Ayurveda and Aromatherapy: The Earth Essential Guide to Ancient Wisdom and Modern Healing

This book is a collection of twenty-five years of healing experience using aromatherapy and Ayurveda. It includes a self-diagnosis questionnaire to determine your metabolic type, descriptions of essential oils, and recipes for the use of essential oils for common problems. It contains detailed information on over 100 essential oils, as well as over 100 illustrations and photographs.

About the Author

Dr Light Miller travels throughout the world teaching aromatherapy, Ayurveda, herbology, and tantra. Her Mission is to create a greater awareness of Ayurveda globally and has, and created Ayurveda Correspondence Course. Together with her husband, Dr Bryann Miller, they conduct Pancha Karma Programs, and Kaya Kalpa treatments, and teaches a Rasayana (rejuvenation) program which covers advanced techniques in Ayurveda and holistic healing.

When I was asked to write a foreword for "Ayurveda and Aromatherapy," I agreed immediately, based on knowing the Millers for the last two years. As we make our way through this life, on occasion we are fortunate enough to cross paths with others whose integrity and desire to improve the human experience is exceeded only by their love and genuine caring. Light and Bryan Miller exemplify the best of such high-minded people. I wholeheartedly support their healing and educational work and know that their intent is for personal, community and planetary transformation. I feel honoured to have been asked to write this foreword. Life is filled with circumstances that call for choices to be made. Some are insignificant and can be made with little or no effort, while others impact our lives in a big way, demanding study and soul-searching before a decision is made. Obviously, choosing what colour car you will drive pales in importance when compared to choosing where to raise your children or what kind of work you will do. At the top of the list of importance, when it comes to making choices, are the ones you make regarding your health. Let's face it, when it comes right down to it, nothing is more important than your health. And making the right choices can determine how long you will live and how healthfully.

We are facing a healthcare crisis in America today. Two out of three people are overweight, and our expensive medical system has no cure for 80% of diseases and contributes to the causation of 10% of all illnesses with inappropriately applied drugs and surgery. Heart disease and cancer, the major causes of death in this country, are largely preventable by diet, exercise and lifestyle changes; people don't need more, expensive, health care, they need a deeper understanding of how to eat, exercise and live in balance with natural cycles and laws.

I immediately noticed some significant similarities between "Nature Hygiene" and "Ayurveda."

1. Toxemia (ama) is recognized as a major cause of congestion, blockage and disease. It begins with poor digestion, then spreads to cause problems in other parts of the body and must be removed in order to build health.

2. The Kapha diet and lifestyle closely match the "Fit for Life Regi-men," cleaning out excess waste, helping with weight normalization and providing a boost of energy with its abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables.

3. Natural hygiene and Ayurveda both recognize natural cycles of appropriation (Pitta-digestion), assimilation (Kapha-building up tissue) and elimination (Vata-movement) which occur daily. It is important to eat when digestion is strongest, rest when the body is assimilating and respect (support) the period of elimination.

Additionally, Ayurveda's emphasis on taking responsibility for self-care, preparing your own food, appropriate exercise, eating seasonally and maintaining a positive state of mind, are all congruent with my understanding of human health.

My experience with aromatherapy includes the use of essential oils for environmental fragrance and therapeutic inhalations for a temporary sinus infection. Most intriguing for me are the connections between smell, emotions and states of mind. Imagine assisting human growth, development and transformation using natural plant extracts. The Millers' book demonstrates numerous methods to use essential oils for self-healing.