Daily Routines and Diet for Winter

Winter has arrived. The mornings are cold, the smell of wood fires in the afternoon, the neighbours hearty cooking wafting into the evening. Meeting the sun in the morning and following it into the day to stay toasty. 

Each season has specific qualities and as long as we can understand the impact of these qualities on our physical and mental wellbeing and make adjustments in our lifestyle and diet accordingly, we can be healthy in any season.

Winter is naturally dominant with cold, damp, moist heavy and sticky qualities that can be responsible for health issues like sinus congestion, colds, flu, coughs, asthma, stiff joints, dull sluggish circulation, and a dull, heavy mind, which can lead to further problems such as depression and constant physical and mental ailments throughout the season.

So how can we best protect ourselves from the affects of winter. The biggest most powerful way is through our daily routines and diet choices as described below. This creates a protective barrier around us.

Daily Routines for Winter

These routines are general for winter and depending on your individual requirements these may vary.

If you have current prescribed routines from me please stick with them. If you are unsure please check in.

1. Stimulation. It’s important for us to move a little more in winter. Favour activities that keep our feet on the ground such as yoga, walking or a light jog and only exercise until you feel light sweat on the brow. That’s enough for most of us. We don’t want to over do it. This helps to get the lymphatics moving and bring lightness to the body countering the heaviness of winter. Remember to stay nice and warm outdoors by wearing enough layers too.

2. Brush teeth and scrape tongue first thing in the morning. This is our first opportunity to remove toxins from our body. 

3. Nasal drops. Place 1 to 2 drops of warm cold pressed sesame oil in each nostril in the morning, this will help counter congestion and mucous that leads to problems such as headaches and runny nose, common cold. I prefer to lay on the bed to do this with my head tilted back, 2 warm drops in each nostril then while gently sniffing oil into sinuses, massage around the eyes with first two fingers then massage behind the ears gently. You only need to lay down for 10 to 15 seconds. Best to follow with morning drink below. Allow space of 30 minutes before or after a shower or bath.

4. Morning drink on and empty stomach. Made from 1/2 tsp grated ginger, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp raw honey. Add boiling water to a mug with the ginger. Remember to wait for your drink to cool a little before adding lemon and honey. Stir and enjoy.

5. Steam inhalation. Twice per week to minimise congestion in chest and upper respiratory system. Use 1.5 litres of boiling water and 10 drops of eucalyptus oil. Take care when using boiling water close to the body. Place a towel over your head and bowl. And breath slowly and deeply through the nose. As a great side affect this also helps the complexion of the face and can even prevent breakouts as it opens and clears the pores of the skin on the face.

6. Deep breathing. 10 deep long slow breaths, 3 times per day. This ensures prana levels are toped up throughout the day which is important to all functions and timings in the body.

7. Self massage at least twice per week in winter massage the body gently with cold pressed black sesame oil. Ensure the oil is nice and warm. Remember long strokes toward the heart and circular around the joints. Clockwise around the naval.

Diet Advice for Winter

• Favour warm nourishing food such as lentils and legumes as your digestive fire is stronger in winter and can metabolise more, providing more nourishment to your tissues.

• Use ghee in your cooking. Ghee is very nourishing, anti-inflammatory and helps to build your tissues by supporting your metabolism.

• Sip hot water through out the day between meals. 

• Reduce bread, cheese, smoothies, yoghurt, ice cream, bananas, cake, muffins, cold drinks to name a few.

If you have more questions regarding eating during winter for your body type please make a booking to see me.

Digestion, Toxins and Vitality

In order to improve our health Ayurveda says the first step is to ensure our digestive fire is strong known as Agni. The best way to determine if our digestion is strong is by tuning in with our appetite. Strong appetite equates to a strong digestion. When our appetite is strong then our digestive system has the best possible chance to properly break down our food and make those nutrients available to all our bodily tissues. If our appetite is weak and we do not feel hungry for our meals then no matter how good quality our food is, organic, locally grown etc that food will not be broken down properly, will not become available to our bodily cells and most will pass right through us as waste.

A great way to ensure our appetite stays strong and therefore our digestion stays strong is by being present with our food at meal time. Keep your attention on your food, avoid those distractions which take your energy away from digestion such as phones, tv, books. Sit down to eat, chew well, keep conversation light.

A good general rule for eating is to fill the stomach ½ with food ¼ with liquid and leave the last ¼ empty. A good sign we have digested well is if we have energy after the meal and don’t feel tired, fatigued or feel the need to lie down.

With these simple rules we can ensure our body receives as much of the good nutrients from our food as possible. This is essential to good health.

