Reminding you how to Balance the Kapha

Kapha people tend to be loyal, grounded, and patient. Their inner sense of stability and contentment shows up as compassion and warmth toward others. In a state of imbalance,   kapha’s becomes stubborn, lethargic, and possessive. A kapha person likes to go slow and steady, and prefers any life changes to happen slowly as well.

Those with a kapha imbalance need to be careful to monitor their quantity of food. Stress is a vibration. Kaphas try to deal with this vibration by adding volume—essentially gaining weight to handle stress. It’s an intuitively wise approach, but it gets them into trouble. Light, slightly heating, spicy, and astringent foods will help balance kapha, as these add the elements of heat and mobility to this dosha. Pungent and bitter vegetables (artichokes, eggplant, broccoli) will invite movement. In general, kaphas should avoid nuts, which add heaviness, and sweets.

Kaphas need exercise that is both strenuous and heat producing. The kapha-imbalnced person often finds vigorous physical activity challenging and unpleasant, despite the fact that it will actually reduce stress in the long run.

Whether we have a vata, pitta, or kapha imbalance greatly influences the course we take to address overall stress. Adjustments that work for one dosha, might leave the others more aggravated than before. Harmony and balance aren’t fixed ideas; our achievement of these often lasts only but a moment. The good news is that guided by Ayurveda, we can choose to meet life’s challenges consciously and from on place or strength, rather than being at the mercy of our weaknesses. 

Nancy Adams, Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

                                                           And Ayurveda Consultant

Reminding you how to Balance the Pitta

For those with a pitta imbalance, stress tends to appear as shades of anger. Extremely focused, driven, and goal-orientated, pitta types become easily stressed in situations they can’t control. Their natural alertness, intelligence, and perseverance that they use to achieve their ambitions can turn caustic when pitas become imbalanced or under stress, resulting in sharp words and health problems such as ulcers, and inflamed skin. Their fiery natures make them prone to outbursts and criticism, as well as migraines to burning hands and feet.

To address this eat a pitta-pacifying diet that favors cooling foods, such as cucumbers and watermelon, rather than spicy, salty foods that will only fan the fire. Melons, dates, and other fresh, sweet, juicy fruits will balance pitta. Cranberries, grapefruit, and tart fruits in general will aggravate it. Pitas benefit from eating most vegetables as long as they avoid pungent or acidic foods, like tomatoes, chili peppers, and radishes.

Pitas should try not to create more heat in the body when they exercise. And avoid exerting themselves at the peak-heat time of midday.

Pitta-imbalanced people can sustain longer sessions of meditation, provided they don’t get overheated in the process. Cool down with alternate nasal breathing by closing your right nostril and inhaling and exhaling through the left, switch side closing your left nostril and inhaling and exhaling through the right. Repeat this 6 to 8 times.

Make sure to meditate daily, do your daily self-oil massage, and yoga along with the dosha pacifying diet. This can help to bring balance to any or all of the dosha’s.

See my earlier posts on balancing each of the dosha’s for more information.

Nancy Adams, Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

                                                             And Ayurveda Consultant

Reminding you how to Balance the Vata

So how do we know when we have an imbalance? It’s good to find an Ayurvedic consultant some times if you try to reduce stress using an incorrect diagnosis you could make matters worse. But, doshic imbalances do have certain general mental and physical symptoms, which we often can recognize in ourselves. Under stress, those with a vata imbalance tend to be climbing the walls and making imappropriate comments, speaking without thinking. Those with a pitta imbalance exhibit excessive acidity, anger, skin conditions, and high blood pressure. Those with a kapha imbalance will eat until they become rotund.

I’m going to give you some common stress reactions—and solutions—for each doshic imbalance. Starting with the vata.

Vata’s who are highly creative, quick thinkers at their best, when imbalanced can have difficulty settling down long enough to actualize their visions. They’re prone to distractions, free-floating fear, and worry this state of mental agitation leads to a variety of physical symptoms, including weight loss, teeth grinding, insomnia, and constipation. Vata-imbalanced people can actually find their stress subdued by calm, quiet, grounded activity.

If you have a vata imbalance, you need to be eating food that are grounding, warm, and soothing, and avoiding cold, raw foods like salads. Dry, light food like popcorn aggravate the vata. Heavy, high-quality milk products, rice, nuts, and warming herbs, like ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom, will help calm vata’s nature.

As much as vatas like movement, they should be mindful of their exercise choices. Vatas need to calm down, slow down. They are usually just stuck in the mind. They need to take the body along, doing exercise that brings them inward. A slower more restorative yoga class is best for them. This helps ground this dosha and alleviates stress.

Meditation provides immense benefit for calming vata, though sitting presents a challenge to those constantly in motion. Adding elements such as soft music or a guided meditation CD will help get a vata to that quiet place.

Remember to do a self massage with sesame oil before showering and on the soles of your feet before bed, this also helps bring excess vata into balance.

