Living the Ayurvedic Life

Improve your health and longevity with ancient yogic principles• Reveals how making small, strategic changes to habits and behaviors in daily life can lead to better physical, mental, and spiritual well-being• Explores breathing practices, sleep habits, the energetic effects of specific foods, and different types of fasting• Explains how exercise and yoga, massage, bathing, and sexual energy retention can increase vitalityIn this classic guide to Ayurvedic principles, Indian artist, teacher, and scholar of tantra, Harish Johari reveals how making small, strategic changes to habits and behaviors in daily life can lead to better physical, mental, and spiritual well-being no matter what your current age or state of health. The author explains the three types of energy (gunas) in the Ayurvedic tradition—sattva (essence), rajas (activity), and tamas (inertia)—and how they influence our emotional patterns, mental habits, and physical health as well as how we can cultivate or suppress each type of energy. He explores the power of breath, including the specific effects of breathing through the left and right nostrils. He also looks at the energizing effects of waking up just before sunrise and offers guidance on developing healthy sleep habits. Revealing the far-reaching effects of diet, Johari explores the impact that specific foods have on the body and mind for each Ayurvedic body type as well as the power of fasting. He also explains appropriate yoga and exercise practices for different ages, the healing effects of massage and meditation, the influences of different gemstones on the body and mind, and how sexual energy retention can increase vitality. Sharing a practical set of principles for daily living based on thousands of years of Ayurvedic science, this guide will help you develop habits for a healthier, happier, and more balanced life.