Posts Tagged ‘ayurveda’

Say Goodbye To Panic Attack

It has been quite a while since I last had my morning walk in Jakarta. When I opened the windows, I felt a cool breeze touching my face. So I thought this could be a good day to have my morning walk.
I was right! The weather was just perfect. The sky was bright and clear without a single cloud floating in it. And for those of you who knows Jakarta….this is like a miracle! I was savoring this pleasant Jakarta weather when I realised that if I were seeing this 14 years ago, I would have not been able to even enjoy this beautiful moment. I used to have panic attack, that’s why!
Living with PTSD (we will discuss this topic separately) doesn’t come alone. It comes with a whole bundle of all the other mental, psychological and physical issues that comes with it. And one of them is Anxiety/Panic Attack!

It really can make one handicap especially in social life. People would see me as an extrovert. But underneath the façade, I’m a total chaos inside with anxiety. And when the anxiety takes it toll, it just blows up to a terrible panic attack. When someone suffers from panic attacks, the whole life becomes a mess. Most can’t even travel from their homes in fear of having panic in a strange place. And I didn’t really want anyone to know I was suffering from it. I was too afraid that people around me would think I’m crazy. It’s already bad thinking thay way and on top of it all sometimes when the panic attack gets so bad, I thought I was having a heart attack because I couldn’t breathe and I thought I was dying.
I always dreaded going to parties. Especially to parties which I know that I have not been to familiar with the company that I would be meeting. I could not even visualise myself going to concerts, wedding parties and the likes. It would have been just too much for me and I would have developed anxiety just in no time. That is why I have always avoided going to one and always finding excuses to attend one. And if I did go, I would find me a quite corner. Everytime I used to comeback from dance clubs or pubs, I would develop an ulcer after that because I was coping with the anxiety while being there.
So even looking at beautiful sceneries would sometimes like hypnotise me to go back to my past traumatic events and then it would just give me anxieties to the point of panic attacks at times. Depressing… really!
The doctors would give me antidepressants and also sedatives. I remembered that all those medications gave me blank stares, drowsy….and basically I was a zombie, a truly the walking dead!
I was experiencing these symtomps:

  • Palpitations, or accelerated heart rate
  • Sweating
  • Chills or hot flashes
  • Tremble or shaking
  • Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
  • Feeling of choking
  • Chest pain or discomfort
  • Feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded or faint
  • Feelings of unreality or being detached from oneself
  • Fear of losing control or going crazy
  • Fear of dying
  • Nausea or abdominal distress

I’m free from all that now! How? Through Ayurveda, a 5000 years old science of healing and life. Ayurvedic healings include meditation, yoga and herbs in their treatments. In Ayurveda, anxiety and panic attacks is primarily due to aggravated Vata dosha in the nervous system. Therefore the primary treatment is to balance the Vata dosha.

In an ayurvedic treatment, a regular full body massage known as Abhyanga and also Shirodhara helps to reduce ongoing set of attacks. Besides the body treatment, the use of herbs and the regular practice of meditation and yoga is part of the ayurvedic treatment. Meditation and yoga helps to regulate deep breathing so that the brain can receive the correct dose of oxygen in our brain. Therefore it can also help improve our focus and redirect our mind and thoughts in the right direction. This way we can redirect our mind and treat the panic attack.
Here are some recommendations to treating panic attacks:

  • Indian ginseng or Ashwagandha. Studies have confirmed it’s powerful anti anxiety fighting properties and also a good adaptogen to boost immune system and anti aging effect.
  • Chyawanprash. An ayurvedic number one remedy because of its mixture of many herbs which rejuvenate mind and body.
  • Gotukola or Centella Asiatica. Known also as pegagan in Indonesia and used in Indonesian cuisine such as Asinan Bogor. The Sundanese calls it dulang sontak and even eat this as raw salads aka lalapan 😅 The Balinese calls them piduh
  • Ayurvedic Vata Tea. We make our own Vata tea and mixtures of herbs such as ginger and nutmeg can help calm the Vata dosha
  • Take a bath with ginger and baking soda
  • Try an Ayurvedic Abhyanga Massage, it not only relaxes and calms you but it also rejuvenates you at the same time
  • Go for an Indian head massage, Shirodhara. The flow of warm oil will stimulate the endorphins to calm the mind
  • Use Ayurvedic Vata Oil to calm the nervous system through daily self massage each time before taking a shower. The oil will also make your skin glow :)
  • Do a Corpse Posture or Shavasana. Think about it….a corpse don’t have emotion while people with panic attack is overloaded with emotion. So it is a good counter situation.
  • Drink Almond milk with saffron, ginger and nutmeg for a good natural sedative
  • Put some Vata Churna spices on your food to neutralise the incompatible Vata dosha food
  • Most important of all….MEDITATE!

