Foreword

The concept of holistic health acknowledges that a human being is-and must be related to as-body, mind, and spirit. This concept has become an increasingly popular topic of conversation in Western culture over the last two decades. I began my personal journey to understand and embody it in the late 1960s and have been involved in public education on the subject since the mid-1970s. What I have noticed over the years is the frequent mistaking of “alternative” healing for “holistic” healing. Alternative simply means a method not ordinarily used in conventional treatment. A doctor may add herbal or vitamin therapy to a patient’s treatment, thereby making it more gentle and less toxic (which is wonderful and needed) but still fail to take into consideration the patient’s state of mind and lifestyle, which are inevitably contributing to the present manifestation of “disease.”

Doctors may, through “alternative” treatment, be able to alter the body’s chemistry and eliminate the symptoms of disease, but have they righted the imbalance in the body, mind, and spirit? It that imbalance is not addressed, we are not aligned with who we really are, and disease in one form or another will manifest once again.

So when we speak about healing or good health, we must look deeper and more fully at ourselves and at our methods of treatment that we generally do in this “make it easy, make it quick, and if at all possible make it something someone else can do for me” society.

The Vedas are the oldest and most complete body of knowledge to address the who, what, and why of human existence. They have covered the “how to” (using the current vernacular) through healing and attunement methods, coming from the understanding that we are body, mind, and spirit, innately and unalterably dependent on the rest of creation.

In Ayurveda: A Life of Balance, Maya introduces the Ayurvedic diet with universal flavor and shows how to awaken ahamkara (the memory of who we really are) through the proper use of wholesome foods. By understanding our individual body types, and by using foods that best support and enhance each type, we are employing a powerful and essential method of attunement.

I am truly grateful to Maya and the handful of other Vedic scholars who continue to devote their lives to sharing this knowledge with the rest of the world-a world that is in great need and that, we hope, may finally be ready.

Ayurveda A Life of Balance

Forced by cancer to reexamine and redirect her life, Maya Tiwari left a highly successful New York design career and returned to her native India to study Ayurvedic medicine. Her book, a profound but practical testament to the healing power of balanced living, shows how Ayurveda’s ancient principles of health can help you achieve the highest levels of physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

The traditional form of medicine in India for more than five thousand years, Ayurveda relies primarily on the proper use of foods and herbs to maintain or restore the body’s natural state of balance. While Ayurvedic healing has in recent years become increasingly well known in the West, Maya Tiwari is the first author to provide us with a comprehensive working guide to Ayurveda as a way of life.

She expands the traditional number of body types (and their respective dietary requirements) from seven to ten and discusses the psychospiritual nature of the types-an area that no other Western author addresses. A comprehensive questionnaire enable you to determine your own body type, and extensive charts identify the attributes of specific foods and their place in your diet. Seasonal menus and recipes (all vegetarian) are keyed to each of the body types, allowing you to choose the foods and spices that are ideally suited to your constitution. When we eat seasonal, fresh foods according to Ayurvedic wisdom, we attune with our most essential natures and awaken ahamkara, the memory of who we really are.

Tiwari brings every feature of Ayurveda back to its true source-the health of the spirit. She shows wholesome foods and spiritual practices (known as sadhanas) of the hearth, home, garden, and community connect us with our primal memory of a time when human beings lived in harmony with all of nature. Performed with awareness and gratitude, sadhanas enhance the nourishing and healing properties of food and act as a catalyst to our innate capacity for self-healing.

“A very complete and authoritative manual on the Vedic principles of health and nutrition, written by a well-respected authority in the field. It will be of great benefit to the layperson and professional alike.”