Maharishi Ayurveda Newsletter Archive

How to Look More Beautiful As You Age with Maharishi Ayurveda

No matter what your age, you can keep your skin looking like a teenager's by paying attention to the four pillars of youthful skin:

• Nourish your skin all year round, both from the inside and from the outside.
• Rehydrate your skin internally and externally -- maintaining moisture balance is crucial for skin health and appearance.
• Detoxify both from the inside and outside to prevent the build-up of toxins and help keep skin clear and radiant.
• Practice stress management -- stress is the number one enemy of youthful skin.
  

"Paying attention to these four pillars increases prabha, the natural luster and glow of the skin, and it is important to address all four aspects from the inside and the outside.

Nourish Your Skin

To nourish your skin from the inside, The Council recommends following the ayurvedic dietary guidelines for the season and your skin/body type. In addition, try adjusting your diet to become more skin-friendly:

• Eat plenty of sweet, juicy fruits, including a stewed apple or pear for breakfast, to enhance skin suppleness.
  
• Include multiple whole grains in your diet (quinoa, cous cous, millet, barley, amaranth, rye and wheat) to provide a variety of minerals and the full range of nature's intelligence to your skin.
  
• Eat a variety of vegetables, cooked with skin-friendly spices such as turmeric, cumin and small amounts of black pepper (see recipe below). Green leafy vegetables provide fiber and nutrients such as iron and calcium, which help to nourish the blood and skin tissue.
  
• Eat light, easily digestible proteins such as milk, lassi (yogurt blended with water and a dash of cumin and fresh mint), and panir (freshly made cheese), as well as nourishing proteins such as mung dhal, which is helpful for all skin types.
  
• Take Youthful Skin tablets and ReGen Vitality tablets daily to support your skin with herbs, which represent the concentrated intelligence of nature.
  

Skin-Friendly Spice Mixture

• 3 parts turmeric
• 6 parts coriander
• 6 parts fennel
• 1 part fenugreek
• 1 part black pepper

Sauté the spices in ghee (clarified butter), add steamed vegetables and stir. Cook for a few minutes to allow the spices to be absorbed.

Turmeric is the greatest friend of your skin because it is deeply purifying and is also a potent antioxidant. Cumin and fenugreek purify the blood and fat tissue, and black pepper and turmeric do the same, plus cleanse rasa (nutrient fluid) and sweat (the waste product of fat tissue). All of these factors have a direct link to the health and appearance of the skin.

Rehydrate Your Skin

For internal rehydration, drink more pure water; eat sweet, juicy fruits; and include moderate amounts of high-quality fats such as ghee or olive oil in your diet. A completely fat-free diet is unhealthy for the skin, and diminishes both luster and aura. But always cook fats with skin-friendly spices to improve digestion and absorption.

Vata skin-types require more fat content in the diet because their skin tends to be naturally dry, and Kapha skin types require less because their skin naturally has relatively higher oil content.

For external rehydration, massage daily before your bath or shower with the Youthful Skin Massage Oil: this oil includes potent herbs such as Shankapushpi, Gotu Kola, and Ashwagandha. The Youthful Skin Massage Oil is formulated for enhanced absorption, has an anti-aging effect, and increases glow and luster. It is the most effective oil for youthfulness, and incorporates new processing techniques that result in faster absorption and more satisfying aroma.

Facial skin can benefit from the deep-layer lipid support offered by the Youthful Skin Oil. Here‚s a tip for fast, even, light application: barely moisten your hands; then pour 3-4 drops of the oil onto one palm. Rub your palms together to spread the oil; then pat your palms on your face to apply the oil. Gently massage it in with your fingertips, using even upward strokes.

Royal Milk Bath

This time-tested beauty aid was recommended by traditional royal physicians for the queens of India to enhance glow and luster of the skin:

1. Mix a large quantity of 70 percent rolled oats, 10 percent Indian Sarsaparilla, 10 percent Marshmallow Root and 10 percent Rose Petals.
   
2. Place two tablespoons of this mixture in the middle of a small square of cheesecloth, gather up the ends of the cloth, and tie with a string.
   
3. Dip the cloth into warm milk and pat the entire body with the herbal sachet to deeply moisturize your skin.
   
4. Make enough mixture for one or two months and store in an airtight container.
   

Detoxify

The number one detoxification target should be the colon. If you have a problem with Apana Vata and are constipated, for instance, your skin will only become dryer and duller. Take daily walks, eat more fibrous foods, and drink plenty of water. If you still have irregular bowel movements, take Herbal Cleanse.

To seasonally detoxify from within, take Elim-Tox-O along with Genitrac for 45 days whenever the seasons are in the process of changing, in the transition weeks between summer and fall, fall and winter, winter and spring, and spring and summer.

External exfoliation and detoxification of the skin can be done with the Youthful Skin Herbal Clay. This formula contains a unique herbal mud that sloughs facial skin of dead cells gently, and nourishes the skin at the same time. The Youthful Skin Body Cleanse formula contains oat extract to provide ongoing overall gentle exfoliation.

De-Stress!

If you are under continuous stress, it often shows up immediately on the face as a drawn, dull look. Stressed people have trouble sleeping -- and lack of sleep causes stress, so it's important to take care of both factors at the same time.

• To dissolve mental and emotional stress on a daily basis, practice the Transcendental Meditation® technique for twenty minutes twice a day.
  
• Try gentle yoga stretches and practice deep breathing exercises to relax both mind and body.
  
• Practice good sleep habits, such as going to bed before 10 p.m. and establishing a regular sleep-wake cycle.
  
• Relaxing aromatherapy can help aid restful sleep. The Slumber Time Aroma Candle contains a blend of soothing oils to help you fall asleep.
  

Four-in-One Formula

The Youthful Skin Cream is the age-defying skin cream that enhances all four pillars of youthfulness from the outside. It rehydrates the skin, provides lipid support, contains oils that enhance collagens, and maintains the balance between collagens and elastins. Powerful ayurvedic herbs such as Gotu Kola, Sensitive Plant, Flame of Forest and Albizzia lebbeck provide holistic, balanced support for all facets of skin health to keep skin looking young, smooth and supple, no matter what your age. Since I have started using the Youthful Skin Cream, I notice that my skin is not so dry in winter," said Theresa, age 50. I spend a lot of time outside, and was developing crow's feet at the side of my eyes. After using Youthful Skin Cream, I hardly have any wrinkles left. And the ones that are still there don't show much, because my skin is so deeply nourished. My friends tell me that I look much more vibrant than other people my age.