Simply Ayurveda: Discover Your Type to Transform Your Life

Ayurveda, the ancient holistic system of healthcare from India, is currently one of the most fashionable therapies around. Madonna and Christy Turlington regularly extol its virtues and The Body Shop is so enamoured by ayurveda that they have recently launched a whole new range of products. For health and beauty guru Bharti Vyas, ayurveda has 'always been a fundamental way of life.' Her beautifully illustrated new book Simply Ayurveda succeeds in making this sometimes confusing ancient system easy to understand. Ayurveda has been used for over 5,000 years to heal the body and promote health and well-being. Bharti explains "the key in ayurveda is in treating the mind, body and spirit as one entity to ensure total harmony. The focus is upon individual lifestyle, not upon the condition". Her book begins with an in-depth dosha questionnaire to help you define your "type"--vata (air), pitta (fire) or kapha (earth). This established, she devotes further chapters to beauty, women's cycles, breathing, herbs and supplements, purification and sexuality. The chapter on sexuality is fascinating with tips on how to pep up an ailing sex life with various ayurvedic aphrodisiacs. Apparently earth types (kahpa) can make love three of four times a week because they have a strong constitution whereas the more fragile air types (vata) should abstain other than once or twice a month! Fire types (pitta) thrive on making love once every two weeks. There is a helpful A-Z of treatment of common ailments and the final section of the book which is dedicated to nutrition is packed with delicious-sounding recipes.