In each Personalized Plan option Dr. Lonsdorf will describe the most important recomendations from the list below. The recommendations will be based on the health history questionnaire you submit.
Evaluation of your questionnaire willl be done from an Ayurvedic perspective and is not for the purpose of diagnosing or treating disease.
Following is a discussion of the Ayurvedic recommendations you will receive as part of your Personalized Plan.
Ayurvedic Recommendations
1) Diet and Food Preparation:
" When diet is wrong medicine is of no use.
When diet is correct medicine is of no need. "
Ancient Ayurvedic Proverb
Diet is understood as they key to both prevention and treatment of disease in Ayurveda. Dr. Lonsdorf will provide a two step program to a healthy, personalized diet.
a) instructions in the simple Ayurvedic system to determine what is a balanced diet
b) individualized guidelines regarding what foods and food groups to favor and reduce based on the unique balance/imbalance in your constitution.
2) Digestion, Elimination and Assimilation of Food
As important as what we eat is our ability to digest food, assimilate it properly and eliminate waste products. Recommendations to improve digestion, assimilation and elimination are given from the areas of herbs, spices, food preparation, asanas, aroma therapy and eating behavior.
3) Internal Cleansing
Ayurvedic theory describes how the vast majority of diseases are created by the slow accumulation of toxins and impurities that localize in tissues and block channels of circulation. This process contributes to most chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease, arthritis, asthma and high blood pressure.
The good news is the body has a tremendous self-repair capacity that allows it to constantly purify itself of toxins and prevent circulation from becoming clogged. Many Ayurvedic recommendations can be given to help keep these natural internal cleansing processes strong and vibrant. Ayurvedic cleansing recommendations help prevent further build-up of impurities and aid in the removal of the blockages that have already accumulated.
4) Ayurvedic Herbs
Ayurvedic herbal compounds contain natural plant and mineral substances and can be considered nutritional supplements. All foods have the ability to balance some aspects of the body. Ayurvedic herbs are exceptionally powerful in this balancing effect.
Ayurvedic herbs are not picked on the basis of the symptom that a person has. They are not picked for the treatment of disease. Herbs are not prescription drugs. If ten people walk into an Ayurvedic physicians office with the same symptoms they may receive 10 different herbal recommendations because the root imbalance at the basis of the symptom is different in each case.
There are two types of Ayurvedic herbal recommendations:
1. herbs for imbalances: to strengthen the expression of biological intelligence in specific areas of the body where a disorder may exist. These herbal recommendations are individualized for each person and recommended for 4-6 months.
2. "rasayanas": are herbal preparations that have overall balancing and rejuvenating effects on the physiology. Rasayanas are used on an ongoing basis for general prevention and longevity.
It is important to note that most Maharishi Ayurveda herbal recommendations are usually combinations of several herbs to promote synergistic effects and create a balanced preparation.
It is important to note that Ayurvedic herbal preparations are most effective after cleansing programs have prepared the body to take the effect of the herbs more deeply into the tissues.
Also, Dr. Lonsdorf exclusively recommends Maharishi Ayurveda herbal preparations created by Maharishi Ayurveda Products International (MAPI). MAPI has an exceptionally comprehensive and authentic set of Ayurvedic formulations. MAPI performs highly stringent testing of all herbal preparations for freedom from heavy metals, pesticides and bacteria and for authenticity of ingredients.
MAPI also follows the authentic Ayurvedic instructions for harvesting herbs at the proper time, and taking them through the elaborate and profound Ayurvedic formulation procedures to assure maximum effectiveness of each preparation.
5) Lifestyle and Behavior
Dr. Lonsdorf will specify the lifestyle changes that may be the most important for mainntaining health and reversing imbalance. You will also receive a complete introduction to the general Ayurvedic lifestyle guidelines for promoting and maintaining health over the long term.
6) Stress Management and the Development of Consciousness
Wise living can reduce stress to some degree but the challenges of life can never be completely removed. There are three major factors for dealing with stress without becoming stressed:
1. Developing and maintaining a strong and balanced mind through mind/body medicine techniques. Dr. Lonsdorf strongly recommends the TM technique as it has more scientific research verifying its positive effect on mind, body and behavior than any mental program yet studied by science.
2. Maintaining a regular and balanced daily routine
3. Proper diet including specific herbal supplements to balance and strengthen the brain, mind and emotions
7) Rejuvenation Programs
One of the main goals of Ayurveda is to provide people with rejuvenative techniques they can add to their daily life. These include specific Ayurvedic practices for rejuvenation including Ayurvedic herbalized massage, yoga asanas and pranayama (breathing) practice, and specific Ayurvedic herbal preparations.
Dr. Lonsdorf highly recommends for most individuals they take advantage of Maharishi Panchakarma Rejuvenation Therapy at The Raj on a seasonal basis.
8) Spice Waters & Spices for Cooking
Spices are an essential help to the body for:
a) digesting food,
b) building up all the tissues properly and
c) helping the body cleanse itself and eliminate impurities.
Dr. Lonsdorf will help you take advantage of the power of spices through individualized recommendations for spice waters and cooking spices. For example, by adding the appropriate spices to hot water and drinking the water throughout the day it is possible to target and remove specific imbalances in the doshas and the dhatus. Spice waters are very simple yet powerful recommendations because the hot water permeates the tissues bringing with it the specific balancing effect of the spice.
9) Aroma recommendations
The body can be balanced through any of the senses. For example massage uses the sense of touch, food the sense of taste, music the sense of sound and aromas balance through the sense of smell. Dr. Lonsdorf will draw on the ancient knowledge of aroma therapy to provide individualized recommendations from this pleasant and powerful healing modality.
For a deeper discussion of the theory and practice of Maharishi Ayurveda click here.
|