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Ayurveda on Enjoying Nature and Summer Fun
By Dr. Helen Thomas, D.C. | June 20, 2008
Revealed in this week’s issue…
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A Vacation for the Soul: What I discovered about our own innate majesty from motionless rock formations at Zion National Park, Utah… |
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Why Neem is Just NOT Good Enough! Even though neem oil is a thousand times healthier than sunscreen lotion, there is something far more effective (and costs you nothing to put on every day)… |
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Exhausting Summer Outings? How to avoid getting sick and tired when you take time off in the summer heat… |
Last weekend we headed down to Zion National Park. We came back with a profound sense of change in our lives.
That’s not what we had expected. We simply wanted to take a trip to get away from clinic life.
Yet, we were driving through the canyons, I’d say to Craig, “Do you feel that?” And he’d go, “Yeah, I do.”
Talk about energy. Natural reserves help you get in touch with your own majesty as a human being. It’s awe inspiring and humbling to be surrounded by ancient landscapes.
Above you can see a picture of one of our spiritual guides on the journey. Looks sort of like a squirrel, doesn’t it? These rock formations were everywhere. Others looked like human beings. When the light falls on their mustard color surfaces, they feel so pristine and beautiful.
On an aside, my colleague Dr. Pendse just got back from Kashmir, which is on the border of Pakistan and India. It’s equally as beautiful, but he says the ravages of insurgency and terrorism are everywhere. Blessed are we to be free of such turmoil.
Yet, 150 years ago, this site was the place of the genocide of it’s native population. And for what? There’s hardly anybody living here. A jewelry shop every hundred miles. There was plenty of room for the aboriginals to remain.
You need to do your body work, your mental work and your soul work. Well, taking a trip to a national park like Zion this will do wonders for your soul. Life’s a constant integrative process.. Joy, fun, beauty, majesty are as important as diligence, hard work and constant self-improvement. Two DAYS at a natural phenomena can relieve two MONTHS of sweating it out at the workplace.
As John Muir wrote, “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul.”
Now, I was glad to see so many families on our trip, taking a vacation amongst nature, but…
70% of Americans Haven’t Got a Clue
How the Sun Affects Their Body
Driving back and forth I noticed something that ties into what we were speaking about last week: Only about 30% of the people we saw were properly protecting themselves from the sun. The other 70% haven’t got a clue.
30% were wearing broad hats, long sleeves and pants. But there were still lots and lots of women, men and children out there with short sleeve shirts and shorts in the sun way, way too long. They were showing no respect or understanding for the effect sun has on the body. Two out of three men, women and children are not dressed correctly for the sun, these days.
A 20-30 minutes sunbath before 12pm or after 3pm, is good for you. The rest of the time you need to cover up. If you look at India, everybody wears pants and long sleeve shirts. They know what they are doing. Yet the urban Westerner goes on vacation, slaps on a ton of toxic sunscreen and thinks she is protected. This is part of the reason people are often sick and exhausted after taking a summer vacation.
Neem is NOT Good Enough!
Now, using neem is great. It helps protect you from the heat of the sun, while boosting the metabolism of vitamin D. Compare that to sunscreens which can actually block vitamin D absorption. More and more research is coming forth linking vitamin D defienency to the astronomical cancer rates we face in North America. So it’s no wonder people who use sunscreen diligently for years still end up with skin cancer.
But even more important than neem is being out of direct sunlight between 12-3pm, and covering your arms and legs the rest of the time. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a noon-day picnic, but you do it under an umbrella or the shade of a tree.
It’s no secret that premature aging of the skin is caused by sun exposure. If you want proof, just compare the skin on your body which gets regular doses of sunlight to areas that rarely see the light of day (e.g. your buttocks).
This is especially true for children. At least when you get older your skin toughens up a little. But I’m seeing nine year old boys and girls unprotected. Instead of long sleeve shirts they are given a bottle of sunscreen lotion. Trust me, it’s cheaper to wear a shirt, and far, far healthier. Check out my post about the health issues with commercial sunscreen to find out more.
But once you’ve “cooked” the skin once or twice in your early years, you are far more susceptible to skin cancer in your later life. So please keep your kids protected. They’ll feel better not having sunscreen seep into their bloodstream, while avoiding the overheating effects of prolonged sun exposure.
There you go. Just some Ayurvedic tips about how to have a soul-enriching vacation out in nature this summer.
P.S. Let me know if you have any questions or comments by leaving them in the box below. Also, please let us know what is the most beautiful natural phenomena you’ve ever visited.
P.P.S. For more tips avoiding premature aging, benefiting from sunbaths (and moon baths!) and finding your natural state of beauty, download a copy of Effortless Ayurvedic Beauty.
Topics: Ayurveda & Skin Care, Ayurveda & Sunlight, Ayurveda and Children, Ayurveda and Spirituality |
2 Responses to “Ayurveda on Enjoying Nature and Summer Fun”
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June 25th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Thank you so much Helen and Craig
living in Australia as I do, we are Very aware of the sun and our incidence of skin cancer is out of control. Sound and wonderful advice as always and I loved you recount of meeting with the energy of such a beautiful place.
many blessings on you both and the work that you do
cheers
Cate
June 27th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Hi Helen,
I have a question about sleeping. I am having a great deal of trouble sleeping, it’s been going on for about 11 years. It started with anxiety and sleeplessness and now it’s just sleeplessness. I’ve read up on ayurveda and the doshas; vata, pitta, kapha and things that could help, but I’m still not sure if it is helping, do you recommend anything for this, problems falling and staying asleep. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
thank you,
Jenilyn