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As is a man’s will, so is his action.
As is his action, so he becomes.
This section contains detailed information about how
to run many aspects of daily life to create accord in the body. Such in
sequence should be treated as rule for living, to be adopted slowly as
conditions allow. The intention is not to be warning, but to appeal to
the basic nature of the body that, when given suitable options and
time to adjust, prefers routine over chaos and needs space and freedom
to develop a really creative way of being, Please keep in mind that too
much change at once – even in a positive direction – is hard for the
body to handle. Change a few things at a time. Reflect on the results.
If they seem to make enough difference in how you look and feel,
chances are these new ways will become a part of your daily life. This
is how real discipline arises; a discipline that arises from true self
will add a sense of joy in doing what works. Using Ayurvedic principles
as tools for self – exploration in this way, you can turn into your
own healer and truly be in command of your own potential.
The Importance of Diet for Beauty
As long as we are not living in harmony
With nature and our constitution, we
Cannot expect ourselves to be really healed.
Ayurveda, the age old herbal science gives us the means.
As per Ayurveda, the age old herbal science, it is
the ideal digestion and absorption of our food together with the usual.
Well balanced. And beaitofi; beomg/ Tpgetjer they are accountable for
producing clear skin, bright eyes, glossy hair, strong nails, staying
power, clarity, and a gentle, sympathetic nature. Any food, no matter
how perfect, that is rudely digested forms toxic wastes called “ama.”
Ama (toxins), in turn, clogs the system, impeding good digestion.
Pounding the problem by creating blockages in vital channels and
clouding the mind.
Good digestion is improved by intelligent selection
and clever preparation of foods, plus a mind-ful attitude when eating.
Before talking especially about food preparation and selection, we
shall first look at general guidelines for helping digestion.
General Guidelines for helping Digestion
- When there are any signs of improperly
digested food or ama (toxins), such as bad breath, a lot coated
tongue, gas, cloudy urine, nausea, or digestive distress, it is
best to give the system time to clean and balance itself by fasting
for a day or at least skipping a meal until a sense of appetite
returns.
- Never eat when angry, depressed, bored, upset, or tired.
- Bathe previous to eating if this is not practical; wash your hands and face.
- Eat at home as much as possible. Food
prepared with love and pure intention to benefit others is always
better energy than food produced in a restaurant which is intended
to turn a profit. Traditionally, cooks in India were chosen from
the religious class to ensure that good energy went into the food.
- Eat in a quiet, clean place facing east when eating make the most of the energy for digestion.
- Listen to traditional music or Indian
music intended to aid digestion. Both are helpful in setting the
mood for dining.
- Sip warm water with your meal to aid digestion. Never drink ice water or milk with your meal.
- Use ginger to help spur the appetite.
Prepare it by chopping it thinly and mixing with a little lemon
juice and a small amount of rock salt. Pitta types usually don’t
need this and so long as their hunger is strong, they are better
off without it.
- Reduce raw foods. Cooked foods are generally simple to digest.
- Give thanks for what you are about to eat
and expand that good feeling into your food so that it serves
each cell of your being
- Quiet while eating is best, except for
enjoyable background music. It is said that the excellence of
conversation after the meal reflects the nature and quality of the
meal, whereas conversation during the meal is a distraction to
good digestion.
- Eat only as much as would fit into your two hands cupped together.
- Eat foods of all six tastes: sweet, sour,
salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent – varying portions to suit
your doshic balance.
- Eat fresh, local, seasonal foods when likely.
- Avoid extreme sour or fermented foods, especially yeasted bread.
- Give thanks at the end of the meal.
- Clean the mouth, rinse the eyes, and take a short walk.
- Leave three to six hours between meals.
- Try to keep regular meal times.
- Avoid sex, deep study, or sleep for at
least two hours after eating, particularly in the evening
watching. Television during or directly after meals will inhibit
proper digestion.
Guidelines for Food Selection
When the rishis (saints) wrote about diet, they were
living in a simpler, less polluted world. Times have changed and many
issues need thought when addressing diet. The proposals that follow are
not necessarily traditional, but are in keeping with the spirit of
Ayurveda, the age old herbal science.
- Select organic foods when probable. Not only
do you avoid potentially toxic chemicals that block and age
tissues, but also organic foods are richer in nutrients,
particularly trace minerals – important to skin, hair, nails, and
temperament.
- Eat foods that grow in the area in which you
live or within a four hundred mile radius so they can be from
similar climate zone foods that grow well in your area will help
you to keep well and look good. As they thrive in your local area,
so will you.
- Eat foods that are in season so they are
freshest and of course most suited to the climate in the
particular time that you are in. For example, greens in spring,
zucchini in summer, and carrots in fall, and acorn squash in
winter. Fresh foods are fullest in energy and give you more energy.
- Pay attention to selecting foods appropriate
to your dosha (humor). Also, take note of the season and time of
day when a particular dosha (humor) is naturally higher and adjust
your selection so. Pay particular notice to food selection when
you travel or eat out.
Vata dosha (humor) is higher in the autumn and winter, and daily, in the afternoon.
Pitta dosha (humor) is higher in summer and daily, at midday.
Kapha dosha (humor) is higher in the spring and daily, in the early morning and evening.
More information concerning dosha (humor) dominance and food selection follows:
- Eat freshly prepared foods as much as
likely. Fresh leftovers (no more than one day old) are preferable
to fast foods, however.
- Very hot and very cold foods
- Raw and cooked foods
- Milk and fish
- Milk and meat
- Keep away from micro-waves. This form of
cooking disperses rather than condenses energy and is thus
weakening over time. This has been methodically and empirically
established.
