Ghee is the essence of butter, the end result of a slow clarification process that removes all water from butter. In Ayurvedic cuisine we consider ghee the best type of fat to cook with. For centuries ghee has been a sign of wealth in India, one who had large stocks of ghee was said to possess liquid gold. Indeed, there’s something quite wonderful about the caramel-like aroma and flavour of ghee.

Ghee is a digestive, it helps to improve absorption and assimilation of food in the gut. It’s unparalleled in the way it nourishes the nervous system and it’s therefore called “food for the brain”. Ghee makes the body flexible and in the right dose, it’s good for the three doshas. It particularly pacifies Pitta and Vata and is good for Kapha in moderation. Ghee is regularly used in Ayurvedic pharmacies as a catalytic agent that carries the medicinal properties of herbs into the body tissues. Here are 5 ghee facts for you to remember:

1. Ghee contains omega 3 and omega 9 fatty acids, along with vitamins A, D, E and K.
2. Ghee promotes memory, intellect, power of digestion, immunity and strength.
3. Ghee keeps indefinitely without refrigeration. It just needs to be well closed. Always dip into your ghee jar with a clean spoon, otherwise the ghee can go off.
4. Ghee is suitable for those with dairy intolerance.
5. Ghee is a sattvic food, which means it exerts a calming and pacifying effect on the mind. It encourages positive thoughts and helps to cultivate higher states of consciousness.
   

Preparation: approximate cooking time: 50 minutes.

 Ingredients:

• 750 grs, or 3 packs of unsalted organic butter

• Sterilized clean storage jar

• Muslim cloth or very fine strainer

 Preparation:

1. Place the butter in a heavy pan and melt over medium heat until it’s all liquid. It will take about five minutes.

2. Reduce heat to minimum and let it simmer uncovered for the next 45 minutes or so. It’s very important to use the lowest possible flame, otherwise the ghee will cook too fast and may easily get burned. Let it simmer until there is only a trace of air bubbles on the surface, which indicates it’s done. Turn off the fire and let it cool a little.

3. Pour into a clean jar using a muslin cloth or strainer to filter the froth from the top layer. Make sure that the sediment remains at the bottom of the saucepan.

4. Once the Ghee cools down it will solidify and it will be ready to use.

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Ariadna and Issy at April’s cooking workshop on cleansing

I’ve recently had a chance to do a much needed fast/cleanse for which I’m most grateful for. I’ve been doing fasts since I was 17. This last one might have been one of the best yet. During the first month of our move you see, getting pots and pans to cook with was an adventure, which at times involved leaping. Hence we (heavily) relied on takeaways, frozen food and left overs (gasp!). Yes, not ideal and certainly detrimental to digestion.

The situation improved in the months that followed, yet by the time April arrived, I could feel the burden the poor diet had created on every cell of my being. I needed to detox and detox I did. Perhaps one of my longest detox so far, for a period of three full weeks. As the days went by, I felt better and better, mentally clearer and happy as I renewed myself inside out.

Cleansing is perhaps one of the most simple and yet most effective ways of healing (maybe the most cost effective too). You can do it at home, whilst on holidays (my favourite), or at a retreat with the help of a professional. It is important for a cleanse to be appropriately done though. Otherwise we risk causing an imbalance to our Vata (the bio-element that runs the nervous system), and our Prana (the vital force that glues the body, mind and soul). If that were to happen, we might end up in a worse place than we started.

A simple vegetarian diet with plenty of moong bean and vegetables like courgettes, carrots, broccoli, spring greens and asparagus (they’re now in season) might just do the trick. Certain Ayurvedic remedies also work wonders in the cleansing process. Do get in touch if you’ll like to get started with your cleanse, and you’ll like some guidance. It’s not too late and your body and mind will thank you for it. If you find yourself either tired, sluggish, bloated, constipated, suffering with generalised pains and aches, lacking good skin complexion and mental clarity, chances are high that your digestive system is overloaded with ama- toxins, and you need to cleanse.

