Makara Sankranti, the Sun enters the sign of Capricorn…

Posted on January 13, 2019 by baktai adam

For us, from the earth it looks like the Sun is moving. Very much like, when we sit on a train and as we start our journey, it looks like the station is pulling away from the carriage.

So Makara Sankranti literally means the ‘passage into Capricorn’. This is the day when the Sun advances towards the northern hemisphere of the earth. The days become longer, temprature rises, plants start blooming, basically the hemisphere comes back to life. This day happens between the 14th and 16th of January, every year. 

This day is also the first day of Uttarayana. Vedic astrology divides the year into to two 6 month periods. Uttarayana when the Sun is closer to the northern hemisphere and Daksinayana is, when the Sun is closer to the sourthern hemisphere.

For us in the northern hemisphere the Uttarayana period is considered much more auspicious for everything. So traditionally this day is a very festive occasion in Vedic calendar. It is also stated in the Vedic scriptures that on this day, whatever we do, be it good or bad, we will get 10 thousand times the karmic reactions to our deeds. 

So even to this day, in modern India you see people handing out sweets, water and all sorts of gifts to one and all to reap the benefit of selfless donating. It has also become a custom to fly kites on this day.

Spiritualists also commemorate this day, as according to ancient Indian history this was the day when Bhisma, after the great war of the Mahabharata, revealed the mantra Visnusahasranam to his nephews.

Visnusahasranam Stotram is the vers that lists the 1000 most important names of Lord Visnu.

Om Tat Sat

Adam Baktai aka Fat Yogi

The founder of Oriental Method

Posted in Vedic Astrology, Vedic thought: the culture of Ayurveda and Yoga | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A simple detox programme for the first 2 months of the year, every year…

Posted on January 2, 2019 by baktai adam

According to Taoist traditions there is a connection between the months of the year, and the different organs of our body. Much like the organ clock theory, where every 2 hours of the day is in relation to a organ in particular.

The first 2 months of the year is connected to our kidneys and urinary bladder, respectively.

The simplest detox programme for these organs are the same. Namely a glass of lemon water, first thing in the morning!

And this is to be taken, before the first passing of urine. So if we wake up several times in the night to urinate, the first passing is considered to be the one, after which we do not go back to bed.

So half a lemon squeezed into a glass of water! That is it!

It clears out both the kidneys and the urinary bladder,  plus it is an excellent purificatory rite for the prostate gland as well. It is also a very effective alkalizing method!

Om Tat Sat

Adam Baktai aka Fat Yogi

The founder of Oriental Method

Posted in Ayurveda, Ayurvedic practices/recipes, Health Tricks, Oriental Medicine | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

An Ayurvedic outlook on winter: Do’s and Don’ts for the cold season…

Posted on November 27, 2018 by baktai adam

The defenition of health in Ayurveda is not entirely a physical thing! The idea behind perfect health is being in balance physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and intellectually!

For this you have to be in harmony within and without. So in traditional Ayurveda as the seasons change, a different set of remedial measures are given, to be able to maintain our optimal health, despite all the changes.

So here it is a list of Do’s and Don’ts:

  • Despite the lack of thirst, we must keep up our fluid intake. The daily minimum for adults is 2.3 liters of water! And that is a must. Naturally during the cold season heat inducing drinks are all good! Ginger tea, and tea brewed from spices are all time favorites in Ayurveda!
  • Proper clothing is an absolute necessity, but Ayurveda states that the most important parts of the body to keep warm are the feet, the waist/kidney area and the throat.
  • Another excellent trick to keeping warm, is eating the right food. Because of the tendencies of drinking less, eating unfresh food products and spending more time in heated places, we tend to dry out a lot. So according to Ayurveda we should be eating cooked, hot (temperature and spicing) and succulent foods.
  • According Ayurveda states that there are 2 types of spices. Hot and aromatic. Chillies and cayanne pepper are considered hot and are not suitable for everybody and for daily consumption. But almost equally hot spices like ginger or black pepper are aromatic along with a whole array of spices. Cummin, turmeric and the likes are regularly used in Ayurvedic cooking and they are not that spicy, but if you consider a few sweet spices like cinnamon, cloves or bay leaves they are super hot if you put them on your tongue, powdered. And of course there are all the green spices that we can think of.
  • Pickles are also used more freely during the cold times of the year, as vinegar is a highly fermenting agent, that is capable of raising body heat.
  • For us in the colder climates Ayurveda suggests two options to fresh foodstuffs, as we usually either eat frosted veggies or substances that are from far away, and thereby not fresh at all. These 2 items are sprouts and milk products, as they are both fresh produces.
  • Physical training is also a heat inducing activity, so excersizing and doing more physically demanding activities are also approved by Ayurveda.
  • And last but not least, regular oil massages are also highly approved by Ayurveda! Naturally, heated oil is a great preference in Ayurveda, as well as receiving massages. But if we are unable to go for massages we should oil ourselves! It is an extra plus if we use heat inducing oils like mustard oil or safflower oil.

Look after yourselves folks,

Om Tat Sat

Adam Baktai aka Fat Yogi

The founder of Oriental Method

Posted in Ayurveda, Ayurvedic practices/recipes, Health Tricks, Vedic thought: the culture of Ayurveda and Yoga | Leave a comment

Monthly detox for October, spleen/pancreas in focus…

Posted on September 29, 2018 by baktai adam

In the ancient medical systems of the far east, the spleen and the pancreatic gland are treated during the same month, probably because of the close vicinity of the two organs.

