The ancient ayurvedic treatment called “netra basti” concentrates on the deep relaxation of the ocular muscles while cleansing and lubricating the eyeball and socket with castor oil (said to prevent cataracts), rose water or, most commonly, ghee (clarified butter). Local ayurvedic practitioner Heather Nagel recommends the treatment for anyone who spends long hours gazing into a computer screen.
Posts Tagged: Wellness
In Search of the Pu-erh High
Several months ago, a friend served me pu-erh tea for the first time. He talked of an “expansion” and a “clear headedness”—highs that sounded particularly useful at the time. After the first miniature cup, a calm washed over me. I felt relaxed, yet more mentally open than I had been even 30 seconds before.
Surfer Looks to Expand Unique Rehab Efforts
Darryl “Flea” Virostko needs a house, preferably near the waves, hopefully with sports equipment. Not for himself, but for the greater good. The big wave surf legend behind FleaHab, a support program for recovering addicts, says he’s reached the point where he realizes he could help more people if FleaHab had four walls, a roof and a few beds.
The Skinny on Vitamin D
Call me an addict, but the first sunny morning following a slew of rainy days always propels me outside to soak it up with a maximum skin-to-clothing ratio. Sunshine on skin: an ancient, visceral pleasure, and one of life’s simplest. Too much of it causes wrinkles, sun spots, and skin cancer. But just a little bit of conscientious, unblocked sunbathing is actually as good for our body chemistry as it feels: it converts vitamin D, a unique and crucial nutrient, into one of the three forms that can be absorbed by the human body. (The other two forms come from the diet.)
Surprisingly, a deficiency of the sunny vitamin is more common in Santa Cruz, and more serious, than you’d expect.
Kicking Sugar for Better Health
Jill Escher had me at “clear skin” and “lifted brain fog.” Armed with a copy of her book, Farewell Club Perma-Chub: A Sugar Addict’s Guide to Easy Weight Loss, I hurled myself cold turkey into a sugar-free existence a few weeks ago, just as Girl Scout Cookie season commenced. And it wasn’t just the white stuff, either. All starches had to go.
Nonprofit Ayurvedic Clinic Opens Doors
I catch sight of Heather Nagel’s red hair first, ablaze in the noontime sun as she stands on the sidewalk and waves. She leads me up the stairs of an apartment building tucked away off Center Street and into Aushadi Santa Cruz, the first non-profit Ayurvedic clinic in town.
A Santa Cruz Programmer Takes Yoga Mobile
Mike Baldwin wouldn’t call himself a spiritual person—he isn’t interested in prana or chakras, and he’d probably rather be programming software than chanting Om shanti shanti shanti. But he’s a yogi, through and through. His practice is an integral part of his life.
