Turmeric is one of life’s most magical herbs, according to Ayurvedic wisdom. The root of the turmeric plant is a spice commonly used in cooking, as well as by natural health practitioners for its medicinal benefits. A native root from India and known by its Sanskrit name haridra, turmeric is featured often in Ayurveda for its inner and outer benefits.
To appreciate the amazing advantages of turmeric, it helps to understand how Ayurveda has been using herbs for thousands of years as a delivery mechanism for health. In this ancient body of knowledge, we are gifted with the methods to use the plants and the world around us to achieve perfect health within. To uncover this deep wisdom, we must become friends with the environment around us, as well as the environment within us (internal thoughts, internal organs, tissues and cells).
Because we’re in a relationship with everything in our lives, a disturbance anywhere in our surroundings can affect our internal balance. And in turn, our internal mental state and physical condition can affect the world around us. Ayurveda provides time-tested ways to harmonize ourselves with our surroundings, and herbs are one of the pathways Ayurveda uses to reach balance and moderation in our busy lifestyles.
Through the right use of herbs and plant-based foods, we can achieve—and help clients achieve—better balance in the mind and body for a healthier life. Turmeric and other Ayurvedic herbs can be incorporated in two ways: through diet, by way of food, supplements, teas and juices; and through bodywork, by way of medicated oils absorbed through the skin, compresses, herbal steam treatments, pastes and other topical applications. Here are the various ways you can incorporate turmeric into wellness offerings to help clients achieve a greater sense of balance and overall well-being.
Annette Figueredo is an Ayurvedic bodywork practitioner, energy healer, breathwork instructor, and sacred fertility and postpartum guide who focuses on cleansing, rejuvenation and moving stuck energy. As a regional trainer for Ayurvedic skin care brand Shankara, Figueredo trains spas and wellness centers around the world, empowering practitioners with authentic healing protocols that restore balance in the body.