“90% of our health and longevity is in our own hands”
-Dr. Sanjay Gupta
As energy flows through our body, mind and spirit we are constantly looking for ways to keep its current moving through our chakras. Ashwagandha is one such way, as it has been lauded in Indian culture for its curative purposes for thousands of years. It is a medicinal herb that runs the gamut of healing properties from head to toe, both inside and outside of our body. Ashwagandha has been proven very medically valuable to heart health. It is not limited solely to the heart as it provides health benefits to the entire body. This impacts our physiology because its healing properties increase strength and stamina in both our nervous and reproductive systems. Ashwagandha’s role in Ayurvedic medicine remains assured as it certainly encompasses what it means to be a member of the rasayana herb family. The restorative aspects of Ashwagandha will only continue to be revealed in the future as more study is done into this truly impressive medical marvel. Currently, Chai Ghai is offering buy one and get one 50% off on Indian Ginseng, an incredible herbal tea that features Ashwagandha. It also has apple pieces, cranberry pieces and many other ingredients that make it not only healthy, but delicious. Try this small batch release before it runs out.
What is Ashwagandha?
Ashwagandha’s transformative powers originate from drier climates in Northern, Western and Central India, as well as other such environments in Southeast Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. It is a small yellow flower, but its true life force comes from its berries, leaves and roots that classify it as food as medicine. The berries can be consumed for their therapeutic and energy inducing value, though the leaves and especially the roots are where most of its medicinal properties come from. The leaves can be crushed and used to make tea with the purpose of speeding up our metabolism and extracting harmful toxins from our body. The roots have many more uses but are often dried into a powder to use in capsule form. Ashwagandha is a member of the rasayana line of herbs in the Ayurveda; traditional Hindu medicine. In Sanskrit rasayana means the path of essence, a property that Ashwagandha offers its users in abundance. It is this path of essence that Indian Ginseng can open up.
An Overview on Ashwagandha: A Rasayana (Rejuvenator) of Ayurveda - PMC (nih.gov)
How Can Ashwagandha Affect out Physiology?
Ashwagandha is also often known as Indian ginseng or winter cherry for the myriad of rejuvenating physiological uses it shares, such as the reduction in arthritis inflammation and insomnia. It also belongs to the Solanaceae or nightshade family of plants, as do eggplant, tomatoes and potatoes, which are all adaptogens used in the production of herbal medicine. Ashwagandha falls under the genus Withania Somnifera and is ripe with potent alkaloids, natural organic compounds that have wide ranging pharmacological uses. These include antiasthma, antibacterial and anticancer properties that help to fight these debilitating maladies. Alkaloids are also used to treat heart disease including widening blood vessels, maintaining proper glucose levels and managing pain; most commonly in morphine. Since they belong to the Solanaceae subspecies Ashwagandha, like many other nightshade plants contains the naturally occurring steroid withanolides. These active compounds hold many functions within the medical community; among them are their anti-inflammatory, antioxidants and anti-stress capabilities. Withanolides also aid in prevention of neurodegenerative and neurobehavioral diseases as their biological markers have regenerative and life-prolonging properties that increase power to our core and essence to our chakras.
Why Will Ashwagandha Reduce Stress?
Among the most debilitating to our life force, stress can play a large factor in our daily lives, where it completely disrupts our auras and stops its conduit of energy in its tracks. Adaptogens and withanolides found in Ashwagandha can go a long way in reducing the amount that stress weighs on our conscious. With these compounds as their ally Ashwagandha works to fight off and diminish both mental and physical stress. It does so by lowering the hormone cortisol and balancing the thyroid hormone in our bodies, which goes a long way in decreasing anxiety and its effect on our daily lives. In some cases Ashwagandha is also used to fight stress in children as it has long been deemed safe, in the right doses for all ages, except for pregnant or breastfeeding women. Ashwagandha can also help to lower cortisol by up to 70% which is a significant reduction in stress and anxiety. This can significantly impact ones quality of living and happiness, and solidifies why Ashwagandha has been used for so long in the ayurvedic community.
ASHWAGANDHA: Overview, Uses, Side Effects, Precautions, Interactions, Dosing and Reviews (webmd.com)
How Can Ashwagandha Help the Heart?
The heart is the center of the body’s cardiovascular output and the chakras origin of love and empathy. As such it remains vital that it is always in strong working order. Ashwagandha works to improve muscle strength that can help increase the flow of blood and oxygen throughout the body. Within the heart the right ventricle sends blood to the lungs where it oxygenates and then pumps back to the left atrium via the pulmonary veins. This cyclical give and take mimics the cycle of life and is at the very root of health. One such study shows that active individuals who consume Ashwagandha have a higher maximum oxygen consumption (VO2 max), which can help reduce the risk of heart disease and improve motility and mobility by increasing metabolic and physical energy. Ashwagandha can also be used in the treatment of diabetes by lowering blood pressure through the reduction of blood sugar levels and cholesterol. This is done via the improved glucose intake that Ashwagandha can facilitate, as well as the decrease it triggers in any elevated triglycerides, fatty acids that create blockages in blood flow to the heart.
Why Ashwagandha is Useful in Our Daily Life?
Ashwagandha can be very useful in daily life with its ability to aid in creating harmony in the reproductive and nervous systems. Ashwagandha has also been known to help increase our cognitive function through improved concentration and attention span, allowing us to think more clearly. This will help us to process cognitive information faster as the antioxidants in Ashwagandha affects our brain’s ability to develop and expand, which can benefit young and old alike. By helping to calm the brain and hopefully reduce depression, improve sleep and in some mild cases work to ease schizophrenia, Ashwagandha really is a rasayana herb, much like Tulsi or Holy Basil found in our Belly Dancer – Chai Ghai, that has no boundaries. As we continue to learn more through studies and research the uses of Ashwagandha may continue to grow, showing no limit to its long term and wide ranging health benefits.
“The physician treats, but nature heals”
– Hippocrates
To keep the current of energy within our bodies in constant motion people of all ages require the use of food as medicine to give them balance. Ashwagandha can be held among the most effective herbs in Ayurvedic medical practices because of its strong pharmacological, medicinal and restorative properties. These properties offer a healthy choice that instead of being reactive when illness or disease strikes, helps to curb such ailments before they occur by getting to the root of good health. Ayurvedic Indian traditional medicine has looked to Ashwagandha as a natural healing method for millennia in preventing blood level and hormone imbalances, as well as increasing energy levels that lead to a happier life. That’s why we are pleased that our small batch release this month is called Indian Ginseng. An herbal tea that features Aswagandha, this incredible tea is only available for a limited time. Ashwagandha contains equal elements of spiritual and scientific values, ones that are vital to both maintaining pure vibes in our chakras and energy flow throughout our body, so neither bog down our aura and life essence.
