Balance Pitta With Afternoon Buttermilk

Balance Pitta With Afternoon Buttermilk

Pitta (fire) time of the day is from 10-2pm. Drinking something that compliments the heat of pitta can help to stay balanced and allows your digestive fire to burn just right. Making homemade buttermilk shake tastes delicious and is a great addition to your afternoon meal.

Homemade Buttermilk
1/2 cup organic plain yogurt
1.5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon cumin (double this if you like the taste)
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
5-6 fresh mint leaves

Blend in blender for 30-60 seconds and drink immediately.

If you don't have a blender handy during your lunch hour you can make this in the morning and bring it with you, just give it a shake before you drink. Or you can try it on your weekends and notice the difference.......it might inspire you to make it before you head to work :)
Enjoy!

Ayurveda Workshop in Alaska

Yoga & Ayurveda Workshop

Homer, Alaska

Many Rivers Yoga Studio

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda translates into;  the science of life. It is an ancient system of health that developed in India over 5,000 years ago. Linked to the natural rhythms of nature, its tools are foods/nutrition, herbs, lifestyle and seasonal changes. Yoga and meditation are also used to help restore balance to the body, mind and soul.

^{September 13th • 12:30-2:30pm - Intro to Ayurveda:}

This workshop will introduce you to the foundations of Ayurveda and teach you simple practices that you can apply in your own life to create balance and harmony. 

This will be in discussion format, dress comfortably and bring paper and a pencil if you desire to take notes. 

^{September 14th • 12:30-2:30pm - Food as Medicine:}

Diet and nutrition is a large part of Ayurveda. Different foods react differently for each of us and understanding your constitution (dosha)  will allow you to make choices in your diet that will help support health and wellness. Seasonal changes also play a factor in how and when to eat and are taken very seriously when looking at an ayurvedic lifestyle. All these things will be discussed in this workshop so that you can apply the basic concepts into your daily life. This workshop will build off of the concepts learned on Saturday, September 13th. 

This will be in discussion format, dress comfortably and bring paper and a pencil if you desire to take notes. 

^{September 14th • 3-5pm - Ayurveda Yoga Flow:} 

A dosha is the Ayurvedic word for constitution (your body type).  According to Ayurvedic medicine, there are three doshas and each person’s balance of the three doshas is their individual blueprint.  The prevalence of certain doshas in a person can affect things like personality, mental clarity, mood, and physical attributes. As we move through three dosha-specific flows, we will balance each dosha for optimal physical, mental and spiritual health. Pranayama (breath work) for each specific dosha will also be highlighted. 

This will be a yoga class so wear clothes that you feel comfortable moving in, as well as your yoga mat.

Please take this quiz before the workshop so you can find out which doshas prevail in you: www.lifespa.com/health-quizzes/body-type-quiz

Investment:

Before Sept. 1st - $20 per session

After Sept. 1st - $25 per session

To sign up please email: mckinstrystaraya@gmail.com

Lead by Staraya McKinstry: an Ayurvedic Practitioner, Ayurveda Yoga Specialist and a 500hr Registered Yoga Instructor. Her passion lies in combining the sister sciences of yoga and ayurveda to bring harmony to all the external senses while benefiting the body, mind and spirit. 

Many Rivers - 1044 East End Rd Homer, AK 99603

Fruit, Not an Evening Snack

Many of us, trying to be good while still giving into our sweet tooth, eat fruit at night. Come to find out, according to Ayurveda, fruit should NOT be consumed at night because of the fermentation qualities. Since you are going to bed soon, the fruit is slow to digest and ferments in the belly and intestines, creating bloating, gas, indigestion  and/or upset stomach. Cure: eat your fruit in the morning or as an afternoon snack and don't eat fruit past 4pm. If you like juice, fresh (nothing in a pre-packaged bottle) fruit juice is the best with breakfast, as long as you don't combine it with dairy. If you live or work in the Indianapolis area, an awesome fresh juice place to visit is: http://www.naturalbornjuicers.com/, or juice at home.

To sum it up:  Eat fruit in the first half of the day and leave it alone for the second half of the day for one month to notice a difference in your digestion. Your mornings will be brighter!

How to Drink Water

Many americans are dehydrated. I see people drinking things all the time but they are drinking the wrong kinds of fluids in order to keep the body hydrated. Sugary drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, soda, vitamin water, coffee drinks of all kinds, smoothies, shakes and even some teas deplete the body of water. Water is what will rehydrate you, and proper rehydration does good for the entire body! Water at the right time of the day is particularly important. It will help with hydrating the skin, hair, eyes, internal organs AND (here is a big surprise) can help with weight loss.
Follow these guidelines and feel and see the difference:

• Drink a big glass of warm water with lemon upon waking up in the morning
• Drink a glass of warm water 30-60 minutes BEFORE a meal
• Only drink about 4 oz of room temp or hot water WITH a meal (sip throughout meal)
• Do NOT drink water DIRECTLY AFTER a meal
• Do not drink up to 1 hour after eating a meal (if you need a couple sips that is fine. no gulping)
• Do not drink ice water, Iced tea or BigGulps....... 
• If you feel very dehydrated sip on hot water every 10-15 minutes throughout an entire day. Be diligent about this. If you still feel like you could chug water at the end of the day then repeat for 2 weeks. This should properly hydrate the body in a way that your body can use and absorb the water it has been lacking. After 2 weeks go to drinking water in a way that is recommended above.
• If your child has regular tummy aches try the water sipping though out the day or the big glass 15-30 minutes before meals. Many times this symptom in children is linked to dehydration. 

