Spinach and Yoga

Interview with Lisa Munger

With the Happy Sexy Belly program running full course all my thoughts are on digestion and ways to improve it. I do my best to share the most effective tips on improving the feeling of digestive un-ease with my students. I share what worked well for me, what I learned from my teachers, and read in my favorite health books.

I also interview lots of experts to learn new things or to hear a new perspective on things well-known. Today my friend and a great ayurvedic practitioner Lisa Munger shares her wisdom.

According to ayurveda, dis-ease stems from improper digestion. Both mental or physical indigestion cause toxins or ama and eventually lead to maladies that range from anxiety to constipation, from weak immune system to anger.

There many ways to improve both physical and mental digestion to prevent bloating, reduce stress, and stay healthy.

Lisa Munger, an ayurvedic expert answers my questions about:

• The effect of TV on our digestion
• Why it is good to eat with your fingers
• How much food is a perfect amount for your body
• One incredibly versatile and tasty dish to heal your digestion
• How to use essential oils to improve the unpleasant symptoms or indigestion

If you want to experience the healing power of kitchari that we discuss in the video on your tummy, try this recipe:

Quinoa Kitchari (adapted from Dr. Sunil Joshi)

image from http://www.cookingrecipesyard.com

This dish is really easy to digest, healthy, balancing, and tasty.  Make it when you need to detox, let your digestive system rest, get over a virus or sickness faster, and just nourish your system after a stressful event. Traditionally, kitchari is made with rice but quinoa goes great, too! It has more protein (amino acids) and tastes great!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup yellow or green mung dal
• 1/2 quinoa or white basmati rice
• 1-2 tsp. ghee
• 1/4 tsp EACH black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ground cumin, ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 pinch Asafoetida
• 1 inch fresh ginger root, chopped
• 3 cups water
• mineral salt to taste
• Chopped cilantro and a few slices of lime
• Optional 1 small beet, kale, zucchini, carrots, cauliflower, green beans or any other vegetable that you like

What to do:

• Soak dal and grains overnight or at least for a few hours. Rinse well.
• Heat ghee and mustard seeds in a large saucepan on medium heat until seeds begin to pop. Add remaining spices and cook briefly.
• Then add the water before the spices burn.
• Add the rice, dal, and salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add hard vegetables like beets and carrots, cover and simmer until both dal, veggies and rice/quinoa are soft, approx 30 mins.  Add additional water as necessary.
• Add softer vegetables and greens 5 mins before grains and lentils are fully cooked.
• The cilantro leaves and lime juice right before serving.

You can read more about kitchari benefits and get a few different recipes here.

The winner of Gaiam Giveaway

On another note, it is time to announce a lucky winner of Gaiam Giveaway. And the winner is Carrie A Groff! Congratulations Carrie! I will email you personally with all the details.

Ayurveda Practitioner Weighs In

Cleanses are so HOT these days, they’re like a bikram yoga class in the summer. But just like not every yoga class is for every body, not every cleanse is going to benefit every body in the most optimal way. So before diving into the vast juicer-kale-mung bean laden world of cleansing, take a moment and use this guide below so you hit the Ojas-full feelings of detoxification & rejuvenation just right, and skip the fatigue/wrinkles/depression of depletion cleansing.

I realize this post might be a little controversial and I want to start off with the old adage of Ayurveda (the medicine of the Vedas): “Nothing is good. Nothing is bad.” because it’s all about who it’s for, which is why I love Ayurveda so much in the first place. Everything in this world has a way of acting as a medicine and a poison; it all depends on whom it’s for and how it’s used.

So keeping that in mind, one could say that all methods of cleansing could potentially be “good” just so long as they’re used by the right person – and for the appropriate length of time. For clarity, I’m going to go through some of the most common types of cleansing below but first, the basic constitutional types so that you have a frame of reference for the doshas.

Imbalances of the Vata-type Cleanser: very low weight or potentially underweight, weight accumulates around waist/belly, anxiety, worry, feels easily overwhelmed, insomnia (waking in the night), lack of direction, dry skin, constipation (lack of daily bowel movement or small pebble-like poops), abdominal distention, bloating, gas, dislike of wind, often cold, PMS: cramps bloating fatigue, lack of menses. *And if you’ve had an eating disorder in the past, look no further.

Imbalances of the Pitta-type Cleanser: medium body fat, weight accumulates around thighs & hips, stress, perfectionist, critical, anger (repressed or quick to explode), insomnia (can’t settle down at night), inflammatory skin conditions, acne, loose bowels, very smelly gas, generally runs hot, PMS: acne anger.

Imbalances of the Kapha-type Cleanser: plentiful body fat (can be overweight but not necessarily), weight accumulates evenly all over body, dullness of mind, lethargic, depressed, over-attachment to belongings/emotions/habits, wakes feeling sluggish even with 8-10 hours sleep, congestion-prone, can have constipation but due to stagnancy so will improve with exercise, PMS: breast tenderness water retention.

