The Art of Drinking Water: 10 Ayurvedic Tips for a Happily Hydrated Body

Ayurvedic way to drink water:

1. First off, sit down to drink (just as you should sit down to eat).

2. Take sips, not full-glass chugs. Small sip, swallow, breathe. Repeat.

3. Sip water throughout the day. If you chug too much water at once your body doesn’t actually absorb all of it. Most of it will run right through you.

4. Drink at least room temperature water. Warm is even better. Cold and iced water literally douse the digestive fire.

5. Only sip a small amount of water with your meals. If you drink too much while you eat, your belly won’t have enough room for digestive action. Remember this rule: fill your stomach 50% with food, 25% with water, and leave 25% empty for the digestive juices and process.

6. For the same reason, don’t drink loads of water before or after your meals. Fill 50% with food, 25% with water, and leave 25% empty.

7. Drink when you’re thirsty. Thirst is a natural urge that should be heeded. It means your body needs water.

8. As far as how much, we’re all different sizes with varied diets and lifestyles. One set rule of eight glasses a day simply can not apply to everyone. Naturally, the miraculous human body has it’s own built-in measuring system: thirst. If you’re thirsty, drink water. When you listen to thirst cues and sip water throughout the day you’ll be drinking the right amount.

9. Your urine is a secondary confirmation to know if you’re amply hydrated. It should be fairly clear and straw colored. If it’s dark yellow you need to drink more.

10. Your lips are yet another indicator. If they’re dry you might be dehydrated.

The rules are so straightforward, perhaps even obvious or intuitive. But they might make a serious difference in the way you feel on a daily basis.

Whether it’s how to eat, how to drink, how to bathe, or the myriad of other natural behaviors that we’ve never given a second thought, the beautiful science of Ayurveda teaches us the ideal way to do each to feel our absolute best.


Source: http://www.elephantjournal.com/

Days of the Week and the Color of Your Clothes

What's in your closet? - is the questions we often hear from magazines, articles and TV-shows. But have you ever considered dressing up the way that benefits your body, mind & soul? The Vedic knowledge of Jyotish (the Vedic astrology) and other ancient scriptures allow us to dig deeper than just following the color of our mood when getting ready in the morning. They give us specific recommendations as to what colors are best to wear on a specific day of the week as well as the ones we should avoid at all costs. 

Days of the week have their own planets-protectors, every one of which have their own Demigods. Every planet conforms to specific colors. By wearing clothes corresponding with a certain day, we, so to say, insinuate the Demigod. As a result, he will be pleased and will send more luck on this day. Wearing 2/3 of the auspicious color is beneficial, but even a small accessory of a certain tint might be favorable.

There are two planets that are in charge every day: by the day of the week and by the date. There are 9 major planets. 

For example, If today is the 24th (of any month), then 2+4=6.
28: 2+8=10; 1+0=1;
29: 2+9=11; 1+1=2.


You can also calculate your birth date the same way. The required number would mean your planet. The more often you wear the corresponding color, the more support you will get from your planet.

Let's begin our planetary journey :)

SUNDAY. 
Planet: SUN.
Number: 1.
Demigod: Surya. His sovereign: Rama (God of War)
Favorable colors: Gold, Yellow.
Semi-favorable: White, Pink, Blue, Green, all light colors.
Unfavorable: Black, Dark Purple, Dark Red, all dark colors.
Those who intuitively wear Yellow, are pleased with their beauty. In the family, the father represents the Sun. At work it's the boss. In the country it's the president. The Sun gives health, wealth and authority.

MONDAY.
Planet: MOON.
Number: 2.
Demigod: Chandra. His sovereign: Krishna (The forever young God of Love)
Main colors: Silver, White.
Favorable colors: Yellow, Blue.
Semi-favorable: Pink, Green, Grey, Chocolate, Purple, all light colors.
Unfavorable: Black, Dark Purple, Dark Red, all dark colors.Those who intuitively wears White strive for purity. Mother represents the Moon in the family. The Moon grants kindness, softness, love, calmness, poetic inspiration, trips, business connected with liquids or overseas partners.

