Congested.. but I don't eat cheese!!!

A friend of mine recently shared her frustration with head congestion, even though she does the neti and doesn't eat cheese on even a semi regular basis. I explained to her that at the change of seasons, when things are shifting, that is exactly what happens.. shifting which means that due to seasonal changes, our body will also make adjustments depending on what dosha is ruling out of balance at that time. So, being vata/pitta by nature, but now vata/kapha imblanced, there is a bit of a challenge. This is where each person needs to be looked at differently. Her vices are daily two glasses of red wine and occasionally with that a cigarette. Well, the wine and cigarettes are causing much heat, which is also dehydrating and depleting to vata, and the sulfites in the wine cause many to become "stuffy" in the nose and head as kapha is becoming a part of the mix to rescue the body from dryness. Also, an allergic reaction to the sulfites is talking place.
My simple suggestion is, of course, to cut back drastically on the wine and do away with the cigarettes! Not an easy task for the wine lovers or the smoker, but to embrace an Ayurvedic change in lifestyle, at first we must gradually move out of destructive routine and replace those with healthful and supportive options. No one said it would be easy..we adopt these vices for a slew of reasons, but to know how it feels to be in balance awakens the awareness of our amazing and beautiful bodies and minds! Once you discover how you feel once in balance, it is easier to bring yourself back if you partake in those old patterns once in a while. I can almost guarantee that those old ideas of "needing" that cigarette, or "having to have" those couple glasses of wine daily will no longer resonate with your daily routine. 

Spring.. Kapha season already?

The kapha season is once again upon us, even though the seasons here in California have been unpredictable for the most part in the past year. Since we have a much less noticeable "change" in season, and ever changing weather patterns during our winter/spring time it can be easy to forget to "remember" how to approach each season with our constitutions in mind.you may have noticed some changes in the way you feel during the past few weeks. Many people have complained of headaches, sinus congestion, and a few still coming down with flu like symptoms. Remember, as we pass into a new season, this is transition so just as nature goes through a flux and change we also do. The coming season is the Kapha season which is comprised of earth and water. This is heaviness,and mucous and it has been accumulating in the last parts of the winter season around January and now is showing up as all of the conditions that you may have been experiencing. The cold of the drier winter season is melting.. warming up and flowing out!

This is a great time to have a consultation to cleanse and set yourself for a new beginning..

The implementation of certain routines in this season will keep the stagnation of mucousy kapha dosha to a minimum. If you tend to lean more toward this dosha in constitution then you will want to pay particular attention to the following suggestions!

• Each morning, make a "tea" of warm water with fresh lemon juice and about a tsp. of grated ginger root or a 1" slice of ginger. Allow to steep for 5 min. This will stimulate digestive fire and cleanse the lymph. Ginger root is warming, and dry ginger is hot, so if you have much heaviness in the body (weight, or copious amounts of mucous), use a pinch of dry ginger instead for the first week and then notice how you feel!
• Movement is important now! A morning walk or run, and other forms of exercise such as yoga (asana), hiking, and strength training are highly recommended. If you are familiar with your constitution (prakruti) then you will have a better idea of which type of exercise balances you and serves you best without working harder than necessary to achieve positive results.
• Although the physical aspect is important to relieve heaviness in the body (and for many other reasons) we must also look at the more subtle, mental side of balance.  Taking time for a meditation, which could be sitting in silence, visualization, walking meditation, or whatever resonates with you and focuses your breathing and brings peace to you.

Give The Gift of Cooking for the Holidays!

Do you know anyone in your family, or even a friend, that may enjoy receiving a gift certificate for a healthy, holistic vegetarian cooking class? Gift  certificates are also available for Ayurvedic consultations and 3 month packages! What a great way to start the New Year for someone in your life or even for yourself!!  Contact me by phone or email!