So now what’s the right cleanse-medicine for you…

Sunshine & Water Cleanse
This is sometimes recommended in Ayurveda for true Kapha constitution individuals and only for a short amount of time. This is not something I would ever recommend to someone living in a city, who has a job, and/or can’t take absolute rest. Continue to juice cleansing for why…

Juice Cleansing
This is perhaps the most popular type of cleansing at present and for good reason. Juice cleansing can balance Pitta and Kapha all depending on what types of juice you use. Juice cleanses typically use lots of bitter and astringent greens both of which are balancing for Pitta and Kapha. Kapha needs ample spices to be sure its digestive fires stay up like ginger, black pepper, and cinnamon. Pitta can follow a juice cleanse for a day perhaps but without the strong fire of Pitta being fed, it can blow out of proportion even more so than before. Don’t believe me? Find a firey type who is doing a juice cleanse and see how “balanced” they stay before they want to rip someone’s head off. Thinking “oh but that passes”? Scroll down to Signs of good cleansing below.

Now, Vata-types, I know that juice cleansing appeals to you because it just looks so simple. Like you wouldn’t have to think about anything, and you’d feel so “clean” and “clear”. I know, and I hear you. But how about feeling grounded and calm so you can think clearly? How does that sound? “Cleansing” really isn’t what Vata-types really need. In some ways they can cleanse their lives of things that are making their Vata worse like coffee, sugar, alcohol, and eating un-mindfully which for most will feel like a big “cleanse”. What Vatas don’t need is something that’s going to strip them down and make their nervous system even more raw to the elements around them. They need to learn how to build a comforting home in their own bodies through nourishing rituals and meals, so that they feel that they can better weather the storms of life. Vatas, darlings, scroll down to Kitchari Cleanse…

Raw Foods Cleanse
I love me some raw foods. Yes, that was my Pitta talking. Raw foods for a few days can be just what the doctor ordered for someone of strong Pitta constitution. Their blazing digestive fire can happily handle eating raw for a little while and the extra work required to digest raw foods can help bring that excess fire to balance. Kapha folk, meh, you could do this for a little while but ultimately you’ll want to bring back those heating spices I mentioned in the juice cleanse section and hot teas or you’ll never spark that fire that you need to get the spring back in your step and instead the food you eat will just sit in your belly and not feel like it’s going anywhere anytime soon. Vatas, if you want to feel spacey, and more prone to fatigue, bloating, and constipation, give this a try; in other words, please don’t go there with the raw food diet.

Kitchari Cleanse
Ah, Kitchari, the traditional dish of Ayurveda made of mung beans, rice, ghee, and spices. Kitchari is the star of the Pancha Karma diet (if you don’t count ghee). The Ayurvedic Cleansing that you see offered by myself and the majority of Ayurvedic Practitioners here in the west is an incredibly mild version of PK (if we can even say that) as PK should only be done under the keen supervision of a qualified practitioner and away from life (work, family, bad weather etc). Kitchari is balancing to all doshas provided it’s done with appropriate portions/spices and for an appropriate time (not too long for Vata). Kaphas do well with more beans and spices and less ghee and rice. Pittas do well with equal parts beans and rice, lots of cilantro, and some ghee & appropriate spices. Vatas do well with more rice, ghee and spices and less beans. Like the above cleanse methods, a Kitchari cleanse follows the Signs of good/bad cleansing too.

Some of the many great things about Kitchari:

• It’s a complete protein, which means you can eat it and still have energy for a full day of work/life
• It’s incredibly easy to digest. So long as the spices are right, no one has any belly/GI trouble after eating this.
• It soothes the nervous system without bogging it down. Kitchari because it’s so easy to digest remove any stress from digestion allowing the body’s tissues to detox what they don’t need and take the nutrients they do.
• Kitchari heals with its amazing spices like cumin, coriander and fennel.
• Mung beans have been used for centuries to detox the body.

If a Kitchari Cleanse sounds right to you, join the online cleanse I’m leading with the Doctor Blossom Team this fall!

Whole Foods “Cleanse”
For some this is perfect. This diet will suit all doshas though might not be the best medicine for Pitta and Kapha. Giving your body a break from all processed or refined foods, stimulants, and depressants can be huge! The better your digestion can function, the better your body can eliminate the toxins you naturally come into contact with. If your week typically includes more days with than without coffee, alcohol, refined sugar, baked goods, or processed meats then this could be the perfect place for you to start. If you’re considering one of the other cleanses it’s wise to include a few days of this Whole Foods diet on the start and end to avoid any boomerang-effect that brings you back into your old less healthy habits/crutches.

What To Look For While Cleansing

Signs of good cleansing:

• Improved sleep
• Improved energy (after the initial rest period that your body has been craving)
• Feeling less sluggish in the morning
• Clear lustrous skin
• Improved digestion (happy belly)
• Sattvic (peaceful) mind
• Grounded clear thinking
• Increased comfort in your body

Signs that it’s not the right cleanse for you or that you were doing the right one but for too long: Excessive cleansing leads to depletion of Ojas and increase of Vata so you’ll start looking more like the Vata-type Cleanser if you cleanse for too long or too strongly.

Signs of not-so-good cleansing:

• Increased aggression, anxiety, lethargy
• Feeling “spacey”
• Feeling cold, especially hands and feet
• Waking in the night
• Bloating
• Constipation
• Loss of appetite
• Deep fatigue
• Sustained achiness and/or popping joints

If you’re giving up the famous dietary crutches (caffeine, alcohol, sugar, meat) there are often a few days of the less fun detox with some headaches, body aches etc. It varies completely from person to person often having little correlation with how much of the crutch foods they were using. If in two or three days these detox symptoms haven’t cleared up and you’re not feeling more of the good cleansing signs, then adjustments need to be made.