TUESDAY.
Planet: MARS.
Number: 9.
Demigod: Mangal (and Ganesha). His sovereign: Nrisimha (God-protector with a lion head)
Favorable colors: Red, Brown.
Semi-favorable: Blue, Ash, Gold, Saffron, all tints of Red.
Unfavorable: Black, Green, Blue.
Those who intuitively wear Red are brave and confident. Mars embodies soldiers, hierarchy, bravery, power, truth, fairness, protection.

WEDNESDAY.
Planet: MERCURY.
Number: 5.
Demigod: Buddha.
Major color: Green.
Favorable colors: Grey, Yellow.
Semi-favorable: Blue, Ash, Gold.
Unfavorable: Deep Blue, Purple, Orange.
Those who intuitively wear light green is inclined to new knowledge. Mercury embodies education, youth, flexibility, communication, diplomacy, quick mind, business.

THURSDAY.
Planet: JUPITER.
Number: 3.
Demigod's teacher: Brihaspati. His sovereign: Vamana (The young philosopher God).
Favorable colors: Purple, Lavender, Saffron, Pink.
Semi-favorable: Red, Blue, Deep Blue, Green, Brown, White.
Unfavorable: Yellow, Gold.
Those who intuitively wear Purple or Lavender strive for harmony in life. Jupiter embodies a teacher, gaining knowledge and teaching others, purposefulness, morals, spirituality, piety, goodness.

FRIDAY.
Planet: VENUS.
Number: 6.
Demigod: Shukracharya. His sovereign: Parashurama (God-protector).
Major colors: Blue, Turquoise, White.
Favorable colors: Deep Blue, Pink, Red.
Semi-favorable: Ash, Green, Brown.
Unfavorable: Black, Purple.
Those who intuitively wear Blue, Turquoise and Pink is talented. Venus embodies love, lust, desire, talent, creation, beauty, harmony.

SATURDAY.
Planet: SATURN.
Number: 8.
Demigod: Shani. His sovereign: Kurma (Divine turtle).
Favorable colors: Black, Dark Blue, Grey.
Semi-favorable: Brown.
Unfavorable: White, Yellow, all light colors.
Those who intuitively wear black doesn't want to stand out and wants to be inconspicuous. Saturn embodies order, regulations, responsibility, adherence to principle, pedantry, equanimity, purposefulness, sturdiness, punctuality.

According to Jyotish, in addition to the 7 planets of the Solar system, there are two other planets that are invisible yet they have their impact on our lives. 

Planet: RAHU.
Number: 4.
Day: Saturday (secondary effect)
Demigod: Rahu. His sovereign: Varaha (Divine wild boar).
Favorable colors: Black, Blue, Grey, Brown.
Semi-favorable: White, Yellow, Green.
Unfavorable: Red, Purple.
Those who intuitively wear doesn't want to stand out and wants to be inconspicuous. Rahu is the chopped off Immortal Head of the Dragon, that wants to eat the Sun. Rahu embodies insight, outwardness, the ability to see the core, cunning, perfidy, reaching a goal by any means, insidious diplomacy, invincible warrior, abrupt falling and rising, risk.

Planet KETU.
Number: 7.
Day: Tuesday.
Demigod: Ketu. His sovereign: Matsya (Divine fish).
Favorable colors: Grey, Beige, Gold, Deep Blue, Green, White.
Semi-favorable: Pink, Red, Brown.
Unfavorable: Black, Purple.
Those who intuitively wear Grey and Beige, loves serenity and stability. Ketu is the chopped off body of the Dragon, who wants to eat the Moon. Ketu embodies secretiveness, disguise, secret asceticism, secret self-development, mysticism, occult knowledge.

Materials used: http://ayurest.blogspot.com/

Nutrition in Goodness

With so many diets, theories and concepts about food and nutrition nowadays it's really hard to pick something that works not only for a short perioud of time but also in the long run. Today I want to introduce you to a man that changed my life. He is a well-known Russian Ayurvedic doctor, and noting that he is a very spiritual person would be an understatement. I've never met him in person but I consider him my cyber guru, for whatever question might arise in my mind, I can always find the answer in his lectures. How amazing is that! 

