Prepare your body for the fall season
A few tips to prepare your body for the fall season
Staying in tune with Mother Nature means making seasonal changes in our daily life style, so we can maintain balance.
As soon as the weather gets colder, Vata increases in the nature and therefore in our body, we are prone to arthritis, body pain, constipation, bloating,
depression, anxiety, dry skin and many other Vata manifestations. It is important to prepare the body and take a few days to remove the toxins from the body
prior to the cold weather.
A few tips to avoid important Vata aggravations:
• Cut down on dry and light foods such as pop corn, toasts, rice cakes etc, ice cold foods and drinks, junk food and too much alcohol;
• Emphasize warm nourishing foods, sautéed, stir-fried, or steamed vegetables, and, if you are not a vegetarian, sea food, turkey, and chicken;
Take dairy products in moderation. Avoid taking any cold drinks and have daily herbal teas and warm drinks. If your digestion is weak, a cup of warm water after
meals will help you reduce the gas, the bloating an will ensure a faster digestion;
• Decide upon a daily routine and do your best to stick to it;
• Keep yourself warm. Drink plenty of warm water and herbal teas;
• Get up early in the morning and do little exercise, even if only for 5 minutes;
• Meditate in the morning on the divine flame inside your heart and dedicate your day to the Divinity;
• Plan the day ( but be reasonable and do not schedule too many activities);
• Massage the whole body with sesame oil two three times a week; if tendency towards anxiety, apply warm oil on the head and keep it overnight
(2 table spoons of warm sesame oil);
• Do not forget to clean your tongue regularly with a tongue scraper or with a teaspoon, as this helps increase the digestive fire and reduce the
toxins (AMA) in the body.
The transition period between two seasons is very important for our health; it is the perfect time to prepare ourselves for the oncoming season. Simple changes can help us avoid important Vata disturbances. For example, during the cold season is better to eat warm and moist oatmeal for breakfast rather than toast or cold cereal and have a cup of a warm herbal tea rather than chilled beer at the end of the day.
A few things to avoid are cold salads, cold water, cold juices and ice-creams. Sweet fruits like Banana, Apricot, Papaya, Peach, Pineapple and Grapes are good. Fruits are good in purées during this season, prepared with natural sugar and spices such as ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon. Steam or sauté veggies – a Variety of winter squash, asparagus, beetroot, green beans, okra, zucchini, sweet potatoes prepared with olive oil or ghee are excellent.
All nuts are good to moisten the skin and give us strength, but eat them with moderation especially if you are of a Pitta or Kapha constitution. Good grains are basmati rice, wheat (unless gluten intolerant), oats, quinoa and amaranth. Use mild spices for your food such as cumin, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, mint, sage, spearmint or thyme.
The main idea for fall and early winter is “keeping yourself warm, grounded, and moisturized”.
If you already have tendency towards constipation, Triphala is a very good herb for regularity with bowel movements. As a general tonic, Chywanprash is a great herbal supplement with multiple health benefits, prepared according to an ancient Ayurvedic formula. It is used as an energizer, immunity booster and pre-emptive tonic. It is a mix of 49 powerful ayurvedic herbs with ‘amla’ (Indian gooseberry) as the base. The other ingredients in this traditional recipe include ashwaganda, pippali, cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon in a base of clarified butter and honey. This "jam" is good for all, irrespective of age and gender, and creates a harmonious synergy in the body leading to better metabolism. For joint massage, the Mahanarayan Oil is the best. Among the Ayurveda procedures, a combination of Abhyanga (the complete body massage) Shirodhara (the continuous oil stream applied on the forehead) and Basti (the colon cleanse) are the best options.
During the transition period, do not be surprised to find yourself more worries, more anxious, more stressed or more depressed and with less enthusiasm than usually. During these times is best not to take important decisions (if you can avoid that, of course) and to make future plans. Your mind will be more disciplined if you decide each day to be open towards what the days has to offer and to concentrate on one task at a time.
“To liberate the power of Mind, direct its focus only on one task. The moment you concentrate only on one purpose, extraordinary gifts will appear within your
life”. R. Sharma
Recipe for an excellent grounding Vata tea 4 Cups water 1 tsp Fennel Seeds 1 tsp Coriander seeds 1 tsp Cardamom
Procedure: Boil water in a pot. Add slightly crushed fennel seeds, coriander seeds and cardamom pods. Boil for 2 more minutes. You can add maple syrup, honey or sucanat to sweeten. Serve hot.
