Yin Yang & Ayurveda: Stay cool as a cucumber this summer ...
Mixing up our Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda (well, why not?) we talk a little about Yin & Yang, hot & cold, winter & summer, and all the opposites....
Balancing your Yin & Yang: balancing Pitta (fire) element in Summer
In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) the Heart is paired with the Small Intestine, and is associated with the season of Summer and related to the element of Fire.
Fire is: sun, light, warmth and heat, activity. Fire ignites. Summer is the season of abundance, when things mature and life is in full bloom, and the quality associated with the Summer season is joy. Wonderful!
Thousands of years ago, beneath the full moon on hot summer night in India, Ayurvedic vaidyas, or healers, collected dewdrops from blue and white lotuses and stored them for medicinal purposes.
According to the ancient Indian scriptures, if you place a drop of this precious substance on your tongue, it will cool your entire body. These "moondrops” pacify the pitta dosha, the subtle energy that controls metabolism and can cause you to overheat when it’s hot outside.
When pitta is in balance, life is good: you experience energy and drive, mental clarity, joyfulness, vitality, and strength.
But when your pitta is in excess, you often experience feeling dehydrated and irritable. Excess perspiration, skin inflammation, heartburn, hot flushes, burning or red eyes are an indication of pitta imbalance.
Here are some tips for balancing pitta in the summer’s heat:
The Principle of Opposites - Yin & Yang
Life is about balance. At the most fundamental level, all of nature and everything in the universe seeks balance. In Yoga we call this state "homeostasis". Stress and illness is nature's way of showing us that we are out of balance.
In TCM we call these opposites Yin and Yang. Yin is negative, Yang positive. Yin is feminine, Yang masculine. Yin is passive, Yang active. They are opposing but complementary forces, always moving in harmony.
Much of India's ayurveda’s wisdom is similarly based on balance and the idea that “like increases like.”
For example, if a fiery, temperamental person eats hot, spicy foods when it’s 40˚ outside, he or she will only get hotter and more irritable. That’s why ayurveda treats imbalances with their opposites. A vaidya would give this person cooling foods like cucumbers to quell excess fire, advise a cooling swim, and taking time to “stop and smell the roses”—literally.
This principle is so simple it’s easy to overlook, but once you apply it to your daily life, you’ll be amazed how quickly you can rebalance your body and mind.
Watch What (and When) You Eat
Eat breakfast and lunch before the sun gets hot. Our agni, or digestive fire, is low in the summer, so our appetite is weaker than it is in cooler seasons. In fact, it’s lowest during the hottest part of the day. Try to eat breakfast and lunch before 11 a.m. and a light dinner when the sun begins to set. Stay hydrated. Drink 4 to 6 cups of water daily.
Make your own cucumber milk by blending 1/2 cup of peeled cucumbers in 1 cup of milk with a pinch of sugar, then garnish with rose petals. Or make your own electrolyte drink: add 1 teaspoon each of lime juice and sugar, and a pinch of rock salt to a glass of cool water.
Avoid too many hot, spicy, and salty foods during the summer months. They’ll increase the pitta dosha. Alcohol and red meat are also heating. Eat sweet, bitter, and astringent foods instead. These tastes are pitta-pacifying.
The best summer foods are made with milk, yogurt, ghee, cucumber, apples, pears, melon, watermelon, fresh cilantro (corriander / dhania), asparagus, artichoke, broccoli, and basmati rice.
For breakfast, you could try cream of wheat cooked with milk and a pinch of cardamom and sugar. At lunch or dinner, get your daily dose of leafy greens. Fresh salads with olive oil or dressing is ideal. Dessert? Try tapioca pudding or a cup of sweet yogurt with 1/2 teaspoon sugar.
The Sun and the Moon
Both sunlight and moonlight —in moderation— are essential to our health and well-being. Yes, so is moonlight!
Avoid direct exposure to the sun from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and save your exercise for the early morning or late evening.
Bask in the moonlight. In the evening, go for a walk on the beach or in the cool green grass.
Summer Yoga Asana (postures)
Good cooling postures include the fish, camel, boat, cobra, cow, and tree poses. And of course all Yin Yoga is cooling and refreshing. :)
Practice sitali pranayama.
And don’t forget to meditate! It will lower your mental/emotional temperature.
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