Ayurveda: Feeling the Kapha blues?

— from Jule Eron —

Ayurveda, an ancient Indian medical science, teaches everything is made up of the five great elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether. Each of us is a unique combination of these elements, which are influenced by our inputs, our environment and our relationships.

The damp, dreary weeks of winter may cause imbalance if we do not adjust our diet and lifestyle.  Short, dark, windy, wet, cold days may cool down a pitta (fire+water) person, but will blow a vata (air+ether) predominant individual off balance and drag down an already weighty kapha (water+earth) constitution.

Kapha’s attributes include heavy, slow, oily, cold, sticky and stable. These qualities are similar to the winter and spring seasons, the seasons of kapha. The chilly, rainy days increase kapha causing congestion, lethargy, water retention, excessive sleep, attachment and weight gain.

Ayurveda teaches like increases like and opposites balance. Rather than allowing winter to weigh us down, we can counterbalance excess water and earth by Increasing our fire, air and ether.

Diet:

• Enjoy light, dry, warming foods like buckwheat, barley, rye, honey, venison, hot soups and stews
• Add heating spices to your foods and teas:  cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, garlic, paprika, turmeric and black pepper
• Drink room temperature or warm beverages
• Minimize intake of the tastes sweet (beef, rice, wheat, sugar, milk), sour (yogurt, fermented foods) and salty (salt, seaweed) all of which contain earth and/or water.
• ·Favor the tastes pungent (garlic, chilies, paprika, ginger), bitter (dark leafy greens, turmeric, dandelion) and astringent (legumes, pomegranate, broccoli, quinoa) to dry out excess moisture, improve circulation and add heat to the body

Lifestyle:

• Take a trip to a hot, dry climate
• Partake in daily exercise, rain or shine
• Sweat it out in a sauna or hot bath
• Build a raging fire

Don’t let the kapha blues drag you down! Stay dry and warm. Focus on stimulation rather than stagnation. Work with Mother Nature not against her. Soak up the precious moments of sunshine. Find your balance.