Martha & Leila Doing A Pizzi Chili On NBC's "The Doctors"

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Martha & Leila Doing A Shirodhara On NBC's "The Doctors"

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Balm from the East

HEALTH SECTION Monday January 26, 2004

The effectiveness of the ancient Indian healing art of Ayurveda is getting a closer look in the U.S.

By Jenny Hontz Special to The Times

Jon Mejia experienced heart palpitations after a particularly stressful period running his Santa Monica consulting firm. His doctor diagnosed an abnormal heart rhythm and sent him to a specialist at a prestigious Los Angeles medical center.

An echocardiogram detected no cause for the extra heartbeats. Although his doctor told him that beta blocker drugs could control the symptoms, Mejia, 49, didn’t want to take them because of concerns about side effects. So Mejia turned instead to Martha Soffer and John Holmstrom, practitioners of the ancient Indian medical system Ayurveda. After some dietary changes and three days of massage and purification treatments called panchakarma at Surya Spa, an Ayurvedic Center in Pacific Palisades, “the heart palpitations are almost gone,” he says.

“I can’t pretend to tell you I know how it works, but if I were to compare where I was when I walked in to where I am now, it’s at least 80% relief,” Mejia says. “I’m more myself.” Mejia is one of a growing number of Americans taking an interest in Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old holistic system of health that in Sanskrit means “knowledge of life.” It uses combinations of herbs, purgatives, rubbing oils and other elements to treat diseases. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a proponent of transcendental meditation, brought Ayurveda to the United States three decades ago, and Dr. Deepak Chopra exposed it to the masses in his bestseller “Perfect Health” (Harmony Books, 1991). Now, the California Association of Ayurvedic Medicine, a professional group based in Foster City, Calif., is sponsoring its first Ayurveda Awareness Day on Feb. 13.

Chinese medicine, which is more established in the U.S., was influenced by Ayurveda, and similarities include the extensive use of natural herbs. Research into Ayurveda is in its infancy in this country, but as interest grows, so does funding. The National Institute of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine allocated $3.5 million in grants last year to study its safety and efficacy.

“It’s 100 times more popular than it was 10 years ago,” says Scott Gerson, a New York physician with a medical degree from the U.S. and a doctorate in Ayurveda from India.

Yoga’s Sister Science

Ayurveda treatments are becoming popular in spas, medical clinics and wellness centers. And like Mejia, many people are finding their way to Ayurvedic medicine through the practice of yoga. Ayurveda is considered yoga’s sister science, and workshops are frequently taught in yoga studios throughout Southern California.

“Ayurveda is what all the great yogis practiced,” says Mas Vidal, owner of Dancing Shiva, a Los Angeles yoga studio. “Ayurveda was taught as a way of life.”

Ayurveda holds that health and well-being of the body, mind and spirit is our natural state, experienced through proper diet, herbs, meditation, yoga, breathing exercises called pranayama and other daily routines. Ayurveda is used to prevent disease and boost the immune system so the body can heal itself from illness.

Les Nouvelles Esthetiques-American Edition

Pancha Karma – A first hand look at Surya Spa.

By Melanie and Robert Sachs

Pancha Karma

Like many of you in this industry, we often put off our own care and neglect our own best advice. But for us, we were presented with a window of opportunity. We were going to receive two days of pancha karma, the Ayurvedic process of deep detoxification and rejuvenation at Surya Spa, where they understand the necessity to keep classical Ayurveda alive and, at the same time, make it relevant and practical for Westerners.

Preparing the body

Normally, pancha karma is done for five to seven days, although for medical purposes, pancha karma masters will suggest as long as five to six weeks of treatments. Here, they only had two days to work with us! But, in the hands of the right practitioners, even a couple of days can create dramatic results.

Surya Spa was our destination. It’s an exclusively Ayurvedic spa and health center owned by Martha Soffer, an Ayurvedic therapist trained in the tradition of Maharishi Ayurveda. It’s nestled in the hills of Pacific Palisades, CA. A week prior to our appointments, Martha contacted and instructed us that we should begin the required dietary preparations. We were to begin each day with a tablespoon of ghee or clarified butter; eat a cooked, vegetarian diet; and then, two days before the treatment, take two tablespoons of castor oil before bed in order to “purge” the following day. This would get our bodies in the right state to receive the pancha karma regimen. Just being more aware of our diets put us into the right frame of mind and we could feel our bodies getting poised for change.

Yogi Times June 2004

By Rexanne Diehl

All of the treatments available at Surya Spa are based on the Ayurvedic tradition. Here, Martha Soffer, Ayurvedic Therapist, Chef and Panchakarma Specialist, brings her knowledge of Ayurveda to a western audience.

Post-Pregnancy Rebalancing Act:    The Healing Arts Step In To Rejuvenate New Mothers With Specialized Treatments

By Kyle Roderick

Ayurvedic prescriptions for post-partum care turn to the combined healing elements of vigorous massage, nourishing oils, and aromatic herbs. According to this Indian holistic healing system, the application of these therapies (chosen according to a woman's dosha-dosha-pitta, vata, or kapha) helps replenish bone marrow (majja) and female reproductive tissues (rajas) weakened by childbirth.

A Rasayana Post-Pregnancy Healing Session at Surya Spa in Pacific Palisades, California, pulls together the postnatal treatments of this ancient medicine in a modern spa setting. Warm sesame or safflower oils are first spread onto the back, preparing the body for a deep and rigorous two-hour-long marma (energy) point massage. Afterward, warm linen bags are filled with cooked rice and fragrant herbs are smoothed over the skin. The new mother is then treated to a detoxifying and exfoliating rubdown with chickpea flour and herb blend. The experience concludes with shirodhara, a bliss-inducing treatment of warm herb-infused oil poured onto the forehead for 20 minutes. The flow centers on the area over the pituitary gland, which plays a major role in hormone regulation. Ayurvedic theory holds that its stimulating action helps balance hormones while promoting relaxation and restoring energy.