Memory is like a muscle that can be developed to any level by your planned efforts. The more you use this 'muscle', the stronger your ability to focus becomes. With Ayurveda herbs, panchakarma, diet and particularly marma – subtle energy points – we have seen unimaginable 100% improvement in children, adults and older people's power of memory.
-Pankaj Naram
Did you know everyone has 100% memory? Memory is one of the great powers of the mind; the problem comes when we do not use this magnificent power and it gets rusty!
I've experienced this firsthand during my 23-year practice – that Ayurveda can transform sluggish memory quickly and marvelously! Each year I see thousands of patients. Due to powerful marma (subtle energy) memory points that I use regularly – as well as potent herbs to strengthen the mental channels – I am able to recall the name and profession of each person who walks through the door. This science of memory is so precise that remembering what a person was wearing years ago when they stepped into my office is easy! Giving people this one marma point has changed thousands of lives – combined with herbal supplements, a good diet, home remedies and deep cleansing through panchakarma!
Jayesh's parents were wringing their hands when they brought their son to our Ayushakti Center in Mumbai. This young boy wasn't able to concentrate, could not sit still, couldn't focus and was failing all his studies. When I asked his name, where he was studying or his favorite subjects, he couldn't even answer. His gaze was somewhere else; he was dull and listless. When I saw his pulse, it was jumping upward – making him restless, anxious and highly depressed – and his parents were desperate.
I gave Jayesh two powerful marma points to press – on his own. One to improve the grounding energy he lacked and to build his self-esteem, (on the right thumb and first finger) and a second for the memory pulse at the outside base of the left thumb. Each morning, Jayesh pressed these memory and self-esteem points six times before he started studying. Within just 15 days, believe it or not, magic happened. He began remembering even his most complex subjects – and was able to study with 100% focus and concentration – something that was not possible before.
Marma Point to improve memory
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Most often we translate 'memory problems' as Alzheimer's, dementia or increasing benign forgetfulness or short-term memory loss. For example, women in menopause can temporarily experience changes in memory that are recovered once hormonal balancing reoccurs. All these examples typically happen to people older than Jayesh. But here was a young boy whose life was in a crisis due to no memory whatsoever and consequently damaging low self esteem. This is the situation with many young people today! ADD goes hand-in-hand with poor memory. So, memory has become a problem across the board.
Ayurveda believes that all the three doshas in the brain – Vata (air), Pitta (fire) and Kapha (Phlegm) must work together for learning, processing and recalling information. Imbalance in any one of them can cause problems with memory, concentration and mental clarity. How does this complex mechanism work?
In brief – to have good focus of mind, to learn and acquire new knowledge, VATA (specifically prana vata) must be balanced. When PITTA gets out of balance, the dhriti, (laying down of intermediate memory function through chemical and electrical processing of memories that can be retrieved for a day or two and then forgotten) will be impaired. And when KAPHA dosha, which lubricates and nourishes the brain tissue, is weak, your long-term memory suffers. For example, if you're frequently unable to muster up names or memories you know that you once knew, then your tarpaka kapha is in need of some help. Does any of this sound familiar? So we have immediate memory (back a few seconds), intermediate (a few seconds to a few days back) and long-term memory – stretching further back in time.
Let's do a little test. Can you recall three unrelated items you were exposed to in the last 5 minutes? How about something you had for breakfast two days ago? How about the make and color of your first car?
Was any of this a stretch for you? If so, how can you develop a stronger and more resilient memory?
Most important is to keep your VATA balanced; too much Vata disturbs the ability to preserve short term memory and dehydrates the normal levels of Pitta and Kapha in the brain. Eating foods that nourish the tissues and also a high protein diet feeds the muscle tissue which is directly connected with brain tissue. Avoid sour and fermented foods because these block the strotras, or subtle energy channels. Keep your food spiced with ginger, garlic, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, basil, thyme and rosemary to help stimulate the Agni (digestive metabolic fire). Ginger has been scientifically proven to increase the basal metabolic rate that transforms nutrients into tissues. Make sure that your digestion and metabolism are functioning well.
Here are some remarkable Home Remedies that can help improve your memory:
- Take 1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter) or olive oil on empty stomach in the morning every day with warm herbal tea
- Eat 2-3 teaspoon of ALMOND BUTTER twice a day
- Avoid raw food and salad – instead drink fruit juices
- Take one avocado every day for its antioxidant properties that prevent memory loss
- Take 1 teaspoon of GOTUCOLA powder with water two times a day. You can also infuse it as a tea with two cups of water. Boil it down to one cup and sweeten with maple syrup or raw cane sugar.
Ayurveda also has many potent herbs that help to sharpen the mind and boost memory. One man named Kasim in California brought his 70-year old mother to our health center. She had early stage Alzheimer's and had begun to lose her memory, first forgetting things that happened two days ago, repeating herself constantly, until finally she could not remember whether she had eaten or what she had done five minutes ago. She took just one Ayushakti herbal supplement called Sumedha 95 for six months, and there was a remarkable turnaround in her memory!
One Florida woman had her pulse taken due to swelling in her legs and some bloating. When she took the herbal supplements we recommended, not only did these things disappear, but her memory went back to the way it was when she was a young girl! "I'm shocked at the amount of detail and the things that I have total recall for." Marlin Katzin said.
Christine Loring from Hollywood, Florida had a similar experience. "What I discovered after taking these herbal supplements right away was not only an upsurge of energy, but a sharper memory. I've always had an excellent memory and now that I'm studying again, I find it's even sharper. I love the balancing potential of Ayurveda! For me, it's been the vehicle for a major shift in my life."
Pankaj Naram will be touring several cities in the USA in May-June 2006. For more information about Ayushakti herbal supplements, to make pulse evaluation appointments or attend his Ayurveda workshops, visit: www.ayushakti-usa.com or call (201) 767-1720
