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Denis Giles

15 September 2016

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Last week, we discussed the three doshas – also called the three pillars of life in Ayurveda, that play an integral role in keeping the body alive and in balance. The Science of Ayurveda is based on these three pillars and either Vata (air), Pitta (fire) or Kapha (water) or a combination of two doshas dominates an individual.

Vat, Dosha. Va ta or vayu as the name indicates is by nature dry, cold, light, subtle, mobile, expansive and coarse.

Characteristics of Vat Prakriti

· Is Hyperactive & Talkative

· Irritable in nature

· Quick in afflictions with fear, likes and dislikes

· Has a thin & long frame

· Has dryness and roughness of hair, head, skin, nails and teeth

· Cracking of joints and limbs, and instability

· In the habit of keeping awake till late night

· Has intolerance for cold things and catch cold frequently

Individuals of such a prakriti also possess wealth, span of life, strength, procreation and accessories in lesser quantities. Their bodies tremble and they often dream about flying.

Vat: is the most prominent of the three doshas, it is the prime substance constituting a being, and is responsible for all activities of the body – internal & external.

Said to cause the maximum number of diseases in the body, Vat is the carrier of imbalance and diseases because of its mobile nature. The other two doshas, pitt and kaph are unable to move from their position without the aid of vat.

Diseases: Major diseases –small or big in the body is caused by an aggravated vat. Bloatedness, acidity & flatulence, constipation, urinary problems, colds & flus, joint pains, even feelings of anxiety, stress or nervousness are all because of an aggravated vat.

Food:  Individuals with Vat prakriti can take milk, ghee (both from a desi cow and chemical-free) and honey ensuring ghee is double the quantity of honey, chyawanprash (homemade & not a cheap copy from the market, which has all the prescribed ingredients) dates, shilajit or ashwagandha in milk with honey. A handful of munakka (currants) and bananas can be added gradually

It is aggravated vat that leads to nervousness and anxiety before an important event or exam, sickness at high altitudes or in closed spaces. Here, is a simple remedy to balance out vat. Whenever you feel nauseous, nervous or anxious, join your little and ring fingers with the tip of your thumb and place the index finger at the base of your thumb. Do this with both your hands simultaneously for some time.

Write to me your experience.

Yogi Ashwini is the Guiding Light of Dhyan Foundation and an authority on the Vedic Sciences. His book, 'Sanatan Kriya, The Ageless Dimension' is an acclaimed thesis on anti-ageing. Log onto to www.dhyanfoundation.com or mail to dhyan@dhyanfoundation. com for more.

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Denis Giles

31 August 2016

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By Yogi Ashwini

The pleasures and the miseries of life are the experiences of the soul - through the body. Ayurveda defines body as something that is constantly going through the process of decay – ‘shiryate iti shariram’. Here, decay indicates the gradual ageing of the body. This process is intensified by the onslaught of diseases, and a disease can enter the body only if there is an imbalance (vikriti).

Diseases may be categorised as Mental and Physical.

Factors that affect the mind are rajas and tamas, which are of psychological importance. These are the pathogenic factors of the mind and can only be reconciled by the practices of Yog and Sanatan Kriya under the guidance of a Guru. These have been explained in detail in my book, ‘ Sanatan Kriya Ageless Dimension’.

In the physical, as per Ayurveda, an imbalance relates to the imbalance of the three doshas of Vat (vayu), Pitta (agni), Kapha (s leshma). These three are the pillars of the body. The maximum number of diseases, about eighty, is caused by an imbalanced vat owing to the mobile nature of vat. Pitta is the second most potent factor, and is said to cause about forty diseases. Kapha, the least potent of all, causes about twenty different kinds of diseases. In their various permutations and combinations diseases can take innumerable forms, thereby causing diseases that may even become incurable after a stage.

A disease manifests in a body when any of the doshas increases or decreases from its state of balance. The state of balance is different in every individual depending on the prakriti of that person. The mool prakriti of a person never changes as it is decided at the time of conception in the mother’s womb. The dominating doshas of the parents at the time of conception determines the mool prakriti of that individual.

For example, ginger is poison for people with high pitta but a digestive tonic for others. The aim is to keep the body in a state of balance to maintain youth, health and glow.

Ayurveda does not speak of cures or treatments, but prescribes health and balance. The regimens, precautions, diets, habits prescribed in Ayurveda are aimed at achieving a state where without using medicines one learns to keep the mind and body healthy and also slows down the ageing process.

Ayurveda strives to maintain a disease-free state, which is the state of equilibrium (samyavastha). Equilibrium gets disturbed mainly because of three reasons: wrong utilization, non-utilization, and excessive utilization of time, mental faculties and objects of the senses. 

I detail here a simple remedy to balance out the vitiated vata owing to dampness of monsoon, making one susceptible to disease and infection.

# Mix tulsi leaves with equal amount of water and grind to paste. Squeeze juice through a muslin cloth. Add raw organic honey in 1:2 (tulsi juice) ratio. This mixture when prepared using certain mantras and taken daily, detoxifies the system and keeps disease at bay.

It is advised that before taking any ayurvedic treatment you get yourself evaluated by an expert. To know your constitution, you may contact the vaid at Dhyan Ashram. 

Yogi Ashwini is the Guiding Light of Dhyan Foundation and an authority on the Vedic Sciences. His book, 'Sanatan Kriya, The Ageless Dimension' is an acclaimed thesis on anti-ageing. Log onto to www.dhyanfoundation.com or mail to dhyan@dhyanfoundation. com for more

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Denis Giles

08 September 2016

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By Yogi Ashwini

Ayurveda defines the physical body as ‘Dosha dhatu mala mool hi shariram’, i.e., the body is composed of doshas, dhatus and malas. These three factors direct and manipulate the physical manifestation of the body.