I hope this article helps shed some light on what method of cleansing would best suit your current state of health. If you’re looking to learn more about what fits you, you can always book a consultation with an Ayurvedic Practitioner (like me!).

If you’re considering a cleanse of any kind it is always a good idea to consult your health practitioner first.

Join Kate in the Doctor Blossom Online Fall Cleanse where you’ll receive a cleanse catered to your unique constitution and current imbalances!

Kate Lumsden, a San Francisco-based Ayurvedic Practitioner & Yoga Teacher, spreads her love for these healing practices in her home city and beyond (via phone & skype) through her recipe blog, group cleanses, yoga classes and wellness coaching practice. Catch her on Facebook or Twitter where she posts regularly on how to weave Ayurveda into everyday life in fun, juicy ways.

August seamlessly dawned upon us. With at least one more month of high temperatures ahead of us there is still time to enjoy the beach, yoga practices in parks, swimming, and fun picnics. Summer is all about having fun and relaxing, isn’t it?

As counterintuitive as it may seem, hot summer days can make us feel not that bright and warm in our mood and the way we interact with others. Have you noticed that everyone gets short tempered and more irritated as soon as the temperature goes above 80? People turn impatient in lines, become short with each other, and annoyed for no reason. While some people can attribute it to bad days, hormones or poor bringing up, Ayurveda explains it differently: heat-aggravated Pitta.

Pitta is one of the Ayurvedic doshas. Hot, fiery, intense and strong, it can send emotions through the roof and create aggression, jealousy and criticism. Other signs of aggravated Pitta are impatience, heartburn, acid reflux, stomach ulcers, sensitivity to heat, lethargy, sarcasm, skin rashes, boils, acne, low blood sugar and difficulty falling asleep.

To balance fiery Pitta and to stay cool, Ayurveda recommends following several simple routines and dietary guidelines that you might be familiar with if you are on my newsletter list. You can also read about some of the strategies here.

Besides external influences that are not under our control (such as hot weather), there are other things that we have control of and that can either help to keep fiery Pitta at bay and aggravate it further. Food and exercise are 2 big variables that we have total control off. Both should be adapted according to individual constitution and season. Ayurveda is all about achieving and maintaining balance which helps to go through life with ease and happiness. Isn’t something that we all would enjoy?

As yogis we can use yoga practices to help us stay balanced in the scorching hot summer. These tips are applicable not only to yoga practice but to most physical workouts in the summer. They will help you to stay in great shape and feel fresh even in the hottest days.

During asana practice or other exercise

• Have fun! Traditionally, Ayurveda, recommends lightening the workout load in the summer. Some of the best summer-friendly pitta-balancing workouts are yoga (not hot!), swimming, dancing, and anything else that is light, fun, and not competitive.
• Stay mindful. What matters most of not what you do but how you do it. Ayurvedic wisdom encourages us to stay mindful during any type of movement. Be present in your body, listen to its cues, and trust it.
• Exercise only to 50% of your max capacity and don’t to push to exhaustion. While many of us are used to think of exercise as a ‘must do’ not so pleasant activity, try to change this perception and make it more about having fun and enjoying movement this summer. While moving through vinyasas for example, focus on your breath and all the transitions, letting go of the goal oriented-practice. The amazing thing about this approach to exercise that you get stronger really fast and exercise leaves you feeling energized, not depleted. What’s the point of trying to be strong and muscular if you are too tired and sore to enjoy life afterwards.
• Stay hydrated but avoid drinking ice-cold water. According to ayurveda it can hinder digestive fire and lead to fatigue and sluggish digestion. Instead try sipping on coconut water, watermelon juice, or add cucumber slices and mint to regular water for a cooling effect.

After asana practice or other exercise

Watch out for high pitta sings after every asana practice or workout such as burring dry eyes, itchy scalp or inflamed patches of skin, swelling, redness, burning heat feeling inside or on the joints and scalp. Try a few of the following tips to cool down and to reduce Pitta.

• Exercise in the early morning; never in the middle of the day. Avoid excessive activity during midday heat as it can be draining.
• Do five rounds of sitali breathing at the end of your yoga practice or intense physical activity. It is cooling for the body and calming for the mind.
• After your asana practice or any other physical workout, make sure you don’t skip on the restorative poses and good quality stretching.
• Put cold cucumber slices on your eyes, and rest for five minutes if your eyes are burning or dry.
• If you still feel the intense Pitta nature after completing the workout, do a yoga nidra to relax to a very deep level both physically and mentally
• Take a cool shower and let some colon water run on your head and eyes
• Enjoy a cooling bitter, astrigent, sweet foods after the workout. Salads, fresh dairy-free smoothies and fresh fruit work great! Eat less food that is spicy, sour, salty or hot. Avoid hot peppers, fermented foods (yogurt, pickles, wine, miso) and acidic foods (citrus fruits, tomatoes, coffee, vinegar). Add mung beans, dark green, cilantro, broccoli, cabbage, celery, seaweed, snow peas, summer squash and bitter gourd to your grocery list as they are very cooling.
• Rub coconut oil on the soles of the feet and hands before going to sleep.

