Manhattan Photo Walk

Visiting the Ayurvedic Doctor

On the D to Manhattan

Write a book. Call it I Love the Subway or I Snapped Your Photo, Now You’re Fucked.  
What?
Man, every day you snapping away, stealing people’s souls when they not looking. You know a camera’s like a gun. You pull the trigger and take something that’s not yours.
I thought I was pretty discreet.
And I thought I was a cat. All those folks you photographed over the years? Build a monument to them. Or put’em in a book at least, and donate the proceeds to a gun control charity, or a homeless shelter.

Freddy, my inner critic, my voice of reason and guilt, never goes anywhere without me. Today he was riding with me to an Ayurvedic clinic on the Upper East Side. Ever since I embraced the idea that there is no free will, I started paying closer attention to what Freddy says. This morning he suggested I check my dosha (video).
(If you’re curious what dosha is and don’t feel like watching a video, here’s a brief explanation: Energy patterns – or doshas, to use the Sanskrit word – are present in every tissue, every cell and every organ in our body, thereby they govern all of the body's processes, from bodily functions to our thoughts and feelings.)

Occasionally, I’m able to tune Freddy out for a couple of hours at a time, look around, listen to the flies buzz, take some photos of places and faces (for posterity). That’s when the day feels like electricity.

What would future generations think of us? They would definitely think we read a lot. Look around! Everyone is reading something… except for this man…

…and this one (who’s supposed to be reading, btw)

… and maybe a few other jokers in the next car.

In the street, everyone seems to be calm and unselfconscious.

Herald Square

And those who are not, are waiting in line to a taco restaurant. I know it’s lunch hour, but still…

The Ayuruvedic doctor is a nice woman in her 70s who’s been checking people’s pulses for 50 years. For the uninitiated, pulse diagnosis is the heart of Ayurveda.  According to Ruchira Roy Chowdhury “it can only be compared to a movie trailer about the overall state of your body, mind, and spirit”

AI generated image (If you’re interested in how to do this, let me know in the comments, and I’ll make a quick tutorial.)

My entire pulse diagnosis lasted one minute. The doctor gave me a brief lesson on doshas -- everyone has Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, but usually one or two forces are dominant in a particular person. Many things can disturb the balance of these forces, including stress, seasonal weather, improper diet, excessive travel, and work or social responsibilities. Such disturbances manifest as discontent or disease.

(Image from Shankara Products Europe)

Based on my  health analysis, my dosha is a combo of Pitta+ Kapha, or the domination of Fire, Earth, Water Air, Space in this order. To maintain optimal health at all times, based on my  dosha imbalance, I was told to do  a Tridosha balancing diet and lifestyle. I didn’t bother asking her what Tridosha meant. It sounded scary.

You have poor circulation in your legs, my friend,” said the doctor, “and should cease running or jogging. Instead, you should lie on your back every morning and do an air bicycle for five to ten minutes.
Okay. And what do I do with all those running shoes I bought?
You should also take your time eating and chew each bite of food for at least 30 seconds.
But I only have one hour for lunch.
Ask your supervisor to give you two hours. It’s for your health

Then she wrote down a prescription for the “elixir of life”, aka Golden Tea.

Golden Tea ( Before bed time )

½ tsp of turmeric
Pinch of black pepper powder
¼ tsp of cardamom powder
6 oz of almond milk
1 tsp of maple syrup
Heat up the almond milk and add all the other ingredients. Take the elixir one hour before sleeping.

I have to drink it before bed for thirty days and come back for another pulse          reading. I couldn’t wait to get back to Brooklyn.

Freddy was happy. He likes going to doctors. I was quiet on the train ride back. It seemed like my whole life was about to change. Tridosha balancing, here I come.

Bay Ridge at night

‘Til next time.
Peace.
ak
*all photos are by AK Kustanographer, unless otherwise noted.