Bhattacharya - Everyday Ayurveda

My whole life, I have believed in yurveda. To use its principles in a practical way and to mould it to a crazy schedule like mine is what I have always sought. It is what many of us seek but do not find in easy, accessible ways.

Bhaswati does exactly that. She makes yurveda practical while also preserving its authenticity. Her logic and stories, with her impressive background as a well-qualified medical doctor, scientist and public health specialist from some of the best schools (Harvard, UPenn, Columbia, Princeton, Rush, Cornell and BHU) make the book that much more valuable. Since I have met her in New York, Bhaswati has made it her mission to bring the wisdom of yurveda back to the people in a usable, everyday way.

As an eco-environmentalist and a thinking actor, I often explore good food and sound health choices to keep my skin and face healthy and my body fit, and consume a diet that both satisfies and nourishes.

yurveda rejects the stale, easy, ready-in-a-minute choices in the urban world of jets, trains and film sets, and encourages all things natural. Through this ideology, I have learnt how to understand what my body needs and make choices that allow me to do fun things and still be healthy.

Getting up early is one thing that feels really good. Though I often have late-night engagements that require sleeping in, I am finding that Brahma muhurtarising with the sunactually helps keep my body strong.

When Bhaswati first told me about gandusha for teeth whitening, I enthusiastically asked to learn how to partake! What a great thing to hear the logic and her explanation on how to do it. I offered to be the face for her remedies.

Bhaswati is the person who has taken yurveda from ancient wisdom and brought it into the modern day. When people ask her how a modern medical doctor can be so supportive of yurveda, she gives a cannonball of evidence.

She is smart, she is articulate, and she is kind. Her clinical practice is her best evidence. Her treatments and approaches integrate the best of authentic yurveda, which we know and love, with the practical needs of modern medicine.

When she told me about her book, I was extremely happy. Instead of chasing her down with each skin problem, I now have a handbook to guide me through a strong regimen. She can slightly alter most of the treatment in the book to my particular dosha to make it a medical treatment.

This is also a fun book to read. The writing is unapologetically sensual and spiritual, and reveals her own encounters since childhood amid nature and the ways of yurveda. It will benefit those who want to make and see changes in their health.

Abhay Deol