So even looking at beautiful sceneries would sometimes like hypnotise me to go back to my past traumatic events and then it would just give me anxieties to the point of panic attacks at times. Depressing… really!

Let’s get rid of panic attack with these safe methods and start living. Gone are those days of anxieties and not being able to enjoy beautiful events and surroundings. Let’s embrace a new anxiety free life and finally enjoy calm. If I did it, so can you! Namaste…

Ayurveda, Apa Tuch?

Pernah dengar tentang Ayurveda? Mungkin pernah, mungkin belum. Ayurveda apa tuch? Makanan? Merk sepatukah? Atau merk obat? Oh…mungkin jamu.

Jika Anda keranjingan nonton acaranya Dr.Oz (bukan versi Indonesia) dan Oprah Winfrey, atau pernah baca buku-bukunya Deepak Chopra? Kalau pernah, mungkin Anda pernah mendengarnya.

Ayurveda bukanlah makanan, merk sepatu, merk obat atau jamu….eeiitts..tunggu dulu! Kalau disebut jamu…ya..tapi tidak. Karena Ayurveda adalah nenek moyangnya jamu.

Untuk mempersingkat semuanya, Ayurveda itu adalah saudaranya Yoga yang belum se”celeb” seperti Yoga. Mereka itu saudara yang tidak bisa dipisahkan. Namun ketika Yoga dijadikan kondang oleh Barat, dan seperti biasa, kita selalu mengikuti demam Barat, maka kitapun tahunya hanya Yoga. Si malang Ayurveda ditinggalkan. Padahal keberadaan Yoga pincang tanpa Ayurveda, begitu juga sebaliknya.

Jadi, apa sich Ayurveda itu? ……drum roll….jeng jeng!
Ya, saudara-saudara….perkenalkan bintang tamu kita hari ini…Ayurveda!

Ayurveda

“Hallo, nama saya Ayurveda. Nama saya berasal dari kata Sanskerta yang berarti Ayus = kehidupan, Veda = ilmu. So, aku adalah ilmu kehidupan :)”

(Maaf, saya terlalu luas berimajinasinya 😉 *sigh* )

Ya, jadi Ayurveda adalah ilmu kehidupan dimana Ayurveda mengantarkan kita untuk dapat hidup selaras dengan alam sehingga kita bisa panjang umur (longevity), awet muda, sehat dan bahagia.
#applause.com                    

Ayurveda adalah semacam manual handbook yang selama ini kita tidak pernah peroleh.

Saya belum pernah mendengarkan satu orangpun yang tidak ingin hidup sehat dan bahagia. Jika ada, pasti hidungnya bertambah panjang seperti pinokio! Ayurveda adalah semacam manual handbook yang selama ini kita tidak pernah peroleh. Kalau kita beli smartphone baru, kita pasti mendapatkan manual handbook. Beli laptop baru, a/c baru, printer baru…dapat juga. Lha, waktu kita lahir, kita tidak pernah diberikan,khan? Sehingga kita tidak pernah tahu secara persis apa yang harus kita lakukan untuk merawat tubuh, pikiran, jiwa ini seutuhnya. Sehingga selama ini kita mungkin memberikan “bensin” yang keliru untuk jenis tubuh/pikiran kita. Yang ibaratnya harus diberi Pertamax, malah diberi Solar. Jelas mesinnya bisa cepat rusak. Begitu pula menurut Ayurveda.

Nah, menurut Ayurveda yang sudah beredar sekitar 5000 tahun yang lalu (lha, segitu eksisnya tapi koq kita belum pernah kenal ya? #garuk-garukkepalaheran.com), setiap manusia atau individu adalah sangat unik. Dia dibagi menjadi 3 kategori yang disebut Dosha. Sebenarnya tidak ada satu kata dalam bahasa Inggris atau dalam bahasa Indonesia yang dapat menggantikan kata tersebut. Tapi untuk mempermudah pemahaman kita, Dosha bisa dikatakan sebagai tipe tubuh/pikiran (body/mind type) kita. Jadi kalau saya menyebut-nyebut kata “Dosha”…atau terutama “Dosha Anda”, bukan berarti saya menuding Anda karena telah berdosa….tetapi merujuk pada tipe tubuh/pikiran kita.