What to watch out for/avoid

There are a few general things to avoid during the high heat summer days:

• Competition with yourself or others. Try not to be critical of your abilities while working on specific asanas.
• Very high intensity practices or workouts. Rely on your bodies signals and have fun first and foremost. If your body is enjoying movement, there   will be less internal resistance to exercise or craving afterwards. A balanced happy body is more likely to be at a healthy weight than a stressed fatigued one.
• Exercising in the heat/sun or heated room. Leave it for Fall and Winter season

How do you exercise in the summer?

A Creamy Cooling Healthy Dessert

Kheer or rice pudding is traditionally viewed as a cooling easy to digest dish, nourishing all tissues, cooling the body, and calming the mind. What more to ask from a yummy dessert?!

Spices make it easy to digest and lighter. They also add irresistible aroma and a very homey taste. Nuts and coconut add crunch, fiber, and protein. Dates substitute sugar while adding richness.

Kheer is easy to make and I still have to meet one person who doesn’t like it.

I made this healthy dessert for 17 people for my free yoga and ayurveda class at Pure. Girls loved it and asked for a recipe! Below is a picture of tub of rice pudding that I made and girls enjoying the pudding after Pitta-balancing yoga class

So here is a healthy dessert recipe that you can make for the entire family. It is very affordable and tasty!

Ayurvedic Rice Pudding (Vegan, Gluten and Sugar Free)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown basmati rice
• 4-5 cups almond milk (depending on whether you want it on a liquid or thicker side)
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp coconut manna or coconut oil or ghee
• 3 tbsp coconut flakes
• 5 chopped dates
• Handful of raisins
• 1/3 cup pistachios
• 1/3 cup cashew pieces
• 10-15 saffron threads
• 5-7 cardamon pods
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder

What to do:

Soak rice in 2 cups of water for 2 hours. Drain and rinse.

Bring to boil the rice in 4 cups of almond milk with nuts, dates, spices. Keep on low heat for 30 mins until rice absorbs most water.

Once rice is soft, turn off the heat and let it cool for another 30mins. Serve rice pudding warm or cool with a cup of herbal tea.

If you want to learn more about healthy recipes and smart grocery shopping strategies, join Kitchen Evolution Summer Grocery Shopping tour and Dinner on July 18th. More info here 

If you like this recipe, share if with your friends and family! Inspire the world to be a healthier place! Every single person can make a huge difference! Be the change! SHARE!

Ayurveda and Yoga Help for Summer Scorching Heat

Summer is here. The time of year with the longest daylight hours and a bright sun that is heating up everything and everyone. When overheated, we tend to become more competitive, self-critical, and agitated. Ayurveda offers advice on the ways to adapt yoga practice in the summer to alleviate this imbalance by adding Pitta balancing asanas.  Ayurveda is a sister science of yoga and they work wonderfully together. These asanas prevent these symptoms, as well as hyperacidity, heart burn, skin rashes, and digestion issues.

In the Summer yoga practice should be quieting, cooling, and calming. If you noticed a strong desire to spend most of the time in your last class in Child’s pose, your intuition is guiding you in the right direction. When trying to balance the doshas, remember that “like” increases “like”. Hot Pitta will be aggravated by high temperatures and any sort of fast movement. In other words, yoga class done in a heated room or at a fast pace may be too aggravating to Pitta.

The slower the movement, the less agitating to the body and mind. Calming music can be helpful, as well.

Remember: any movement practiced with great awareness can be calming and balancing for inflamed Pitta. Focus on keeping your attention internally in your body in every asana and every transition between the asanas. Strive for achieving relaxed effort in all your  postures, relax all the muscles that are not critical in holding the pose, especially your face, neck, and shoulders. Allow your breath to lead you from one pose to the next one, not your logical mind.

Ayurveda says that an out of balance pitta may manifest as impatience, aggressiveness, self-criticism, intensity and competitiveness. The adoption of a relaxed, non-hurried, gentle and patient attitude to yoga practice will definitely have a very positive effect. Shift your focus to observing and enjoying the process instead of striving to achieve a specific goal.

Asanas that help balance Pitta are those that place pressure on the naval and solar plexus region, in the small intestine where Pitta resides. There should be enough calming poses included to sedate irritation, anger, and intensity caused by Pitta. In general all forward bends, side stretches, twists, backbends that stretch muscles in your stomach will be beneficial.

Here are some suggestions:

• Ustrasana (Camel Pose) – This asana opens up abdomen, solar plexus, and chest, allowing for free movement of energy through these regions.

• Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose) and Dhanurasana (Bow Pose) – Also excellent solar plexus extensions for Pitta. They activate and support healthy thyroid gland function that is responsible for internal temperature regulation and metabolism. A better functioning internal thermostat will make hot weather more bearable.

• Matsyasana (Fish Pose) – as Yoga Journal notes, Matsyasana is the “destroyer of all diseases.” It stretches and stimulates the muscles of the belly and front of the neck; and stimulates the organs of the belly and throat

• Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle) and Trikonasana (Extended Triangle) – are good example of side stretches. Side stretches stimulate the abdominal organs; help relieve stress; improves digestion; and can be used to alleviate anxiety.

• Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend) and Pada hastasana (Hands to Feet) – all forward bends calm the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression; stimulate the liver, kidneys; improves digestion; soothe headache and anxiety and reduce fatigue
.

• Meru Vakrasana (Simple Spinal Twist) and Ardha Matsyendrasana (Semi Spinal Seated Twist) – all twists stimulate the liver and kidneys, energize the spine, stimulate digestive fire in the belly; and relieve fatigue.

• Supta Vajrasana (Sleeping Thunderbolt or Diamond Pose), Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand), Halasana (Plow), and Mayurasana (Peacock) – are good Pitta balancing poses, as well.

According to Ayurveda, the following asanas are best to avoid or shorten during steamy Pitta time:

• Headstand is very heating. If you choose to do a Headstand, make sure that your breath stays steady and slow throughout this inversion and stay there only for only as long as it feels comfortable.
• Too many Sun Salutations, especially during the day. They create a lot of internal heat and warm up the body very fast. Instead, try Moon Salutations or do Sun Salutations early in the morning for a re-energizing effect to the whole body.

Keeping your focus internally and having your eyes closed will create more awareness and make Sun Salutations less Pitta aggravating. Take time in every asanas and try to make really slow smooth transitions from one asana to the next one. Pay attention to the way your body moves and the way each asana makes you feel. Besides making you more ‘cool’ and calm, practicing in the slow internally focused mode can be an eye opening learning experience and your body awareness will skyrocket!

Stay cool!

How My Body Forced Me To Listen (The Hard Way) 

Image Courtesy: http://www.alldeaf.com/jokes-funny-stories/

A few days ago I wrote about listening to your body when it comes to finding a perfect personalized diet. Today I want to share my story about finding a perfect personalized workout method using your body’s feedback and some common sense.

After moving to New York 7 years ago, I got addicted to working out. Six days a week of hard core cardio, boot camps, body pump, kick boxing, you name it, I did it all! More always seemed better. If I skipped a day, I felt guilty and failed! While working out at the gym, I did yoga every day, too. An hour long yoga routine was my restoration time, not a workout, like it would be for normal people.

I felt proud that I could push myself to workout even on a 4-5 hours of sleep, that I never gave in to excuses, and that no matter where I went I always found a way to exercise. Social life, my personal relationships, sleep, all were secondary to a good workout…

After 5 years of 90min+ of daily workouts, my body started requesting rest. When I didn’t listen, it started to break down. My periods stopped, I was constantly tired, and always hungry. Ignoring my body, I kept pushing through, thinking that if I stop, I will turn into a fat lazy lady.

The worst thing was that exercise didn’t make me that happy anymore, it turned into a chore, something that I had to do before moving on with my day. One of the reasons I was afraid to workout less is a widely accepted concept that “you get what you work for”, and that the more you workout the better shape you are in. What I didn’t understand is that having a fit body that is tired all the time is not any better than having an unfit body.

Another thing that I didn’t understand is that exercise is a tool not a goal of its own, unless you are a professional. Exercise as a tool that helps to create an optimal, healthy body that allows to enjoy life and never feel constricted by the physical discomforts.

After a few conversations with my ayurvedic doctor, Vasudha, and an enlightening book by Claudia Welch “Balance Your Hormone, Balance Your Life” I slowly started to warm up to the notion of nourishing exercise. As all things in Ayurveda, fitness in Ayurveda is personalized and based on your body type. We all are unique and our bodies have different needs for exercise. Daily activity level, stress, type of food, and health condition will also play a role when creating a personalized fitness program.

Sport By Body Type

John Douillard describes fitness preferences by body type really well:

• Vata types will  typically excel in sports requiring quick, short bursts of speed and agility. They love fast, vigorous activity but can’t handle too much of it if they are going to stay in balance. If anything, Vatas need to slow down and nature often forces them to, since their endurance is not great and they tire quite easily.
• Pitta types excel in individual competition requiring strength, speed and stamina. They are fiery both in personality and desire to win. They are highly motivated and driven and are often not satisfied unless they have won. They are natural leaders and are attracted to individual sports because of their strong ego and natural competence in most sports. Pitta types must be careful not to get overheated and must learn how to enjoy themselves regardless of the final score.
• Kapha types excel in endurance and mind-body coordinated  skills. They are great under pressure and are naturally calm, stable and easy-going. Because of their hypometabolic nature, they will tend to be more lazy and need motivation when exercising. They love team sports but must be sure to get plenty of stimulating and vigorous exercise as well.

Nourishing and Depleting Exercise

Most of us do not realize that high intensity exercise can be a stressor. Our body responds to exercise as an emergency. The fight or flight nervous system gets activated and this emergency  response during each workout not only produces stress fighting degenerative hormones. Considering that most of the big city dwellers have drained adrenal glands and don’t have time to stretch after a workout to calm down the nervous system, extreme workouts over time can do more harm than good. This is even more true for women.

Ayurvedic Exercise Solution

It all comes down to what makes you feel healthy and vibrant. Here are some ways that I used to find what works for me.

