Ayurveda & Spirituality with Alakananda Ma

Episode 104: Creating Spiritual Friendship

Friendship is that virtue by which spirits are bound by ties of love and sweetness and out of many are made one. St Aelred, Spiritual Friendship St Aelred, a twelfth Century English monk, offers us extraordinary teachings on creating spiritual friendship. Alakananda Ma has journeyed with these teachings since discovering them fifty years ago, and shares her unique insights. Learn how you can create spiritual friendship with a four-step process of choosing, testing, accepting and perfecting friendship. Spiritual Friendship If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda [https://www.facebook.com/groups/801484248466346/]. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating [https://www.alandiashram.org/donate]to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 103: Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Part 1: The creation of the world from the Self

In the beginning, this (universe) was but the self of a human form. He reflected and found nothing else but himself. He first uttered, ‘I am he.’ Therefore he was called aham. Hence, to this day, when a person is addressed, he first says, ‘It is I,’ and then says the other name that he may have. Because before all this he burnt all evils, therefore he is called puruṣa—the Person. Brihadaranayaka Upanishad Ch1 Fourth Brahmana Our journey through the Upanishads has brought us to the magnificent Brihadaranayaka Upanishad, the Great Forest Teaching. Today, we’ll learn about the creation of the world from the self and unpack the mahavakya or Great Saying, aham brahmasmi. Brihadaranyaka 1 4 Aham Brahmasmi If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda [https://www.facebook.com/groups/801484248466346/]. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating [https://www.alandiashram.org/donate]to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 102: Aging Well with Ayurveda

All of us want to live a long life, but the longevity we picture for ourselves is one of robust health, vitality and continued independence. We do not picture ourselves languishing in a nursing home or needing help for the most basic activities of daily living. Yet 15% of adults over sixty-five (not counting nursing home residents) do suffer from frailty syndrome, rising to 33% and beyond in the over eighties. Worse still, 45% of elders are pre-frail and experience difficulty in carrying out activities of daily living.  What is frailty and how do we avoid it? How can we stay strong and avoid the ravages of old age? Discover: * How to prevent frailty * How to reverse frailty * How to support a frail elder * Living well as an active elder * A five point plan for frailty prevention * How to make the most of your golden years Ageing Well with Ayurveda If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda [https://www.facebook.com/groups/801484248466346/]. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating [https://www.alandiashram.org/donate]to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 101: Making Friends with Yourself

“The best way to invite friendship is to become your own best friend.” Learn how to befriend your own mind and overcome self-hatred using simple and effective methods. * The breath—your dearest friend * Befriending your own mind * Loving-kindness for yourself * Self-empathy Making Friends with Yourself If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda [https://www.facebook.com/groups/801484248466346/]. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating [https://www.alandiashram.org/donate]to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.

Episode 100: Humus Wars: Fighting Cultural Erasure with Food

“During the process of ethnic cleansing and genocide, destruction of foodways is an important feature. We may think of the slaughter of the bison that formed a key aspect of the genocide of Native Americans, as well as the uprooting of olive trees in occupied Palestine. Let’s look at cultural erasure by assimilation  and cultural appropriation through the lens of humus—or should we say, humus bi tahina.” Growing up in a small town in England in the 50s, and then in a provincial town in the 60s, I was mainly familiar with a standard working class British diet, the foods my mother’s ancestors cooked-- Yorkshire pudding, apple crumble, rhubarb pie and so on. But our table included foods not eaten in other households in Melton Mowbray—matzoh, challa, sesame halvah and latkes, foods my father introduced. And at Granny’s house we enjoyed kosher dill pickles, pickled herring, matzoh ball soup and kugel. Granny prepared an array of Eastern European Jewish foods—none of which included humus. Through the lens of humus, discover how you can use your own kitchen to fight cultural erasure with food. HumusWars If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave us a 5 star review, and share it with a friend. For more enlightening discussions and practical wisdom on Ayurveda and spirituality, subscribe and join our facebook group, Alandi Ayurveda [https://www.facebook.com/groups/801484248466346/]. To allow us to continue sharing valuable content, consider donating [https://www.alandiashram.org/donate]to Alandi Ashram. Until next time, may you walk the path of Ayurveda with grace and embrace the light of spiritual wisdom in your journey.