The spleen is treated in a very simple manner. We should avoid heavy, fatty and fried food, plus we should take the juice of half a lemon with a pinch of rock salt. Every morning, 1st thing in the morning, for 40 days. 

In addition to this we can also treat the pancreas by adding 2 simple practices.

  • Apart from the above mentioned foodstuffs, we should also be very careful with carbohydrates.
  • We should take 400-600 mgs of Gymnema Sylvestre twice daily, before meals. This herb aids our system to deal with all sorts of blood sugar problems from insulin resistance to full blown diabetes. 

As this plant goes back to about 5,000 years in the Ayurvedic tradition, probably the easiest way to get hold of this wonderful herb, is to look out for it through some Indian sites!

Some companies sell this product by their ancient Sanskrit name Meshashringi, others through it’s Hindi name Gurmar.

Om Tat Sat

Adam Baktai aka Fat Yogi

Posted in Ayurveda, Ayurvedic practices/recipes, Oriental Medicine, Vedic thought: the culture of Ayurveda and Yoga | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Monthly detoxification for august, large intestine in focus!

Posted on August 1, 2018 by baktai adam

Us, the Oriental Method crew, we freely mix good things up, for better results. So we dont mind to follow a set of easy, effective and practical recipes even if they are rooted in different cultures of ancient natural medicine.

In the Taoist culture there is a division for the entire year, much like the daily body clock system, that actually tells us which month of the year is the best for taking care of our specific organs and bodily functions. And once we know the specific organ through the Taoist division, we do the actual work through Ayurvedic practices, herbs and detoxification rites.

Another valuable piece of information is that in the system of Ayurveda, we follow 40 day courses. The reason for this is to give our system a chance to fully incorporate the actual practices we follow, are our cell memory runs on a 40 day course. So whatever we follow for 40 days, our system identifies with it, and accepts it as something that has always been. So once you start following our tips, please follow it for 40 days. Even when the next month starts, with the next set of practices. So basically for the 1st 10 days of every month, you will be following two sets of practices.

August is the month for taking special care of our large intestines. Which is done the easiest way, with some Triphala. Triphala is the most commonly used Ayurvedic compound and amongst Ayurvedic doctors there is even a joke in connection to this wonderful mixture. 

The joke goes the following way: “If you are not sure of the diagnosis, prescribe Triphala!”

This is because Triphala has such a multitude of wonderful effects, that no matter who we are, and how healthy we are, Triphala will definitely improve certain aspects of our workings.

But for the most obvious reasons, Triphala is prescribed as a compound that improves our digestion. Triphala is made of 3 berry like fruits, and it is extremely astringent. It strenghtens the peristalsis of our gastrointestinal tract, by which digestions and absorption works better, plus it also helps in the cleansing of the intestinal tract.

So for the month of august we suggest that we all use Triphala. The method for using this compound is sinple:

  • We soak about a gramm of Triphala in a glass of water, overnight.
  • The next day we sip the Triphala solution first thing in the morning, but we leave the sediment of the Triphala powder in the bottom of the glass.
  • We run another glass of water over the sediment.
  • We soak and 2nd batch of Triphala infusion till the evening.
  • We drink the 2nd solution of Triphala before our evening meal.
  • Then we restart the whole procedure.

Naturally if we can only get Triphala in capsules, we should open up the capsules and then soak the powder. Also with the evening batch it is our call if we want to drink sediment or not.

Go for it people!

Om Tat Sat

Adam Baktai also known as Fat Yogi

PS: This post is becoming way too long. So ill write more to you about Triphala very soon.

Posted in Ayurveda, Ayurvedic practices/recipes, Health Tricks, Oriental Medicine, Vedic thought: the culture of Ayurveda and Yoga | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The magic Sesame Oil

Posted on July 27, 2018 by zita demeter

One of the most effective recipes of Ayurveda for protecting our teeth, gums and oral cavity is sesame oil rinsing.

The procedure is simple, similar to rinsing after brushing our teeth – though in this case instead of water, use cold pressed sesame oil. It is enough to do this little ritual once a week for about 8-10 minutes each time.

Do not be worried of the whitish-yellowish muddy stuff coming out of your mouth  when you spit out the oil – it’s okay.

Pitta people, or the fire type people will notice the effects of this simple method the quickest as their oral cavity is more sensitive and their teeth are more susceptible to discoloration, however after a couple of weeks, everyone will notice the changes.

Cracking, gingivitis and the sensitivity of the teeth will be reduced, not to mention that it totally cleans off tartar build up from our teeth.

Namaste

Zita Demeter aka Dr. Sunshine

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A simple Ayurvedic practice for strenghtening our immunesystem, and our eyesight…

Posted on July 25, 2018 by baktai adam

This rite, is super simple, but it can only be practiced for a few months a year. Well for most of us, becuase it requires good weather.

The procedure is easy. Early morning, preferably around sunrise, we take off our shoes, slippers, socks, and what not. Than we simply walk around barefoot in the wet grass. 

This practice boosts our immunsystem, and according to some studies it also improves our eyesight. Probably because it activates the 2nd pressure point of the liver meridian, which is located inbetween the big toe and the second toe.

Have a great walk.

Om Tat Sat

Adam Baktai aka Fat Yogi

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