BREATHE – To reap all the wonderful benefits from working out without harming your body and your nervous system, one has to be very mindful and listen to body’s feedback. It might mean turning off the loud pumping music or the news while you are on the elliptical and instead listening to your breath. If you breath is shallow and incomplete, slow down and bring it back to slow deep breathing. It doesn’t mean that you have to go at a snail’s pace. You can still run 10 miles and hour sprints and breathe deeply! Getting to that point might take some time though, so start easy.

BE MINDFUL - Pay attention to how you feel after a workout. If you are exhausted for 2 days after, ask yourself if it is worth it. I strive to feel energized, alive, and light in my body after a workout. If you are a data junkie, create a workout log and write down how you feel before and after. This way you will be able to observe trends.

STRETCH – I can’t stress this one enough! Stretching is good for your muscles but it is also very calming to the entire nervous system. Do it slowly, mindfully, and regularly!

What I Do Now

After quitting Body Pump classes, cutting down on Bootcamps, and limiting High Intensity Interval Training, my body didn’t turn into a pumpkin, instead, it feel healthy and energized.

gym rat - 2010

yoga, running on the beach, and hiking - happy and relaxed 2012

My periods are back to normal and my constant hunger is gone. I still love a good workout but I became a lot more mindful of my body’s signals and don’t feel guilty taking breaks. My yoga practice is more active since I have more energy and don’t need to spend an entire hour in restorative asanas, even though I still do it sometimes:). Sometimes I still err on the intensity side and push past my comfort level but my body reminds me quite quickly to stretch, rest, and restore.

Questions to YOU: What type of workout makes your body feel alive and healthy? How do you know when you are pushing too much or not challenging yourself enough?

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Stay mindful and breathe whether you are at the gym, a yoga studio, and walking on the street!

Nadya

Palm Tongue Reading

Image Courtesy: http://www.sacredstonehealing.com/

We all have our pet peeves. Some hate when a toilet paper roll is placed the wrong way, others cringe their teeth at noisy eaters, and many of us dislike when someone is taking forever to order when there is a line (juice bar lunch line that is:)).

My biggest pet peeve is sick doctors or health promoting practitioners and counselors who are not well. It is almost impossible to have a complete clarity of mind, effective judgement, and a kind compassion for all the patients when your body is not well. I strongly believe that one of the most important requirements for a health practitioner or a wellness coach should be optimal health. In ayurveda it is mandatory and achieved partially through following dinacharya – a health-promoting daily routine.

While I am not a doctor and not an ayurvedic practitioner, as a health coach I feel a lot more comfortable working with my clients when I feel strong and healthy. There is a lot more authenticity and integrity in a client/coach relationship when a coach is glowing with health and has a ton of energy to share.

A person who is well and strong is inspirational, someone who is sick should not be advising others on how to get better. That advise is not coming from a personal experience, it does not carry authenticity in it, it is not coming from the heart.

Unfortunately most doctors working in the traditional medicine field are not well. However, they are very well off from selling all the prescription drugs!

As a wellness coach I strive to stay at the optimal point of health possible to be able to inspire, motivate, and support my clients.

Show Me Your Tongue and I Will Tell You How You Are.

How do I know that I am well and healthy? Good question!

A huge part of health is how you feel inside of your body. Is it comfortable? Light? Easy to move? Does it have a lot of energy? Do you feel like you want to inspire and help others with the surplus of your energy? If you answered yes to most questions, your body should be pretty healthy.

There are some other ways to check your health state without any pins and needles. All you need is a mirror!

Morning Tongue Analysis – an Ayurvedic Health Assessment Technique

When I was little my parents, both doctors, always asked me to show my tongue if I complained of a not feeling well. More than 10 years later, I finally started to learn what exactly they were looking for… The  tongue is a detailed health map! The same way as the face, the tongue changes colors/shades, shape, and surface texture providing a current health state update. Much like reflexology, all the organs and the entire body can be located on specific regions of the tongue. As a mirror of the body’s digestive system, the tongue can reflect what minerals and vitamins may be deficient and can reveal the health of other various organs in the body.

Trained Ayurvedic practitioners will be able to provide a complete health analysis by examining patient’s tongue. Dr Vassant Lad says that it contains a wealth of information and that every person should learn how to read the body’s messages on their own tongues.

It takes years to learn the intricacies but there are some general guidelines that anyone can use to evaluate general health level/condition: The first thing the tongue shows us is if any one dosha is out of balance. Divide the tongue into three parts; the root is Vata, the middle is Pitta, and the tip is Kapha. Excessive coating in any of these areas shows which dosha is involved.

Generally dosha disturbances show up in the following ways:

Image Courtesy http://www.ayurvedic.ie/

• Vata disturbances on the tongue – Small cracks all over the tongue; Dry, dark tongue; Film over the back of the tongue; Rough back area; Small dark pimples; and Black to brown coloration on the tongue.
• Pitta disturbance on the tongue – Red tongue; White cold sores; Bumps or bright red patched areas in the middle of the tongue; Greenish or yellowish film on the tongue; and Film on the middle section of the tongue.
• Kapha disturbances on the tongue – White thick coating tongue; Oily film on the tongue; Depressions or bumps on the front portion of the tongue; and Tip of the tongue whitish or coated.

