| Statistics | | | | sniff to gently inhale the ghee upward. You can also |
| Did you know that smoking is the No. 1 preventable | | | | do nasya with plain ghee. |
| cause of death in the U.S.? According to the | | | | Aromatherapy |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1 | | | | Aromatherapy is an age-old treatment that uses the |
| in 5 deaths in this country is tobacco related. | | | | pure extracts of aromatic plants to heal and restore |
| Statistics show that tobacco kills more Americans | | | | emotional balance. There are many ways to use |
| than AIDS, drugs, homicides, fires, and auto accidents | | | | aromatherapy, such as in your bath, diffused into the |
| combined, and it causes more health problems and | | | | air, spritzed on your pillow. |
| early deaths than all illegal drugs. | | | | Detoxifying Blend |
| On average, male smokers cut their lives short by | | | | 2 drops Rosemary oil |
| 13.2 years, while women lose 14.5 years. An | | | | 1 drop Cypress oil |
| estimated 25 million Americans alive today will die of a | | | | 1 drop Juniper oil |
| smoking related illness. Almost 9 out of 10 tobacco | | | | 1 drop Lemon oil |
| users start before they turn 18. Approximately | | | | Use this essential oil blend mixed with 2 teaspoons |
| 4,500,000 children and adolescents in the U.S. smoke, | | | | Grapeseed oil daily for massage or bathing. |
| and an estimated 6,000 kids under 18 try their first | | | | Anti-Stress Blend |
| cigarette each day. About 46 million Americans – | | | | This blend helps you unwind, promoting a relaxed |
| nearly 25 percent of the population – smoke, and | | | | state of mind. |
| even though 70 percent would like to quit, only about | | | | 2 drops Lavender oil |
| 5 percent actually succeed each year. 1 | | | | 2 drops Bergamot oil |
| Following are some tools to help you on your way to | | | | 1 drop Vetivert oil |
| a healthier, more grounded lifestyle. | | | | Blend the oils with 2 teaspoons of carrier oil, such as |
| Dose Reduction | | | | Grapeseed oil, neutral cream, or lotion. Rub into the |
| Although a short-term smoker can probably quit cold | | | | skin or add to a bath. Alternatively, omit the carrier |
| turkey, chronic smokers should wean themselves | | | | oil and vaporize the essential oils. 2 |
| gradually. Otherwise, a stressful withdrawal | | | | Vata Balancing Diet |
| syndrome can occur. In the first 3-6 months, | | | | In the early stages of recovery from addictive |
| reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke per day | | | | behaviors, a diet that balances Vata dosha is |
| by 50 percent. In the next 6 months, slowly reduce | | | | especially important. |
| the number of cigarettes you smoke to none. | | | | 1. Favor foods that are warm, heavy and oily. |
| Herbal Cigarettes | | | | Minimize foods that are cold, dry and light. |
| This smoke mix, "dhuman", will satisfy your desire to | | | | 2. Favor foods that are sweet, sour and salty, |
| smoke while slowly neutralizing the addictive aspect | | | | while minimizing spicy, bitter and astringent. |
| of nicotine so that the body starts detoxifying | | | | 3. Eat larger quantities, but not more than you |
| gradually. Remove one-half of the tobacco from | | | | can digest easily. |
| your cigarette at the end of the light, and fill the | | | | Some specific recommendations are as follows: |
| paper with an equal proportion of the following | | | | Dairy- All dairy products pacify Vata. |
| ingredients: whole rose petals, whole chamomile | | | | Sweeteners- Any in moderation. |
| flowers, calamus root or ajwain seeds, brahmi | | | | Oils- All are okay. |
| powder, and jatamamsi powder. Smoke the | | | | Grains- Rice and wheat are very good. Reduce |
| cigarette until the moment the tobacco starts | | | | barley, corn, millet, buckwheat, rye and oats. |
| burning, then snuff it out. | | | | Fruits- Favor sweet, sour, or heavy fruits, such as |
| Smoking Meditation | | | | oranges, bananas, avocados, grapes, cherries, |
| Smoking meditation is where you delay your desire | | | | peaches, melons, berries, plums, pineapples, mangoes, |
| to smoke by bringing awareness to your actions. | | | | and papayas. Reduce dry or light fruits, such as |
| Before you light a cigarette, make a conscious effort | | | | apples, pears, pomegranates, cranberries, and dried |
| to slow down the process. Look at the cigarette in | | | | fruits. |
| your hand, and as you do so, listen to the internal | | | | Vegetables- Beets, cucumbers, carrots, asparagus, |
| signals of your body. Is this something that your | | | | and sweet potatoes are good. They should be |
| body really wants? Or is this the only way of | | | | cooked, not raw. The following vegetables are |
| covering up something else that you are thinking or | | | | acceptable in moderate quantities if they're cooked, |
| feeling? Even if you decide that you really do want | | | | especially with ghee or oil and Vata-reducing spices: |
| to smoke it, listening to your body will slow down the | | | | peas, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, zucchini, and green |
| process and shut off your "automatic pilot", and | | | | leafy vegetables. It's better to avoid sprouts and |
| eliminate urgent behavior and replace it with full | | | | cabbage. |
| awareness. Just by becoming mindful of what | | | | Spice- Cardamom, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, salt, |
| you're doing, you can often make rapid progress in | | | | cloves, mustard seed, and small quantities of black |
| breaking the habit of smoking. | | | | pepper are good. |
| Also, try to make smoking an isolated, independent | | | | Nuts. All are okay. |
| activity, rather than doing it through the usual cues | | | | Beans- Reduce all beans, except tofu and split |
| and signals, such as talking on the phone or drinking | | | | mung-bean soup |
| coffee. This will increase your awareness, becoming | | | | Meat and Fish- Chicken, turkey and seafood are all |
| more conscious of the unpleasant sensations | | | | right. Beef should be avoided. |
| associated with the activity. | | | | De-Stress with Yoga & Exercise |
| Next, begin to introduce some new thoughts into the | | | | What is stress? Stress is unresolved emotion. |
| process of smoking a cigarette. It must have a | | | | Smokers have some deep-seated grief, fear, |
| spiritual significance for you, and must be accessed | | | | sadness, frustration, anxiety, or loneliness, but they |
| with sincere intention. Deepok Chopra said, "The only | | | | don't want to look at it. Instead, they start |
| lasting solution to smoking or addiction of any kind | | | | smoking. Whenever you feel the desire to smoke, |
| lies in the discovery of your true spiritual nature." 4 | | | | take a walk in the fresh air, go swimming, or do |
| Nasya | | | | another form of aerobic exercise. |
| Nasya is the nasal administration of herbal oils, ghee, | | | | Of all the many ways to detox, a daily practice of |
| or fine powders for medicinal purposes. Ancient | | | | yoga continually chips away at all of the obstacles |
| Ayurvedic texts say that doing nasya with brahmi | | | | and debris – both metabolic and psychic – |
| ghee helps to eliminate depression – one of the | | | | resulting in so many benefits along the way. |
| main reasons that people smoke. | | | | Following are two simple yoga routines to be |
| After washing and drying your hands, dip your little | | | | performed daily in your effort to cleanse your mind, |
| finger into a container of brahmi ghee. Lightly | | | | body and spirit. |
| massage the liquid into the inside of each nostril, then | | | | |