According to Ayurveda, drinking water to help with weight loss is not because of what common mainstream articles state; about filling up on water instead of food. That advise is actually killing your digestion, dimming your digestive fire and diluting the digestive enzymes, causing your stomach to have a hard time breaking things down, leading to digestive issues and weight GAIN. Drinking water 15-30 minutes before a meal hydrates the stomach and helps with the buffer zone that is made up of H20 around the stomach, which actually signals to the stomach that it is ok to turn on the stomach acid to full force so that it can break down the food. When you can break down the food you can produce more bile, which helps break down fat. Water drank in this way allows the body to break down and metabolize what you put in, leading to better digestion and if need be, weight LOSS.

CHEERS! 

Soaking, why would you do it?

Why soak certain foods? Because soaking makes things more digestible, especially for those of us who get gassy or bloated easily. It is a simple step and can make a world of a difference on how you feel after a meal with beans, legumes, peas, dried fruit or nuts.

Soaking reduces the amount of dryness (which can cause bloating and gas) as it heightens the water element in the food. This water element supports the digestive fire as it breaks down the food in the stomach. When you cook, add some salt, pepper and turmeric, these spices will also help cut down on the air quality in beans and legumes.

If you notice that some of these foods create discomfort try immersing 1/2 - 1 cup in room temperature water over night. Cover while they rest and then rinse and cook as directed. If you are soaking nuts or seeds, allow to soak no more than 8 hours, then rinse and lay on cooking sheet and dry in oven set at the lowest temperature for about 6 hours. If you are going to consume the nuts or seeds right away, no need to dry them. Dried fruit is not always easily digested by everyone either so soaking it in warm water for 30-60 minutes can help.

To make soaking more pleasing think about getting a pretty bowl or container that you find aesthetically pleasing. That way, when you need to soak something you can place it on the counter as more of an art piece and less of something that you see as clutter.

Cooling Tips for Summer's Heat

Some of us love the heat and can bask in the sunshine for hours (Vata people in Ayurveda terms). Some of us get cranky and irritated by the heat and duck into shade whenever possible (pitta people in Ayurveda terms). If you identify with the latter here are a few tips to stay cool and collected this summer.

• Take cool showers
• Mid day, dunk your feet into cool water or splash cold water on the face and in the eyes
• mist your face and your eyeballs with organic rose water, especially if you sit in front of a computer screen all day
• Drink lime, mint, peppermint or cucumber water (just soak your desired flavor in a canister of water overnight to infuse the flavor) or coconut water from the store is also a great option
• Rub coconut oil on the skin, coconut is cooling so it will help cool the body
• Eat things like cucumber, avocado, coconut, fennel, fresh basil, dill, mint, cardamon, coriander/cilantro, cumin, saffron, lime, leafy greens and fresh fruit
• If you are going to treat yourself to ice cream, enjoy it in the afternoon
• Eat lighter meals 
• Do not put ice in your drinks. Room temperature drinks actually help your body to cool off quicker
• If you drink alcohol remember this, beer is cooling and wine is warming. Red wine is more warming than white so in the summer, maybe switch to white wine if you don't drink beer. However, all alcohol turns warming to the body once your body starts to digest it so watch out in the hot sun.
• Keep hydrated with mostly water 
• Enjoy the lakes, rivers, ocean and pools whenever possible and get in some relaxing time :)

Have a wonderful, refreshing, summer!

Home Made Nut Butter Cups

My husband loves peanut butter. I love peanut butter (or any nut butter) and chocolate. But I have been trying to stay away from sugar on a daily basis. Every now and then I allow myself a sweet treat, but most of the time I still try to make it somewhat healthy. So I decided to make my own nut butter cups. Instead of just chocolate and peanut butter, I made a crust that added a little more chew and a whole lot more satisfaction!

Ingredients
3/4 shredded organic unsweetened coconut
1/2 cups organic almonds or cashews
3 tablespoons organic cacao powder
1/8 tsp coarse sea salt
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup pitted dates

Mix all together in a food processor until a gritty texture.
Press into an 8x8 pan or press into muffin baking cups if you want to make your own individual "PB cups"
Freeze for 10 minutes

Take out of freezer and layer on favorite nut butter: My favorite is almond. But cashew or peanut butter tastes fantastic too. Make the layer about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.
Freeze for 5 minutes.
Melt 1.5 - 88% organic dark chocolate bars (or whatever your favorite chocolate is) with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, over low heat until completely melted. Stir often.
Pull pan out of the freezer and pour melted chocolate and coconut oil mix over the nut butter.
Freeze for another 10 minutes. Pull out and serve immediately. Do lot let these treats sit out too long or they will melt.
Store in the refrigerator.