Some other things to look for:

• Teeth imprints around the contour of the tongue – malabsoprion of nutrients. Your digestive system is not very happy. To stimulate digestion in a natural healthy way, add fresh ginger tea, avoid iced drinks and start paying attention to food combining. Here is an article on Ayurvedic Food Combining.
• Trembling tongue - a sign of anxiety or fear, possible Vata disturbance. We live in such a high stress society that anxiety can crawl over you without you even being aware of it. It might even be your permanent state and you are so used to it that can’t tell the difference. Forgot when was tge last time you woke up rested and excited to start your day? Thought so! Time to take a break from caffeine, have some chamomile tea and nourish your nervous system with warm, easy to digest light soups and bean dishes.
• Thick grayish coating – Toxins in colon. Did you think about doing a detox but couldn’t think of a strong enough incentive. Welcome to the club! Knowing that your colon is full of material that doesn’t belong there, that spreads toxins into your blood, makes you sluggish, your skin greyish and your head foggy might be the push you were waiting for. Take a break from heavy, oily and processed foods. No need to fast if you are not ready for it but make it a vegetable or fruits day only. Choose foods that are easiest to digest. If you make is a vegetable day, go for steamed not raw, same with fruits, baked apples with cinnamon is my choice when I do one day food break. You won’t feel hungry or tired because apples provide plenty of natural sugars and fiber to keep you full and energized. Your body will feel so fresh and light the next day, you might want to make it a weekly treat. You take a break from work why not give your digestive system a break also?

Dr Lad advises to look at the tongue in the morning before brushing your teeth. He also strongly encourages the use of a tongue scrapper on a daily basis. Why walk around with a ton of toxins if you can just scrape them off?!

What does your tongue say? What does it look like?

If you see me in class next Tue at Strala, don’t be shy to stick your tongue out!

Don’t forget to subscribe to Spinach and Yoga on the top right and like Spinach and Yoga on Facebook. I finally created a facebook page and will be sharing all digestion, ayurveda, and mindfulness tips there!

Love and lightness to your bodies!

Nadya

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Hello wellness warriors,

Today, I am very excited to to share something very special! A new friend of mine and an amazing ayurvedic practitioner, Dr Helen Thomas, shares some of her wisdom with us! Dr Helen studied with Deepak Chopra and Vasant Lad and now has a thriving practice in CA. She is the author of multiple book of health and ayurveda. Recently, she expanded her private practice to offer an online course called Colon Karma Cure. Isn’t it a cool name?! She calls herself and Indigestion Guru! I love it! The program offers weekly newsletter with tips and audio files with lectures on how to Cure Bad Colon Karma or basically, how to make your belly happy and healthy.

We had so much to discuss in our interview that I broke it down in several parts. Mind Body Green published a big piece of the interview, Modern Hippie Mag will cover individualized diets and the effects of stress on digestion, and I kept Dr Helen’s view of Raw Food Movement, her advice on using spices, and a glimpse of her daily diet for Spinach and Yoga. Here we go:

Nadya: Ayurveda is heavy on using spices that are specific to body types. In ayurveda spices are used for flavor and their healing properties. There’s a movement of people that advise against the use of spices as it may stimulate overeating. Their reasoning is that spices make the food taste different from what the nature intended and we don’t taste the plain ingredients as a result it is easy to eat more than the body requires. They also say that in the ancient times when our ancestors were mainly gathering and hunting, that they didn’t use spices. What do you think is the right answer? Should one use spices?

Dr Helen: I can only answer from an Ayurvedic perspective. In Ayurveda, we believe that spices improve digestion by stimulating the production of enzymes and improving circulation. Adding a little bit of spice in your food is similar to taking the popular nowadays digestive enzymes.

Another important aspect of using spices in cooking is the understanding of food and emotion connection. Ayurveda considers an emotional component of eating to be very important. Food should smell good and taste good to fulfill an emotional need. If you don’t have time to cook and enjoy your meal, you are not cultivating an emotional satiation in relationship to your whole experience as being a human being. That’s why people eat on the go, while driving or walking, will never feel completely satisfied and will always crave more.

Spices can be used for taste but they have powerful healing properties and it is important to use them according to dosha.  If you’re a Kapha type struggling with weight issues, than you need to use pungent, bitter, and astringent spices to stimulate metabolism. Spices that are sweet, sour and salty are contraindicated as they will lead to water retention and overeating. That’s just one example of why you have to use spices according to your body type.

Nadya: What do you think about a recent trend of juicing and raw foods? Is it healthy?

Dr Helen: Not all raw food is equal, some of it is easier to digest than other.  If you include soaked grains, ground up soaked seeds and a little bit of nuts, then it should be okay. However, Vata types would not feel well after eating a raw salad made with coarse hard vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower. Some might even develop a stomachache. I think the raw foods movement is bringing a lot of good things to the table and everyone should try experimenting with making some raw dishes at home. The key is to add a little bit of healthy oils and grains even if it’s raw. But I do not recommend just plain hard raw vegetables for Vata types or people with a weak stomach.

Nadya: As an Ayurvedic doctor, do you live by what you preach? What do you usually eat on a day to day basis?

Dr Helen Thomas: Kitchari is my go-to breakfast. The recipe is very simple: ½ cup rice and ½ cup moong dal; boiled in water with a teaspoon of turmeric and a little salt. At lunch I usually have a grain-based dish like quinoa with veggies. For dinner, I can have chicken soup or fish. I also like boiled milk, dates, figs, almonds, and pine nuts when I need a boost of energy.

