Yoga and meditation, Chyawanprash and exercise, these are simple recommendations for balancing our minds and bodies according to Everest Ayurveda. How was this Czech-Slovak-Nepalese company actually established and what is its purpose? The Ayurvedic Breakfast editorial staff asked us about this as part of their Ayurvedic Map project.
In what context was your Ayurvedic company founded and for what purpose?
Our company Everest Ayurveda was founded in 2004 on the basis of many years of practice of yoga, meditation and a healthy lifestyle combined with love of mountains, travel and sports. With the help of our expertise Nepalese friend, doctor of biotechnology Suresh K. Sah, and thanks to the deep insight and effective prescriptions of the Ayurvedic doctor Dr. Kam Dev Jha, we have managed to develop Ayurvedic herbal preparations that can be easily and effectively used in our Western society. It is therefore our intention to contribute, in accordance with Indian tradition, to a deeper awareness of Ayurvedic medicine, a healthy lifestyle, the use of Himalayan herbs and the inner dimension of man.
In order to take care of our personal development, we need a healthy body and the ability to listen more to the impulses of our spiritual and physical existence. If we are in closer contact with ourselves, then we will feel a bigger need to live in accordance with our own nature. This is one of the main principles of Ayurveda, to determine the individual constitution (prakriti), to maintain its balance and, on that basis, to strengthen the vitality of the body so that it can achieve longevity and fulfill the meaning of our earthly existence in sound health. In the case of psychosomatic imbalance, one of the doshas deviates, which then disrupts the healthy functioning of some of the pathways (srotas) and further penetrates the relevant tissue (dhatus) and leads to its disease. Excessive increase in one of the three doshas therefore always manifests itself in mental imbalance and malfunction of some bodily organs.
Can you describe in more detail how your Ayurvedic products are processed?
Our family production of herbal teas in Nepal approaches the processing of Ayurvedic herbs in the traditional way. Herbs are collected in the wild in a large area of western, southern and northeastern Nepal. Some species are brought from alpine areas, others are harvested in the tradition of family generations in small fields in the foothills of the Himalayas, where due to the regular monsoon season there is plenty of moisture, which provides subtropical climate and fertile soil ideal conditions for naturally organic farming.
After careful drying of the plants in the sun, the cleaning process starts and only then are their individually grounded parts - flowers, fruits, seeds, stems, leaves, bark, rhizomes and roots - mixed according to the prepared recipes. The whole process of preparing herbal teas takes place on the basis of purely manual processing without the technical equipment of modern mechanization. Based on this approach, which goes hand in hand with the harmony of nature and the rhythm of local life, each herb retains not only its healthy extracts, but also its healing potency, which in Ayurveda is called prabhava.
The same is true i case of Ayurvedic elixirs or avalehas. Their preparation takes place as described in classical Ayurvedic texts. They are based on the Ayurvedic fruit Amla or Amalaki, which comes from small-scale growers who harvest it by hand from the trees of the emblica officinalis in the regions of their natural occurrence in the Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The whole fruit is first immersed in a bath of hot water to separate its nutritious pulp from the core. Then, according to individual recipes, an herbal decoction is prepared from a mixture of individual parts of dozens of plants, which is then mixed with soft amla pulp. In the next process of further heating, the excess water evaporates, leaving a consistency in the form of herbal jam, which is the basis of Chyawanprash and other Ayurvedic nutritive and purifying elixirs.
All these Ayurvedic health products in the form of teas, elixirs or hot drinks - as well as dried amla fruits - are available in most healthy food or herb stores in our country, or on our e-shop. It is important to follow the instructions for preparation and take the products regularly.
How does Ayurveda affect your life?
Ayurveda has enriched us immensely with its comprehensive conception of life, which perceives man as an inseparable and interconnected complex of body, vital energy, mind and soul. Thanks to our personal experience with yoga and meditation, we know that one day in everybody's life there comes a time when one simply realizes that he or she is not only what one thinks or perceives with senses, but that we all also have a spiritual existence that is an inner inhabitant of our body and an observer of life events.
Yoga and Ayurveda teach us how to listen more to our body and the inner flow of life in the spirit of the traditional proverb: "If we better understand ourselves, then we will better understand other people and the world around us." Based on this, one constantly reveals the broader ties and connections that shape and affect one's mental and physical condition. How we feel often begins with our diet and willingness to change in our daily lives some of the current habits and stereotypes that are often the source of our problems.
We can simply say that our own body has its own intelligence and provides us with all the necessary answers in the form of signals, which we either listen to or not. The root is always hidden deeper below the surface, just as there are hidden mechanisms in our body that determine our life experiences. From a practical point of view, therefore, on the basis of active care for the proper functioning of one's bodily functions, one also strives for conscious control of one's thoughts and emotions in order to restore one's natural state of harmony in the body, which manifests as mental and physical health.
Could you tell us 3 Ayurvedic tips that one can start applying almost immediately in everyday life to strengthen the body and mind?
The first thing is definitely yoga and meditation - 5-10 minutes of conscious observation of your breath is enough in the morning and in the evening before going to bed. Inhale very slowly and quietly - so that if someone put a thin thread in front of your nose, it wouldn't even move. And when you exhale, try to exhale even slower than you inhaled. This simple practice will give the mind peace and positive energy, which you really need in order to live a good life.
Another easy tip is to regularly use Chyawanprash - a nutritive herbal elixir, which is considered the "elixir of life" in the Ayurvedic medicine system for its revitalizing effects. It is based on amla fruit together with a unique combination of dozens of herbs, which with their antioxidant properties benefit gastrointestinal health - digestion, optimal activities of the immune system and complex vitality of body tissues.
And then the golden rule of psychosomatic health is exercise - in short, a healthy spirit in a healthy body. In today's society, where most of us sit in an office or a car, we have to make up for the amount of exercise we need. We need to get rid of toxins, psychic and mental tension in order to be able to maintain our inner balance and our individual dosha settings, which ensure the healthy running of the body. And let's not forget the golden rule - moderation in everything - in diet, thoughts, exercise, work schedule and leisure activities.
