Understanding Ayurveda, Part II

Written by Kim Deschamps | Aug 16, 2019

Part 2: Healthy Eating for the Summer Season with the Spirit of Ayurveda.

Knowledge shared from The Everyday Ayurveda: A Seasonal Guide to Eating and Living Well. By Kate O’Donnell

The Seasonal Affect: Your Annual Cycles

It is all about the weather. The external conditions you are exposed to greatly affect whether your body is warm, cool, oil, dry, and so on. So much so that simply eating a diet that helps to balance the effects of the weather can be all it takes to allow your body to do its thing – that is to keep healthy.

Rtucharaya means “seasonal regimen.” Changing your foods with the weather keeps you well. You don’t have to memorize the following information or intellectually understand the changes – you need to feel for them in your annual cycles. Ayurveda’s description of the seasonal affects provides a language to describe seasonal changes and to guide us into feeling the qualities of the natural world that affect us. If it doesn’t make sense today, it’s OK! Keep noticing and feeling – that’s the Ayurvedic lifestyle.

Traditionally, Ayurveda recognized six seasons, because the weather of the Indian subcontinent sees varying levels of heat, cold, and moisture, including monsoons. For our purpose in the West, we identify four seasons, this way:

SPRING: Cool and damp

SUMMER: Hot and humid

FALL: Cooling and increasingly dry

WINTER: Cool and dry

In spring, the environment is cool as it emerges from winter, but now winter’s dryness gives way to damp. As the thaw begins and rains come, the body no longer needs thick mucus to protect it, and the mucus begins to melt. Just as the sap runs in maple trees, the body produces an unctuous slow, cloudy liquid in need of reduction. Reactions to this cool, damp time of year may look like sinus and chest congestion, loss of appetite, sluggish digestion, lethargy, and/or sadness.

The tastes that balance spring are pungent, bitter, and astringent. Pungency warms, melts, and mobilizes; bitter, and astringent tastes lighten and reduce excess moisture. Reduce building foods, be sure to exercise, and eat only when hungry.

In summer, the weather increasingly warms and may be wet. Keeping the body cool becomes important as the summer gets on. Reactions to hot and humid qualities (oily, penetrating, mobile) may look like acne, inflammatory conditions, swelling, acid stomach, and/or irritability.

The tastes that balance summer are bitter, sweet, and astringent. Sweet and bitter tastes have a cooling effect, and bitterness and astringency help reduce water in the body.

In the early fall, the body contains accumulated heat from the summer and is experiencing increasing dryness with the coming winds, which aggravates the internal heat. Reactions to the combination of heat and dryness may present as itchy or burning rashes, loose stools, dandruff, acid stomach, dry eye, and/or unstable emotions.

As the late fall comes on, the heat subsides, and the body feels cold and dry. The late fall is really the beginning of winter, a time to transition. The appetite gets stronger, and it is the period to begin building.

The tastes that balance early fall are bitter, astringent, and sweet. Bitter and sweet reduces heat, while astringency sucks excess water from the summer out of the body and pulls it down and out. The tastes that balance late fall are salty, sweet, and sour – same as for winter. All of these tastes warm and moisturize the body, because of their composition of fire, earth, and water elements.

In the winter, dry and cold qualities accumulate. The increase of building qualities (dense, oily, warm, smooth, and so forth) protects the body from the cold, and you will experience an increase and thickening of the mucous membranes (in the sinuses, lungs, and intestines) to protect your system from the dry quality, which will only increase until the thaw in spring. A reaction to the combination of cold and dry could look like constipation, brittle or still feelings in the joints or bones, anxiety, and/or weight gain.

As the later winter comes on, the body maxes out on building and mucus-producing qualities, the appetite decreases, the digestion slows down, and it is time to begin introducing a bit of lighter foods – but serve them warm.

The tastes to balance winter are sweet, sour, and salty, for their building and moisturizing qualities. The addition of more pungent taste in the late winter will begin to lightness the body and sharpen the digestive fire.

In Ayurveda the effect the seasonal variations have on the body is important enough to be names as one of the three main causes of imbalance.