                                              Nancy Adams, Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

                                                            And Ayurveda Consultant

Late fall and early winter aggravate Vata

I know it seems early to be talking about fall but it will be here before we know it. And with the weather so messed up, sometimes we get chilly winds and cold weather early in the year. We live in a vata-infested world; we are over worked, move to quickly, are Erratic/compulsive, to intense, and are living in our head. Any or all of these things will cause an imbalance in the system, mostly to the Vata. But that is not all; change in the season or in the weather can also cause an imbalance in the vata. 

          

As the cool chill of winter descends, do you find yourself more anxious, flighty, or forgetful than usual? It could be that your vata dosha is out of balance. The most likely of the doshas to slip out of balance in any season, vata is especially prone to aggravation during fall and early winter, when nature delivers an abundance of vatalike qualities in the form of blustery winds, cool temperatures, and dry air.

Composed of the elements air and space, vata is the subtlest of the three doshas. Travel, weather changes, insufficient sleep, fragmented schedules, and excessive mental or sensory stimulation of any kind can all challenge vata’s stability.

Vata is in charge of all movement in the body and mind. It enables our fluids to flow, our nerve impulses to fire, our thoughts to process, and our wastes to pass. Vata keeps all of our systems going and contributes to great vitality.

Because of the vata’s association with the nervous system, its state is often reflected in our mental health. When vata is in balance, we tend to be enthusiastic, imaginative, funny, quick to learn, and spiritually minded. But the excess vata of late fall and early winter can leave us susceptible to feeling more fearful, scattered, or worried than usual. Physically, pain is the most obvious indication of excess vata; other common signs are variable appetite, insomnia, dry skin, and constipation.

Keep a nurturing lifestyle, stick to a daily routine, scheduling in more down time than usual. Aim for lights out by 10 and get a full eight hours sleep.

Prepare warm, moist foods and sit sown to eat at regular times. Sweet, sour, and salty tastes calm vata. Cooked whole grains, root veggies, and savory soups are good dietary mainstays.

A few times a week, perform a full-body massage with warm oil, to nourish and protect the skin, a highly vata-sensitive organ.

Moderate, consistent exercise regulates vata’s mobile nature. In your yoga practice, include simple seated forward bends, and some supported back bends. If you’re feeling over stimulated or fatigued, do restorative posed to encourage deep relaxation.

                                    Nancy Adams, Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

                                                And Ayurveda Consultant

Unlearning Chronic Pain, Part Two

 Your mind and body have build-in healing responses that are just as powerful as their protective pain and stress responses. Whether it’s a meditation on gratitude, a relaxation pose that puts the body and mind at ease, or a breathing exercise that strengthens the flow of energy in your body. Another exercise I like really well is called breathing the whole body—they all share the benefit of bringing you back to your natural sense of well-being.

Gratitude meditation: This is one of my favorites and my students like it as well. Sit quietly, quickly bring to mind every thing that you are grateful for (spouse flowers, talents,) set a timer for five minutes before you start if you run out of things to be grateful for, start over.

Relaxation Pose: When I ask my students what their favorite relaxation pose is, most of them will say legs up the wall. This is just what it says: Scoot your butt up to the wall swing your legs up the wall and rest for 10 minutes.

Breathing exercise: The best breathing exercise for strengthening the flow of energy is “breath of fire” take a deep breath in inhale and exhale quickly until you are out of breath then start over. Do this four to six times to energize your body.

Breathing the whole body: You will want to lie down for this one. Place your hands on your belly. Notice the belly rise and fall, and notice the breath moving in and out of your body. Imagine that you can inhale and exhale through different parts of your body—as if your nostrils were moved to that part of the body. Start with your feet. Imagine the breath entering your body through the soles of your feet, and exiting through the soles of your feet. Feel the energy in your feet as you breath. Repeat this visualization for other parts of your body: Your lower legs, knees, and upper legs. Your hips, lower back, middle back, and upper back. Your belly and chest. Your shoulders, upper arms, elbows, lower arms, hands. Your neck. Your forehead and the crown of your head. When you get to the area that feels tense, uncomfortable, or painful, don’t skip it. There are several things you can try that may make you feel more comfortable. First, stay with the visualization and direct the breath right at the sensations of discomfort or pain. Imagine that the breath is dissolving or massaging the tension and pain. Imagine the solidity of the tension or pain softening. Find the space inside the pain. Second, try moving your attention back and forth between the uncomfortable area and the comfortable area. For a few breaths, breathe into the painful area; for the next few breaths, breathe into another area, switching back and forth like this can teach the mind how to give the uncomfortable sensations less priority. You are practicing a healthy kind of distraction: intentionally shifting your focus while still being present in your body. When you have worked your way through the whole body, let yourself feel the breath enter the body through your nose, mouth, and throat. Imagine the sensation of breathing through your whole body, as if the were gently expanding as you inhale and contracting as you exhale. Feel, or imagine, the flow of energy through your whole body.

Consistent relaxation practice teaches the mind and body how to rest in a sense of safety rather than chronic emergency.

