Cherish your Outer Beauty by Nourishing your Inner Beauty
In a time when beauty is often equated, in many cultures, with a “fair” complexion or a fashionably thin figure or the shape of the nose, it is interesting to look back to a time when beauty was defined in holistic terms, and beauty was within every woman’s reach. Ayurveda, the 5,000-year-old healing system from India, has a unique perspective on beauty.
Holistic and all-encompassing, the ayurvedic definition of beauty reads thus — “Roopam, gunam, vayastyag, iti shubhanga karanam.“ According to ayurveda, there are three pillars of beauty. Roopam is outer beauty — personified by shining, healthy hair and a clear, radiant complexion. Gunam refers to inner beauty — the beauty that shines from within, characterized by a warm, pleasing personality and innocence of mind and heart. And vayastyag means lasting beauty — looking and feeling younger than your chronological age. Thus, ayurveda does not focus only on cosmetics to achieve the state of true beauty.
Roopam does not specify a type of figure or the color of the skin or the length or style of the hair. Outer beauty, according to ayurveda, is a reflection of good health — good digestion and healthy eating habits and lifestyle. The frame of the body is dependent on the type of structural components you were born with. Whether thin, medium or big, each type of body structure can be beautiful as long as good health exists.
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT! Ayurveda takes this notion very seriously. In fact, it goes a step further to say “YOU ARE WHAT YOU DIGEST.” A radiant, clear complexion begins with proper nutrition, efficient digestion assimilation of nutrients by the body and regular elimination. It’s all about diet.
In our time-constrained, deadline-oriented society, good eating habits are hard to maintain. But good diet and digestion are crucial for long-term beauty, because beauty begins with good health. Ayurveda also emphasizes herbal supplements as aids to beauty: a supplement to help keep the skin clear through the purification of the blood; or one to internally balance the moisture and elasticity of the skin; or one to pep up the functioning of the liver.
The body needs rest in order to rejuvenate itself. Laughter, seeking new experiences, and the company of good friends can keep you looking, and feeling, beautiful, no matter what your biological age may be. With the dawn of a new millennium, let us go beyond the color of the skin or the height of the cheekbones to find beauty in every woman.
Pamper your body by inner nutrition with long lasting results.
