Ayurveda Seasonal Advice for the Kapha Season

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January – the start of the Kapha season

“In January we have moved into Kapha season. The cold damp heavy dull weather increases the qualities of Kapha.

Because of that it is essential that we work to keep Kapha more balanced in the winter especially after Xmas when we may have tended to overeat and been lethargic.

It’s very important that we should do the opposite - start to be more dynamic, more active. Choose more activities, more interests, and more things that are stimulating and enjoyable to do.

The theme of activity follows through to exercise. This is the time of the year when exercise is most important. And so during January your New Year’s resolutions should include to get out and about more and be more physically active in whatever way you enjoy.

Sleeping in is a very bad policy. To be early up in the winter is much better.

Foods to eat in the winter should be more Kapha-reducing foods. These should include plenty of hot spicy foods; all the spices except salt are good. Eating a variety of grains is very useful but cut down on the wheat and brown rice. The pulses are good, and most vegetables are good. Fruits are variable, some are good for Kapha and some are not. Certainly stewed apple with cloves for breakfast is excellent – it is nutritious, cleansing and enlivening all at the same time. (See recipe below).

Eating appropriately and not overeating becomes important in the winter.

And if we make these changes in the winter - getting up early, getting a bit more exercise, eating appropriately and choosing the right foods – then we enjoy more energy, success and health in this season.

If we don’t balance Kapha at this time of the year we’ll be prone to colds and to putting on more weight, to feeling a bit down and depressed, and being more lethargic and sluggish.”

A Recipe for Breakfast

Cooked Apples with Cloves

Cooked Apples With Cloves Start the day with a stewed apple to build appetite for lunch, stimulate regular bowel movements, increase vitality and alertness, and provide a light but satisfying start to the day.

1 whole fresh, sweet apple, cored and peeled

5 whole cloves

1/4 cup of purified water

How to cook:
Dice apple into small pieces. Add cloves, apples and water in a covered pot. Cook until the apples are soft. Discard the cloves, cool slightly, and enjoy.

Do you need to balance Kapha? The Kapha Questionnaire

Kapha dosha governs structure and fluid balance in the body. Answer these questions to see if you need to balance Kapha:

Do you tend to be overweight?

Are you often over-settled and lethargic?

Do you experience sinus problems?

Do you sleep long hours yet wake up unrefreshed?

Are your skin and hair oily?

Do you find that you are possessive and over-attached?

Do you feel discomfort in cold damp weather?

Do you feel lazy, complacent?

Do you experience bloating, water retention?

Do you feel stiff and heavy, especially in the morning?

Do you experience congestion?

If you answered ‘yes’ to most of these questions, you need to balance Kapha.

Here are some tips for balancing Kapha: Use Kapha-balancing products:

1. Drink invigorating Kapha Tea

2. Season meals with stimulating Kapha Churna (spice blend)

3. Diffuse stimulating Kapha Aroma Oil

4. Vigorous regular exercise, a little each day.

5. Warm temperatures.

6. Fresh fruits, vegetables and legumes.

7. Favour pungent, bitter, astringent tastes and light, dry and warm foods.

8. Reduce heavy, oily, cold foods and sweet, sour and salty tastes.

9. Seek out variety and new experiences.

10. Stay warm in cold, damp weather.

11. Early to bed, early to rise.

Kapha-Pacifying Diet – what to add, what to reduce

Dairy Low-fat milk is better. Always boil milk before you drink it -- which makes it easier to digest -- and take it warm. Do not take milk with a full meal or with sour or salty food. You might add one or two pinches or turmeric or ginger to whole milk before boiling it to help reduce any Kapha-increasing qualities in the milk.

Fruit Lighter fruits, such as apples and pears, are better. Reduce heavy or sour fruits, such as oranges, bananas, pineapples, figs, dates, avocados, coconuts and melons, as these fruits increase Kapha.

Sweeteners Honey is excellent for reducing Kapha. Reduce sugar products, as these increase Kapha.

All beans are fine, except tofu.

Nuts should be reduced.

Grains Most grains are fine, especially barley and millet. Do not take too much wheat or rice, as they increase Kapha.

Spices All are fine, except for salt. It increases Kapha.

Vegetables All are fine, except tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet potatoes and zucchini. They all increase Kapha.

'For Kapha season'

Mung dal

Mung Dal (also known as moong dahl) is got from green mung beans by splitting them at the time of harvest and discarding the skins. Mung dal is held to have a balancing effect on all three doshas.

Mung Dal

Kapha-balancing Ayurveda spice blend

Spicy & Stimulating Kapha Blend
Warming and stimulating. A hot, spicy combination of ginger, pepper, coriander, sugar, turmeric, salt and cinnamon.

Kapha Churna

Introduction to Maharishi Ayurveda - Audio CD by Dr Donn Brennan

This excellent 75-minute introduction and overview by Dr Donn Brennan provides a deep insight into Maharishi Ayurveda's principles and a practical understanding of how it can be applied in daily life.

Dr Brennan was among the first Western doctors to train in Maharishi Ayurveda, and has been giving Maharishi Ayurveda health consultations in the UK, Ireland and Europe for nearly 20 years.

He is President of the Ayurveda Practitioners Association and, a contributing writer on Ayurveda for Positive Health magazine, author of 'Live Better - A Timely Introduction to Ayurveda' and has featured in many national press articles and TV health programmes.

Read More Seasonal Tips

For Ayurvedic cookery advice:

read ‘Heaven’s Banquet’ by Miriam Hospodar

Heaven's Banquet: is packed with an astonishing variety of recipes, placed in a global context of cultures, histories and literatures, knit together by the author's thoughtful commitment to the Ayurvedic dietary system that defines health as that which brings body and mind together.

Heaven’s Banquet

Kapha Pacifying Diet - what to Add, what to Reduce