Spinach and Yoga

Today I want to introduce you to a great resource and an amazing yogi who is leading others to live in more alignment with their best selves. Please meet:

In this short video we discuss what we both gained from combining yoga and ayurveda. If you are starting to explore ayurveda and thinking of making yoga a habit, you will find this interesting:)

Cate is offering a great free course on Ayurveda. To take a free online video course with Cate, go here.

What will you get out of Cate’s training?

1. Understand your body energetically.
   Most of us grew up in an allopathic paradigm, where we’re taught how the body works mechanically. As you cultivate a yoga practice you become aware that your body isn’t just mechanical… it’s energetic. Getting the owner’s manual to your energetic physiology becomes of great importance to the curious yoga student as a means of not only preventing disease, but also cultivating deeper energy. This optimization of our energetic physiology is why gurus have a potent energy and can serve hundreds, if not thousands, of students. While your goal might not be so lofty, you still want to build your immune system for the uncertain future.
2. Get to know your unique constitution.One of the biggest benefits of understanding how energy works is that you get to know yourself from the inside out. In the process, you will discover your unique energetic constitution, called prakruti in sanskrit. Built into comprehending your constitution comes the ability to detect imbalances early in the game, so you don’t end up with an unfortunate diagnosis of a developed disease down the road. Also, it’s really fun to know your mental & emotional constitution as you’ll be able to cultivate greater connection in the relationships that mean the most to you.
3. Get more grounded… and more awake.
   When you study Ayurveda, you study Nature. Ayurveda is the study of Nature from the inside out, as well as the outside in. As that process happens, a transformation is taking place within your consciousness. This transformation, or agni, burns away layers of disconnected rhythms, lifestyle habits, and even unconscious patterns. You evolve through the fire more grounded and awake to the true nature of who you are, and what is possible in this lifetime.

When I heard for the first time on the plane that you need to put your oxygen mask first before helping others I felt my insides protest. Isn’t it being there for others, especially your child or your loved one is more important?

Even now when I think about it, it is hard to imagine taking care of my oxygen mask before making sure that my kid or my love are safe. And I think most women instinctively reach to help others before their needs are met.

Are You Breaking The Major Self-Care Rules?

This happens not only in the emergency on a flight, it happens on a daily basis. For many mothers and wives it is a daily living algorithm. Every day they make sure that everyone is OK, fridge is full, everyone is fed, homework is done, and pets are taken care of.

Then if there is still time and energy left, we add in self-care, which usually ends up being not of the best quality because we are too tired. Maybe a little yoga here and there or a workout that leaves you feeling drained not energized, an occasional healthy dish but more often a store-bought cookie or chocolate, and maybe once in a while a massage. Does it sound familiar to you? If yes, I have a very special free class for you. You will be able to register below or check out the class now if you are too excited to read the whole article.

Many women think of self-care as a luxury that only people without families and with a lot of money can enjoy. For most busy folks who don’t have bundles of cash lying around self-care is an extra, not a necessity. Investing time in taking care of yourself may even feel selfish considering that you need to take care of the global and our family’s well-being.

The Truth Behind Self-Care

But let’s get clear on something. The real reason why prioritizing self-care is necessary and why it should not feel selfish at all.

This weekend I really felt the wisdom of having to put your oxygen mask first. Or you could say fill your vessel first in order to fill others. What dawned on me is that it is not selfish to take care of yourself.

It is actually better for the whole world if we take care of our own health and energy. It allows us to serve everyone around from a calmer and stronger place. If you are depleted and sick, you are not able to do what you are meant to do in the best way possible.

You must prioritize self-care until you feel strong and inspired enough to help others.

Self-care practices that nourish your body don’t have to be time-consuming to be effective. They just need to be daily, consistent, and a priority.

If after a few years of ignoring our self-care and abusing our body, you feel that your hormones are out of whack, digestion doesn’t work properly, skin is not glowing, and life feels overwhelming and stressful, it is time to change that.