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My lovely patient Alice(*) has recently returned from a skiing holiday in France. Truth be told, I feel rather nostalgic now. I grew up in Granada, a beautiful city with glorious peaks- the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Every winter I would spend most weekends up in the crispy white slopes, with nature at its best, loving every minute spent on my skis.
It’s no surprise that Alice now reports, “ever since the mountain break and your Ayurvedic herbs my symptoms are gone!” Indeed, this is a revitalizing combination. The mountains are a great place for healing and a source of many medicinal herbs. It’s where the yogis and sages of yore would spend years practising Ayurveda and Yoga.
When I’m high up in the mountains I become totally enveloped by them. It feels like being on a gateway to heaven, where you can almost touch and speak to the Divine. Worries melt away, and there is nothing but an intimate connection between yourself, the earth, the sun and the wind as you slide down from the tops. It’s always an exhilarating experience for body, mind and soul.
We managed to catch the last snow of the season in May 2013, fingers crossed it won’t be long till next trip!

(*) for privacy reasons all my patients are called “Alice” or “Bob”

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The year is drawing to an end. Whilst I reflect on its highlights, it stands out to me how fast it has gone by. It seems like yesterday that 2012 began. Interestingly everyone that I’ve spoken to has had a similar experience. A friend of mine recently mused whether time’s quality has changed, the minutes and hours of our days now moving on swifter regardless of the clocks lack of indication. Is it possible for time to defy strict quantification? Perhaps. I presume it may be the pace at which we drive our lives that has made time a ride that moves on faster and faster. As we advance in to the twenty-first century, time proves (to me and my acquaintances) to become engulfed by a multitude of chores and responsibilities one must complete within the span of a day, barely leaving a few minutes crumbs at the end of a week.

The threat this fast pace of living poses to our health is not news. The importance of keeping a moderate pace however, without speeding or cramming more and more into a day, doesn’t seem to get enough priority in the media. Instead the other way around is encouraged, do more, faster, bigger, better, in less time. In my experience this approach takes a toll on health, and it isn’t a cheap one. Being caught up in a race against time, the days and months can go by at an alarming speed. The needs of our bodies, mind and souls more often that not get pushed aside, eventually an illness may bring this to a halt, and then there is no other option but to slow down.

To live a long and healthy life I believe it is crucial to put a stop to this time whirl. Stopping long enough to reassess priorities and plan how to create and maintain a healthy pace on a daily basis. Ayurveda teaches that true health is carefully cultivated in time, not bought with a super fruit or super drink. Just as good relationships are cultivated, health is a relationship that if given the proper attention it will grow day by day, with every food and lifestyle choice that we make. This takes time, not too much, not too little, just the right amount for your individual needs.

Here I sign off for the year from the lovely Ardennes in Belgium, wishing you very happy holidays and a great start to 2013

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There is nothing like some time away from home, under the sun, feeling the warmth and fresh breeze coming from the sea. I sit and contemplate the wonderful retreat I’ve had, and I can’t help but wonder how it is that life back at home becomes so stressful.

Bath is a lovely city, a beautiful place one visits to relax and take a break. But it seems that in the bustle of day-to-day life we have a tendency to get caught up in our affairs, and end up accumulating much tension and stress.

I’ve observed this for some time, as I often come across stress-related medical conditions in my practice. Whilst implementing Ayurveda’s tools and principles is very effective to relieve this, it seems to me we need to address the issue of stress at a deeper level to bring about a more permanent solution.

At the backbone of stress we usually find fear, anxiety and worry of different kinds– that we might lose our job, be unable to support our family, or fail to achieve some desired outcomes. These feelings grip us from deep within, so much so that it feels like our souls are being choked. It’s easy to live in a permanent state of inner tension.

In my experience it is only when we address the source of these emotions that we can truly relax, breathe and let go of our pent up anxiety. It helps to have faith that no matter what happens, you are going to be all right. Even if you do lose your job, new opportunities will inevitably come up, and you will continue living, learning and growing from these experiences. It helps to learn to trust. We need to trust that life is magical, that there is a higher purpose and reason for everything that happens. When we do this, life around us changes. We can live with peace and we can begin to untie ourselves from stress, the root cause of many of the health problems we face today.

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