Ketiga tipe Dosha itu apa saja?

Vata: Angin
Pitta: Api
Kapha: Air

Kira-kira seperti apa ya menjelaskan ketiga Dosha ini? Karena saya seseorang yang cukup visual dan suka berimajinasi, mari kita simak cerita berikut ini…

Ada sebuah keluarga yang terdiri dari seorang Ibu bernama Pitta, seorang Ayah yang bernama Kapha dan seorang anak remaja laki-laki yang bernama Vata. Pada suatu hari Minggu yang cerah, keluarga ini akan menjamu sebuah teman lama dari. Bu Pitta dengan tubuhnya yang ramping dan agak berotot (karena suka main tenis) mempersiapkan segala sesuatunya untuk jamuan tersebut dan Pak Kapha yang berbadan besar dan agak gempal sudah janji untuk belanja keperluan-keperluan untuk jamuan tersebut.

Vata yang bertubuh kurus selama semalaman susah tidur karena dia terlalu excited dengan lagu hasil inspirasi yang dia dapatkan semalam. Dia langsung mengambil gitarnya dan mencoba memainkannya dengan penuh semangat namun gelisah disaat yang bersamaan. Apalagi ketika berkali-kali ada nada-nada yang dia salah mainkan. Diapun menyanyikan lagunya dengan suaranya yang agak serak-serak.

Mari kita tengok Pak Kapha dan Bu Pitta. Seperti biasa Pak Kapha bangunnya agak siang sekitar jam 10an jika hari Minggu lalu dengan santai dan perlahan menikmati sarapannya di kebunnya yang indah. Sementara Bu Pitta sudah memberikan instruksi kepada pembantunya dari A-Z. Dan Bu Pitta pun menghampiri Pak Kapha dengan catatan belanjaannya. Pak Kapha manggut-manggut dan mendengarkan dengan sabar semua pesanannya. Padahal Pak Kapha tahu dia tidak bisa ingat dengan mudah semua catatan belanjaannya yang disebutkan Bu Pitta. Tapi Pak Kapha tahu bahwa dia pasti akan mendapatkan catatannya dari Bu Pitta. Karena Bu Pitta tidak akan melepaskan siapapun pergi tanpa catatannya.

Selama Bu Pitta membacakan catatannya, Pak Kapha sedang memperhatikan kucingnya yang berusaha ingin menangkap burung gereja yang sedang asyik minum air di kolam ikan. Pak Kapha tersenyum-senyum memperhatikan tingkah laku si Kucing. Bu Pitta terus saja melanjutkan semua instruksi-instruksinya untuk Pak Kapha.

“Jelas, Pa?”, tanya Bu Pitta.
“Eeh..jelas Ma. Ya nanti Papa belikan semua itu. Mama tenang saja ya”, jawab Pak Kapha dengan suara baritonenya yang merdu setelah kembali fokus pada Bu Pitta.

Pak Kapha pergi ke kebunnya untuk melanjutkan menyaksikan adegan yang seru si Kucing. Beliau duduk di kursi sandaran favoritnya sambil meluruskan kakinya. Si Kucing terus berjuang untuk menangkap burung gereja yang terbang dan lompat dengan lincah menghindari si Kucing. Namun si Kucing pantang menyerah. Saking seriusnya si Kucing dia tidak lagi memperhatikan langkahnya lagi, maka iapun tercebur ke dalam kolam ikan! Pak Kapha tertawa terbahak-bahak membahana. Mendengar tawa Pak Kapha, Bu Pitta langsung menoleh.

“Papaaaa….bukannya sekarag langsung pergi ke swalayan…eh malah duduk-duduk di taman sambil tertawa. Sudah siang Paaaa…..”, Bu Pitta mulai tidak sabar dan ngomel.

Pak Kapha masih dengan tawanya beranjak berdiri dan beranjak ke mobilnya. Sementara Vata sedang asyiknya mendapatkan inspirasi sehingga otaknya terus berputar untuk mendapatkan nada-nada yang pas. Kakinya terus bergoyang-goyang. Dan setelah ia berhasil menemukan nada yang pas, dia sudah tidak sabar lagi untuk sharing kepada teman-teman di bandnya. Dia pun langsung bergegas dari kamarnya dan turun tangga. Namun setelah sampai di bawah, dia lupa bahwa notasi lagunya tertinggal di kamarnya. Dia pun bergegas lari ke atas.