On April 3rd a friend of mine Ashley Pitman, the founder of the virtual ashram Vixi, and I will be teaching a free video class on 10 self-care rituals that can help jump start that self-care routine that your body needs to be healthy and vibrant. You can register here

We will talk about 10 self-care rituals that every woman must know about and ways to fit those practices into your day. If you can’t make it to the class live, you will be able to watch the recording any time after.

If you ever researched or asked your doctor about ways to improve your digestion, most likely you would hear that you should exercise on a regular basis.

Exercise improves blood circulation, lymphatic drainage, and in general helps things to move along. Or so it is thought.

However, what I noticed in the last 3 years of studying digestion and working with people on improving it is that not all exercise has the same effect. Some exercise will actually help counteract bloating and constipation, while other can foster it!

It might sound pretty crazy but certain exercise habits can make elimination less regular and as a result create digestive problems. I have experienced it myself and seen it in many other women.

Below I will share a few of my observations on these bad exercise habits and offer ways to avoid negative effects on the intricate digestive balance.

Not A Happy Belly Exercise Habits

• Not breathing properly while exercising – A lot of instructors will encourage people to hold their stomach in almost all the time. While core engagement can help stabilization and protect the spine, not letting the diaphragm come down during the breath is not a good habit. When we breathe fully our stomach should naturally extend to allow the diaphragm move down. Full breath = more oxygen in the blood = more energy to exercise and better digestion. When we hold the stomach in and it turns into a habit even outside of yoga or Pilates class, it can negatively impact digestion. A soothing massaging effect of deep abdominal breathing and a relaxed stomach make a huge difference in the functioning of the digestive and reproductive systems. Check in with yourself to make sure that you are not holding the breath when working hard and that each breath is complete. You should feel your abdominal area slightly expanding when you inhale.

• Doing core exercises without stretching afterwards – in general crunches, sit ups, side planks, and twists are great for digestion. They can help to improve circulation to the organs in the abdominal area and stimulate regularity. However, doing only contraction type of movement without creating extension through stretching afterwards can leave all the muscles around your digestive system tight. When things are tight, there is not enough space for movement so things (your waste) will get stuck. Make sure to always stretch and balance out the contraction with extension. Cat/Cow or a Cobra pose are great stretches to try after a core-toning routine.

• Dehydration – it hurts me to watch people on cardio machines or intense classes without water. When your body temperature is raised from exercise and you are sweating buckets, your body is loosing precious water. Considering that most people are dehydrated to begin with, extra water loss is not a welcome change in the body. When dehydrated our body draws water from the colon to provide enough hydration for other organs like heart and liver. If too much water from the stool and colon is re-absorbed back into the body, you get constipated. Fortunately, this problem is pretty easy to solve. Make your own rehydrating drink before working out with lemon, some sea salt, and honey or just sip on room T water with electrolytes but no sugar like Smart Water.

On the other hand some exercises are incredibly helpful when it comes to improving elimination and preventing bloating.

My Favorite Happy Belly Exercises:

• Yoga – Yoga is a multifunctional tool. It helps to resolve many issues that get in the way of connecting to your true self, including feeling constipated or bloated. It’s easier to meditate, to feel at peace, and to feel at hom
  

  I love my rebounder early in the morning!

  e living in a body that is free of waste. You can adapt your yoga practice to address the issue of digestion just the same way you adjust your diet to address your needs. In general compression/extension of the abdomen such as in a cat/cow or downdog into updog sequence, side stretching such as an extended side angle and triangle, and backbends are very helpful. If you want to learn all the yoga tricks for improving digestion, sign up to my upcoming workshop Yoga Relief for Bloating and Constipation. The class is online and you will have the recording available to watch at any time!

• Dancing and shaking your hips – belly dancing and Latin-inspired dancing are all great to get things moving! Dancing helps to move muscles of the abdominal and pelvis region which massages deeper internal organs. The result is better intestine and colon health. Remember, though, to leave at least an hour or two after eating before you dance. Having food content in the stomach while shaking your hips can make one nauseous! I love a dancy-y hip shaking routine from Tiffany Rothe. I do it at home at least once a week!

