Clarified Remedies
Ayurveda is a life science that has been practiced for several millennia and continues to be a part of many peoples’ lives today. Utilising the medical properties of natural remedies, the practice looks into the diet, physical health and mental wellbeing of the person. We met with Dr Vidhya, a practitioner of Ayurveda and a doctor of homeopathy and we chatted with her about the benefits of dairy, in diet and as a medium in her practice.
Dr Vidhya shares that dairy has been a vital component of the human diet, and while dairy is still commonly consumed, it is often not of the same quality enjoyed centuries ago. Yet, like so much of the wisdom and tools of Ayurveda that have withstood the test of time, the benefits of high-quality, organic milk still have much to offer. The Ayurvedic perspective on milk, she explains, whether from animals or plants, is that “fresh is best. The fresher the milk, the more prana (life force) it can offer us”.
She explains there are different groups of balance within the human body, known as vata, pitta and kapha. Cow’s milk is cool, heavy, laxative, and mucus-forming. It has a sweet taste, a cooling effect on the gut, and a building long-term effect. If one warms it up and spice it appropriately, cow’s milk is highly recommended in Ayurveda for calming both vata and pitta. Its cool heaviness can aggravate already cool kapha.
In her practice, dairy takes an important role in kizhi, a herbal poultice treatment. Within her varied poultice treatments, the fat component in dairy is essential in order to extract benefits from the herbs and spices within the poultice. This comes from the form of heated milk in Navara Kizhi, or even ghee, a clarified butter commonly known for cooking, in the more potent Podi Kizhi. Her treatments involve the use of fresh poultice bags, in body massages, compressing and spreading nutrient rich oils onto her client's bodies to alleviate ailments, from simply body aches to chronic illnesses such as arthritis.
Dr Vidhya expressed that often her clients come to her after finding certain faults with conventional medicine, and her role in healing is in people by making them look at their lifestyles and helping them do things to find a balance within themselves. "People and livestock have lived side by side for centuries, but with modernization, a lot of knowledge we used to learn is forgotten.” Dr Vidhya shared that when she was pursuing her doctorate studies and doing her research into homeopathy and Ayurvedic practices, she found that a lot of practitioners and masters, from India to Taiwan, lived alongside farms and gardens.
She laments that "modern people" spend too much time progressing away from nature, and forget they are living beings that need to take care of themselves. Dr Vidhya reiterates, “It’s all in finding your body’s balance”.
We would like to thank Dr Vidya for taking the time to share her practice and wisdom.