[JewelGreenberg]

Bettina, I remember you telling me, specifically with triphala, that the taste can change depending on what your body needs. It used to taste mostly astringent to me, now I taste mostly bitter. I’ve been managing a lot of excess pitta this year and it’s possible this has promoted the shift in taste for me. Great observations!

[JewelGreenberg]

Swagatika, this is a wonderful list of insights and I think you could expand it and publish it. Thank you for sharing these. I’ve loved reading different answers to this question – each of us brings so much to share and so much nuance and complexity. “To shape and contain flow” – I love this because I often adapt the arm position and drishti when I’m teaching yoga based on the energetic shifts I want to help my students accomplish during class. The energetic and intuitive insights you bring are invaluable.

[JewelGreenberg]

Lesson 3

I don’t remember triphala being so dark when I’ve made a decoction before, and in the past, it tasted more astringent. This time, I tasted, on a scale from 1 (least) to 5 (most):

Sour first, 2 out of 5
then Bitter, 3 or 4 out of 5
then Astringent, 2 out of 5

Sour was just the first moment, and then primarily bitter. I like the idea of washing wounds and will try this as a facial toner since I have a few spots on my face that are basically very shallow wounds.

[JewelGreenberg]

@EastLauraUma – I loved your comments on scars. I think that our relationship also changes over time, with our scars. What bothered me 20 yrs ago, I don’t even think about anymore, but there are some that don’t have a story or real experience behind them -eg. a bug bite I scratched at – that I do want to heal. So noticing our own relationships with our scars, and making space for our clients to have their own opinions of their scars without us as the practitioner assuming anything is really important. Thank you for reminding me of this.

[JewelGreenberg]

@Ananda – I love your list, especially hands as a mechanical device, and as a tool for communication. I used more specific actions, and I love your wider view of these categories of ability – to grasp and hold and pick up, to gesture and applaud and point. So rich. Thank you for sharing.

[JewelGreenberg]

Hi, Ilana – I have a non-surgical knee scar that has had a similar progression to yours It was so funny to see your remarks on your own scar because it made me realize I haven’t thought of mine in ages! What used to be so present in my mind, and on my body, has faded with time and I don’t even think I’ll try scar stuff on it, but maybe just to get the experience. There are other, smaller scars I might work with first. 🙂

[JewelGreenberg]

Bettina, I love your list from Class 1! I was much more literal – grow food, touch the earth, etc, but you included such a great balance of more specific and nuanced abilities – pressing marma points, for instance. Your list is inspiring!

[JewelGreenberg]

Salya Tantra Lesson 2:
Location: 1/4 inch,shallow wound on right middle finger, over the most distal knuckle on dorsal surface – this is a point of flexion
Cause: I scraped my knuckle to the point of bleeding on a microplane while grating garlic – an abrasion
Perimeter: I’m assuming this is considered the periwound since that is the language used in the recorded classes, ie. the surface area (about 4 cm) around the bed. Perimeter is normal temperature and color and sensitivity
Edge: previously, thickened and very dry, and sore. Removed edge and it is now closer to same height/depth as bed – ADVANCING
Bed: deep pink, not bleeding, no discharge, sensitive to touch, dry, looks and feels like new skin – EPITHELIUM
Exudate: NONE
Interpretation: wound is now healing well. Wound bed is getting less red each day. Feels a bit dry and rough to the touch – will start adding a salve

Write
I’ve never really thought about assessing a wound before – this was quite fascinating. Being able to observe my own (small) wound healing has been educational. The color changing of the bed is full of good information, as is the sensitivity level. Once the rolled edge was removed, it actually felt much better within 24 hrs.

• This reply was modified 6 days, 10 hours ago by JewelGreenberg.
• This reply was modified 6 days, 10 hours ago by JewelGreenberg.

[JewelGreenberg]

CLASS 1 – Jewel’s Observations
My hands already know how to:
– grow vegetables and flowers
– prepare food
– touch someone with the intention to heal
– hug
– self-abhyanga
– scalp massage
– enjoy touching soil, leaves, tree bark, water

[JewelGreenberg]

So…LOL! First go round, I read my chart wrong, so this is a redo. All of you had such excellent interpretations of your own pattersn – it’s really inspiring!

My 6th house is actually empty of planetary placements.
With Taurus as my Ascendent in First house, my 6th house is Libra, ruled by Venus.
The nakshatra for my 6th House is Chitra (3rd pada), which shares Mercury and Venus as Star Lords. That bit is extra for this assignment, but I’m trying to get used to the language.

With the Sixth House being the house of health, disease, and daily practice, and it’s planetary ruler VIRGO governing, in general, the abdomen, and more specifically, the intestines, lower spine, fingers, and spleen, I’ve looked for health connections in those areas.

I’ve typically been someone with a “cast iron stomach”, but the two times I’ve had GI issues, they’ve been big problems, to the point of hospitalization.

I’ve never had a lot of pain in my fingers and have never broken any bones, but I bit my nails for years and they tend to peel. Also, my cuticles are usually pretty dry.

Lower back issues cropped up in my early 40’s and have been resolved with physical therapy.

Of the most interest to me is the relationship I’ve had with this area of my body. I’ve always had a difficult relationship with my belly, to the point of having self-diagnosed mild BDD (Body Dysmorphic Disorder). I’ve never seen this area of my body as beautiful, youthful, nice, or anything positive. But now, in my mid-40’s, and at the end of my Venus dasha, my feelings are changing to some extent. It just doesn’t seem as important for my belly to be a certain way – it doesn’t have the same gravity that it used to in my psyche, but that could also be connected to leaving the entertainment industry and moving out of Los Angeles which are both so physique-focused. I simply care less about it. At 46, I’ve gotten much more interested in getting stronger rather than thinner and I wonder if my Sun dasha which is next has anything to do with that shift in focus.

Also, a reminder to us all, no effort on this past is wasted! I’m so glad the connections I made, albeit when I was looking at my chart incorrectly, have been helpful, and the process of developing those connections have helped me further understand how the relationships and influences between House, Sign, Planetary Ruler, Dasa, etc can interact and inform my own experiences. Well done, all!

Vella, I usually need to wait for the urge to come back to re-start my practices, and that has traditionally included setting the stage by getting back to time in nature and hiking first, and working with my physical body in some way (a regular strength training class, getting back to a regular routine of 20 min of yoga every day, etc). Then, the desire to return to pranayama and meditation arrives. I usually need to work from the outside (physical body) in (mind, energy).

Manou, I LOVED reading what you’ve shared about your own chart! Fascinating!

Randall, yes, these relationships are nuances and complex, and looking at them on paper (house, sign, etc) is giving me insight to my own tendencies in life. 🙂

[JewelGreenberg]

Bettina, your observations are so on the money! : ) It’s very cool to see what we know “backed up” by jyotish.

[JewelGreenberg]

I like how you’re doing all your posts in one message thread… I might add that in to my system. My 6th House ruler is also Mercury, but through Virgo. And I have Mars in my 6th House, so some different influences there.

[JewelGreenberg]

Hello, my name is Jewel and I came to Ayurveda through yoga. I’m a recent transplant from Los Angeles, California to rural-ish Pennsylvania and looking forward to starting my practice out here soon.

[JewelGreenberg]

Ilana, these are such great observations. My 6th house is Virgo and holds Mars – looking forward to finding some deeper connections, as you have.

[JewelGreenberg]

Erin, the right side of my chart is also “heavy” – everything but Moon and Ketu, for me, are in houses 1-6. It will be interesting to learn what that means for us!

[Author]

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