• Rebounder/ trampoline – this one is addictive! Rebounding stimulates the circulation of lymphatic fluid, the body’s waste disposal mechanism, providing direct support to your immune and digestive system. For me any exercise has to feel good and be fun, rebounding is both! It is a great cardio-endurance-toning workout! I have my rebounder sitting in the living room and often take breaks from writing to jump for a few minutes. You can get a trampoline at a very reasonable price from Amazon.

• Brisk Walking – walking is amazing in general. You get outside, breathe fresh air, get vitamin D… A pretty gentle bouncing movement of walking helps to improve circulation and digestion as well. So get outside and go for a walk!

Your turn: Have you noticed that exercise effects your digestion? If yes, what helps to improve it?

I am really excited about the upcoming class on Yoga for a Happy Belly class! It will be full of helpful exercises to reduce bloating and constipation. I really hope to see you there!

Image via Wikipedia

There are so many “health experts”, gurus, and celebrity trainers pitching their diet and fitness advice that we as a society should be fit and healthy by now. But for some reason we are not. I think it is partially because most of the health advice is based on personal experiences and while valid for some people doesn’t apply to others.

It brings me to a difficult but at the same time very empowering realization. Nobody can tell me what to do to be well and to stay healthy, I need to figure it out myself. And you do, too!

Learning how to listen to an internal health expert, your body, is one of the 1st steps in finding your personalized wellness strategy. Your body offers an amazing source of wisdom if you are willing to explore it. It can guide you in anything starting from what and when to eat, how and how much to exercise, and even what to do with your life and how to find true happiness. We have that knowledge, it is a matter of tapping into it.

Learning to Listen and Understand the Teacher

• Learning how to listen to your body is important.
• Learning the language in which your body communicates is crucial if you want to decipher it’s message.
• What is even more important is acting based on what your internal voice tells you.

There is a difference between listening to the body and actually responding to that internal voice. It is the same difference as knowing the rules and acting according to them. For me it proved to be a lot more challenging than I expected.

One of the reasons that it was so difficult is because things that my internal teacher was whispering went against my logical beliefs. They were against what I read and what experts said. It was scary to follow the advice coming from inside not from someone with a big name and recognition. It was also difficult because it required letting go of my beliefs and changing my routine.

Welcome Change!

Often we get attached to our routine. There is something very comforting about predictability and doing things the way we are used to. Unfortunately, attachment makes us less flexible and less open to new things, even things that might be better for us than what we currently do.

As Seth Godin put it in his book ‘Linchpin‘: It is human nature to defend our worldview, to construct a narrative that protects us from uncomfortable confessions (truth).

How many times have you seen someone justify drinking coffee or alcohol because they find studies that show that it can be good? I see people who hurt themselves based on their old beliefs that something is good for them even though their body is telling otherwise. For someone it can be excessive exercise that breaks down joints and depletes muscles, for others – continuous grazing that causes bloating. In our day and age, one can find studies supporting almost anything. Contradictory studies can help you justify eating grains or refusing them, having fruits or cutting them out, drinking coffee or staying away from it, taking supplements or throwing them out, treating yourself to daily chocolates or putting a ban on cacao. Whatever you want, science got your back!

Still, most of us choose to trust some professor rather than our own body! We trust industry-sponsored questionable studies more than our body’s internal voice.

Nothing Is Written In Stone

Circumstances change, we change, our needs change. Keeping an open mind and not getting attached too much to the ideas, routines, or beliefs will allow you to see the world more clearly.

Our body changes continuously and its needs change along the way, we have to listen and adapt. There is nothing wrong with changing your beliefs as your understanding deepens. Victoria Boutenko is one of the people who was not afraid to publicly  recognize that her understanding of nutrition and health has changed over the years. After years of promoting all raw diet and blaming cooked food for cravings, Victoria noticed that her body felt better with some cooked foods present in the diet. While it caused some people to judge her, others appreciated her honesty.

Ask Your Body What it Needs

One of the easiest ways to start learning from your body is to ask for feedback. I often go through this exercise with my students and everyone seems to really enjoy it. First read through the steps and then give it a try!

