My husband has been training for a boxing match for the past 7 weeks. With only a week before his fight, he hurt a muscle on his shoulder (rear deltoid). Very concerned about the last minute injury, he came to me looking for treatment.  During his football and track days in high school and college he was accustomed to receiving high end treatment with stim machines, whirlpools, and a full staff of sports medicine aids.  All of that equipment and resources are a little hard to come by for the average family, much less any weekend warriors.

We were focused on getting this little problem out of the way as soon as possible. Any muscle ache right now is just not good timing. I am also a runner and have suffered many times from muscle problems that just won’t go away easily. Our family prefers to avoid any kind of medications when it comes to treatment, always going with the “homemade” or holistic route. The treatment usually involves ice and heat packs, massages, magnet therapies, and some sort of herbal mixture. This week I have been loading him up with turmeric milk and have really noticed the improvement after a couple of days.

 

This beautiful yellow spice, scientifically called curcuma longa, belongs to the same family as ginger. It has long been used as a healing agent in the four corners of the world such as India, China, and Polynesian Islands. Turmeric is the herb winner of the week. It is a wonderful herb that helps reduce inflammation, and it has been shown to suppress the production of certain prostaglandin chemicals (reduce inflammation). The effect of turmeric on inflammation is especially enhanced when paired with a pinch of black pepper.

Not only to be used when you feel you need to skip the ibuprofen, turmeric has been shown to keep platelets from sticking together, has a cholesterol lowering effect , the ability to suppress the growth of blood vessel muscles cells (an important role in lowering the risk of heart attacks). Turmeric has been used in the treatment of arthritis, as a natural antibiotic agent (inhibits growth of bacteria, yeast, and viruses), reducing pain and stiffness, and detoxifying the body of toxic substances.

In Ayurveda practices, turmeric has been used as a healing agent for fevers, colds, flu, acne, and a cleansing and detoxifying agent. Another practice of Ayurveda, drinking warm milk with nutmeg/cinnamon at night , has been commonly used in many cultures as something to help with restful sleep and cough. I grew up with this homemade recipe whenever I had a sore throat at night.

Creating my turmeric milk, I decided to combine the wisdom of my own culture with the wonderful wisdom of Ayurveda that I have been so fortunate to have studied to create this detoxifying milk that can be used to help reduce inflammation, pacify digestion, sore throat, and help with restful sleep when taken at bed time. You can take this milk in the morning and in the evenings.

Fight night is approaching this weekend, and I’m glad to say that my husband resumed his training after two days of rest, ice & heat treatment, and a nightly serving of turmeric milk. I really hope you enjoy it and also start to incorporate this wonderful healing herb into your lifestyle, as there are many ways to use turmeric.

Ingredients:

1 cup of almond milk or organic milk ( 1 copo de leite)

1 tsp of turmeric (1 colher de cha de curcuma em po)

1 pinch of cinammon ( pintada de canela)

1 pinch of powder ginger (pintada de gengibre em po)

1 pinch of black pepper (pintada de pimenta do reino)

Warm milk in a pan and whisk all the ingredients together. Enjoy it while warm.

Esquente o leite e misture todos os ingredientes. Servir morno.

Ayurveda is the one of the oldest medical methodologies, dating back 5,000 years to its origins in India. If you would like to incorporate Ayurveda practices into your lifestyle such as this turmeric milk, contact me to schedule a consultation. I offer consultations anywhere in the world via Skype. As a Chopra Center certified instructor I also teach Primordial Sound Meditation.

Always consult your physician if you have medical conditions requiring specific treatment.

 

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http://www.blissbalancehealth.com

armenia@blissbalancehealth.com

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