Without weed :) :)
​
​There was a time when I did not realize the symptoms of stress. That might have been due to a variety of reasons: lack of awareness, age (you bounce back faster when younger), ... The first clear memory I have of the awareness of being stressed was in late 2014. I was driving to work when I suddenly felt physically ill at ease and thought I was going to pass out. I took the nearest exit, parked and waited for the feeling to pass. Then drove back home and took the day off. I remember a clear sense of feeling overwhelmed, feeling utterly unfulfilled, and a sense that I had lost all control over my life. For the past several months, I had been suffering from chronic pain in my right hand which I self diagnosed as a form of Carpel-Tunnel. The only problem was that the pain seemed to randomly come and go. There were also neglected bills (did not have a system for automating payment for all my monthly bills), a sense of not not being there enough for my little kids, a lack of purpose, and a feeling of exhaustion. I had had no major health issues and the feeling of being about to pass out unnerved me, and combined with the pain in my hand, I decided it was high time I went for a complete physical check up. 
That was the beginning of a year long phase of my body breaking down. My doctor said that it was stress. I didn't believe him. I had always assumed that stress was all "mental". Don't ask - I just had not paid enough attention. How can you say the very real and physical pain in my hand, the shortness of breath I sometimes experienced, the chest palpitations were due to stress? There must be a physiological issue behind this, I insisted. My doctor was very patient with me - he explained that 75% of patients visit doctors due to stress related issues. He also said that stress can manifest in any physical form. He encouraged me to explore mindfulness to help. 
Soon after, things got worse for me - I developed insomnia. I was once a deep sleeper that would pass out and not wake up until the next morning. Now I was up all night with aches, burning sensations in my body, and worse, if by some stroke of luck, I began to nod off, my body would simply jerk itself awake. It was horrible. I went back to my doctor and begged for sleeping pills. He reluctantly prescribed a 90 day supply. Anyways, I became desperate to get better. It was a long journey - I read A LOT! I experimented and I want to share what worked for me. Standard disclaimer: do your own research and consult your doctor before you decide to follow my path.

- The first step towards recovery is realization. It took me a while to accept that I was stressed.
- Once I accepted that, I took some near term steps to manage it. I cut back on work responsibilities. I asked for a change in work scope and was able to eliminate many work stressors that had led me to this state. 
- I was uncomfortable in my skin for nearly a year - meaning I would feel sensations of wobbliness, burning sensations in my chest and back, shortness of breath, tingling sensations etc. These were SUPER uncomfortable and I was not used to them. I wanted them to go away and never come back - which stressed me out further when I felt the next tingle or burn. I really had to work work work on accepting these uncomfortable sensations. One thing that helped was talking about them with close family and friends. They helped me realize that  I was not dying! And that really helped. So the lesson is go to your trusted network for support. 
- I took a three month yoga class. Obviously there were no instantaneous benefits, but it was calming to stretch, breathe, and be still.
- I read a lot of positive books and blogs on mindfulness, finding your purpose, finding meaning, supporting your body, health etc. These were also a huge support and helped me immensely in staying motivated to healing myself. I found the following very helpful:

• Dr. Mark Hyman. I found his website useful for researching supplements. I recommend reading this blog post and this. 
• Dr. Sara Gottfried - The Hormone Cure. I followed her recommendation for supplements for three months and I believe they really work. 
• Eknath Easwaran - Conquest of Mind. I used this book to learn how to use a mantra when my mind was in overdrive. 
• Dr. Robert Fulford - Touch of Life. A simple book which I used to practice some exercises. It's a beautifully written and simple book. Highly recommended.
• Pete Egoscue - Pain Free. I can't say enough about how wonderful this book is. Written by a renowned physical therapist, the book has simple, effective exercises that you can do at home or anywhere else you might be in just a few minutes for every part of your body that might be in chronic pain. And they WORK! I use his exercises even today. 

