In accordance to Ayurveda, Shilajit has been "prescribed" and is used as an effective means to rejuvenate the mind and body, improving memory and maintaining all doshas in balance. Shilajit, or Shilajitu as it is often times called, is deemed to be extremely helpful for the healing of practically any disease or health problem known to modern man. This ancient organic substance, is additionally known as "the conqueror of mountains and destroyer of weakness,"
Shilajit along history
In Ayurveda, you will find eight distinct branches that combine to create the entire composition of the ancient science, including Rasayana, a Sanskrit word which means rejuvenation. Shilajit is considered a Rasayana grass as well as an adaptogen, or a natural herb that increases the organism's natural resistance to stress or trauma, according to herbalists today. These concepts date back many centuries and have been observed both in Indian and in Chinese medicine.
The yogis of ancient India and Ayurvedic medicine practitioners are based largely on the use of Shilajit, ascribing to it divine powers due to the complex composition of this mystifying substance, which, as we now know, is in fact a natural concentration of pressed herbs that are found in the rocks and soil of the Himalayas, it also recently has been found in mountainous areas of Chile in South America.
It is found naturally in parts of central Asia, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet, and currently in Chile too. Shilajit is formed through a process that takes many years to complete. The numerous plants that grow in the mountains are varied and rich in nutrients. Throughout the centuries, the plants grow abundantly and eventually die along the seasons, while the nutrients are absorbed into the ground in a process that is repeated again and again, year after year.
Shilajit is made up of fossilized plant life forms that have undergone this process of growing, death, and be assimilated back inside the earth. Every summer during the warmer months, people in the Himalayas travel up the mountain after the ice melts to search for and collect pieces of this substance. Along with the local biosphere, it is said, many wonderful nutrients combine to add to the many beneficial medicinal properties of Shilajit.
The medicinal properties of Shilajit
With over sixty years of modern scientific research, we have a better knowledge of the positive effects that Shilajit produces in humans. Studies have shown that Shilajit, is a substance or humus with a similar formulation to that of the soil humus created by microorganisms that help to break down plant and animal materials and wastes, transforming it back into a substance that can be used again by plant life and humans too.
While plants are the primary source of life, which gives us our food, either directly or by feeding the animals we eat, the humus is the same to plant life. However, compared to other soil humus, the pure organic mass of Shilajit humus is amazing and eighty percent superior.
These humic substances have the potential to make an amazing variety of feats, from improving the environment to neutralizing radiation. They are considered the best of natural medicine, not only for humans but for plants, animals, and even the entire planet itself. Humic substances, such as Shilajit, also neutralize lethal toxins and have the ability to destroy viruses known to modern medicine.
Scientifically, the humic substances that have been identified are composed of antioxidants, which in turn are important to fight diseases like cancer, they also contain amino acids, antibiotics, antifungals and antivirals, enzymes, hormones, nutrients and other biochemicals and phytochemicals. While researchers have already discovered these and other beneficial substances, whole cell chemistry and humic matter remains a great mystery, more studies and research are needed.
According to Ayurveda alchemy, Shilajit has been "prescribed" and is used as a powerful means to rejuvenate the mind and body, improving memory and maintaining all doshas in balance and in harmony with each other. Shilajit and other herbs and spices have been used for a long time in Ayurveda for the pacification of doshas, returning their normal balance to the way nature intended.
Shilajit is also used to treat painful conditions such as osteoporosis, gout, rheumatoid arthritis and other joint diseases, as well as to relieve pain caused injury to the muscles. Intestinal disorders such as gastritis, indigestion or constipation are also improved by the consumption of Shilajit.
The nervous system also benefits from Shilajit, it helps to alleviate nervous disorders, including paralysis, it is also used to control blood pressure, it replenishes the body with many vitamins and minerals such as calcium and magnesium. Shilajit also has been repeatedly suggested for those who have a weaker immune system or general body weakness due to illness or after recovery from surgery.