on the treatment roof.
Niika Quistgard :: Apr.27.2009 :: Environment, Medicinal Plants :: No Comments »
