Kavita Khosa - Beauty Unbottled: Timeless Ayurvedic Rituals & Recipes

Ayurveda, a system of traditional, natural medicine that originated in India more than 3000 years ago, invites us to see ourselves in deeper and more holistic ways. In my personal experience, I turned to Ayurvedic wisdom after relapsing from multiple myeloma, a malignancy of the plasma in bone marrow, in 2012. My disease motivated me to seek out experts who could guide me through the sprawling and investigative multiplicity that is Ayurveda, the science of life. In parallel with allopathic regimes prescribed by my oncologist, I learned how to mobilize my bodys intelligence through prescribed Ayurvedic rituals and radical lifestyle changes, slowly embracing a new way of life and a new way of seeing. Suddenly body systems no longer appeared chaotic, inscrutable and mysterious, but in harmony with the natural order. One of my most empowering takeaways from Ayurveda was a deeper self-knowledge and relationship with myself (Hello! Good to finally meet you!) as well as the central fact of my alivenessstill breathing and thriving in even richer dimensions than before getting diagnosed with cancer.

The call to study Ayurveda on a deeper level was appealing as much as it was daunting. Instead, I continued to consult qualified doctors and experts to orient me towards the benefits this ancient, intricate system offers. But, linking past knowledge with our present is a gift.

That is Kavitas gift.

Kavita turned to Ayurvedic wisdom and indigenous knowledge years ago, while she was still working in the corporate world. After straddling stressful urban demands along with her pursuit of mindful practices and travel to the Himalayas, Kavita took the leap and immersed herself full-time into her passions: holistic wellness, organic skincare science and advocacy for womens rights. Purearth was born from the marriage of these callings and today Kavita is celebrated for setting new standards for luxurious, ethical beauty practices. In Beauty Unbottled, she shares ways to apply conscious beauty practices into our lives no matter our collective history or inheritance.

As Kavita writes, you dont have to know your doshas from the dhatus to benefit. Kavita mixes millennia-old wisdom with modern scientific ideas that are attuned to your unique constitution, honouring our differences in temperament and tendencies. Not an easy task.

This conscious beauty bible representsin my mindritual as remedy for the twenty-first century by not only offering informed opinion on alleviating doshic excesses that are the root of many of our health and beauty problems, but also taking you by the hand through the scaffolding and corridors of our bodies. Its worth considering how vibrant health is interconnected with beauty, as you learn how not to mess with the acid mantle, the floral waters compatible with the pH of your skin and how to create space for peace and self-care in a way that nourishes appearance from the inside out. Skin from an Ayurvedic perspective is more than a bark wrapping on our skeleton; a sampling of skin in Ayurveda is synonymous with: charmameaning movement (28-day cycle), astrughdharaholds our blood, sparshanindriyamorgan of sensation and tanutensile and elastic.

Similarly, Kavita offers her expert insights into natural sun care, deodorants and beyond along with sensual, easy recipes that hold ancestral wisdom. Kesha Vignan is the Ayurvedic science of hair care, which Kavita modernizes with suggestions for greening your store-bought beauty ingredients with shopping guides and suggestions to audit your beauty shelves and inner beauty rituals like Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Unani, Sowa Rigpa and Siddha.

Then there are the existential questions whether to ghee or not to ghee, and making friends with fats.

Of course Im geeking out on the tools and resources in Beauty Unbottled. Thats me. The recipes and rituals are timeless and enduringthey have the power to transmute. Its Kavitas mission to activate the beauty potential in all, regardless of age, background and belief.

Approach this as you would a space for self-care, a well of self-discovery, an opportunity to make the live details of life more aesthetically pleasing, more coherent, more fun. And bring a whiff of the sacred into the everyday with an emphasis on ceremony, common sense and the rhythms of natural living. Welcome to Kavitas world of slow beauty. Welcome back to yourself.