Cooking Class: $60
In Home Group Class: $65 (Remember, if you are the host, your class is complimentary!)
In Home One on One Class: $100
Initial Ayurvedic Consultation: $95
3 Month Package (see above services for details): $575


*Note: When purchasing a gift cerificate, you will receive $15 off of any service or class/workshop scheduled within 3 months of purchase.

HEALTHY FOR THE HOLIDAYS! COOKING CLASS 11/14

THE NEXT CLASS IS QUICKLY APPROACHING.. SO DON'T FORGET TO CALL OR EMAIL. IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO ATTEND THIS ONE, THINK ABOUT SCHEDULING ONE IN YOUR HOME WITH SOME FRIENDS! IT REALLY IS A FUN AND INFORMATIVE EVENING( OR AFTERNOON).

love this quote

We're all god.
I'm not A god or THE god, but we're all god and we're all potentially divine and potentially evil.
We all have everything within us.
There is a power we can all tap.
God is a power and we're all light bulbs that can tap the electricity.
You can use electricity to kill people or to light the room.
God is that.
I don't need to go to church.
I think people who need a church should go.
The others who know the church is in your own head should visit that temple 'cus that's where the source is.

 -John Lennon, 1969

CHANGE IN NATURE? CHANGE WITHIN.. VATA SEASON IS HERE!

October is the shift from the summer(Pitta) season of July- Oct. This means that now we are entering into the drier winter season of Vata. As has been mentioned in earlier posts, our bodies change along with the changing seasons, the weather, and food taken as well as our state of mind being affected by our bodies health and vice versa. The Vata dosha  is responsible for the movement of our bodies and minds from the blood, to the plasma flowing through our physical structure to moving waste out of us. At the same time it is responsible for the movement of thought, and ideas in our minds. It moves everything through us and around us.
At the turn of this season we may notice some possible minor symptoms of colds, flu, headaches, fatigue, and dry skin and stiff joints or achy joints. If aware of these little "signals," you can address them by not fighting it, but nurturing your body according to treating through opposite quality of the syptom.
For instance, dry skin needs more oiling, as do stiff joints, and using extra fresh ginger in your food or using it in a tea can aid in warming the body and promoting circulation of the blood.
The winter wind blows, the temperature usually drops, leaves dry and fall off of the trees, and days are shorter. The qualities of dryness, of coldness affect the physical body by dehydration of tissues, digestion can slow, and waste be moved out of the body more slowly. Our minds may also experience more insomnia, and nervous emotion. Here are a few recommendations to care for our whole selves during this fall/winter season:

• If you have already learned about your constitution, and know you are primarily Vata and are familiar with the symptoms above more on a regular basis, use 1/4 cup of warmed sesame oil in the morning, or the evening (before breakfast, or before bedtime respectively) on the body as a self massage.
•  From top of head (if planning on washing hair afterward) to bottoms of feet, apply oil and then gently massage in clockwise direction all parts. 
• Be sure to gently massage with palm around the joints. Allow to remain on body for 30 min or more then rinse off not using soap. 
• You are wanting to just remove excess oil. The oil does penetrate the skin and go into the body. This is good! On a regular basis, you will notice a difference in your external skin as well as the inside.
• If you aren't sure about your constitution, use 2/3 sunflower oil and 1/3 sesame oil. 
• Use more black pepper and ginger in your food. Also, if circulation is an issue, a little cayenne always helps with that! 
• Quiet meditative time before bed is strongly recommended. Just close the eyes in a quiet, comfortable place (preferably not in the bedroom) and simply focus on your soft breathing. If the mind wanders much apply the mantras So on the inhale, and Hum(increasing warmth, and increasing inner digestive fire) on the exhale.
  
  • 
    
    Sooooo... is the sound of inhalation, and is remembered in the mind along with that inhalation.
  • 
    
    Hummmm... is the sound of exhalation, and is remembered in the mind along with that exhalation.
    
    
    Om. Shanti. (Peace)

October Cooking Class and Workshop! Be sure to register soon!