That being said, I'd like to translate an extract from his lecture about eating in goodness (as you probably know, there are three gunas of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance, with ignorance being the closest to spiritual world). It also explains why certain eating habits persist and why we as humans, are so attached to eating other creatures.

So, let's begin... 

O.G. Torsunov

"Today we will talk about nutrition in goodness. 

Our nutrition depends on our mental state. But we don't understand the idea behind supporting our lives with the means of food during its consumption. If you feed a human quite nutritious food, that he doesn't like, then according to the concept, life will go on. However, we dislike eating what doesn't taste good. Why don't we consider delicious everything that supports our being? Yes, a desire for enjoyment. But it's not the most exact statement. It turns out that the idea of taste means subtle body saturation.

If the goal of our nutrition is in gross [aka physical - Spirichat] body nourishment, then it's enough for us to eat just protein, sugar (carbohydrates), fat and that's it. But for some reason, nobody wants to eat them separately - all of us have our likes and dislikes. This concept lies in our sensations after the food, i.e. mood improvement, a feeling of conciliation, peace, comfort - all these are mental sensations; physical sensation is a full stomach. When a person is really hungry, it's enough for him to eat something, doesn't matter what it is, and he will without doubt feel better.

But then why is it that a man that doesn't starve, nevertheless wants to eat every 4-5 hours? For the most part, people think that the reason is lacking nutritive elements. But take a look at yourself in the mirror - you have them more that enough. Then why even the most overblown person is often being dragged to eat? Energy nourishment - that's correct. But nourishment of what? Nourishment of the mind. We live in our minds and feelings. From a very strong emotional outgo (e.g. as a result of nervous tension) a person becomes very hungry, because brain power becomes depleted, brain energy goes to waste. An experienced woman knows, that a husband coming back from work has to be first fed and then talked to: his mind is under a huge stress.

Thus, it's the mind that wants to eat, not the body. Human mind consists of personality traits. The very traits that a person "wastes", is the kind of food he tends to gravitate to. That's how a connection between our senses and illnesses emerges: sweet food at the wrong time is liked by the lazy, spicy food by the temperamental, sour by the squeamish, bitter by the hopeless, fattening by the greedy. It's a Vedic knowledge, and it's very deep. The mind consists of different traits, which is why our nutrition should consist of quite high-calorie meals, with lots of different components. Vedic cuisine implies abundance of omnifarious spices, variety in combinations etc. The mind requires complex nutrition.

"Victims of the Hay diet, who have been following it for 15-20 years, tell me, 'Physically, I feel very good, but I'm exhausted emotionally.' They cannot think about anything but food, the mind is not satisfied by this type of nutrition. A few years of eating this way and they start feeling emotional disbalance. Contemporary theories about nutrition are based on proteins, triglycerides and carbohydrates - nutrition for the body. However a human more often than not eats specifically for the brain, and not for the body. According to Ayurveda, for a whole day a human body needs as much food and water as both palms fit when cupped together; but our mind is ready to eat everything, only if we could expand our stomachs :). 

The food that we take is strongly correlated with our traits. A man tends to justify his desire to eat this or that type of food, therefore there are so many different theories in accordance with various viewpoints on nutrition. There is nutrition in goodness, passion and ignorance:

• Goodness theory on nutrition studies which plants improve gracious traits of the mind.
• Passion theory on nutrition studies how to eat hearty, fast and nutritious. Hot-dogs, fast food as a whole.
• Ignorance theory on nutrition studies how to prepare meat in sophisticated ways. Brains for the brain, liver for the liver etc.

It's very difficult to change one's awareness, very hard to accept that, "I'm thinking the wrong way".

The theory that meat is the best type of food strengthened itself in medicine. Doctors study meat from the chemical point of view, but they haven't tried to study the subject from the position of the mind. They think that the mind depends on autosuggestion. People don't understand, that in the end, their psychological state has much greater impact on their health than the chemical composition of their food.

