Longevity Electuary: an East-West Chyawanprash

The August air is surely one of the most pregnant of the year. The air smells of sweet mead and layers of flowers coming and going. The bees are stupefied on the Rose of Sharon trees, heavy with so much pollen they can't even steer. The sunlight pours at noon, then tilts her smile a little earlier, luring the garden into fruition. The morning's air cool on my cheeks, nostalgically reminding me of desired goals, intended actions. After the crisp morning has tricked me into working, the warmth brings me back into my body and into nourishment.

Upon inspiration from my summer herbal intensive students, I replenished my jar of rejuvenative honey paste, and am offering the recipe here.

There are a million and one ways to make an herbal honey, an electuary, honey syrup, and on and on. My intention with this honey paste is for deep energy, somewhat in the tradition of Chyawanprash, the complex rasayana paste in the Ayurvedic tradition of healing. I do not have access to the vast array in the original recipes - and my simple formula is quite lovely.

You can play with your own variations as well.

In an 8 oz jar, add:

3 tsp Ashwagandha and or Shatawari powder

3 tsp Spirulina powder

3 tsp Slippery Elm or Mallow powder

2 tsp Siberian Ginseng (Eluthero) powder

1 tsp Cardamom powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

Cover almost full with good local, raw honey

Add 1 tsp of Rose hydrosol or Rose elixir

dried Elderberry powder optional as well!

Feel free to create your own, according to your personal herbal needs or constitution. Black pepper or ginger can be added for kaphas, extra rose or cherry for pittas, or taken in oatmeal for vatas.

Slowly (as to avoid the infamous "cloud poof") stir with a spoon until all the powders are smoothed into the honey. Label and store. Refrigeration isn't necessary.

Your longevity electuary is intended to be used daily, eaten by the spoonful, used on toast, stirred in warm milk with ghee, or in yogurt or smoothies. These herbs will provide you with stamina, clarity, physical and mental energy, good digestion, and strong mucous membranes. It is also a notorious aphrodisiac.