Month: December 2016

Sparkling Beauty: The Healing Bath

Ayurveda sees bathing as a therapeutic activity. The morning soak is a vital part of the dinacharya, or daily routine. A leisurely soak relaxes tense muscles, opens clogged pores, restores moisture, and adds a healing dimension to your day.

Bathing has forever been an ancient and sacred activity. Throughout explorations of ancient India’s Indus valley Civilization in Mohenjo-Daro, archaeologists unearthed a gigantic pool-like structure with steps leading down at each ends. This is often believed to have been public tubs. Additionally, homes during this astonishingly advanced civilization had their own personal baths.

Not only India, many different world cultures have treated the bathtub as a healing activity. In ancient Greece, water was thought to be a present of health. In Rome, ruins of hot and cold sunken baths will still be seen at Pompeii.

As the world discovered the comfort and pleasure hot healing soak-baths may bring, new ways that were found to create it a healing expertise. 

Ancient Ayurvedic texts speak of therapeutic baths that includes rose petals, milk, honey, and turmeric. Preceded by an opulent full-body heat oil massage and followed by the applying of wealthy sandalwood paste and floral waters on the skin, the Ayurvedic bathtub was designed to revive balance to mind, body and spirit.

Namaste,

Kelly Krishna Dunn

Cooking for your Spirit

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To Ayurveda,

Kelly Krishna Dunn 🙂

Beauty Sleep 

A healthy glowing face and a brightly, burning light in the eyes- the flow and glow of radiant health is something that is universally appealing and desirable. According to Ayurveda this radiance around the body is called Ojas. Optimum ojas is the key to perfect health, balanced and blissful emotions, and even the unfolding of inner spiritual development. Ojas promotes longevity and a high amount of Ojas means everything we eat is transformed into toxin-free energy creating a vibrantly alert and blissful state of mind and emotions. 

Beauty sleep, includes not only enough sleep with 7-8 hours being optimal for most people, but at the right times, and supported by the proper diet and routine during the day. Just missing a few good nights of sleep makes it clear how health,  beauty, mood and productivity during the day are profoundly affected by how well we sleep at night. All impact the quality of our sleep at night- and how fresh and beautiful we look in the morning. 

Staying up past 10pm, this aggravates vata and pitta, and can promote skin dryness, redness and a tired look the next day. Sleeping past 6am. This aggravates kapha and promotes puffiness. Drinking lots of coffee and other caffeinated beverages can interfere with good sleep, as well as dehydrating your body and skin. 

To wake up fresh and beautiful from your sleep listen to your body and take rest, you will then be grateful for the beauty rest that keeps the aura radiating and glowing. 

Take an early morning walk in the rising sun. It is one of the best-kept secrets to Beauty. 
To sweet dreams,

Kelly Krishna Dunn 🙂 

Abhyanga: The Ayurvedic Daily Massage

Abhyanga is a pleasant prescription for Mind/Body Health. A ritual so luxuriously relaxing, so blissfully comforting as a full-body warm oil massage, revs up your body and mind. 

Accumulated stress and toxins in the mind and body dissolve during the daily massage. A daily full-body warm oil massage therefore acts as a powerful recharger and rejuvenator of mind and body. 

Abhyanga – the Ayurvedic oil massage – is an integral part of the daily routine recommended by this healing system for overall health and well being. It is nourishing, pacifies the doshas, relieves fatigue, provides stamina, pleasure and perfect sleep, enhances complexion of the skin, promotes longevity and nourishes all parts of the body. 

How is the Ayurvedic abhyanga done? Use comfortable warm massage oil. Then massage the entire body. Apply light pressure on the sensitive areas such as the abdomen or the heart. Circular motions over rounded areas such as your head or joints, and straight strokes on straight areas such as your arms and legs work best. After your done, relax for 10-15 min, letting the oil and the massage do their magic. The longer the oil is on, the deeper it penetrates. Then follow with a relaxing warm bath or shower. You’ll find the process worth it!! 

To Ayurveda,

Kelly Krishna Dunn 

Yogi’s Heart Opener

The art of mindfulness and loving kindness is the foundations for living with an open heart. Ustrasana is a classic heart chakra pose for opening and connecting.

The best heart chakra yoga poses are those that open the chest area as well as poses that draw energy into the heart. Situated in the Anahata, the 4th chakra is your point of balance. Balance, between the body and mind, balance between Heaven and Earth.

Ustrasana is also known as Camel pose, a strong asana that opens up your chest area, exposing you, making you vulnerable and more open to giving and receiving love.

One of the most challenging things in life is to be vulnerable. As we grow older we become more closed and constricted. We have been hurt many times and we feel the need to protect ourselves. Physically, we rotate our shoulders forward, we push out our chin and round our upper body to protect the heart. This constricts the flow of prana to the heart and creates an imbalance in the heart chakra. This yoga asana stretches the entire front of the body, abdomen, chest, and throat, as well as deep hip flexors. It strengthens your back muscles and stimulates organs in the abdomen and physically open your heart of course! Expanding and opening your chest to allow your heart to open. Bliss is in your heart, it just needs to be opened. For it is only when you approach life from a place of openness can you embody connectedness with all things.

 

adventurous-soul

To The Adventurous Soul,

Kelly Krishna Dunn 🙂

Sparkling Holiday Cheer Mocktail 

Pomegranate Kombucha is sweet tasting,  aids digestion and is packed with antioxidants and probiotics. Pomegranate mocktails and Christmastime seem to go hand in hand. This sparkling pomegranate kombucha rosemary mocktail is fancy, delicious and easy to make. Definitely makes that a must have in December when celebrating the last two holidays of the year!! 

To the Holiday Spirit,

Kelly Krishna Dunn 

Getränke 

Getränke in German means Non-Alcoholic Drinks. We chose to name our ebook Getränke for this ebook caters to every cuisine. AFG stands for Alkoholfreie Getränke (German: Non-Alcoholic Drinks) 

While traveling, Germany, of course, is best known for its beer and wine, yet there are many other types of beverages (Getränke) that are somewhat unique to the country. Germans drink many of the same beverages, such as tea, coffee and juices as Americans but there are often slight differences to the taste or method preparation. We are grateful for Getränke while traveling in Germany. 

Our Getränke quenches your thirst and satisfies your everyday drinking with excitement and fun!!