- Supplements: I invested in some supplements based on the research above. I believe these really work. I recently started a new role at work and I could feel the stress on the first week on the job. The first step was awareness that I was stressed (unlike before). I could feel burning sensations in my body (probably cortisol), poor sleep, tight muscles, clenched jaw. Once I realized I was stressed, I began a regimen of magnesium (called the chill pill - I can't say enough about this mineral. Important you take an absorbable form of the mineral - read the Dr. Hyman article), fish oil, and vitamin B6. I could relax within a few days. 
- Vitamin C: I am convinced this is a miracle vitamin. I travel a lot and get exposed to god knows what in my travels. I drink a glass of warm lemon water - a method renowned in Ayurveda - for my daily dose of vitamin C. If you have a lemon tree at home, juice your lemons and drink a glass everyday. Just a teaspoon of lemon juice diluted with water will do.
​- Meditation: I use an app called Oak. I love to sit and do guided meditation. Definitely helps.
- Breathing: When stressed, I find it very helpful to breathe consciously. I use this technique that I read in a book by Dr. Andrew Weil. 
- Fresh herbal teas: Since I embarked on this wonderful journey of discovering the magic of plants, a whole new world has opened up to me. My research led me to herbs I'd never heard of before. Like Lemon balm. This is a stress busting herb also known to help with hormonal imbalance. I bought a lemon balm plant (it is a member of the mint family and grows readily in California). I usually combine it with a few leaves of sage and drink a tea when I feel like it. It is amazing!
- Ginger - this is an amazing root that helps with inflammation. I incorporate a lot of fresh ginger every day. There are studies that show that pre-menstrual syndrome is linked with inflammation and also that there is a correlation to decreased magnesium levels. I do suffer from some hormonal issues just before and just after my period. So I load up on ginger and magnesium to help with this. 

I think that's about it. I hope you find these resources helpful. I strongly believe there is a natural and safe way to managing stress. I didn't mention exercise - I am not an exercise person. I like to walk but that's about it. Maybe there is a whole new way to deal with stress with exercise. Do share your story of how you manage stress.

We all love facials - the ritual of steaming, masking, pore cleansing, facial massage. Blackhead removal - not so pleasant. I'd love to hear what you like about getting a facial! Please share.
However, I bet here's something you didn't know. If you are dark skinned, blackhead removal can actually do more damage to your skin. Why? The curse of pigmented skin is its very easy tendency to scar. Squeezing out blackheads bruises skin and tends to leave behind scars that last forever. Remember that next time someone tries to de-blackhead you!
So what can you do? First we need to understand blackheads.
Blackheads are caused by two things: excess sebum (oil) and debris like dead skin cells. When the opening of a hair follicle gets clogged by these two, a comedone (bump) develops. If the bump is above the skin surface, it gets oxidized resulting in a blackhead. If the bump is below the skin's surface, it is a whitehead. If the comedone gets infected by bacteria, it is a pimple. There's a lot of hooey stuff on the internet with no scientific backing about how to manage comedones and acne ranging from "non-comedogenic" products to oil cleansing. If we were to address the root cause of blackheads, we need to control the amount of sebum produced and prevent the accumulation of dead skin cells. How can we do this? 
Turns out that controlling the sebum production is not easy - it is dependent on hormones which are a bit tricky to manage. We can do something about removing dead skin cells. This is a good review published in a scientific journal about methods to manage acne including alternative therapies. The paper indicates that clay masks are effective in clearing out dead skin due to clay's excellent absorptive and adsorptive properties. 
This paper also indicates the benefits of using clay masks for mild acne although it was sponsored by a company that makes and sells clay!!!
There are different types of clay to use. Examples are Bentonite, kaolin, French Rose, French Green, Fuller's earth (Multani Mitti) ... In general the French clays and Kaolin clay are gentler and less drying. 
Here's what you need to know about applying a clay mask:
1) Cleanse face first
2) You can use water, yogurt, honey, apple cider vinegar as your liquid medium depending on the type of clay and your skin type. For example, bentonite clay is alkaline and it is best to use an acidic liquid like apple cider vinegar to mix your mask. If you are a Vata type person, honey will be a good choice and not dry out your skin. When in doubt, just use water. 
3) Test your skin to sensitivity. If your skin is sensitive, apply a thin layer and leave on for 5-10 mins and wash off. If your skin is not too sensitive, you can leave the mask on for longer. According to Ayurveda, you should not leave the mask on beyond the point that it is just completely dry. 
4) Frequency of application - no more than once a week depending on how your skin likes it. 
Some other helpful tips to manage blackheads:
1) Cleanse your face with a mild Ph balanced cleanser, like this, no more than twice a day - morning and evening. One of the key problems with liquid cleansers are that they are very hard to completely rinse off. It is vitally important to rinse the cleanser off COMPLETELY or the chemicals in the cleanser will clog your pores. A rule of thumb is to wash your face with water 10 times after applying the cleanser.
2) Steam your face to "open" (more technically, clean) your pores once a week. 
3) Minimize the number of products you use on your face. 