• Lay down or sit in a very comfortable supported position
• Close your eyes
• Take a few deep breaths and mentally say to yourself “I am relaxing, my body is fully relaxed with every exhale”.
• Keep your breath at natural slow rhythm. Deep and slow.
• Do a mental scan of your body and release any tension that you find.
• Start by saying “hi” to your body. ‘Hi body! How are you doing today?”
• Listen to what your body communicates to your in feelings, sensations, or thoughts that arise.
• Ask your body: ‘What can I do to make you feel better today?’
• Listen and act it on it!

One day your body might ask for a nap, another day for a run, and a green juice or chocolate. As long as you are listening to your body and don’t let your mind interfere, it will be a clear and authentic message that will bring good results if you follow!

F*ck the ‘no pain, no gain’ thingy!

One of the most powerful lessons that I learned from my body is that being fit and strong does not have to involve pain and struggle. It can be pretty easy, fun, and joyful. Surprised? I was, too!

Another cool thing that I learned from my internal teacher is that a six pack is not the only determinant of a fit body. A fit body is a body that wakes up full of energy, can run up the subway stairs without feeling fatigued in the quads, will dance all night without being tired the next day, hike all day, and digest food efficiently. (Yes, workouts and digestion are quite connected. Too much or too little will make your belly unhappy!)

• You can create a beautiful, strong, fit body by moderate exercise, meditation, stretching, relaxation, visualization, and mindful clean eating.

• If you prefer a harder and more painful way, then you can create a fit body by intense exercise, timed eating, supplements, and lots of will power to keep doing it.

The Choice Is Yours!

My body is telling me to go with the 1st one and that’s what I am working on:). In a Saturday I will tell you why I had to move from the will power and super intense workouts. Stay tuned by subscribing on the top right and please check out Spinach and Yoga page on facebook!

For now: Have you tried to listen to your body? Did you ever feel torn about following your body’s feedback when it was contradictory to what your mind was telling you to do?

Listen and you will hear!

PS: If you are new to relaxation or guided meditation and would like some help learning to listen to you body, schedule a consultation with me and I will be happy to work with you on that. You can also come by to Strala on Tue for a 7pm yoga class and we can chat before!

Nadya

Lost As Most

I spent years feeling torn apart by various nutrition theories and scientific studies. Eastern, Western, raw, vegan, high-protein, athletic, high card, high weights, yoga, walking… I kept reading non stop, trying different things out, thinking that if it worked for so many people it should work for me.

People came to me asking what and when they should eat, how to stop binging or emotional eating, or to cure an eating disorder. I wanted to help so badly but how could I if I kept changing my mind about my own diet based on every new article.

I kept craving nuts and sweets to ground when stressed and didn’t know how to control it. I was always at a normal weight and nobody would take me seriously if I complained of emotional eating. I was supposed to be an example but instead I went through the same things that other women wanted to resolve by working with me.

A lot of wellness coaches and health counselors go through this. They go into the field in the hopes of resolving their issues. They study the theory. Some of them even manage to work through their issues. Most don’t. They get focused on giving advice but find it hard to always follow it. Unfortunately, it just proves that knowing stuff is not enough to be healthy and well. There is something else that needs to be in place to make the whole wellness venture a success.

In my experience, this missing link is a strong mind/body connection that creates deep trust. It makes you less dependent on the outside advice and more in-tune with your own body.

Many people talk about listening to the body, about creating a mind/body connection but very few people do it.

I kept asking myself ‘why?” Why is it that this amazing tool is not being used as much as it deserves to be? Why do we focus the majority of our attention on telling people what to do and what to eat, instead of giving them tools to be able to make a good choice on their own?

At the end, I don’t know your body as well as you have the potential to get to know it. No doctor has lived in your body and can tell you what is best for it with more certainly than you can.

