Student Dialogues - Ayurveda and Diet

Student Assignment: On an ending note something else I find interesting is Ayurveda that is slightly similar. I found a short chapter in the book The Directory of Complementry Therapies by Norman Shealy.M.D. PHd. It briefly explains the three DOSHAS or principles. governs mental and physical health and helps to balance their source. The doshas are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Vata is movement, Pitta goes with metabolism, and kapha with solid matter, flesh,a nd
bones. And an imbalance just like with Unani Tibb can cause illness. Simple remedies
are like the humours. For example to much pitta dosha associates with heat, then a
cooling activity, food, exercise or therapy can be prescribed to reduce it.
Vata personality seems like to be the Sanguine type. Pitta could be compared to
choleric type and and the Kapha could be compared to the Phelgmatic type .
Soooo Interesting. This is from India. I can see how they are all connected.

Yes, when it comes to measuring temperament of food with the body the Ayurvedic system actually has the most readily available information on the topic. If you are interested in doing more work with this topic and you need recipes and more inspiration – a good Ayurvedic cookbook would be a good place to start. Chinese medicine and Islamic medicine also work with these principles but sadly there are no really good cookbooks or books on either of those subjects (the specific subject of food and temperament) in English.

Consulting Client Tip #1: Taking vs Giving

more and more student work comes in I realize how very important it is for us all to share our experience with clients - tips, methods and whatever else comes to mind. The things that I share in this column will be directly related to student work and client work they have done and are posted as a response to that work. If you would like to comment on my posts or to add some information of your own please feel free to press "reply". We have a wonderful group of students here - many are already practitioners of some type - we have the potential to help each other out in so many ways.

Client Tip #1: Taking vs-Giving

Suggest some things to add to the diet, rather than take away. Often, people in depressive or restrictive situations don’t want to be told “don’t eat this”. It is more depressing! So, instead, tell them to eat certain foods every day – give them a list of “healing foods” – this list will of course, be true, such as offering oatmeal to lower cholesterol. However, what you won’t tell them is that by adding these foods they will be LESS INCLINED to have the “bad foods”. Don’t tell them that part. Don’t let on in any way you are saying NO to them. I used this method extensively in Saudi Arabia, where I used to live, as many of the women there were already restricted in their movement and other life choices. They would not have benefited from being told by yet one more person - "You can't do that". When healing you need to consider where and who are person is.