November News

…and Healthy Tips for early Winter!

In this update:

• Getting ready for the Chill of Winter: The Vata/Pitta Transition, Bladder/Kidney Season and other tips for the upcoming season & Vata Cold Season Tea
• Mindful Meditation Relieves Inflammation: Reduce Stress, Reduce Symptoms
• Organic India Formulas: Immunity, Trikatu and Triphala
• Lunch Hour Group Sound & Mudra therapy: Join us each Wednesday
• Sunday Appointments: Sunday’s now starting in October!
• Therapy Highlight: Aggressive Zones – Great when you have Mild Constipation & Release Shoulder/Neck Tensions
• Local Business Highlight: Bliss Custom Baking
• Upcoming Events: Upcoming events with Psinergy, Holistic Gateway & The Wellness Circle… as well as others around town!

One of the hardest times of the year is during the transition from one season to the next. In the Western culture, we only talk about 4 seasons, sometimes 5 (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and sometimes Rainy), and in MN, we jokingly say we have 2… snow and construction. In the Chinese way of looking at things, there are 5, which are based on the elements, and in the Ayurvedic Systems, there are 6, and focuses more on the transitions which are 2 months apart from the other, each lasting 14 days or about 23% of the year . Currently, we are in one of those transitions again (Nov. 8 to the 22nd), moving from the Vata Normalizing and Pitta Aggravating season to the Pitta Normalizing Season (til Jan. 15th).

What does all of that mean? We’re starting to move into a colder time of year, the system and natural rhythm is releasing the excess heat that built up over the last few months and release any excess Air element that causes imbalance with the system (so we often see the common cold during this time).

Some tips for this season:

• For the Common Cold during this season, try: 1/4 tsp of Cinnamon with some Raw Unheated Honey in Hot Water 2 to 3 times a day.
• Fall Kitchari’s are great during the transition period. If you are more Vata, try theVata Fall Kitchari, and if you are running more warm (common sign is a red tone in the face), try the Pitta Fall Kitchari.
• While we want to incorporate all 6 tastes into each meal, focusing on the Astringent and Bitter flavors for Pitta-type people (people who are holding excess fire) during this season will go a long way, along with some Sweet.
• Bitter foods helps us to detox and to lighten our tissue (this is really important before going into the Earth/Water season of Kapha in January). Common bitter foods are dark leafy greens, basil, barley, turmeric, nettle, jicama, lettuce, and aloe vera just to name a few.
• Astringent foods helps to absorb excess water , tightens the tissues and dries fats. Great sources of astringent flavors are legumes/beans (though they can increase air to much for Vata people – mung dal beans are the best), unripe apples and pears, pomegranate, quinoa, beans and lentils.
• Ground. Sweets are your friends in doing this — Just make sure they are healthier sugars! Sugars also help the cells produce vital energy and is made of the the elements of Earth and Water, so it helps to balance the elements of Fire, Air and Ether. If you start getting congested, reduce or eliminate the amount of sugar you are taking in. Also, during this time of year, reduce your salt intake to the minimum.
• While hot spicy (pungent) foods may look attractive when the season gets colder, pay attention to how these make you feel. Pitta people who already run hot, easily tempered individuals, or have a lot of redness can easily aggravate the fire within the system, and often then we see things like indigestion and heartburn.

Organic India Supplements for the Immune System & Digestion

There are 3 fantastic nutritional supplements from Organic India. Trikatu is both Vata and Kapha reducing though increases Pitta. Often used for Colds, flu, fevers, stimulates appetite, cough, congestion, and for low agni and ama situations, supports the thyroid and is detoxifying. Triphala is balancing to all 3 doshas, Vata/Pitta/Kapha, is often used to maintain good colon health as well as detoxing the colon, used in constipation, diarrhea, good for Kapha (mucus) congestions, gas, diabetes and parasites. The Immunity formula is a powerful immune supporter and helps with free radical damage, environmental toxins and stress, and more which you can read more about on the Organic India site.

• Trikatu (Great to look at for January and the start of the Kapha season)
• Triphala
• Immunity

The Trikatu, Triphala and Immunity formulas are all on sale right now through the end of the month, and all of them are GMO Free, Gluten-Free and vegan 🙂