Ayurvedic Winter Tradition
I can feel my skin getting drier. My impulse is to stay home and drink hot tea all day. To knit and craft with my kiddos. To eat roasted root veggies and soup. Winter is upon us.
When I start to note these shifts in what my body wants, or needs, I know it is time to look at my schedule and make some changes to be more sustainable. It means that what I have been doing is no longer in alignment with what my body needs for this season.
By changing my schedule for the winter months if allows me to be fully present and in the moment. For me that looks like more down time incorporated into each day. Less hikes with the kids and more baking and crafting indoors. A shift from eating giant salads, to roasted foods with warming spices.
And a much more introspective social schedule. This means giving a loving yet hard “no” to about 50% of the activities my family is invited to do. It also means that the ones I say yes to are not out of obligation but rather are the things that will nourish the collective soul of my family.
These are the things I naturally gravitate towards this time of year. It has taken years of yoga and mindfulness to be able to notices these inclinations and to follow my own intuition. If you do not have decades of experience moving in this directions, then do not fret my friend, I am here to help. I am going to outline Ayurvedic practices for the winter. Ayurvedics is the sister science to yoga and is the oldest holistic medicine practice known to man. Which basically means it’s tried and true. I will give a brief outline here but if this piques your interest then please reach out today and we can dive further into finding your own Mindful Tradition.
Ayurvedic Practices for Winter:
Start The Day Off Right - Begin each day with a glass of warm water and lemon juice. This is great for your digestion because it gets the digestive tract firing. Ever heard someone say the fire in your belly? That is what you are working with here, getting that fire energy going at the very beginning of the day.
Eating With The Season - In the winter it is important to reduce the number of raw and cold foods in your diet. Instead focus on eating warm foods, healthy fats, warming spices, and hot drinks. The idea here is to counterbalance the season. So if the properties of winter are dry, cold, and rough, you want to eat foods with the opposite qualities. Think of hot teas, soups, roasted hardy root vegetables, and anything packed full of cumin, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, or cinnamon.
Move Every Day - Now you may want to hibernate during these greyer months, however your body still needs movement everyday. You do not need to be as active as I would prescribe in the warmer months but it’s about finding a healthy balance. Walking is a great outdoor exercise for these months, however if the weather does not permit that yoga is a great alternative for indoor movement.
Align With Nature - Setting up a routine in rhythm with the season is the key to success here. This means structuring your time in a similar way each day. Keeping activities light, and food light, at the beginning and end of the day. These are also ideal times for gentle yoga or meditation. The middle of the day is when you want to plan your biggest meal, the most exercise, and your most strenuous activities (not necessarily in that order).