Check out our Ayurvedic face mask that is blended with the best skin nourishing botanicals. This product has rave reviews from our customers!

Lastly and most importantly - let your confidence make you beautiful, blackheads or not. Don't obsess - just follow these simple hygiene tips, eat sensibly, and live your life!

 I have never been into makeup. I know it's quite exciting for a lot of women, but for me it's just a bother. Why?

• It takes time and skill - I prefer to spend the time on something else (like doing yoga for example)
• It's high maintenance
• It's expensive. You need to have the products and the tools. I recently read Bobbi Brown's book Living Beauty - while the results of her artistry are quite remarkable, they come at a pretty significant cost.

I can go on, but those are the basics. Although I don't care for makeup, I do care deeply about beauty. Everyone has an opinion about beauty - to me beauty is an attitude and a state of mind. As cliched as that might sound, I believe it's true. For my beauty to shine through my persona, I need to feel gorgeous. And makeup does not do it for me. 
To illustrate what makes me feel gorgeous, I need to make an analogy to Ramit Sethi's pyramid for productivity (with due apologies to Ramit). When you think about it, there are a few key fundamentals which when taken care of pay huge dividends when it comes to the quality of your life. Beauty is an aspect of quality of life - it adds to self confidence. So, here are the fundamentals Ramit talks about that are the basics of leading a productive life. Interestingly, the same is true for looking gorgeous as well. (Below is my summary and not exactly Ramit's words).

• Sleep well - nothing like a good night's sleep to make you feel amazing. Also it helps with dark circles and generally looking like you're about to drop. Concealers work but are a lot more work, time and money. Nothing pays richer dividends than making it a priority to get a good night's sleep.
• Eat well - Ramit talks about meal plans so that the probability of unhealthy eating is low. But the fundamental is to eat nutritious food. For beauty, there are multiple benefits to eating healthy, nutritious food. Many people mistakenly think that beauty is about what they slather on their skin - it is actually a fundamental side effect of a healthy life style.
• Cultivate systems and habits that help you achieve your goal. For beauty, there are a few personal hygiene habits that have to be cultivated and practiced consistently. Like brushing and flossing your teeth. Below are some of the most effective habits that have worked for me (besides the two above).
  • Cleanse your face in the morning and at night no.matter.what. A lot of people go to bed without cleansing their face - just like brushing your teeth gets rid of the food remnants stuck in your teeth, cleansing your face at night removes the grime that collects on your face from your activities throughout the day.  This one habit will elevate your skin to a new level. 
  • Give your skin real nutrients. Makeup is not nutritious. Real nutrients are rich plan oils like olive, coconut, grapeseed etc. My personal regimen is to use facial oils as moisturizers morning and night. A lot of people are appalled at the thought of using oils for their face. I used to be one of them. But I am now convinced that oils are the best way to restoring your skin to the right oil balance. Use natural soaps made from real oils. Want less breakouts? Use facial oils.
  • Exfoliate - use simple physical exfoliants. You don't need 20% glycolic acid peels. Physical exfoliants take time but are way less risky and more pleasant to use. Exfoliate your body as well about once a week by dry brushing or using a scrub.
• Exercise. It's funny how we try to recreate the natural with makeup. It's not a bad thing but for me it's misplaced time and energy. When you exercise, your cheeks flush. You improve your blood circulation in your body that creates vitality. The best manifestation of beauty is vitality. So do exercise that you enjoy. For me it's brisk walking and yoga. Make it a priority. And drink a lot of water and eat food with fiber so the unhealthy build up in your body is flushed away in your pee and poo. 

