Fragrant Late Summer Greetings!  Starting with the solstice on the 23rd June we have been relishing bright blue skies, hot sultry days and clear starry nights. Refreshing ‘sun-tea elixirs’ and smoothies, farmers-market-salads and light easy fare have been the order of the day for balancing the Pitta fire. The heavens have been spectacular with a triad of eclipses and an abundance of meteor showers, it has been an intense Summer indeed! Now as we head into Fall we look to the last days of this Pitta season in gracious acknowledgement of the berries, fruits and the late Summer corn. We give thanks for a time in the sun, unprecedented in Vancouver BC, and a deepening of our understanding of the many gifts of nature. Our ‘ Ayurvedic Apothecary’ offers a celebration of chutneys honoring the current harvest and the joy of Summer. Using these condiments to balance the six tastes in our meals, we can appreciate the diverse bounty of the earth and the simple ways to balance our constitution. In ‘ your EDEN’, we take a look at adding a transformative Ayurvedic body scrub to our routine, polishing our skin and our confidence to a fine beauty. I am also excited to announce an inaugural Ayurvedic event coming in mid-September. An Ayurvedic Wisdom Weekend – presented by four BC Ayurvedic practitioners (including the spice mistress!) – a life-changing opportunity to delve into the wisdom of Ayurveda that is accessible, practical and profound. As always I invite you to submit questions, thoughts and ideas to the ‘ Mystic MaShala’, a forum to share your wisdom and wonderings with the Ayurvedic community. Enjoy dear friends and be well, be inspired and be in love! With Fragrant Blessings as always, Spice Mistress Glynnis
Ayurvedic Apothecary:
Late Summer Chutney Celebration by Glynnis Osher  Chutneys symbolize the vibrance of the solar energy – Agni, the fire god. Chutneys are a playful, colorful celebration of life with the diversity and spark to accessorize any meal. Chutneys are a condiment which could be pungent, salty, sour, bitter, astringent or sweet and are used in moderation to bring balance to the meal. Taken in small quantities they invigorate the taste buds and give excitement to the tissues adding nutrition and stimulating digestion. FRESH COCONUT/CILANTRO/LIME CHUTNEY 1 cup fresh grated or dried dessicated coconut 1 bunch stemmed cilantro 1 cup fresh mint leaves 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp ground coriander 1” piece finely chopped fresh ginger pinch salt Water/coconut water as needed Making the chutney: - Blend and grind all ingredients in a mortar and pestle or together in an electric blender.
- Add water or coconut water as needed for desired consistency.
MANGO DATE CHUTNEY
(or Peach Date Chutney as an alternate) 2 medium sized mangos or 3 medium firm peaches 1/2 green jalapeno pepper, seeds removed 1 inch fresh ginger finely chopped 1 tbsp ghee 1 tsp dessicated cardamom seeds or 3/4 tsp ground cardamom 1/2 tsp salt 6 pitted dates Water for cooking (about 1/2 cup) 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tbsp maple syrup or jaggery or succanat (optional) Making the chutney: - Peel and chop mango/peaches into small cubes.
- Finely dice ginger and jalapeno.
- Chop dates into small pieces.
- Toast cardamom seeds and grind to a powder.
- Warm a frying pan and add ghee. When ghee is hot add ginger and jalapeno and sauté on low until ginger is fragrant and golden.
- Add mango/peach and chopped dates and continue to sauté. Add water as needed so mixture does not stick.
- After 5 minutes, mixture starts to meld and soften, add cardamom and salt and maple syrup if you like a sweeter chutney (or if the fruit is not very sweet), cook on low heat for another 10 minutes until mixture is soft and ingredients are well integrated.
- Turn off heat. Mix in lemon juice and allow to cool. Add more lemon juice to taste if needed.
Click here for the benefits of the spices and herbs. Enjoy!  What is EDEN? Quite simply I believe we can create harmony on a daily basis with very little, but consistent effort, with Every Day Essential Nurturing. Taking on one small practice a month makes things manageable, and over time accumulates benefits, positively affecting our entire state of health. Polishing the body twice or three times a week as a special add-on to your self-care bathing routine will bring a soft glow to your skin and a feeling of confidence and care. Our skin needs exfoliation from dirt, dead skin cells to absorb nourishing herbal oils during self-massage. This Tridoshic body scrub recipe can be altered according to the seasons and availability of ingredients. You can keep it really simple and choose only one or two of the main herbs and grains. This is a delightful skin purifying rasayana which detoxifies and exfoliates, nourishes and rejuvenates skin and stimulates circulation making the body feel fresh and vibrant. 4 tbsp Bentonite clay or a similar absorptive clay such as Kaolin 4 tbsp ground rice flour OR chickpea flour 1 tsp neem leaf powder OR brahmi powder 1 tsp ground rose petals OR sandalwood powder 1 tsp ground dried orange OR lemon peel Method: - Step into your shower and wet your whole body and then turn off shower.
- Apply blend and rub vigorously all over body adding more water as needed.
- Rinse off and dry body.
So to summarize our EDEN practices:
1 Tongue scraping
2 Drink warm water first thing
3 Your breathing practice
4 Walking
5 Self-abhyanga and shower/bath
6 Seasonal/daily eating practice
7 Divine Bhav or attitude
8 Body polishing twice a week
(Check out our Mystic Musings Archives to review previous EDEN practices.)
That’s it! Om, Peace.
