Natural and Sustainable

Calm your mind from racing and help your health the natural way, here’s how:

• THE THREE DOSHAS:
To benefit from ayurvedic practice, natural practices, it help to know the basics. Ayurveda hold the nature’s five elements-water, earth, fire, air and space. They are all present in the body as three constitutional types, or doshas, which govern the body’s functions: vata (space and air, pitta (water and fire), and kapha (earth and water). Vata regulates movement, pitta governs metabolism, and kapha is responsible for physical atructure. When the doshas are in balance you feel healthy. When they are not, there is trouble.

DOSHA TABLE:

VATA: Thin and wiry body frame; loses weight easily. Hair is usually curly and coarse; prone to drynes. Eyes are often either dark or blue; quick, darting. Skin is pale, dry, delicate, prone to fine lines.

PITTA: Medium build; sometimes athletic body frame. Hair is normally thin, straight, fine hair, can be oily. Eyes are often green or hazel; penetrating gaze. Skin is oily, irritable, sensitive to sun; prone to freckling, rashes, and rosacea.

KAPHA: Large, solid body frame; gains weight easily. Hair is normally dark, thick, lustrous. Large eyes with thick, dark lashes; calm and loving glare. Skin is thick’ cool to the touch, can be prone to congestion (cystic acne).

THE FOUR TOOLS:
The most powerful treatments, in the ayurvedic view, are dosha-specific adjustments to your diet, exercise, and lifestyle habits, accompanied by regular meditation. You can put these tools to work anytime, anywhere.

1. DIET: Fresh organic vegetarian food is the foundation of ayurvedic cooking. It brings back the life force. On the other hand, produces a buildup of toxins (know as ama). And leftovers, are considered dead food. To phase in an ayurvedic diet, build your meals around its three most important ingredients: A good grain (such as rice or flatbread), a legume-based soup (like mung dahl, lentil, or gree split pea), and freash vegeatbles cooked with olive oil or ghee, which is butter that’s been melted, boiled, and strained. Try to include all six tastes-sweet, sour, alty, bitter, pungent (ginger, basil), and astringent (tumeric, rosemary)-in every meal. And focus on foods that are particularly beneficial for your primary dosha.

If you are veta: Eat sweet fruits such as berries, cherries, and plums; sour fruits are all right too, except for raw apples and dried fruit. Vegetables should be cooked with an emphasis on carrots, cucumbers, green beans, and peas. Dairy products are fine for vata types, as a ghee and most oils (sesame and olive are ideal though). Good grain choices are cooked oats and quinoa. Avoid dry or cold foods, ice water, dried or un ripe fruits, red meats, and caffeine.

If you are pitta: Stick to sweet fruits such as melons, raisins, and dates, and nix any fruits that are sour. Focus on sweet and bitter vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, squash, and leafy greens. For dairy, choosecow’s milk, unsalted butter, and soft cheeses that aren’t aged. For grains, pick amaranth, barley and basmati rice. Sunflower, canola, and olive oils, along with ghee, are preferred to corn or sesame oils. Pass of spicy foods, even if you crave them

If you are kapha: The watchwoods are dry an light. Fruits like apples, raisin, dried figs, and pears are favored over that that are highly sweet or sour. Lean toward pungent and bitter vegetables, such as eggplant, cabbage, cauliflower, and cooked tomato. Dairy is best avoided, though a bit of skim goat’s milk or diluted yogurt is acceptable. Preferred grains are buckwheat and barley. For oils, use corn, conaols, or sunflower in minimal amounts. Warming, invigorating spices and condiments are advised for kaphas; enjoy black pepper, horseradish, mustard, or just about anything else except salt. Steer clear of nuts, tofu, hot cerals, foods that are very sweet or oily, and practically anything from the drive-through.

2. EXERCISE: Ayurveda’s favorite exercise is one that is beneficial for all. Beginners can start slowly; once or twice a day for 10 to 15 minutes a session. It’s all about developing enlightment. To get even more from your exercise, select an activity, and a form of yoga. That’s right for your dosha.

If you are vata: You’re easily scattered, so try momement that brings you more into your center. Grunding styles of yoga are a good choice. Iyengar yoga are suitable options; you will also benefit by taking classes in Pilates, tai chi, or qigong.

If you are pitta: Noncompetitive exercise to release the pressure that builds up from your need for precision and prefection. Go swimming or ride a bike instead of engaging in a squash or tennis game. Relaxing forms of yoga help high-strung pittas cool off from the heat or the day. Most yoga studios offer classes in resorative yoga, candlelight yoga or the like.

If you are kapha: You are constantly battling your tendency toward inertia. High-intensity exercise is best for this type. A brisk walk, jogging, or an upbeat aerobics class. Vigorous forms of yoga, such as Ashtanga, Bikram, or flow-style classes, are the perfect ways to get a kapha moving.

3. HABITS: How you appraoch your like and plan your daily scedule has an impact on your emotional and physical well-being. By making small changes, establishing healthy routines, and counterbalancing some of the negative tendencies of your primary dosha, you can restore inner balance.

If you are a vata: You will resist regularity. However, introducing more predictability into your life can keep your dosha from getting excessively turbulent. As a result, you will spend less time feeling anxious, unfocused and unproductive. Eating meals at a regular time, which vatas are notourious meal skippers. Taking the same path to work each day and looking for other ways to make like more deliberate.

If you are pitta: You respond with aggression when things don’t go according to plan. That’s partly because pittas tell themselves they will never get everything done. Go against your nature by leaving breathing room in your fay., Pittas have a need for precision. They will scedule things back to back. Allowing yourself some space can help you avoid blowing up when a schedule change happens or you have to wait in line longer than you expected. Use this extra time for meditation or breathing exercises.

If you are kapha: Try to fight your natural inertia. Kaphas don’t like to rock the boat and have a tendency to withdraw when the going gets tough. But they can take tolerance too far, remaining in unhappy situations too long. When the urge to fight comes into play you have to tell yourself and enforce it upon yourself to breath and step away and think logically. If that is not an option then remove yourself from the scene altogether. Doing counting meditation is a great way to remove your self mentally when you can’t remove yourself physically. (Source: Some information pulled from NH 2006)
**Over at Parenting Under The Stars, Sandra Williams talks about how to make kids that are picky eaters, eat foods they normally would put up a fuss about, by making a game out of it or making the food choice fun. Read how here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Go carbon-neutral for a week, then try 2 weeks, then try a month, then go for 3 months, etc. Encourage your family, your friends, your co-workers, your mail carrier even to go carbon-neutral with you. Make a game out of it even. All in the name of Mother Earth.