                                    Nancy Adams, Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

                                                And Ayurveda Consultant

Unlearning Chronic Pain

People tell me all the time that their doctor tells them “your pain is in your mind”. Chronic pain is in your mind. That doesn’t mean the experience of pain is not real. For year’s doctors thought that pain could be caused only by damage to the structure of the body. They looked for the source of chronic pain in bulging spinal discs, muscle injuries, and infections. However there is a second source of chronic pain, the very real biology of your thoughts, emotions, expectations, and memories. Chronic pain starts with a trauma of some sort, and is sustained by how that initial trauma changes not just the body but the also the mind-body relationship. Knowing this is good news. It means that trying to fix the body with surgeries, pain medications, or physical therapy is not your only hope. By first understanding chronic pain as a mind body experience and then using Ayurveda’s toolbox of healing practices—including breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, Thai Yoga Therapy, and a dosha balancing diet—you can find relief from pain and begin to reclaim your life.

Here are the basic steps of the pain response: sensation, stress, and suffering. The protective pain response begins when the body experiences some physical threat (trauma), such as a cut, a burn, or an inflamed muscle. This threat is detected by specialized nerves and sent through the spinal cord and up to the brain. Where, among other things, the threat signals are transformed into pain sensations. Emotion-processing areas of the brain also get the message, triggering a wide range of reactions, from fear to anger. Combined, your thoughts and emotions about the physical sensations of pain make up the suffering component of the full pain experience.

An emergency stress response triggers a cascade of physiological changes that give you the energy and focus to protect yourself from life-threatening danger. Even after the threat is gone, the pain response is not over. The mind and body are very interested in making sure you know how to protect yourself from this threat in the future. So the nervous system begins the process of learning from this experience. Any kind of injury or illness, even one that is short-lived or appears to be fully healed, can change the way the nervous system processes pain.

Through the repeated experience of pain, the nervous system gets better at detecting threat and producing the protective pain response. So unfortunately, in the case of chronic pain, learning from experience and getting “better” at pain means more pain.

Learning from past experience are the memories of the body and mind that influence how we experience the present moment. Memories of the body and mind keep you stuck, felling the same emotions, thinking the same thoughts, and even experiencing the same pain. Memories of the body and mind do not always lead to suffering—they also lead to positive change. Just as trauma, illness, pain, and stress leave traces on the body and mind, so do positive experiences. What you practice, you become.

Learning is lifelong, and none of the changes you’ve learned have to be permanent. Your mind and body have learned how to “do” chronic pain, and your job is to teach it something new.

Nancy Adams, Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

                                                           And Ayurveda consultant

It’s “corny” but true

I feel like I should write something about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). In Ayurveda we talk a lot about diet, and how some foods that are good for Pittas are not so good for a Kapha. And if they are good for a Kapha they may not be so good for a Vata. And so on. I also encourage you to stay within your dosha diet because you will feel better.  HFCS IS NOT GOOD FOR ANY OF THE DOSHAS!! I believe HFCS is the sole reason why there are so many obese children in the US today. The TV commercials would have you believe that it is no worse than sugar. And even try to imply that it is somehow 'natural', with this phrase: "It's made from corn, has no artificial ingredients, has the same calories as sugar and is okay to eat in moderation” High-fructose corn syrup starts out as cornstarch, which is chemically or enzymatically degraded to glucose and some short polymers of glucose. Another enzyme is then used to convert varying fractions of glucose into fructose. High fructose corn syrup just doesn’t exit in nature. The deceptive advertisments by the Corn Refiners Association have basically been LYING to you with their propaganda that "HFCS is no worse for you than sugar".                                         

In terms of your health and your waistline, neither one is good for you. Over time, with excess consumption of either HFCS or sugar, they can both lead to diabetes, obesity, and other mayor health problems, including premature aging, and a bulging belly! My husband and I avoid HFCS at all costs and we use a minimal amount of organic sugar. This is not easy HFCS is in EVERYTHING. Ketchup, Mayo, Ice Cream, Ice Cream toppings Soda Pop, the list goes on. If you buy it, it probably has HFCS. We read the labels; you can find the things you want with out HFCS it just takes time (accept ice cream topping, so we make it). They probably still have sugar but I still think sugar is better for you than HFCS. The two things that I avoid like the plaque are HFCS and hydrogenated oils. They are the food additives that cause the most damage from a biochemical standpoint internally in your body.

Even though both sugar and HFCS are bad for you I avoid HFCS more because your body DOES NOT know how to process HFCS.

Princeton researchers found that rats given water sweetened with HFCS gained significantly more weight than those given water sweetened with plain sugar, despite calorie intake being the same between both groups. According to professor Bart Hoebel, “When rats are drinking HFCS at levels well below those in soda pop, they’re becoming obese—every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don’t see this; they don’t all gain extra weight.

I hope I have given you food for thought, for you to at least try to fully avoid HFCS from now on. Knowing this, why in the world would you ever want to touch another soda again! This doesn’t mean eating loads of table sugar is good for you either. When I make a treat for Gary and I it is always made with all wholesome foods (so they must be good you, right? That’s what Gary says as he is eating his fourth cookie). But, a cookie is still a cookie. So take it easy.

                            Nancy Adams, Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

                                            And Ayurveda consultant