Nadya: For people who sign up for the Colon Karma Cure program, how long does it take for a sensitive stomach to heal and for digestion to become stronger if a person is following general Ayurvedic guidelines?

Dr Helen:  About six weeks. We have many testimonials from people who have taken the Colon Karma Cure raving about the program and how it significantly improved their digestion.

The Colon Karma Cure is a wonderful program that offers a wealth of knowledge on Ayurveda and digestion. Dr Helen makes the sometimes confusing ancient ayurvedic wisdom accessible and easy to apply in your own kitchen.

Your turn to be interviewed! Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

1. Do you use spices? How do you decide which ones to use?

2. Have you tried juicing and raw food? How did your belly react?

Would love to hear from you!

PS: If you want some help creating your Personal Wellness Vision and finding strategies that will work for you to reach it, check out my Services page and email me at nadyaand @ gmail dot com

PPS: We still have a few spots left for the India Adventure. Join me! It will be so much fun and it will change your life!!!

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Hey guys,

Hope everyone is well and that you are finding calm and peace even during this financial market turmoil. Usually when the markets go down the blood pressure of a huge chunk of population goes up and anxiety sky rockets.When we are stressed, our breath becomes short and constricted. When the breath is short or incomplete the flow of energy or as yogis would say prana is constricted as well. When the energy is not flowing well parts of our body and mind become malnourished.
It can lead to a poor mental and physical health. One of the goals of yoga is to make breath full and complete, to let it be natural and not forced. Free-flowing breath will clear out all obstructions and will create a free flow of energy to feed the entire body.

If you pay attention to your body and mental state, you might notice that when you are agitated and stressed, your right nostril predominates. When you are tired or depressed, the left one will take over. When both nostrils are working evenly, you are in physical and emotional balance. High blood pressure, fever, anxiety can also be associated with the predominance of the right nostril. So when you watch financial news or read a scary article in a morning newspaper you can create an internal energy (prana) imbalance if you breath is affected by the bad news. Very few of us have the power to stay indifferent to the world around us. Yoga, especially pranayama (breathing techniques and meditations) can help us stay balanced even in the middle of a financial turmoil. The goal is to stay balanced, focused, and content without ruining your health, nerve cells, and relationships no matter what happens in the market.

Throughout the day, take a moment to check in with yourself and notice your emotional state and your breath. If you feel that some balancing is in place, try an ancient yogic technic Nadi Sodhana. Nadi Sodhana is a breathing exercise that is said to balance hormones, internal thermostat, mood, and blood pressure. It creates internal equilibrium in all the bodily systems. It can fuel a person on a physical, mental, and spiritual level.

James Bailey, in his article for Yoga Journal describes Nadi Sodhana practice in the following way:

To practice Nadi Shodhana, sit in a comfortable meditative position. Make a fist with your right hand, then partially reextend your ring and little fingers. Lightly place the pad of the thumb on your nose just to the right and below the bridge; lightly place the pads of your ring and little fingers on the corresponding flesh on the left side of your nose. Gently pressing with the ring and little fingers to close the left nostril, exhale fully through the right. Then inhale fully through the right, close it with the thumb, release the left nostril, and exhale through it. Inhale through the left nostril, close it with the fingers, release the right nostril, and exhale through it. This completes one round of Nadi Shodhana.

Nadi Sodhana has multiple benefits:

• Lowers heart rate and reduces stress and anxiety
• Said to synchronize the two hemispheres of the brain
• Said to purify the subtle energy channels (nadis) of the body so the prana flows more easily during pranayama practice
• Said to balance out sex and stress hormone (especially important for women)

I have been practicing Nadi Sodhana daily for the last 3-4 years and always find it very calming and balancing. It even helps me with craving sometimes, probably because cravings are a sign of imbalance… Anyway, give it a try and let me know what you think.

Start with 5 minutes of Nadi Sodhana in the morning or any time when you feel anxious or stressed!

Stay strong and don’t let things that you don’t have control over spoil your mood!

From Russia with love,

Nadya

Note: James Bailey, L.Ac., is a third-generation physician. His professional practice incorporates Ayurveda, Oriental medicine, Tantra Yoga, and the emerging field of yogic medicine.

My friend and a talented ayurvedic practitioner, Vasudha Gupta, is hosting her first public ayurvedic cooking workshop on Fri, July 28th 5-8PM.

Vasudha is the woman behind www.americanayurveda.com and specialises in women’s health and wellness. She is an amazing healer and very fun to be around:)! She will host the workshop at Jena Wellness on Broabway Ave and 25th st near Flatiron Building.

Every student will have an opportunity to cook, stand by the stove, and experiment. All the cooking will be done by you, the students. She provides all the ingredients, spices, dishware, recipes, and guidance. You get to eat what you make and take everything home. It’s a 7 course meal from an appetiser to dessert with additional fixings and traditional digestion-stimulating accompaniments. All the recipes are focused on staying balanced during the hot season and are cooling and grounding in nature.

The price is $100 and includes all the food. It is an amazing deal considering that all the food and spices are included. You pay at the workshop but need to let me know if you are coming asap because the space is limited to 8 people so everyone has a chance to cook.

Let me know if you have any questions and would like to sign up