Push Until You Collapse

I don’t believe in teaching anything that I didn’t experience myself. My body forced me on this learning path and I learned every bit that I could through this experience. It was not always pleasant. Most of the times quite the opposite. Fortunately, the breakthrough often happens when we are exhausted, ready to let go, to surrender to the inevitable and then suddenly, something happens and things get clear.

I felt exhausted from self-inflicted crazy schedule, writing assignments, marketing, researching, studying, and experimenting. My body was tired of constant supplements, superfoods, new recipes, trying stuff out, and working out. At one point I couldn’t bring myself to write for a few days or do anything productive. My brain protested. I fought it but with no success. At the end, I decided to surrender, to give up, to allow for empty slots on my calendar, to allow for rest instead of hard works, to watch movies instead of starring in my computer. I let myself just be, instead of do. In the time that I used to spend writing, I focused on my breath. A cooling Sitali breath: in and out. Simple. With no goal. Just focusing on the process.

Right away a few things became clear: my breath was incomplete/shallow half the time. When even a bit stressed I stopped breathing. My stomach was always tight when I was breathing. Pretty crazy for a yoga instructor.

Breath Is Life and It Has Your Answers

If i am breathing half way, I can’t live fully. I decided to focus only on the breath and let other things wait. The world wouldn’t collapse if I write one blog per week or if I skip a week altogether. Most likely no one will even notice.

So what did I learn from a few days of breathing?

• First, is that I am just at the beginning of discovering the true power of breath. We tend to search for new miracle cures, new philosophies, superfoods, or workouts in the hopes of resolving the issue. We forget about the basics. We forget that ideal, amazing things are often very simple and straightforward. Breath is powerful but very simple. However, most people forget how to do it. Breathing fully and slowly is a commitment. A dare you to take 2 timed minutes to breathe fully before your lunch and dinner. Just by doing that, you will be able to feel your body more, to relax, and to reduce the likelihood of overeating. Yogis were right, breath can be used for rebuilding strength, health, and create deeper levels of awareness. Hope you join me on my journey of discovery!
• Second, is that hunger, energy level, and emotional state are very closely interconnected with breath. I will write a separate post about it because it is truly miraculous. Breath can nourish and satisfy better than a cake and re-energize more than a coffee. This is one the things that you need to experience for yourself to believe it.
• My feelings are my teachers and guides. If I don’t take time to acknowledge them, then I am missing out on the best most personalized advice. Instead I will be forced to look for the answer in the outside world: kitchen, books, Facebook. We may have heard it thousand of time that the answers are inside but to find those answers you need to take time to listen. to begin with need to clean the body and clear the mind. We are not  created for multi-tasking. When we are running around, talking, eating, or thinking, it is almost impossible to process feelings and emotions. It needs separate time and commitment. Focusing on the breath with closed eyes starts to bring out feelings and emotions.
• Breathing brings on moments of clarity. During those moments of clarity and enlightenment you know what to eat, when to eat, how to move and how much, when to wake up, and what to do. Of course, before you get to the point of clarity, or when your clarity is hindered by stress or negative outside circumstances, you need some general guidelines that were created  by people in the moments of clarity. It is good to listen to those recommendations but you have to test it out on your body.  The only way and time to decipher the result of this experiments is to take time to listen to your body’s feedback.

I will leave you at this and hope that my experience inspires you to close your eyes and just breathe for a few minutes. It is worth it! You are worth it!

Share your thoughts on breath, intuition, and emotional eating below in the comment section.

I would like to introduce you to an amazing woman who shares her inspiration wellness transformation story today! I can relate to so many aspects of Rita’s story. I hope it inspires you as much as me!

Personal Transformation Story

For the last couple of years I have been struggling with emotional eating disorders. I had a completely negative body image of myself. Thinking about it now, I guess I completely hated myself. I had a low self-confidence and self-esteem. Although there were times when things would slightly improve, either because my professional and emotional life was stable, as soon as something felled out of place, I would return to the black hole I had put myself in long ago.

I knew I wanted to get out of it, but I did not know how. I tried dieting, I became vegetarian, I exercised endless hours in the gym, I had psychiatric treatment, been under heavy antidepressants, but the problems would always surface, with binge eating, vomiting, use of laxatives, etc. I would always panic if I gained one pound and I hated myself for that. It was a vicious cycle that lasted for years.

