Welcome to our Autumn 2010 newsletter where you can find information on the following:
- Announcing a series of 2 day workshops in Spain and the UK
- What is on offer in our clinic
- An update on 2010
- Ayurveda and the seasons
- Tips for a balanced and healthy Autumn
- Autumn asana tips
- Foods to include and avoid
New Educational Workshops in Spain and the UK
Some of you have been disappointed by our decision not to host any Ayurvedic wellness retreats throughout 2010 but we are delighted to announce that we will be running a series of 2 day workshops through the coming year. Residential retreats have proven to be prohibitively expensive to run and so we have been looking for ways to continue to offer education on Ayurveda and healthy wellbeing that would appeal to all price brackets.
The workshops in 2011 will include a 1 day introduction to Ayurveda and will be followed by an optional day focusing on female health. Please refer to the workshops tab for more information.
What is on offer at our clinics
Currentlyboth Sarah and Anne run busy clinics in the UK, treatment is adapted to the individual but can include a fusion of western and Ayurvedic approaches, giving you a holistic approach to health. Treatments offered include;
- Ayurvedic nutrition and lifestyle recommendations
- Herbal prescriptions and massage
- Medical herbalism
- Clinical nutrition
- Yoga (asana, pranyama and meditation)
- Restorative yoga
What we have been up to in 2010
This has been a busy year for both of us, writing, running our clinics in the UK and furthering our education in Europe. At the start of the year the Sivananda Yoga Compendium was published, for which Anne wrote 2 chapters about the yogic diet and provided all the recipes and nutritional advice. In April we had the pleasure of attending a 2 day workshop in France on Ayurvedic Gynecology. The teacher was vaidya Atreya Smith, the director and founder of the European Institute of Vedic studies. Then in May we attended a 5 day intensive “Relax and Renew” course with Judith Hansen Lasater, the president of the California Yoga Teachers Association.
Ayurveda and the seasons
A key concept in Ayurveda is that we must adapt our diet, lifestyle and yoga practice to our environment and the seasons. As we move from summer into autumn we can see and feel a change in the elements around us, temperatures gradually drop, the days become shorter, the trees drop their leaves and the wind blows more strongly. In our bodies there is also a shift in the elements and this can greatly affect our health and mood. Ayurveda teaches us to become aware of these changes so that we may learn to adapt our diet and lifestyle to create seasonal balance.
In our busy modern lives, many of us have lost touch with these cycles of the seasons, and don’t think to change our diet and lifestyle in line with nature. If this is true for you, then why not get back in touch with the environment around you? This could be as simple as growing vegetables in your garden, herbs on your balcony or sprouting some seeds on your window sill. Getting our hands dirty through the cultivation of plants or seeds helps us to get back in touch with the cyclic pattern of the elements, and reconnect to nature.
So how can you ensure a balanced and healthy Autumn?
By caring for yourself during the autumn you will determine your body’s ability to maintain health through the winter. Remember, Autumn is cool, light, dry and windy, just like vata dosha. Therefore, we should try to incorporate the elements that provide balance to these qualities: warmth, moisture, heaviness and stillness. Use the following guidelines to help you introduce these qualities in to your diet, yoga practice and daily life.
• Favour warm ,moist, heavy food: Thick root vegetable soups and casseroles, no more raw salads and cold juices on the run!
• Bring regularity into your life: Stick to a daily routine with regular meal times, more time to rest than usual, aiming to go to bed earlier and be sure to get a good 8 hours sleep– we too can benefit from our own form of hibernation, its not just for the squirrels.
• Balance dryness: Apply warm oil to your body as part of your daily routine. Keep well hydrated. Just Before Sunrise (7 am latest) get out of bed and drink 750-1000 ml of hot water as quickly as possible then go back to bed or lie down until it is time to get up. This will improve elimination and pacify Vāta in its primary site which is the colon.
• Reduce coldness: Bring warmth in to your life by eating warm food well and wearing warm soft clothing
• Protect the ears and cover the head: this not only helps to retain heat but placates vata dosha. Apply a small amount of ghee or sesame oil in your ears morning and evening. This is also especially useful when flying and can help with jet lag.
• Balance excessive movement or quickness: Do everything more slowly and calmly. Meditation is very useful and ensures some time for silence each day and allows the senses to rest. Be still. Direct your attention inward. Notice your breath. Allow this practice to act as a protective shield to the destabilizing influences of the external environment.
• Avoid fasting: This will only aggravate vata dosha further at this time of the year.
Please Note:
This advice is especially important for Vata types to help keep you balanced during September and October. With the colder months of November and December, it is beneficial for all types to follow these general guidelines. However, those of you with Kapha aggravations should discuss this with your Ayurvedic practitioner to formulate the relevant modifications
Essential Vata reducing thermos flask
You will need:
1 large thermos flask (700 ml to 1 litre)
Good quality, organic ground powders: cumin, fennel, cardamom and cinnamon
Fresh ginger root
Boiling water
First of all make a mix of equal quantities of the ground Cumin, fennel and cardamom powders. This can be stored in an air tight container for daily use.
Each morning, put one teaspoon of this mix in to your flask.
Add ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder and 2 – 3 slices of fresh ginger and then fill the flask with boiling water.
Sip this throughout the day.
Foods to include and avoid
Make sure to see the tasty recipes on the vata balancing recipes tab and follow these dietary guidelines for the coming months:
• Foods that are in season such as root vegetables and winter squash will help nourish and balance the body. For example, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and butternut squash all have the qualities of sweet, heavy, smooth, dense and moist and so are most balancing for vata.
• Favour the tastes of sweet, sour, salty in your diet, while limiting bitter and astringent tastes, to help pacify vata dosha.
• Eat sweet grains such as basmati rice, both white and brown, oats and lesser amounts of quinoa and amaranth. Include ghee and other healthy oils such as almond, sesame or sunflower for internal oleation, encouraging the digestive fire and increasing absorption.
• When preparing food, use warming spices such as cardamom, cumin, cinnamon and asafoetida (hing) to help digestion. Casseroles, soups and stews are easily digested and can be very nourishing for vata, warming the body from the inside out.
• Include organic warm milk or a milk substitute spiced with a pinch of ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and/or nutmeg. This is a nutritious way to soothe the nerves and, when taken before bed, will promote sound sleep. Almond milk is particularly delicious and especially useful for vata types.
• Avoid cold, dry and light foods as they will further aggravate Vata. This would include raw vegetables, dried fruit, most beans, split peas, cold drinks.
Tips for an autumn/winter yoga practice
• Try to move your yoga practice away from light and dynamic sequences, towards more steady, calming and centering poses.
• A gentle, slow asana practice that works both sides of the body evenly will soothe the nervous system.
• Take more time over your standing postures: warrior 1, extended side angle pose, triangle and revolved triangle are all excellent grounding poses.
• Balancing poses and forward bends are also useful at this time of the year. Practicing forward bends can help move viruses out of the body if you have flu.
• Keep the breath deep, calm and strong with emphasis on exhalation.
Wishing you all a warm, healthy and balanced autumn season