The Vedic seers interestingly saw the physical body as dosha, an impurity, the very reason for a body’s existence. If these impurities are removed, the body ceases to exist.

Let me share an interesting incident from the life of the great Yogi Ramakrishna Paramhansa with you, to help understand what a dosha means. He was fond of eating varieties of food and would very frequently send demands of many different dishes to be prepared by his wife. One day she asked him, “you teach people about sattvik diet and following a healthy regimen and here you feast on so many different dishes every couple of hours. How come you don’t follow what you preach?” He replied, “my body has become so subtle and light that if I do not indulge and add heavy or gross prana to it, the soul will not be able to sustain itself in the body and will leave the body. I have yet to discharge my responsibilities, the time for me to leave has not yet come. Therefore, I eat to keep the body dooshit (contaminated). Three days from when I will stop eating, I will leave the body”. And when he did, his wife immediately knew what was going to happen...and it did happen.

So for the soul to exist, impurity is required. It is this impurity which gives rise to desires that further give rise to experiences in the normal life.

Ayurveda, is based on these three doshas. Most individuals are made up of a combination of two doshas with one being more dominant than the other, thus defining the character of the person.

There are several traits ranging from the eyes, hair, hands, digestion to dreams that tells you the dosha that makes you. 

In the next few issues I will take you through individual doshas, their traits, associated diseases and ayurvedic remedies. Until then, you can take this test and find out which dosha are you. http://www.dhyanfoundation.com /ask-vaid.php

Yogi Ashwini is the Guiding Light of Dhyan Foundation and an authority on the Vedic Sciences. His book, 'Sanatan Kriya, The Ageless Dimension' is an acclaimed thesis on anti-ageing. Log onto to www.dhyanfoundation.com or mail to dhyan@dhyanfoundation. com for more.

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Denis Giles

24 August 2016

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 In this article we will conclude the series on Sanatan Kriya practices for a healthy life.

In the last article, we discussed the significance of the Panch Mahaprana, the etheric forces, which combine together in a human form to provide basic life force to a human body.

As explained earlier, the relation of all five elements with their respective fingers means we can, at will, increase or decrease specific elements in the body. It also gives us the ability to increase or decrease the Panch Mahapranas, since the elements have a strong influence on them. This is so because the Panch Mahapranas are directly responsible for the functioning of the physical body and could be called a go-between, between the Pranamaya and Annamaya koshas.

(The mudras might be a little different than those prescribed in certain texts. I am going by my experience with these mudras.)

Sit in Siddha asana or any comfortable position. Now take your awareness to the following regions in your body,

1. Pran Vayu. Touch the tip of middle two fingers with the tip of your thumb and feel an upward rising force in the region between the diaphragm and the shoulders.

2. Samaan Vayu. The balancing force between the Prana Vayu and Apaan Vayu. Touch the tip of first two fingers to the tip of your thumb and take your awareness to the outwards and sideways moving force in the region between the diaphragm and the navel.

3. Apaan Vayu. Touch the tip of last two fingers with the tip of your thumb and take your awareness to the downward moving force from the navel towards the knees.

4. Udaan Vayu. Touch the first three fingers to the tip of your thumb. Udaan Vayu is the upwards rising force from the pit of your throat towards your head.

5. Vayaan Vayu. This is the all-pervading reserve force. Touch all your fingers to the tip of your thumb as you become aware of this force surrounding your body as a hollow shell.

If you touch the centre of your palms, you would find a slight pulsation. The same happens at the tips of the finders, but with a lighter intensity. Something that we have already discussed and experienced in the earlier articles. Our hands continuously are radiating prana through the hand and finger chakras.

It is important to know here that at any given point of time the human body radiates 97% of the prana that it receives for its functioning, i.e., it actually retains only 3%, which is sufficient for its functioning. Out of this 97%, 90% goes out of the eyes. 3% out of the hands, 2% out of speech, balance 2% from other areas. Even if the eyes are closed about 30% of prana would still go out of them

After finishing the Panch Mahaprana dhyan, keep your hands in bhairav/ bhairavi mudra (left palm over right/right palm over left). Be aware of a whitish pink lotus at the centre of your chest cavity, connect with the energy of your Guru and gently drop all awareness. Let go.

Whenever you feel like, come back and open your eyes looking first at the center of your palms.

Dhyan with the Guru, is the last step of Sanatan Kriya.  

Yog is a very serious and deep subject. Any practice of yog has to be carried out with utmost care and caution since you start interacting with the subtle world. This dimension that we start interacting with becomes more potent as it gets subtler. Therefore the practices too have to be approached with great reverence.

There is a lot of written text readily available on the subject of Yog, but Yog is a subject which is beyond the realms of Intellect. The subject of Yog takes you to a dimension which starts from where the world of Intellect ends.

Unfortunately, today it has just become a fashion statement introduced to earn name, fame and money. People who are teaching these practices only for their personal glorification don’t realize the karmic implications of the said act and the negative karmas they earn for themselves as a result of this.

 ‘Sanatan Kriya’ (to learn the kriya you can contact Dhyan Ashram), is a complete kriya assimilating the 8 limbs of Ashtang Yog, formulated for the modern man to practice and benefit from. This kriya affects all the layers of the being, bringing it health, vitality, glow, beauty and a happy, prosperous life. It takes a being away from disease and towards nature.

Yogi Ashwini is the Guiding Light of Dhyan Foundation and an authority on the Vedic sciences. His book, 'Sanatan Kriya, The Ageless Dimension' is an acclaimed thesis on anti-ageing.Log onto to www.dhyanfoundation.com or mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more.