According to Ayurveda irritated eyes are a result of pitta aggravation. This disturbance of the fire humour causes itching and irritation, it can also cause inflammation of the conjunctiva which we then call conjunctivitis or "pink eye". Pink eye is extremely uncomfortable and can include burning pain and a mucous discharge from the eyes.

Cooling Things Down

Fortunately, with a little understanding of Ayurveda's theory of like increasing like, relief for irritated eyes can be found quickly and easily. The first step is to reduce anything that will cause the aggravation to increase such as bright direct sunlight, dryness,  and hot spicy foods.

Recently after a busy outing with lots of people, noise and movement, I could feel myself becoming drained and tired. I just wanted to be still and peaceful for a while, but I was on a crowded bus and wouldn't be home for a while yet, so what to do?

I reached in my pocket for my iPod, selected a favourite devotional song, closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths, and I was gone... Away from it all, I couldn't hear the chatting around me, I wasn't looking at the moving traffic and lights outside. I felt still and quiet.

After a couple of minutes I began meditating on an image in my mind with full attention until I could see it as clearly as a photograph. I felt my shoulders relax and a smile beginning to twitch the corners of my mouth. Here I was sitting on a packed bus feeling quite blissful.

In my inbox this morning was a question from Norway asking: "turmeric is good for what health problem?"

Turmeric is good for so many things it's hard to know where to begin, Ayurvedic expert Dr David Frawley is quoted as saying that if he could only take one herb to a desert island, he would choose turmeric.