Interview with Balvinder Sidhu: Every Day Ayurveda – Health and wellbeing in just a few minutes a day

"The wonderful thing about Ayurveda is that even small changes have very positive effects on our health and well-being. With ' Every Day Ayurveda ' you can get through the week perfectly - thanks to concrete recommendations, mantras, helpful daily goals, recipes and various exercises, tailored to your personal preferences and goals." Ayurveda therapist Balvinder Sidhu , author of the new audio book and audio CD "Every Day Ayurveda" , wants to show her readers and listeners a simple way to start a healthier life in just a few minutes every day, directly and without any effort.

Your new guide, “Every Day Ayurveda,” is being published both as a book and as an audio CD. Are there any differences in content and which target groups do you want to reach?

Balvinder Sidhu: Basically, both my book and the CD guide readers and listeners through their Ayurveda week with concrete tips, inspiration, meditation exercises and much more. It was important to me to reach and accompany as many people as possible who want to do a lot for their health in just a few minutes a day - and I think that works best when you take individual needs into account. While some people prefer the classic guidebook because they like to look up information easily, for example, there are others who love listening to audio books while driving or doing housework. That's why, in consultation with my publisher, the wonderful Mankau-Verlag, I decided to publish the book as a print version, as an e-book and as an audio book. Of course, both media can also be combined. This is particularly exciting for those who actually prefer reading but like to be guided directly through the exercises.

In all your books and CDs you have successfully made use of the millennia-old knowledge of Hindu scholars for the typical western “diseases of civilization”. What is special about “Every Day Ayurveda”?

Balvinder Sidhu: With "Every Day Ayurveda" I give readers and listeners a weekly plan that sets the framework for their very individual Ayurveda week with concrete recommendations. Inspiration, tips and various exercises can be integrated into it according to personal goals and needs. This makes it particularly easy to start a healthier life directly and without any effort.

The new project promises to be the perfect companion for the week with Ayurveda. How can the building blocks of the holistic healing concept be used effectively in modern everyday life?

Balvinder Sidhu: The wonderful thing about Ayurveda is that even small changes in everyday life and habits can have a huge positive effect on our well-being and health. For example: go for a walk alone during your lunch break instead of spending it with your colleagues in the noisy canteen! You will find that you start the second half of your working day much stronger and more relaxed. Or integrate Ayurvedic herbs into your everyday cooking. Ayurvedic food does not have to be complicated, on the contrary. The power of the traditional herbs can easily be integrated into our western cuisine.

Ayurveda is considered one of the oldest health teachings in the world and is still the dominant health system in large parts of India, and is also taught scientifically. What can Western medicine learn from Ayurveda - especially in view of the current challenges?

Balvinder Sidhu: Ayurveda is holistic. This means that Ayurveda does not limit itself to treating symptoms, but looks for the exact causes of the symptoms – on all levels – and then resolves them on all levels. People who have been through a long odyssey, for example with hair loss or skin problems, often come to my practice. They have consulted a wide variety of doctors and often tried many different medications without achieving the desired results. With the Ayurvedic perspective, we uncover the real causes of the symptoms, because hair loss or skin problems are nothing else, and eliminate them together. It is a positive development that conventional medicine is also increasingly opening up to this holistic perspective. There is potential in the combination of classical medicine and Ayurveda that we should definitely exploit.

The aim of every Ayurveda therapy is to restore the original balance of life energies that is ideal for the person and with which they were born. What causes an imbalance in the first place and how can it be prevented?

Balvinder Sidhu: Imbalances arise primarily from a lack of attention to ourselves. Nature has given us a sense that tells us exactly what is good for us and what is not. For a variety of reasons, such as social pressures or stress, we ignore these messages from our body. This mindfulness towards ourselves needs to be reactivated and made more sensitive. If we listen to our organism, if we act according to our natural feelings, we have the optimal conditions to keep our levels in balance.

Just a few minutes a day should be enough to get symptoms such as exhaustion, lack of energy or fatigue under control. What exercises and elements are necessary to guarantee health and performance well into old age?

Balvinder Sidhu: On the one hand, exhaustion and lack of energy are a sign that our body urgently needs a reset. In Ayurveda, we recommend a detox once or twice a year to rid the body of accumulated toxins and to get our digestion, the heart of our body, back on track. In addition, we can also do something for our digestion every day. Ayurvedic herbs, which can be easily integrated into the daily menu, make a wonderful contribution here. To match my new book, I have developed the EVERY DAY AYURVEDA herbal series, consisting of a detox drink, a power drink and a morning porridge. On the other hand, states of exhaustion also show that our entire organism is overloaded. In the Ayurvedic sense, this does not mean that we have simply burdened ourselves with too much - it means above all that we are busy with things that are not good for us, that literally suck the energy out of us. Meditation, yoga or a 5-minute diary are excellent ways to balance this imbalance.

From an Ayurvedic perspective, health has a very broad meaning and a lot to do with self-knowledge. According to this view, how much is each individual responsible for their own illnesses?

Balvinder Sidhu: Ayurveda says: "You hold the key to your own health in your own hands." And that's true. Because it is always a conscious decision which path you want to take. I certainly don't want to claim that every type of illness is a self-inflicted fate... but Ayurveda gives us the opportunity to lead a healthier, happier life - we just have to use it, and preferably today. Because prevention is better than cure.

Book tip:
Balvinder Sidhu: Every Day Ayurveda. With Indian healing knowledge through the week. 7-day plan with exercises, inspiration, daily goal - 10 minutes a day to relax, regenerate and recharge your batteries. Mankau Verlag, 1st edition September 2020, paperback, 13.5 x 21.5 cm, 159 pages, 14.95 euros (D) / 15.40 euros (A), ISBN 978-3-86374-570-7.

Audio CD:
Balvinder Sidhu: Every Day Ayurveda. Audio guide. Exercises and tips for relaxing, regenerating and recharging your batteries.
Mankau Verlag, 1st edition September 2020, 1 audio CD in jewel case, total running time approx. 67 min., 8-page booklet,
12.95 euros RRP (D/A), ISBN 978-3-86374-569-1

Link recommendations:
More information about the guidebook "Every Day Ayurveda. With Indian healing knowledge through the week"
To the reading sample of the book "Ayurveda Ayurveda"
More about the author Balvinder Sidhu
To the discussion forum with Balvinder Sidhu