Let's make an atrocious experiment in our minds. Let's imagine that every day your food is being prepared by a man that you simply can't stand, you start shaking when you see him, you cannot even look in that person's direction. He gives you the food, sits next to you and watches you as you eat. Are there any crazies among you that think that eating this way will bring you health? You will choke by the food and you'll have a hard time swallowing it. Then you'll feel nauseous and contaminated. 

You shouldn't eat next to those you dislike. Try to avoid unpleasant company, and also under no circumstances   should you accept food made with their hands. Hatred is a connection with their negative traits, therefore through the food you'll only get contamination of consciousness. One should first wish this person happiness, forgive him, and only then it's fine to eat the food coming from the person - and as a result you will get his good traits. You should only eat next to those who you feel happy to be around with.

In accordance with the Vedic knowledge, while the meat is fresh (not spoilt) - the being's soul in it's subtle body is strongly connected to this meat (a piece of his gross body). A human being after death doesn't leave right away, he resides in his subtle body of the mind next to his gross body, he is deeply attached to his [physical - Spirichat] body, the same way as he is attached to his family, house and children. Decomposition of his own body gradually pushes him away, evoking unpleasant sensations.

Even by separating the gross body into pieces, we cannot disable the connection between the subtle body of a being and his gross body: while the body is still fresh, the animal is present next to all of the parts simultaneously - life in subtle body differs from the life in gross body. So the animal is located next to the slice of meat, that you are preparing; you eat that which belongs to the animal - it can be compared to a situation where it's sitting next to you and cursing you out. That's the very reason, and no other, why meat brings unhappiness. It destroys our minds.

Our scientists don't study these issues, they don't even suspect the existence of subtle body. But a human being wants to interact, particularly, with the subtle body of another human being, even not believing in it. Love is also a function of the subtle body, it's not a conditioned reflex. If love to you is a complex chemical (neural) reaction, then why wouldn't you get together with a robot? You can have sex with it as much s you want and however you want! However, not a single scientist of this kind would want to marry a robot, he wants to deal with a personality, subtle body of a being! He wants communication, smiles, emotions - all these are functions of the subtle body. Most people can easily determine a general flow of thoughts [of another human being - Spirichat]. A girl by looking into the eyes of a guy, can tell with confidence about the way he thinks of her.

Subtle body exists, there's no doubt about it. And that means, that there are problems with consuming meat. But it also means that one can improve his personality traits by eating certain types of food. Some plants act in a very aggressive way, others behave. If the fruit is edible, then it's edible for almost everyone. There are fruits in goodness, that are better for some, and not too good for others. But fruits in goodness, that have sweetish or neutral taste (spinach, bananas, watermelon etc.) are good for and liked by everyone. Plants in goodness have good character. For example, apple tree - you can plant other plants next to it. But oak tree, for instance, has a passionate personality, therefore nothing grows next to it. Ambrosia is a very aggressive plant, most people are allergic to even a little bit of its pollen. The way a plant acts while growing, also reveals itself in nutrition, because plants also have subtle bodies. Animals' mind can express various emotions, but they cannot think. But a human being can both think and choose emotions. But plants' subtle body is not developed as much - a plant has the same emotion throughout its life, i.e. stability of the character of a plant is guaranteed. 

The main postulate of Ayurveda is ahimsa (nonviolence). Nutrition in goodness:

• increases active lifespan;
• purifies mind and intellect;
• provides positive psychical powers;
• provides balance and health;
• increases the right sense of happiness;
• brings peace.

Nutrition in goodness is juicy, oily, cooked in good spirits.

A person who wants to study the knowledge about happiness must give up nutrition in passion combined with ignorance. There is nutrition in passion combined with goodness - it's fine to eat this type of food. If you like food in pure ignorance, or passion combined with ignorance, your consciousness will resist the knowledge. In order to study spiritual knowledge, one should give up meat, fish and eggs. A person seriously studying the Vedas can easily see meat eaters by simply looking into their eyes. [...]"

How a man should react to a woman's tears.