It all started to change when I found Ashtanga Yoga. I was forced to pay attention to my body, start listening to its signals and be patient with it. And somehow something inside me started to change.

I suddenly became more interested in understanding the root of my problem, why I felt the way I did about myself and why I sought refuge in food and extreme exercise.

I started reading books on yoga philosophy, and had a strong desire to go to India. Luckily enough, my yoga teacher was organizing a trip to India with some of her students and I decided to join. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I completely fell in love with the country, its culture and its people. I felt a sense of belonging, like I was at home. More so because of my looks, everyone thought I was in fact Indian!

I knew I had begun a journey to discover myself.

While in India I went to a Vedic astrologist who told me that my life had began to change on the very same day I landed in Mysore (he did not know that, though! he only told me the date!) and that those changes would be greatest in May 2012, when I would have the possibility to choose a different path.

He was in fact quite right! In May 2012 I was living in New York, by myself, with no family or friends, and it was when all doors suddenly opened and I realized that life had so much more to it than I had ever imagined.

I became aware of how changes in diet, lifestyle and way of thinking could bring huge benefits and lead to a full transformation. I started reading a lot about nutrition, meditation, mindfulness and Ayurveda. During my research I found a workshop entitled ’40 Day Journey to Bliss’, which promised to provide the tools necessary to make positive changes in one’s life. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to do it.

That was how I met Nadya and May and a group of wonderful women, all struggling with same issues. During those 40 days I learned a lot about food, digestion, nutrition, body image, mindfulness, meditation and Ayurveda. I learned how to create a wellness vision to myself, and set goals to achieve it. And more importantly, by changing my diet and my way of thinking, by being mindful, along with the practice of yoga and meditation, I started to see changes in my body and in my mind.

I started to feel happier and to accept things as they are, living in the present moment. I learned to love my body and be gentle with it, and I started a new relationship with food! I even got rid of the strong migraines that haunted me for years!
Everything I was learning and applying to myself was transforming me in a whole new person!

Suddenly, I realized that I would like to help other people achieve what I was achieving. That I would like to raise awareness to how a healthy diet and life style has huge benefits and can change us. It can cure emotional and even physical problems. As I returned to my home city, Lisbon, I started writing a blog, My Wellness Revolution to share advice and tips on wellness, nutrition, yoga and Ayurveda, and started studying these subjects in detail on my spare time! In the near future I hope to become an Ayurveda life counselor and a wellness coach!

A new path was in deed presented to me, and I thank the Universe for it every single day!

If you are interested in starting your own Wellness Revolution, I would be happy to guide you in your journey. You can learn more about how I can help you here.

Share Yours!

There is so much information available to us nowadays! To avoid information overload but at the same time make sure that you don’t miss out on valuable knowledge, I wanted to share my favorite go-to wellness and health websites.

Please share yours in the comments, too! I would love to check them out! There is always so much to learn

The Best of Ayurveda on The Web

If you are looking to learn about ayurveda but feel overwhelmed by the abundance of the material online, this list of the best ayurvedic websites will come in handy.

• Joyfulbelly - An ayurvedic website founded by John Immel, one of the brightest ayurveda personalities out there. Combining his technological skills and his ayurveda knowledge John created a wonderful go-to resource for anyone interested in the ancient science of life. His website Joyful Belly has everything from dosha tests, to dosha appropriate foods and recipes. John also offers home-made ayurvedic teas and formulas. There are regular tele-seminars and workshops that everyone can sign up for or you can opt for a more personalized skype session with John.
• Fran’s House of Ayurveda – a masterpiece of ayurvedic cooking. A unique feature about the Fran’s website  is that she offers variations to make the dish suitable for each dosha and explains why certain ingredients are better for a specific dosha. Fran also shares some tips of dosha specific yoga poses, meditation, and personal experience with ayurveda.
• Ayurvedic Institute in NM, the home of Dr Vasant Lad
• Vixi - a virtual ashram full of health and inspiration from Ashley Pitman
• Monica Bloom
• Holistic Online This website offers great dosha tests and ayurvedic diet guidelines
• Life Spa website of John Douillard on ayurveda and general health
• Yoga Chicago – a great yoga, ayurveda, and spirituality resource
• Robert Svoboda
• David Frawley
• Ayurvedic Healers

