Chyawanprash with Fresh Berries Doubles the Benefits for Body and Mind

The most popular Ayurvedic Rasayana (Rejuvenating formula) is Chyawanprash – a blend of herbs with multiple health benefits, derived from a 2,500-year-old Ayurvedic formula. Administration of this preparation provides endurance of life, memory, health, youthfulness, vigor, brightness, improved voice, and body stamina. It is good for all doshas, ages, and genders.

Please see my 2011 article “The new old secret of Chyawanprash” to learn about the ingredients, properties, and origins of this miraculous medicine. There is also a beautiful story describing its discovery, which involves a princess, a sage, and demi-gods.  

Recently I found out that the effect of Chyawanprash can be strengthened by using fresh organic berries. For this, an equal amount of Chyawanprash should be mixed with fresh berries such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, black currants, blackberries, and cranberries.

The following recipe was developed by a well-known Russian Ayurvedic doctor, Igor Vetrov. He found out that the potency of Chyawanprash and fresh berries is multiplied when combined because Chyawanprash preserves the prana (life force) of berries.

Preparation: The strawberry season comes first, so make the first portion of Chyawanprash with strawberries. Keep the ready mixture in the refrigerator in a glass jar. When blueberries and other summer berries ripen, mix them with a new portion of Chyawanprash in a 1:1 ratio again. In fall, prepare a blend of Chyawanprash with black currants and/or cranberries. When ready, all mixtures are combined, mixed, and replaced into jars. Keep your berry-Chyawanprash refrigerated.

It is recommended to use a new pot or bowl, which has never been used for eating or cooking and a wooden spoon or spatula for crushing and mixing berries. The berries are mashed to a homogeneous mass and mixed thoroughly with Chyawanprash. The total mass of all the berries in the mixture is equal to the mass of Chyawanprash. Parts are taken by weight: strawberry 1 part, raspberry 1 part, cranberry 1 part, blackberry 1 part, blueberry 5 parts. Blueberries is the main component in the mixture.

Time of preparation: You can increase the healing properties of the medicine while preparing it at an auspicious time. For that, DO NOT MAKE IT on the following unfavorable lunar days: New Moon, 15, 19, 23, and 29 lunar day. The mood you are in is also very important, so stay rounded and optimistic, do not watch TV or argue with someone when working on your healing elixir.

How to take: Take in fall and winter 1 Tbsp. in the morning and in the evening on an empty stomach at least 15 minutes before eating. Follow with ½ cup of warm water.

For how long to take: Start a course of 108 days in a row, then take only on the ascending Moon (i.e. 2 weeks from New Moon to Full Moon,) then a two-week break (until the next New Moon).

How to store: Original Chyawanprash is stored at room temperature. The mixture with berries is kept in the refrigerator for a year. A year old mixture becomes less potent, so the dosage is increased to two Tbsp. twice a day.

How it works:
Like any biological system, the human body has several levels of self-regulation to protect itself from many of the damaging factors that it has to face. The constancy of the internal environment of the body (homeostasis) is disrupted daily, therefore, in the human body there are three unique tuning systems.

The first level of tuning represents the seven main centers, or the chakras, of the first group: sahasrara, ajna, vishudha, anahata, manipura, svadhisthana and muladhara.

The second tuning level of the body is represented by the chakras of the second group, projecting onto the spine and joints. That is why a displacement of any of the vertebrae inevitably leads to a disruption of the corresponding internal organ.

The chakras of the third group are projected on the internal organs – the heart, the liver, the lungs, the kidneys, the spleen, etc. – each of which has its own tuning center.

In nature, there is no plant or food that can affect all forty-nine centers at once. However, such a product is created by people, and this is the Chyawanprash. The modern methods that allow scanning of all those 49 body-regulation centers, show that within 40 minutes after taking a teaspoon of Chyawanprash all the chakras come back to normal, and stay active for 4-6 hours.

TODAY’S TIP:  Ayurveda teaches that taking a Rasayana (rejuvenating formula) when your system is not purified is similar to dyeing a dirty cloth. The effect will be poor. One needs to undergo a purification treatment like Pancha Karma (see Panchakarma – Five Actions that Change your Life) and then take the Berry-Chyawanprash mixture.