A subject of women's tears has always been relevant when we speak of relationships between a woman and a man. It's especially hard for most men to be around a woman that's crying, and most of the times they don't know what to do, how to act, or what to say to make her feel better. In a lot of cases, men try to reason with the crying woman as to why she has to stop being upset. So he goes ahead and finds a hundred and one reasons as to why she should feel better, but for some unknown reason it only makes matters worse... Needless to say, that best case scenario, reasoning does not help.

So what is the issue here? Are we all really that crazy? The answer is very simple. We are not crazy, we are just wired differently from men and a lot of the times it is hard to explain why we act a certain way, but there is always an explanation if we dig deeper. In this case, all we need is a validation of our feelings. By reasoning with us, we feel that we are not being accepted for who we are and what we are feeling at this given moment. When we are upset, we don't need solutions, and oftentimes, when a woman is crying it is not because of a problem, but because of the need for an emotional release. The article below, although short, goes very deep and uncovers the root of the issue.



"The worst thing that a man can do when a woman is upset about something and crying is start giving her advice, telling her how she should live.

A woman's life is strongly connected to the body of feelings; she cries to release her built up emotions. And the only thing she expects from the man at that moment is his care, warmth and compassion.

When a woman is crying she becomes like a little child. If she is being given advice while in that state, she is not able to accept it, she will only get more upset and think that the man is not being supportive. 

The only thing that is able to comfort her and ease her pain is his showing care and tenderness.
In moments like that it's enough to a woman for the man to simply hold her, caress her hair, comfort her and say, that he's with her, and that everything will be alright, wipe her tears away, curse out the harmful person or the situation, while making threatening gestures. On the whole, she needs him to reveal himself as a true protector. 

It's very crucial to a woman, that a man can protect her from her own restless mind. That is the reason why women like men that know how to control their feelings - that is something that women cannot do, due to their nature. 

A man that knows how to control his feelings is able to act the right way, when the woman is crying. He is not going to get dragged into a hysteria mood, but he will display impartiality, give her a shoulder to lean on, wipe away her tears and console his lover..." (c)

Source: Translated from Russian https://www.facebook.com/vedajournal

Super tea for boosting your immune system

It's rainy weather in NY... Makes you want to cuddle up under your warm fluffy blanket with a nice movie and a warm drink. It's just one if those days. So today I'd like to share a recipe that's helped me on numerous occasions wether I was running low on energy or had first signs of starting cold. It's pretty simple and you can add/remove the ingredients to your liking. It boosts your immunity with vitamins & can pick you up if you have the blues. The colors can also cheer you up on a rainy day. What can be better!

 Here it goes, I hope you find it helpful & yummy:

• any base tea: I use either camomile, sage or regular green;

• frozen or fresh raspberries;

• fresh grated ginger;

• lemon wedge (you can squeeze out the juice into the mug & follow up with the zest);

• 1tbsp coconut oil;

•  honey to your taste. 

Note: It's best if you use as many organic ingredients as possible to increase the effect. Enjoy!

How a friend becomes a blessing from the Universe.

Greetings everyone,

Today I want to share a story that's happened to me just now and by that underline the importance of having a good friend tell you the truth about yourself when you really need to hear it. 

Today, for the first time in my life I didn't only HEAR the conversation between my intellect and my heart (or higher soul) but was ABLE to WATCH it from the side, as a short film of sorts. Here's is how it happened.

So, as good friends normally do, my friend and I share great things that happen in our lives as well as the struggles that we have to go through on our paths. We've been friends for about 2 years now but it feels like I've known her for eternity, which is probably true, since we have been together for at least 2 past lives. Every time we meet is amazing and she's taught me a lot of beautiful things and still is. I hope I can give back at least a tiny bit of what she's given me since the time that I've met her. I can go on forever about what a truly wonderful friend she is but I don't want to miss the point :).

I invited her for tea and also to check out the new things for the apartment that I had recently purchased. It was our little celebration of a new phase for both of us. She as well, had some great news she couldn't wait to share with me. Sounds like pure positivity, doesn't it? Not until I, all of a sudden, make a silly generalization about something that I cannot even remember now. A negative one, not concerning either of us. Because I feel so comfortable around her and when we talk it's almost like I'm thinking (no masks or cover-ups), this generalization that I made was very hard to catch. It just slipped right through and the worst part was that I wasn't even able to notice it!