Toxins are simply undigested food particles. When our appetite and digestion is strong then we have the best chance not to create toxins. The most common way toxins are created in us is when we eat on the run, eat without feeling hungry, eat before the previous meal has been digested, while feeling upset or angry. In addition if we choose heavier foods such as cheeses, deep fried, refined foods, processed foods, beef, pork, potato chips or tomato sauce to name a few then we are increasing our chances of producing toxins in our body. If we find it hard to get out of bed in the morning, have bad breath or body odour, fatigue, fogginess or feeling heavy then it is likely we have toxins in our system. The easiest way for us to remove toxins is to strengthen our digestive fire by eating at regular meal times, eating easy to digest foods that are warm and freshly cooked such as grains, legumes and vegetables. When our digestion and appetite is strong and supported then the body has the energy and reserves to do what it does naturally and remove these toxins day by day.

Our vitality or immune strength is known as Ojas in Ayurveda. When we have lots of Ojas we feel cheerful, loving, compassionate, have strong immunity, good memory, eyes full of luster, glowing skin, shining hair, courage, stamina.

The most common ways we lose Ojas are an unstable mind (mind not in the present moment enough), worry, anxiety, anger, trauma, grief, regular alcohol, drugs, excessive exercise, overuse of senses (for example to much social media), unwholesome food.

It is common nowadays when we think about increasing our immunity we feel the need to rush around from one health store to the next looking for herbs, supplements or superfoods that will keep us well. In fact, if we can learn to slow down and focus on stabilizing our mind and thoughts through things such as yoga or mindfulness practices that this can have a much more significant, positive and long term effect on our immunity and vitality.

The first key to building our Ojas is that all our bodily tissues need to be nourished and functioning well. This is achieved through our strong digestion as we have discussed.

Secondly in order to build our Ojas we need sweetness in our life. In the form of friends and loved ones, hugs, community, gratitude, generosity and kindness, meditation, getting enough sleep, incense, candle light, light hearted movies, chanting, singing, sweet music, stories by the fire, slowing down and giving yourself permission to rest.

The other important source of sweetness we need in our life is through food. Wonderful foods which increase Ojas are, dates, raisins, sultanas, ghee, honey, soaked peeled almonds to name a few. Eaten in moderation of course to ensure our digestion remains strong.

By tuning in with our appetite each day, choosing foods which are wholesome, seasonal and local if possible. And by filling our lives with sweetness in the form of family, community and activities which bring us joy each day we will go a very long way to improving our health, reducing toxins and increasing our vitality and immunity. And as a wonderful side effect we naturally bring out our cheerfulness and kindness. Which is so needed today.

I have included for you today my favourite chai recipe. I have one of these almost everyday and it is awesome if I do say so myself! Best to have it in the afternoon I reckon along with a homemade cookie. That’s my preference anyway. Also great for the cooler months. This Ayurvedic recipe has the wonderful effect of nourishing the body and increasing Ojas whilst at the same time helping to remove toxins.

Ayurvedic Chai (serves 2)

Ingredients

• 2 cups water

• 1 ¼ cups non-homogenised cow’s milk (or almond milk)

• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger

• 3 green cardamom pods (broken open)

• 1 black cardamom pod (optional)(broken open)

• ½ cinnamon stick (broken open)

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• ¼ tsp ajwain seeds (or black pepper)

• 2 cloves

• 1 tsp tea leaves

• 2 tsp rapadura (or coconut sugar, or jaggery)

Method

1. Add water to the saucepan and bring water to the boil.

2. Add all spices except the tea.

3. Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes depending on desired strength of taste.

4. Add rapadura and stir until dissolved.

5. Add milk and tea leaves together.

6. Return to the boil momentarily.

7. Turn off heat, strain into 2 mugs and serve hot.

Ayurvedic Biscuit

These biscuits are a delicious addition to a nice hot chai on a cool Autumn day! They are nourishing and grounding whilst maintaining the digestive fire and minimising the generation of toxins in the body.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/4 cup semolina
• 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup jaggery packed well (rapadura or coconut sugar are good alternatives)
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 4 tbsp ghee
• 2 tbsp ground almond
• 1/4 tsp ground ajwain seeds (optional)
• 1 tbsp ground sunflower seeds or pepitas (optional)
• 1/4 cup of un-homogenised full cream milk

Method

1. Combine all ingredients well in a bowl and add milk as required to achieve required consistency to roll balls in the palm of your hand. Not too wet not too dry.

2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. And line a baking tray with baking paper.

3. Roll the biscuit batter into balls using your hand and place on the baking tray. Flatten each biscuit with the back of a fork.
4. Place biscuits in the oven and cook for 15 - 20 minutes (I used the middle tray of my oven).
5. Cool biscuits on a rack for 10 minutes and enjoy!