Seasonal Cleansing

Ayurveda recommends a light diet at the change of seasons, most important, spring and fall, and a healthy, balance cleanse routine. In the spring, the body needs to expel excess mucus accumulated during winter, while in the fall, the body needs to expel heat accumulated during the summer. Getting rid of stuff is something the body is good at, provided you keep an eye on what’s going in. Practices like eating simply, reducing goods that feed the accumulation of the past season, and having a bit of rest gently ensure that the body has an opportunity to recalibrate and head into the next half of the year in top form. For more information on seasonal cleansing, check out Banyan Botanicals and their Three-Day Cleanse, One-Day Digestive Reset, and their Spring Cleanse Guide.  Please always connect with your health care team prior to starting a cleanse to ensure that it is safe for you and your specific healthcare needs.

Eating for the Summer Season

The garden is full, and the farmers’ market is bursting with local fruits and vegetables. Your body’s cravings for the heavy fats and proteins of winter and the pungency of spring naturally subside. Refreshing foods that light the body and keep the system cool, such as cilantro, cucumber, melon, and zucchini, will alleviate discomfort from the hot, sharp, oily qualities of heat and humidity. The summer recipes harness the bitter taste of fresh greens to cool the blood, the astringency of seasonal fruits to tone the tissues, and mildly sweet foods like fennel and coconut to balance fire in the digestive tract.

Summer Diet and Lifestyle Overview

The Elements: Fire and water

Feels Like: Hot, humid, bright

Qualities to Introduce/Reduce

Introduce

Cooling

Neutralizing

Slow (relaxing)

Dry

Reduce

Heating

Sharp, acidic

Sharp/quick (fast-paced, intense)

Oily

Potential Signs and Symptoms of Imbalance

Acid indigestion

Puffiness

Red skin inflammation

Tastes to Enjoy

Bitter

Astringent

Sweet

Summer Foods Guide

Favor foods that are cooling, calming, and slightly dry.

Foods to Favor

• Bitter and astringent vegetables, such as zucchini, broccoli, leafy greens, celery, green beans, and fennel root.

• Sweet, not sour, dairy products, such as milk and ghee

• Light, neutral grains, such as quinoa, white basmati rice, and barley

• Sweet, neutral fruits, such as grapes, pomegranates, stone fruits, melons, and limes

• Cool and light proteins, such as mung beans, tofu, and (for nonvegetarians) lean white meats and fish.

• Coconuts and coconut products: water, milk, meat, and sugar.

• Cooling spices and herbs, such as fennel seed, coriander, cilantro, cardamom, mint, and turmeric; aloe juice.

Foods to Reduce

• Spicy foods

• Coffee

• Vinegar and other ferments (use balsamic vinegar in moderation)

• Alcohol (spirits and red wine are the most aggravating)

• Salty foods

• Raw tomatos

• Raw onion

• Red meat and egg yolks

• Orange juice

• Sour dairy products, such as packages yogurt and hard cheeses

• Heating foods, such as chilies, sour tomatoes, and honey

• Anything fried or excessive oily

Summer Lifestyle Guidelines

• Use coconut oil for abhyanga massage (unless your body runs cold, even in warm weather). You may add relaxing scents such as jasmine, lavender, and rose essential oils. Oil massage can be practiced morning or evening to cool down.

• Practice moderation in choosing activities and avoid overscheduling yourself.

• Engage in noncompetitive exercise, like swimming, moderate yoga, and walking.

• Take cool baths and showers.

• Stay out of the midday sun but do enjoy time in nature. Spend time outside when the sun is lower in the sky or try moon bathing instead of sunbathing.

• Drink room temperature or cool water, not cold or ice water.

Summer Shopping List*:

Vegetables: beets, corn, cucumbers, fennel, lettuce, summer squashes, zucchini, herbs (parsley, cilantro, thyme, basil, mint, dill)

Fruits: apples, berries, dates, melons, peaches, plums

Grains: barley, quinoa

Beans: chickpeas, white beans

Fats: avocados, coconut (shredded), coconut milk, coconut oil, goat cheese, yogurt (homemade or farm fresh)

Spices: cardamom, coriander, fennel, turmeric

Extras: chickpea flour, coconut water, hemp protein, rose water

*Knowledge shared from The Everyday Ayurveda: A Seasonal Guide to Eating and Living Well. By Kate O’Donnell Check out The Everyday Ayurveda: A Seasonal Guide to Eating and Living Well. By Kate O’Donnell for more information on how you can bring the traditional healing of Ayurveda into your kitchen!

Thank you for taking the time begin exploring Ayurveda with me. It brings me joy and fuels my passion to share these practices and traditions with all of you!

In health,

Kim Deschamps, Physiotherapist, Yoga Therapist

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Kim Deschamps

Physiotherapist

Yoga Therapist

Pelvic Health Therapist