So what my friend does, is she starts telling me very mildly but firm at the same time, that that is not a nice way to go around it. She says that if I really want to live a more spiritual life, I need to completely cut it out. I need to stop making generalizations about anything because it is a huge throwback for basically achieving anything in live. It blocks spiritual growth and instead of detox I get more toxins. Oh well. A sad and quite an unpleasant picture, if you can only imagine...

I startle. I become overwhelmed with emotions and feelings I don't quite yet understand. Then I remember to surrender. Knowing that she is right and won't advise anything bad I decide to listen, although it takes me a lot of pain, I keep my ears open. I force myself as my friend keeps pushing forward. My intellect is in full defense trying to find more excuses as to why I said that. Then my higher soul kicks in and orders me to listen. I hear them arguing like a wise parent trying to lecture a naughty kid... The little kid constantly talks back and almost impossible to deal with, but the wise parent keeps calm and demands discipline. The wise parent is stronger. The wise parent wins. Yaaaay! I thought this wasn't going to end that soon.

We had a heart to heart conversation which ended with a long and warmest hug. She said that it was painful for her to see me struggle with this because she had been there before and knows what it feels like. Struggle? Me??? For the longest time I thought I was perfectly fine. If not perfectly fine, then at least OK. And I was not lying to myself. Not at all - things were getting better and better day by day, but what she said to me helped me even more - she pointed at this little thing that I have to change in order to move forward. 

Every single day I wake up and see living proof that the Universe really works in amazing, miraculous ways. According to the Vedas, you only get in life what you deserve. I know my friend was just a tool that the Universe picked to communicate to me what I had to work on. But what an amazing tool - a beautiful soul in the face of my friend. I'm very thankful for the blissful gift that I received today. The truth was hard to swallow but I'm hoping for better digestion. Ha!

Great friends always keep you grounded... Just when you think you accomplished something on the spiritual level, a good friend mildly puts you back on the ground, as if saying - it's too early to rest on our laurels - you have a long way to go. In my opinion, grounding is very important when it comes to spirituality and/or religion. With so much information and now even with the media constantly saying that you need to be proud of whatever you are and whatever you are doing, the whole idea of loving yourself oftentimes defeats it's own purpose. We all know that love requires sacrifice. And that includes love towards ourselves.

 In other words, we might get too proud and too conceited that we will stop all the work and slowly come to degradation. Since we don't want to go that route, it's essential to humble ourselves as much as we can, to see that there are people that possess better qualities than us. And our response to that should not be jealousy, but trying to get as close to that person as possible along with aspiration to acquire those qualities in our own state of being. And by saying "getting close to that person" I mean a sincere endeavor to serve. Not as a slave but as a servant. So what is the difference? We have a very perverted image when we hear a word "servant". Usually we think it's someone unworthy, someone of a "second grade". However, in the Ancient Vedic civilization a servant meant a scholar. A scholar is someone who is very humble and that who wants to give unselfishly and, as a result, gets a blessing. 

I will try cover more of the difference between a slave and a servant in one my next posts, but for now, I will say again that I'm grateful for today's lesson. Blessings come when you least expect them, but they also come in the most unexpected way. It makes it harder to recognize them but that's a lesson in a lesson: we have to learn how to "think" with our higher soul and listen to our hearts. Once we find a way to harmonize the two - the world will suddenly become a better place. The world within :)

Benefits of sage: why one should always have it in their house.

If you think of the world's best plants, it's hard not to distinguish sage as at least one of the healthiest on planet Earth. A number of great things that sage can do for us outshines most super foods, let herbs alone. And it doesn't just help our physical body (or, spiritually talking, gross body), but has many psychological and spiritual benefits, which is why it becomes essential to keep a couple of bunches in store. The word "sage" came to us from Latin as "Salvia" which literally means "to heal". Apparently our ancestors knew about the divine properties of this plant - no wonder we call wise people sagely.