Mind Over Mantra
When I was studying with Swamini Mayatitananda (Maya Tiwari) at The Wise Earth School of Ayurveda, daily we would sing the mantra “Brahmarpanam Brahma Havir…” before our meals and for a long time after that I would sing this prayer before meals acknowledging the divinity in all. As life brings diversity and challenges, we forget some of our practices and they slip away quietly. This happened to me with this mantra until recently when I offered a prayer before a meal and to my dismay halfway through I forgot the words. I felt a loss and made a commitment to reconnect to this practice. I offer this mantra in thanks and celebration of the transition of the seasons. By giving thanks before each meal to the Creator, the farmers, the cooks, and all those who had a part in our nourishment and healing, we bring grace, love and abundance into our lives and all those whose lives we touch. Om Brahmarpanam Brahma havir
Brahmagnau Brahmana hutam
Brahmaiva tena gantavyam
Brahma karma samadhina
We offer to Brahman (the Divine) and accept from Brahman the offering of our labour and the blessing of the food. All is Brahman.
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.
Thousand Petal Lotus
Indian Head Massage/shirobhyanga
Spice Mistress Glynnis is very excited to be offering
Thousand Petal Lotus Indian Head Massage. The health benefits of Indian Head Massage are numerous:
• relieve hair and scalp problems
• bring circulation to the scalp
• relaxation of the nervous system
• reduction of stress, depression, anxiety and insomnia
• relieves deep-seated emotional and physical tension
 Glynnis, a shirobhyanga practitioner, is very excited to be able to share this ancient art of wellness and relaxation with you. She has recently expanded her practice in the Indian Head Massage with a Champissage training from Narendra Mehta of the London School of Champissage and marma study with Dr. Vasant Lad of The Ayurvedic Institute. Glynnis is now offering blissful half hour and one hour Indian Head Massage.
For more information or to book a massage, please contact Glynnis at 604-876-3994 (ext. 2) or via e-mail. Please visit the Thousand Petal Lotus website for more information on Indian Head Massage.
You can also simply drop by our charming new massage studio and showroom/boutique at Onyx Studio, 405 West 5th Avenue (at the corner of Yukon). Along with a relaxing massage, you'll find luscious spice blends, Ayurvedic aromatherapy products, and other unique home and body delights.
We hope to see you soon!
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 September Musings:  Your EDEN
Ayurvedic Apothecary Mind Over Mantra Indian Head Massage Ayurveda Weekend TPL Scalp Oil
The Mystic MaShala This Month's Poetry  Ayurveda Wisdom Weekend With Jaisri Lambert, Colleen Fraser, Madhuri and Glynnis Osher Join four empowering BC based Ayurvedic practitioners, Jaisri Lambert, Colleen Fraser, Glynnis Osher and Madhuri for a life- changing opportunity. Choose a path of deep self care and balance in your life with practical wisdom at the unprecedented Urban Ayurveda & Yoga weekend retreat. This time will leave you feeling refreshed,inspired and rejuvenated as you delve into the depths of Ayurveda, while having your mind and soul soothed with informative lectures, yoga and meditation. These practices can be applied immediately to your own life for profound growth and healing and is for anyone interested in learning real ways to bring grace, balance, and equanimity to their well being through the holistic modalities of Ayurveda and Yoga. For more information please contact us at 604-876-3994 (ext. 2) or email. Also view the event poster online.   The Mystic Masala works with a women’s fair trade cooperative in Nepal creating conscious body care products for you, and providing a fair wage, education, and benefits for the cooperative, and supporting a growing community of women-owned business globally. Herbs are sustainably harvested and products are crafted honouring traditional Ayurvedic processes.  A healthy body, a healthy spirit and a healthy planet. Thousand Petal Lotus Scalp Oil Our Thousand Petal Lotus Scalp oil is now available online. The benefits of the primary herbs and oils for Thousand Petal Lotus Scalp Elixir are specific to rejuvenating circulation and oxygen in the scalp and enhancing healthy hair growth. Often stress leads to insomnia, headaches, hair loss and other related imbalances of the head and scalp. Daily massage with specialized herbal oil elixirs restore vitality to the roots of the hair and to the chakra system on a more subtle level, bringing blissful relief to mind, body and spirit Thousand Petal Lotus scalp elixir has a rejuvenating blend of olive, coconut, sesame, mustard and Vitamin E base oils. Essential oils of rosemary, juniper and geranium. Infused wildcrafted herbs of rosemary, neem, methi, gotukola, amalaki, bringiraj, bibitaki, shikakai. Also available at Vancouver’s Banyen Books and Sound on West 4th Avenue.   Please submit your Ayurvedic thoughts, comments and ideas to share in our MystIc MaShala. We look forward to sharing with the community. Please submit here.
Om Shanti.
Ayurvedic Meet-up Group
Join the Vancouver Ayurveda
meet up group. The Ayurveda meet up group is an informal platform for Ayurvedic learning and sharing of ideas in the local Vancouver community. Our vision is to expand awareness in the Ayurvedic arena so we can use the tools of Ayurveda on a daily basis to enrich our well-being and experience balance in our lives. Meet up here.   Your Way of Knowing is a Private Herb Garden
by Lalla (Lal Ded) – 14th Century
English version: Coleman Barks
Original Language
: Kashmiri Your way of knowing is a private herb garden. Enclose it with a hedge of meditation, and self-discipline, and helpfulness to others. Then everything you've done before will be brought as a sacrifice to the mother goddess. And each day, as you eat the herbs, your garden grows more bare and empty.  
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