So that's it. If the above habits are cultivated and practiced consistently, you will glow without the need for makeup. How do I know? I have experimented on myself. I read a lot and found the above to be common in most credible works. Try it - you have nothing to lose.

Unless it's fruit and vegetables.

​I recently went on a team building event from work to a place where we baked some goodies as a team. One of the items we made was red velvet cake. I bit my tongue as we dumped a couple of tablespoons of the red dye into the dough. Did I do the right thing in not speaking up about the hazards of using artificial food coloring? I don't know. . .

It seems there are two camps these days on food, bath and body ingredients - the alarmists a la Food Babe and the "I'm cool with parabens because that's the best thing there is to preserve things for 5 years without fearing icky mold and bacteria growth". Kind of like American politics conspicuous by the lack of a balanced point of view.

Below is how I feel about artificial food coloring. I wrote this as a comment in response to a blog post from a lady who has her own natural products line. You can read her post here.

While I commend the spirit with which you have written this article, I still think it is very important for consumers to become smarter in choosing both food and bath and body products. A couple of examples: artificial food coloring. There are now a ton of products that have food coloring. Three of these dyes that are used widely in the US have benzidene which a study published in an NIH paper shows to be a human and animal carcinogen. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2957945/

The FDA of course approves of this to be used because the concentration is too low to cause harm. Which is the same argument used to permit the use of lead acetate in a men's hair product to cover grey. There are scientific papers written that conclude there is NO safe level of exposure to lead.
Although most of the Questionable ingredients are present in low concentrations, the lack of transparency in labeling products and the absence of audits in the bath and body industry, exposes consumers to risks - and given that the combination of multiple food and bath and body products consumed, concern about the cumulative impact of the effects of these substances on health is understandable. In my opinion, it is the responsibility of consumers to vet out what is in food and other products to ensure safety, ethical practices in mass manufacturing especially when it comes to children. The truth is we will never be able to isolate a health issue to a certain ingredient. But like you say, the way everything we put in our bodies can interact with each other, how they build up due to cumulative effects etc. are common sense concerns.

I do agree that consumers must get smart about vetting out scientific studies from alarmist blogs or websites written by people who have no formal training or credibility in health or chemistry. Just because this needs more effort does not imply consumers can blindly consume if they have any regard for what they are putting in their bodies. This article in the Scientific American illustrates the impact consumers can have on changing the way big companies approach what they put in their products. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-artificial-food-coloring-contribute-to-adhd-in-children/

Thanks for reading my long comment!

So what do you think about artificial food coloring? As I wrote this comment, I realized that the key reason that I chose to start my own skin care line was really inspired by the concept of minimalism. I am not an alarmist - I did eat the red velvet cupcake - but I believe we need not resort to unwanted and un-needed things to make our food (including skin food) nutritious, beautiful, and tasty.