I buy sage regularly and indeed, it has helped me with a lot of things and today I would love to share some of the good stuff it can do for you. Let's begin our count :)


1. American Indians and other native folks all over the world have used sage in many spiritual rituals to keep the bad spirits and any negativity away, to heal one another and to communicate with the ancestors. They honor this amazing plant and consider it sacred.
 How to use: you can buy sage in dry bundles or dry the plant by yourself. When you burn the sage, wait till the smoke starts and then proceed to cleansing the area. If you are drying the plant yourself, it's best to tie a few sprigs together with a cotton thread before the leaves are dry. Otherwise, it will be hard not to destroy the leaves when tying them up. Give it a couple weeks to dry out completely. If you don't give it enough time, it might not burn well and you will have to light it up over and over again. To perform purification, go around the room with the bundle in the clockwise direction. It helps if you say a positive affirmation or mantra during the process, such as "love, peace, happiness" or whatever it is you want to manifest.

2. Sage relieves stress. Tons of it. If you live in a big city, like I do, it's almost impossible not to be bothered by stress. Our contemporary lives get so tied up and often drive us crazy, which makes an urgent need for some R&R. Sage makes it possible. If you don't have time, or let's say, your financial situation leaves much to be desired, burn some sage. Yup, I said it. It might sound a bit off the wall but once you breathe in the smoke you will feel the difference right away. And if you can do Pranayama (breathing technic) the effect will be double, triple, quadruple...

3. Sage is a great source of antioxidants and important nutrients. It is considered a panacea of sorts as it has been used in medicine and cooking as a solution for many diseases. It has anti-inflammatory properties and helps treat diseases like stomach pains, asthma, diarrhea, excessive sweating and helps relieve painful periods. (Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266480.php)

4. Sage improves memory. Try adding sage into your favorite dishes, such as soups, casseroles or stews. In addition to yummy flavor you get to stimulate your brain! It's better to add sage near the end of the cooking process, since it has a very delicate flavor, which will remain if you add it a couple of minutes before the meal is done cooking. I also make hot tea out of dry sage leaves. Just pour hot water over it, let it brew for a few minutes and your hot drink packed with goodness is ready! If you'd like, you can add ice, lemon and/or honey, too. 

For more health benefits of sage, follow this link: Herbwisdom.
Moving up to more spiritual benefits now! 

5. If you are buying new furniture, new clothes or anything new, you can let the smoke pass over the thing to remove any "foreign" energy. I especially recommend doing this if the object was used by someone else before. By saging the item you will make it "yours". If you have a pet, you can sage them as well. It's a great idea to sage your cat's litter box to freshen it, as an example.

6. Going back to saging your room. Open the doors and windows of the room that you are cleansing. If there are cabinets in the room, open them as well. The bundle should be held by your left hand as the left hand takes the energy away (according to Ayurveda, the left hand is in ignorance, that has the energy of taking, and the right hand is in goodness, which has the giving energy). Don't worry about taking the bad energy in. You are only freeing it and it will go away with the smoke. Although, don't forget to take a full shower (with your head) afterwards, to restore the energy and bring the aura back to its natural state. If you don't want to wet the hair, you can use a shower cap. The bad energy will still be washed off with the water since the aura is located above your head. By the way, when you take a shower, it's better to use your left hand as well for the same reason of the left hand being the "taker". But that's a subject for another post :)

7. Sage is known to also increase spiritual awareness, intuition, the sense of peace and harmony. It has an ability to help purify your subtle body and clear your mind. As a result, you might see a bigger picture of a problem or might get a different perspective on a situation, maybe even something that's been bothering you for a while. To my mind, this alone is worth giving it a try!


A Quick Tip: it's great if you have a backyard and can grow sage there. If you don't have one, it is certainly better to buy organic sage, in case the non-organic one was irradiated. You certainly don't want the toxins to come out with the smoke and cause more damage than the good. But even if you don't have a garden, you can grow it in your own apartment, here is how to do it: Grow Sage.


I hope all the above has inspired you to try this herb full of spiritual wisdom, delicate taste and physical health benefits, or if you have been using sage - has helped you discover more reasons to keep it up!