My Favorite Health, Wellness, and Cooking Websites

• Choosing raw
• Pure2Raw Twins
• One Arab Vegan
• Ohsheglows
• Crazysexylife
• Mindbodygreen One of my favorite resources and websites to write for!
• ModernHippieMag
• Frederic Patenaude
• BexLife
• The Alkaline Diet
• Natural News

Inspiration

Sometimes life gets busy, difficult, and even sad. The good thing that there is always light at the end of the tunnel! I love reading inspirational books, thoughts, and life stories. Happy beautiful images can do the trick, too. If you are an inspiration junkie, check out these websites:

• Crazy Sexy Life
• The Wellness Warrior
• The Kind Life
• Tiny Buddha

Favorite Yoga Websites

• Yogajournal
• International Yoga mag
• Integral Yoga Magazine
• Doyogawithme
• Yoga Online
• Yogaglo
• Yogacitynyc.com
• Strala
• Union Backcare

What are your favorite health and wellness websites?

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?

Mental Bloating is REAL!

How is you mental and emotional digestion?

We all know that digestion in our stomach is crucial to our well-being. No matter what we eat, if it is not assimilated and digested well, our body won’t be able to build new healthy cells. Ayurveda says that even a nectar can be poisonous to a person with a poor digestion, while someone with strong digestive fire can turn even poison into a nourishing nectar. So it is not only about what we eat but also how we digest and assimilate the nutrients!

But let’s come back to the emotional and mental digestion. Similar to the physical one, it can make us feel light and happy or bloated and constipated if we are not digesting our relationships and our environment well.

Signs of a healthy emotional digestion are:

• feeling of ease when making decisions
• good self-image
• contentment
• sense of fulfillment in relationships
• clarity on what you want
• confidence

Poor emotional digestion shows up as:

• self-criticism
• indecisiveness
• feeling of emptiness and not belonging
• constant dissatisfaction
• reluctance to accept change
• mental fog and inability to make sense out of the situation.

If your head feel congested or bloated sometimes, yoga and ayurveda can help!

Enkindling Emotional and Mental Digestion

We use spices to stimulate physical digestion. Ginger, cinnamon, cumin, and black pepper enkindle digestive fire and help to absorb nutrients better.

Certain things, let’s call them ‘emotional digestive spices’, can help us feel clear and comfortable in any situation that we have to deal with. They help to make the best even out of a poisonous relationship or the most confusing situation.

Here they are:

• Smile. No matter what is happening around you, smile back at the world. Share this gift of happiness and people will smile back at you! Smile for yourself and your entire body. We often smile to others but rarely smile to ourselves. I think it’s unfair and needs to be corrected!
• Let go of expectations. No one owes you anything. If someone is nice to you, be grateful. If someone is mean, ignore and move on!
• Meditate. Even a few minutes a day will make a huge difference. Meditate with your eyes closed and a smile on your lips. Focusing on your breath and internal sensations will build up your awareness and create a sense of clarity. Fog be gone!
• Get active. Physical movement improves physical digestive fire and will do the same for the emotional digestion as well. It will get your endorphins flowing and it will make the world seem like a better place. It will help to boost creativity and get new ideas flowing.
• Find people that you click with. It is similar to finding foods that work for your stomach. Someone likes cheese and others will get feel heavy and bloated from its sodium. It is a matter of trial or error. If you like someone, spend time with them! If you don’t, decrease your interaction instead of trying to change the person. It might be a difficult decision at times but it will make your heart feel lighter.

What do you think about the concept of ‘emotional’ and ‘mental’ digestion? Do you ‘digest’ your environment and relationships well?

Nadya

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