Lastly, I want to leave you with this guide on food colorants by a then toxicology Ph.D. candidate: https://cspinet.org/sites/default/files/attachment/food-dyes-rainbow-of-risks.pdf

Image courtesy: https://allevents.in/blog/international-yoga-day/

I realized the importance of treating my body with respect when I hit forty. It's not like I really abused it before - I did pay attention to what I ate etc. The issue was stress got the better of me and I was plagued with a host of inconvenient symptoms like insomnia, anxiety, racing heart, pain in my joints that would come and go at will etc. For the longest time, I could not accept that these physical symptoms were caused by my state of mind rather than some physiological condition. I went through a battery of tests and nothing was wrong. My doctor sat with me for an hour and gently explained that stress is the number one reason for doctor visits and can manifest in any random physical way imaginable. I still didn't believe him. Then one day, I called our family medical consultant and explained what I was going through. He heard me patiently, asked questions and then said something that finally made me understand:
1) If you have a pathological condition causing some issue, it will get worse with time
2) All my symptoms occurred randomly - there was no noticeable pattern to when, how, and what I felt. One day it was pain, another it was a feeling of lightheadedness, another it was a racing heart. The only thing that was consistent was the insomnia. This indicated, he said, a feeling of not having my life under control.
Finally a light bulb went on - that was it!!!

And that's how I began my journey to heal my mind. Little did I realize that that would lead to a pleasant side effect.

I want to make it clear that this journey has neither been easy nor short. It started in early 2015 and it took dedication. If you feel suboptimal in your body, are stressed out, or are just plain unhappy, you can turn things around - but only if you are wholly committed to it. That's the only rule. In my case, I was desperate to feel good in my body again. I had begun to accept that the aches and pain I was feeling was a sign of my growing old, or hormonal issues or some such. The fact is we're living much longer today - so the more we take care of ourselves, the better our enjoyment of our longevity. Below are the steps I took to get my life back.
1) I started with reading. I read all kinds of positive, uplifting books on philosophy, spirituality, and healthy living. Reading helped me feel better.
2) I talked about my fears with close friends. I remember a conversation I had with one of them who was also going through tough times health wise. She said "What's the worst thing that can happen?" I replied "I will die". And somehow that helped. Speaking out my irrational fear helped me feel lighter.
3) I started going on long walks almost daily. These helped calm me down and have a slice of joy that comes with being out in nature every day.
4) I looked deep and hard inside myself. I made some decisions - found a new job, started a skin care line. Those gave me renewed confidence and added a freshness to my life that was enjoyable.
5) I was beginning to feel a lot better after a year of this. What took it to the next level was a Surya Namaskar or sun salutation challenge I accepted with a couple of coworkers. The challenge was to complete 108 cycles of these yogic poses in six months. I started slowly and built up to 60 cycles I'm still not at 108 but that's less important for me now). I do these stretches almost daily at 36 cycles. I have realized unbelievable benefits from this.

• ​​Joint pain has gone!
• Sleep quality is excellent - I pass out for 7 hours.
• Toned body - I love this! There were some clothes I couldn't wear without shapewear. I had a muffin top etc. Much better now - no shapewear needed!!! Not to mention how awesome it feels to get compliments!
• Losing weight gradually. This was not my primary objective but when I realized I was probably losing weight, I decided to monitor it properly.

A few things to keep in mind when you are experimenting with weight loss. Your body weight fluctuates within a day. Use a good digital scale and an app like this to keep track easily. The green line indicated where I want to get to - that's the lightest I've ever been in my adult life!
Dont try too hard - like yourself no matter what your weight is. Being thin and shapely is something you mostly want to do for others, not yourself. Your goal must be to feel good about yourself - trust your instincts.

• ​Hair growth (!) - I found this to be an interesting side effect. My hair lady noticed it too. Not sure why - couldn't find any scientific studies on it. I have not been doing a systematic study on my hair growth but it's definitely noticeable. Probably due to increased circulation to the head?

in the end, I feel pretty good now. I feel more in control, my body feels happy and rested, my skin shows the benefits. When I started in this journey, I felt lost and didn't know where to begin. I hope my story will help someone get back on track to feeling great. Even though I have a skin care line, I have to say this - the fundamentals of beautiful glowing skin are a healthy mind and body - that imparts a glow that no cosmetic can match.