Super Healthy Kids: A Parent’s Guide to Maharishi Ayurveda
Here is my friend Jane Dean’s book review of SUPER HEALTHY KIDS: A PARENT’S GUIDE TO MAHARISHI AYURVEDA. Jane is a writer and former radio host who is the executive assistant to the Director of Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment and mother of two. In the past three years she has traveled to 17 different countries to promote Consciousness Based Education.
Personally, I loved this book. Everything I learned about Maharishi Ayurveda over 20 years is comprehensively explained in Super Healthy Kids. I advise you to read it through once and then take another stroll through each chapter (with a marker and some post-it notes). Dr. Reddy and Linda Egenes make a good argument that Maharishi Ayurveda is an effective, sensible and cost effective approach to taking care of children. It is simple to read for the newcomer to Maharishi Ayurveda. It is also great for parents who need a reference guide on Ayurveda. Super Healthy Kids is packed with patient’s stories, simple charts and scientific research. Among its advantages the book has great recipes and a charming bedtime story.
Throughout the book Dr. Reddy tells the stories of her patients, all children, who have benefited from Maharishi Ayurveda mostly with a simple change of diet or a change in daily routine. The book is, in fact, a text on a complex ancient health care system so it is not light reading. Dr. Reddy describes how the doshas (the three dominant trends in the human body) emerge from the five elements. She then elaborates on why each child is a unique individual with a unique health profile. Dr. Reddy gives a detailed overview of the biology and sequence of digestion and assimilation. This fascinating but exhaustive detail helps the parent understand the vital role good digestion plays in creating the building blocks that create healthy blood, healthy fat, healthy muscles and healthy bone tissues in a growing child.
Dr. Reddy and I relax together during her visit to Fairfield in June 2011
There are four complete chapters dedicated to the ideal daily routine of a child. They include bedtime routines, wake-up routines and exercise. Reddy goes a bit further and explains that a cohesive and peaceful family environment is fundamental. She backs up her arguments against TV and video games with scientific research on the brain and recommends cultivating a softer, richly stimulating family environment.
Reddy and Egenes give a fresh perspective on the prevention of sickness. They show us how Maharishi Ayurveda health and life style habits create health in childhood and beyond.
