AUTUMN 2014
ABUNDANCE
Nature gave us amazing colours and a bumper crop of berries this Autumn. I am sure that the blackberries this year were the plumpest and sweetest I have ever tasted! I hope you have enjoyed the gifts of fruits and maybe even preserved some for the coming winter months.
This is the time of year when the days grow shorter as Nature rests now and tucks herself up for the winter months. It is the time to take a look back on the year and acknowledge aspects of our lives that are maybe not so healthy and need to die back; as in Nature. The coming dark months will give us the opportunity to reflect, to sow the seeds of our dreams and to cleanse away that which no longer serves its purpose to make way for the new that will come in the Spring. This is the time to gather our strength and to nurture ourselves.
Centuries-old Festivals take place around the world to acknowledge the disappearing of the light and the coming of the dark: Samhain (the Pagan Fire Festival), the Wiccan festival of the Wheel of the Year, Diwali (the “festival of lights”) the ancient Hindu Festival, to name but a few.
Our ancestors were in touch with the earth and Mother Nature and lived their lives according to the laws of Nature and the Seasons; but in our busy, hectic lives it is easy for us to not notice the changing of the Seasons. But our body does! It reacts to the Seasons whether we notice or not and will let us know soon enough that it needs attention!
At this time of year the weather is often windy, cold, dry and changeable – these are Vata qualities and are Vata provoking in the body. It is helpful to the body to ensure we are eating warming, spicy foods like soups and stews to pacify Vata dosha.
Some of those wonderful Autumn fruits are not so good if you are of dominant Vata constitution e.g. cranberries, pears, raw apples – eat cooked apples instead.
(Vata constitution types should generally avoid dried fruits and also frozen, raw or dried vegetables. Most sweet fruits are generally good for Vata constitution).
Now the colourful leaves fade and fall and Winter draws closer each day….and the festive, Christmas party season begins!
3 Tips for Health:
1. CHYAWANPRASH: a wonderful Ayurvedic tonic jam; treasured in India for health, rejuvenation, immunity boosting. This jam is also very versatile; it can be stirred into drinks like herbal teas, spread on your morning toast or eaten straight from the jar – leave some for the rest of the household; it is very moreish! Packed with nutrients and antioxidants from over 30 fruits and herbs it is a delicious, nutritious food. Two or three teaspoons a day is all you need to give your health a fantastic boost.
2. Avoid raw and cold foods to help balance Vata; also avoid salads at this time of year.
3. Ayurveda advises to eat fresh and seasonal foods – no leftovers!
Happy Festivities. Namaste.
