Book Review: Soma, 100 Heritage Recipes for Self-Care

Soma, 100 Heritage Recipes for Self-Care, is the latest book from Indu Arora, an Ayurveda and Yoga Therapist from Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Arora created Soma in gratitude to her mother (and all those who mother), and to honor the years of Arora’s childhood spent with her grandmother. At its center, the book is a collection of recipes passed down from generation to generation. “Each of these 100 recipes is picked carefully for you,” Arora writes, “to bring ease in pain, peace to an ailing heart, and relief to the tired bodies.” In the introduction, she explains the keyword soma in her book. “SOMA means tender, soft, radiant rays of the moon. It is the nectar of the moon. When the mind is peaceful, it is called saumya which means ‘moon-like.’”  

With eight different sections, Arora brings the reader through an understanding of Ayurvedic practices to help soothe the soul and bring the body and mind into harmony. She begins with “Dancing to the Tune of Circadian Rhythms,” a section highlighting morning and night rituals. She continues with prescriptions for joy and releasing emotions (“Yoga RX”), advice on creating healthy thought patterns with mantras (“What’s Your Mantra?”), and a section devoted to healthy homemade teas (with equally entertaining names such as “Shoo-the-Flu Tea” and “Breeze through Sneeze)”. At the end of each heritage recipe, Aurora slips in “fun facts,” like how our nostril dominance shifts every 60-90 minutes and applying ghee to the bellybutton daily will help keep your lips soft.

In an endearing part of the book, Arora shares glimpses into her childhood, reflecting on seeing her grandmother practicing these rituals or discovering her father lying on a board in meditation. There’s a gentle ease and familiarity with which she writes, happy to share her insights with the reader and bring joy to every area of life. One of Arora’s favorite memories is listening to her father recite passages from the Bhagavad Gita: “Whatever you do, do it as an offering to the Divine. This will bring you the tremendous experience of joy, peace, and eternal freedom.”

Every heritage recipe is short and sweet, making it the perfect book to pick up when you only have a few minutes. Arora shares how to tell what quality saffron to buy as well as how to calm your racing thoughts. Studies show humans have 11 thought impulses per second, leading to a busy, humming mind when we’re trying to rest. “Cultivate the habit of self-reflection,” Arora instructs. “After a long day of making several decisions from mundane to important, it is crucial that we sit with ourselves before we jump from one thing to another. The difference between a reaction and response is a pause.” 

She offers some brief and to the point advice – like taking a shot of lime juice with a little salt after a big meal to aid digestion. Other rituals offer guided practices to do at different points throughout the day, as in her guide to Swara Yoga (the yoga of rhythms) to balance the flow of energy in the body. You begin by noticing your dominant nostril by placing a finger under the nose horizontally and feeling where the air flows. Then you close the dominant nostril with your finger and actively inhale and exhale from the open nostril for up to two minutes. Arora also offers a beautiful, calming Luna routine when you come home from work (or stop working at home), where you wash the five areas of the body (hands, feet, face) with warm water (pancha snana in Ayurveda).

Arora provides a section on mudras complete with pictures, tea recipes using whole seeds and spices, instructions on creating face masks and body scrubs, and a practice to release emotions by hissing. Throughout the recipes, Arora sprinkles nuggets of wisdom clearly seen in her previous two books, Yoga: Ancient Heritage, Tomorrow’s Vision, and Mudra: The Sacred Secret. 

At the heart of Soma, Arora speaks Ayurvedic truths to the weary reader. “It is not just what others say to you that makes up the mind,” she explains. “It is also about the kind of thoughts you entertain, the narrative you speak to yourself, your internal dialogue — as that dialogue is mantra. That makes up your mind. Each thought carries a voltage, energy, and impact.” A bright spot of hope, Soma offers accessible, simple guidance on how to live fully.