John Douillard's LifeSpa | Ayurveda + Natural Health
Ancient Wisdom meets Modern ScienceAyurveda + Natural Health News
Lymphatic Damage Caused by Stress In today’s society, many folks find themselves with a hectic, never-ending, highly stressful to-do list that never seems to get shorter. It is rare to find a person who considers themselves “stress-free.” If left unchecked, consistent stress can have a devastating effect on the adrenals, your digestive microbes, your brain,
Marijuana: the Good, the Bad + the Ugly Marijuana is often viewed as a harmless bit of fun. Increasing legalization may be supporting this view for many. But does the science agree? In 2013 and 2015, I wrote about my growing concerns regarding legalization of marijuana in America. My major concern is the well-established research
Apparently, heart disease is on the rise! The Wall Street Journal analyzed rising rates of heart disease among middle-aged Americans (between 45 and 64), finding some of the healthiest places, like Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Greeley, Colorado, saw some of the highest death rates from heart disease, with a rise of nearly 25% in 2015-2016, compared to 2010-11.1
Stress + Immunity We are all looking for ways to boost immunity and mitigate stress these days. One of my favorite ways happens to be free and easily done from home: meditation! Over the past 30 years, more than 300 studies have been done on stress and immunity in humans. Together, they show emotional stress
Ayurveda’s Strategies for Oxidative Stress What is oxidative stress? According to Healthline, it’s an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants. Free radicals are oxygen-containing molecules with an uneven number of electrons. The uneven number allows them to easily react with other molecules. Free radicals can cause large-chain chemical reactions because they react so easily with
The Invincible Liver? The liver is the one organ that can take a lifetime of lickings and keep right on ticking—at least we thought so! Sadly, in recent years, the liver’s reputation for invincibility has been challenged by a growing incidence of liver and gallbladder-related concerns and conditions. In today’s world, gallbladder concerns have become
Do you feel burnt out at your job? Work-related stress can lead to tiredness, irritability, and lack of motivation. Studies suggest that 30-80% of American nurses and doctors are experiencing signs of burnout.1,2 3 Key Factors of Burnout Feelings of exhaustion. Feelings of cynicism, irritability, and detachment from the job. A sense of ineffectiveness and
Sleepy? According to Ayurveda, when your lifestyle is in sync with natural circadian rhythms, life can be but a dream, gently down the stream! When your lifestyle is out of sync with biological clocks, life can feel like a struggle—as if you are paddling upstream all day! When I teach at Ayurvedic colleges, I always
One-Minute Meditation with Bhastrika Yoga, including asana, pranayama (breathing), and meditation, became popular in the US in the 1960s and 70s when yogis from India were shown to be able to control aspects of their physiology that were previously thought to be involuntary.1 Based on these early Western studies, yoga has become a well-studied science,
December 3, 2019 | 49 minutes, 31 seconds Download Natural Healing By now, we’ve all heard of the healing properties of nature, like the healing magic of a walk through the woods! Ayurveda described the benefits of nature thousands of years ago. More recently, in the 1980s, a Japanese practice became popular called shinrin-yoku, which
Yoga + the Brain Yoga, including physical postures (asana), breathing techniques (pranayama), and meditation, have been studied extensively. Yoga has so many benefits, but for this article, I will focus on its effect on the brain and brainwaves. Studies show that yoga decreases anxiety while boosting cognitive function.1 A meta-analysis of 15 studies found that
The Taj Mahal’s Air Pollution Solution We’re all aware that air pollution poses health risks, but few of us realize what a global threat air pollution actually is. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is now considered the world’s largest environmental health risk.1 In India, air pollution around the Taj Mahal had