Notes

• Makes approximately 10 biscuits.
• Cooking time may vary depending on oven.
• Biscuits may become addictive so try to consume in moderation. I recommend 3 - 4 biscuits a week.
• I would avoid using wholemeal flours in this recipe as it tends to make the biscuit gritty. Unless you enjoy this texture.

Besan Laddu

This has to be my favourite dessert at the moment. Besan Laddu is made with Besan flour (black gram), ghee, rapadura, cardamom and pistachios. Besan is very nutritious and is high in folate, B6, iron, magnesium, zinc, potassium and selenium. It is also a good source of protein and did I mention gluten free! Oh and it's delicious!

Ingredients

• 2 cups besan laddu flour (black gram)
• 1/2 cup ghee
• 3/4 cup of sugar (rapadura or coconut sugar, choose unrefined sugar)
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 2 tbsp raw pistachios (no added salt)

Method

1. Prepare the pistachios by coarsely chopping them and dry roasting for a few minutes to bring out there full flavour and oils. Set aside.
2. Prepare the sugar by placing a small amount of the sugar in a blender with the cardamom pods and blending briefly to break up the pods and infuse them into the sugar. Next add the remaining sugar and blend further until a fine powder consistency. Set aside.
3. Dry roast the besan in a frying pan or wok on low for 10 minutes. Make sure to stir continuously so that the besan is cooked evenly.
4. Add melted ghee and continue to cook on low stirring for a further 10 minutes until mixture is a little darker than golden brown and a nutty fragrance starts to permeate the kitchen. Be careful not to over cook the besan at this point.
5. Once you notice a strong nutty fragrance take the pan off the heat and continue to stir for a few minutes as the pan cools down. 
6. Add the powdered sugar mixture and pistachios and stir through well removing any lumps.
7. Once the mixture is cool enough to handle make small besan laddus in the palm of your hand and place in air tight container to place in the fridge.
8. The fridge will help solidify the ghee and help the laddu keep their shape.

Notes

If the mixture is too dry to form laddus add a little more ghee as required.

When eating laddu I suggest taking out of the fridge 15 minutes before consumption. This allows the laddu to soften slightly and to warm up making digestion easier.

Besan is cooling in nature as is ghee and cardamom. So making this a perfect snack for Summer. The sugar makes it anabolic, nourishing and grounding. Enjoy in moderation :) Easy said than done I know!

This recipe makes approximately 15 small laddu.

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Left Image:  Dry roasting besan flour.

Middle Image:  Adding ghee to besan.

Right Image:  Besan is finished cooking and taken off the heat.

The Intelligence of your heart

Did you know that our heart has an intelligence all of its own and is separate from the brain intelligence? Ayurveda has known this for thousands of years and modern science is also starting to understand the intelligence of the heart.

Ayurveda states that true intelligence comes from our heart. Outward directed intelligence comes from our brain and is connected to our senses. When our brain is dominating the workings of intelligence, then we are more prone to mental imbalances.

The HeartMath Institute in California is doing really interesting research into the role of our heart. Here are some of the key findings from their paper "Science of the Heart: Exploring the Role of the Heart in Human Performance":

• The heart is far more than a simple pump. The heart is, in fact, a highly complex, self-organized information processing center with its own functional “brain” that communicates with and influences the cranial brain via the nervous system, hormonal system and other pathways.
• The heart’s electromagnetic field—by far the most powerful rhythmic field produced by the human body—not only envelops every cell of the body but also extends out in all directions into the space around us. The cardiac field can be measured several feet away from the body by sensitive devices. Research conducted at IHM suggests that the heart’s field is an important carrier of information.
• When people touch or are in proximity, one person’s heartbeat signal is registered in the other person’ s brainwaves.
• As people learn to sustain heart-focused positive feeling states, the brain can be brought into entrainment with the heart.
• When two people are at a conversational distance, the electromagnetic signal generated by one person’s heart can influence the other person’s brain rhythms. When an individual is generating a coherent heart rhythm, synchronization between that individual’s brainwaves and another person’s heart- beat is more likely to occur.

True intelligence is our real wealth and its centre is in our hearts! If we can connect with our heart intelligence and less with our brain then we will certainly be directed to our true path in life. It will also bring joy, peace, love and compassion to our lives and everyone around us.

Read the full paper from the HeartMath Institute at: https://www.heartmath.org/resources/downloads/science-of-the-heart/ 

Chai anyone?

Light Ayurveda now has a stall at the Red Hill Markets selling delicious Ayurvedic Chai!

So come on down and say hi! We are there from 6am to 12pm every Sunday.

Our Ayurvedic Chai is specially formulated for winter, aid’s digestion, removes ama and nourishes the body and mind.