Cucumber, kale, mint, dulse, spirulina, cilantro and lemon balm infusion. I drank my usual summer green smoothie this morning. By the time I got upstairs to dress, I couldn’t stop clearing my throat and coughing. My nose started to run.
No, I didn’t come down with a sudden cold & flu bug.
It may be summer but this morning feels like fall. Cold, wet and 5 degrees. Most of the weekend has been cold and wet.
My morning green smoothie is also cold and wet. Cold and wet on cold and wet: Kapha aggravation.
According to Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, it is important to transition our lifestyle along with the seasons. This helps maintain balance and vitality in our health and lives as we honour our shared rhythms with nature.
It is typical to begin a seasonal detox or transition 3 weeks before the change of the season.
Fall equinox is September 22nd. This weekend is right on schedule for a seasonal lifestyle tweak.
Though fall is not the season of Kapha, Canada’s weather can prove a worthy challenger to the seasonal cycles of Ayurveda. We can go from summer to winter in 24 hours.
What’s important is to tune into your rhythms and notice when a transition is needed.
This morning was the first time in several months that instead of a morning smoothie, I felt like having a slow-steeped hot cup of spicy chai tea.
It just so happened that a lovely older Indian woman was selling masala chai at the farmer’s market. She was wise to the weather this weekend. She knew that now is the time to begin to shift with the season.
As we move to fall and the season of vata:
- your raw foods of summer may require roasting
- ginger, garlic and root vegetables make their way into your recipes
- zucchini muffins and spiced carrot cakes are on the menu
- chai tea with ashwaghanda and honey prove nourishing to body and soul
- rose geranium essential oil makes an excellent addition to bath and body care
- alternate nostril breathing balances the body and settles the mind
- daily dry brushing sloughs off sunned skin, invigorates lymph and generates warmth
- daily sun salutations or flowing yoga practice warms the body
- soups, stews and slow-cooker recipes are on the radar
Notice your rhythms. What are you feeling you need at this time and in the coming weeks as summer takes the hand of fall?
Perhaps a nice cup of chai is on order.
Stephanie Hrehirchuk - Author 