“Maaaa…pinjam mobil. Vata mau ke rumah temen!”, dia langsung mengambil kunci mobil dan menyerobot Pak Kapha yang masih juga belum sampai ke mobilnya karena mengelus-elus si Kucing yang tercebur.

Braak! #bunyi mobil menabrak tong sampah
Brrrmmm…… #bunyi gas yang ditancap

“Vataaaaaaa…..mobilnya harus dipakai Papaaaaa!!!!” teriak Bu Pitta dengan suara yang melengking dan kesal serta frustrasi tak berdaya karena menyaksikan mobilnya yang melesat menjauh dari rumahnya.

Pak Kapha hanya melongo menyaksikan semua itu.

Yaaa….saudara-saudara….kira-kira seperti itulah gambaran tentang Vata/Pitta/Kapha atau disingkat dengan VPK pada diri setiap manusia. Untuk ingin tahu penjabarannya lebih luas tentang VPK dan Dosha Anda serta manual handbook spesifik untuk Anda lengkap dengan gerakan yoga dan lifestyle yang cocok untuk Anda, silakan ikuti program singkat saya yang bernama Ayur Self Healing. Just contact me :)

Damn, I Have Gout!

” Adi, why are you still sitting on the floor?”, I asked Adi after seeing everybody was about to leave the meditation hall, while he was still sitting.

Lately, I have heard people around me complaining about having gout. Even those in the tender age of the 20s have suffered from it. Usually it only attacks people above 40 years old. Mostly men suffers from gout.

I saw his face twitching in pain, ” It’s not only I can’t get up, I am having difficulty to walk. Look at my toe, it’s swollen. Damn!

” Woooaaaa….that’s quite a swell there. That surely is GOUT!”, I saw his foot in awe.

gout_2356462b

Let’s take a look at what gout is and get rid it once and for all!

According to Ayurveda, an ancient healing system that is 5000 years old, gout is a caused by unhealthy life style and also genetic disease. It is a form of arthritis. An unhealthy life style is very much related to an unhealthy diet and also the lack of exercise in one’s life. However, there are people who are regularly doing exercise but still getting gout. Again, it is because of a poor diet. So basically, it’s about the food that we eat!

In Ayurveda the it is said that gout is the result of a vitiated Vata dosha which affected the rakta dhatu (red blood tissue). So what happens is that the uric acid is accumulated in the joints. This is also related in the disorder of the kidney. Therefore it vitiated the red blood tissues. First it attacks the toe and after that it spreads to the other joints.

The causes of the vitiated blood are:

1. Indigestion
2. Overconsumption of oily, salty, sour and spicy food
3. Too much intake of alcohol
4. Overconsumption of seafood
5. Lack of sleep
6. Obesity
7. Sedentary work

The causes of the increase in the level of uric acid in the blood are:

1. Genetics
2. Overconsumption of alcohol
3. Overconsumption of meat, inners, spinach, seafood and beans

These food contains too much purines.

Avoid (High)

Beer, anchovies, inners, meat, coconut milk, yeast, sardines, macarels, herrings, scallops, seafood, red beans

TIPS To Prevent and Cure Gout:

Eat fresh seasonal fruits (except avocado, durian, pineapple and bananas) The best fruits are berries such as strawberries, blueberries, and cherries.

Adopt a vegetarian diet. It is very healthy because it can alleviate gout. However avoid consumptions of spinach, morning glory, tempeh, casava leaves, asparagus and string beans

Avoid all dairy products especially yogurt. Best to drink rice milk.

Always have your greens except the ones being mentioned above and avoid gravies and meat stocks

It is best to avoid processed food such as white bread and sugar. It can worsen the condition

Avoid fried oily foods, salty, sour and spicy food

Take 50 ml of ghee everday if possible

Add more ginger, garlic, cumin, fennel, corriander, cardamom  and cinnamon to your food

Exercise well but avoid exercises that strains the joints. Exercise is important the keep the joints mobile

Lose weight if one is over weight. Your weight makes a difference

Drink enough water to flush out all the toxins and to help the kidney function properly

Get adequate sleep

If your toes are swollen, you may have a cold compress (in SOS). However, the best thing to do is to soak it in luke warm water with a drop of apple vinegar

It is recommended to get an ayurvedic abhyanga massage

Hopefully these tips will be helpful to you and your friends or families who has gout. Get well soon!

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