Ayurveda for Depression: An Integrative Approach to Restoring Balance and Reclaiming Your Health

Description

An integrative guide to overcoming depression, restoring balance, and reclaiming your health. The ancient system of Ayurveda has been used for more than 5 millennia to treat all manner of ailments and bring the body back into a state of balance. An integrated model that nourishes both inner and outer wellness, Ayurvedic wisdom can empower you to reclaim your life from depression and restore wholeness in body, mind, and spirit. While conventional western approaches to treating depression often fall back on a discrete, one-size-fits-all approach, Ayurveda addresses depression systemically to treat and heal the whole person. In Ayurveda for Depression, you'll learn to identify your unique dosha (body type) and prakruti (constitution) to develop a depression protocol tailor-made for you. Using an integrative model that can work on its own or in concert with Western therapies, you'll learn which lifestyle changes, body interventions, diet modifications, and herbal treatments will work best for your unique needs. Anti-depression protocols outlined in this book include re-energizing daily and seasonal routines; nutritional guidelines for dosha-based diets; the what, when, how, and why of food; exercise and yoga practices to reawaken your body; balancing your brain chemistry with proteins and amino acids; taking the right approaches to balance fiery, airy, and watery constitutions; and more.

DR. L. EDUARDO CARDONA-SANCLEMENTE's medical and scientific career spans professorships and senior scientific research posts at some of Europe's most distinguished medical schools and universities. He completed his masters in clinical biochemistry and his PhD in the mechanism of neurotransmitters. He has been studying and practicing integrative medicine for decades and holds a masters in Ayurvedic medicine from Middlesex University, London, UK. Dr. Cardona-Sanclemente is a Member of the NHS Directory of Complementary & Alternative Practitioners and presided for several years as the Research Committee Director of the Ayurvedic Professional Association. He is also a Fellow of The Royal Society of Medicine. Now based in the US, he is a certified Ayurvedic Doctor by the National Ayurvedic Medical Association. He resides in Berkeley, CA, working as Director of Ayurvedic Research at the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico.

PRAISE FOR AYURVEDA FOR DEPRESSION "It is a pleasure to write about Ayurveda for Depression and Dr. Eduardo Cardona-Sanclemente. His scientific and medical training combined with his Ayurveda knowledge enable him to apply his research to one of the paramount conditions of our time with a keen eye guided by deep human understanding. This is a significant contribution to the bridging of Western and Eastern medicine." -PROF SIR SALVADOR MONCADA, FRS, FMedSci, HonFBPhS, Manchester Cancer Research Centre, Universityof Manchester "Dr. Eduardo Cardona-Sanclemente has produced an excellent, detailed, and many-sided account of the Ayurvedic treatment of depression with reference to modern medicine as well. An important contribution in the field of Ayurvedic studies that is worthy of deep examination." -DR. DAVID FRAWLEY, author of Yoga and Ayurveda "What a beautiful book that elegantly integrates the modern biomedical understanding of depression with the wellness and healing of Ayurveda. Dr. Cardona-Sanclemente invites the reader into his personal story and offers wellness and healing strategies that restore balance and health using an individualized Ayurvedic approach to diet, lifestyle, herbs, and the emotions. Ayurveda for Depression provides an insightful and novel approach for those suffering from depression that is compassionate and achievable." -DIANA I. LURIE, PhD, professor of Neuropharmacology at the University of Montana and certified Ayurvedic practitioner "The darkness of depression is a reality for many, and this book is a welcome guide to how Ayurveda can shine a light on this condition and how to dispel the disabling shadow that it casts." -DR. ROBERT SVOBODA, BAMS (Ayurvedacharya), author of Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution "This is the book that anyone struggling with depression must read." -MATTHEW MCKAY, PhD, professor at The Wright Institute and coauthor of Thoughts & Feelings "Dr. Cardona-Sanclemente speaks to us heart to heart, helping us synthesize much information into personal understanding and providing tools for devising a personal plan toward wellness. I believe this authoritative exploration can touch and benefit many." -CLAUDIA WELCH, DOM, author of Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life "Way beyond depression, the essential principles of Ayurveda expressed in this book will be helpful to anyone interested in this remarkable traditional way toward human healthy balance. Dr. Cardona-Sanclemente sees with his heart and radiates that through his unique perspective on science, health, and humanity." -ALEXANDER DE SALZMANN, MD, Internal Medicine, Paris France "Sometimes one encounters a colleague with unique insights and sensitivity who takes a refreshingly forensic view of what we have come to accept as norms. Dr. Cardona-Sanclemente is such a colleague. I know from decades of professional collaboration that this book will be of great support to those experiencing depression and other mental health conditions." -DR. SABINE GRIGLIO, DSc, research director of the National Institute for Medical Research (INSERM), France