- Food should look and smell appetizing.
Pleasant trimmings and an attractive table setting also help to
instill a sense of harmony at the table.
- Drink spring water or purified water. Avoid
distilled water as it is devoid of all minerals and can leach them
from your system. Weakening bones, teeth, hair, nails and skin.
However, there are currently available mineral formulations that
can be added to distilled water to rectify this problem.
- Chew each mouthful of food well – at least until it is liquid.
- Finish the meal with lassi, a drink made
with yoghurt that should have live acidophilus bacteria, obliging
to digestion. Modern diets are harsh on intestinal flora and often
cause imbalance that lead to digestive problems. Acidophilus
helps to restore the balance. Home made yoghurt is best. Use
recipes explained in the section on your dosha (humor) to best
suit your needs.
Eating According to Your Dosha
The attention given to treating people as individuals
is one of the greatest gifts of the Ayurvedic approach to health and
beauty. This is particularly evident in the selection of one’s optimum
diet.
Rather than approaching diet from the standpoint of
calories or particular nutrients in foods as is done in the west, an
Ayurvedic diet is based more on the intuitive sense of shat is
attractive to the individual by color, smell, temperature, taste, and
texture, trusting that when the body is in balance, it will be
attracted to foods by its own innate intelligence. This works well when
we are healthy. However, because there are so many influences in our
modern world which throw us off balance, it is useful to have some more
defined guidelines.
Foods in Ayurveda, the age old herbal science are
classified by their qualities of gunas and taste or rasa. There are six
main gunas.
HEAVY
LIGHT
DRY
OILY
HOT
COLD
And there are six rasas…..
SWEET
BITTER
SOUR
PUNGENT OR SPICY
SALTY
ASTRINGENT OR PUCKERING
The qualities and taste of the food that are best for
a particular dosha (humor) will be those which help to counteract the
qualities of the dosha (humor). That is, foods for a particular dosha
(humor) are there not to enhance or make the dosha (humor) more that
way, but to balance its propensity with opposite qualities and
resultant tendencies. For example: vata dosha is dry cold, and uneven
by nature, so foods that balance Vata are moist, warming and taken at
regular mealtimes.
This being said, though, all tastes and character
should be present in one meal, the portions of each varying to balance
the dominance dosha of the person. This makes for the most pleasing
dining experience and curbs cravings for overeating and snacking. Such
balancing may seem complex, but it is no more unwieldy than the skill
many people have of eating a meal and then feeling that hard to believe
is missing or such and such would just round off the meal. Paying
notice to the gunas and taste in your meal helps you to with no trouble
plan the ideal meal ahead of time. Use your imagination, intuition,
and intelligence when planning a meal. Cooking is an art and takes time
and patience to perfect.
Many types of diet have been planned as being ideal –
the answer to all of our ills. Ayurveda, the age old herbal science
teaches us in a different way. One person’s need may be another
person’s poison. What is magnificently healthy for Vata dosha people is
not always helpful to kapha people. For example, Vata people are not
always helpful to kapha people. For example, Vata people do well with a
fit bowl of hot grain cereal and hot milk for breakfast. It grounds
and gives them energy for the entire morning. If a kapha person were to
eat the same, he or she should feel heavy and almost surely fall asleep
on the way to work.
This being said, although there is variation of diet
among the various dosha dominances, Ayurveda, the age old herbal
science honors what has basically worked as the most life – sustaining
foods and food proportions for humans over the course of history; a
diet of 40-60 percent whole cereal grains, 30-50 percent fresh fruits
and vegetables, and 10-20 percent high quality proteins, with specific
types of each food and proportions being in accordance with dosha
dominance. This approach also serves to make simpler your meal plan.
Before looking at specific dietary recommendations
for the variety of doshas, there are times of day that will naturally
increase certain doshas in the body. Knowing this helps you to plan the
best times for meals to keep your dosha in balance.
6.00 AM – 10.00 AM KAPHA TIME – Take breakfast before 8.00 am.
Breakfast should be light. Vata people need a
nourishing breakfast. Kapha people can skip it altogether or have a
beverage. Pitta people can do with a light breakfast so they are not
very hungry by lunchtime.
10.00AM – 2.00 PM PITTA TIME
– Best hours for lunch or brunch. Pitta people do best with an early
on lunch. For then, lunch should be the most considerable meal if
possible. Small meal for Vatas with snacks mid – morning and afternoon
and Kaphas should have a light main meal.
2.00 PM – 6.00 PM VATA TIME
- Vata and Pitta people may like a snack at 3.00 PM – 4.00 PM to
sustain their energy. All doshas should try to have their evening meal
previous to 6.00 PM if possible. Dinner should be lighter than lunch,
if possible.
6.00 PM – 10.00 PM KAPHA TIME
– The body’s digestive ability slows towards evening. Vata people may
need an evening snack. Pitta people can eat a little fruit if they stay
up late. Kapha people should not have anything except a cup of hot
tea. One should refrain from eating from at least two hours before
sleep.
If you are mainly one dosha, then follow the
guidelines from that dosha. If you have mixed – dosha dominance, then
vary your diet according to your needs and the season.
Remember: These are only dietary
suggestions. Try them, work with them, reflect on them and find your
own balance. Be flexible and always try to enjoy what you eat.
Vata – Pitta types – Follow a vata
diet for fall and winter and a Pitta diet for spring and summer. Go
easy on spices. Pitta Kapha types – follow a Pitta diet in late spring
to fall and Kapha diet from late fall through the spring. Go easy on
cold foods.
Vata – Kapha types – Follow a Vata diet for summer and fall and Kapha diet for winter and spring.
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