Ayurveda: A Life of Balance

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Summary: Forced to enter a one-line summary of my review
Review: As far as I'm aware, there are only 2 books in existence that are vegetarian ayurvedic cookbooks--this one & "The Healing Cuisine" by Harish Johari; and i most highly recommend them both. (I do no recommend "the ayurvedic cookbook" by Morningstar... it is not veggie & really just a disappointment in terms of ingredients & the recipes). Tiwari is a very nice compliment to Dr. Lad's "Ayurveda: the science of self-healing", which is *the* definitive modern introduction to ayurveda. Tiwari's perspective is much more cosmic, poetic, and much about vibrational healing, cognitive memory and DNA alignment. As one reviewer noted, she makes reference to Hinduism & the more complex aspects of the mechanics of ayurvedic energetics that, even to those relatively familiar, will feel like walking thru mud... Visual representations & diagrams would be helpful, which this book is essential devoid of. That is my only complaint. the text could certainly be edited down to make room for more visuals. This is a complete guide for someone dedicated to an ayurvedic lifestyle--with charts covering the energetics & qualities of just about every food and their vibrational alignment with the body types, and daily & seasonal menus for the body types, all 10 of them. There is, among many things, a section on food sadhanas, or the ritualization of the nourishment process (food prep, cooking & eating). There are listings of ingredients & there's a glossary in the back of the more uncommon ingredients. She does not give much treatment to yoga asanas & pranayama, though there is treatment of daily routines. Now, unlike Johari, the recipes are all explicitly coded with respect to the 10 body types & the 4 seasons (i.e., which body types the recipes will help to balance & the season(s) in which they should be used)... A rather in-depth practical working guide to ayurvedic cooking. This along with Dr. Lad, and you're doing good.

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Summary: A Complete Guide for the Dedicated Student
Review: The title holds up to its name: this really is a complete guide to Ayurvedic nutrition. I found this book to be an inspiring text on leading a life more in tune with my own body type. I appreciated the inclusion of body types test (though I think Chopra's are better), recipes, menus, and daily routines for the various body types. A very thorough book worth the prcie.

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Summary: Not for the beginner....
Review: Tiwari's book initially appealed to me as a natural leap, since I had read a good deal about the ayurveduc lifestyle by popular authors such as Deepak Chopra. But ayurveda is a rather complicated health strategem dependent upon an analysis of body type; if the reader is not intimately familiar with his or her own ayurvedic body type, the recipes will be almost impossible to apply correctly. And, ultimately, this is a cookbook. However, the author, who writes compellingly of her own life-threatenting illness and lifestyle change in the introduction, does a great job of illustrating how taking one's own health by the "horns" can produce amazing results. It's just very hard to relate to, and the references to Hinduism will be arcane to those unfamiliar with them. Nevertheless, I tried some of the recipes, and found them to be satisfying, even if some of the ingredients were hard to find -- even in my multi-cultural area. I would recommend this book only to those readers who plan to make a commitment to the ayurveduc lifestyle in partnership with an ayurvedic practioner, in which case this book will probably serve them well.