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Now is a good time to learn to how to cool your jets. If you don't, your system will do it for you by slowing down your agni--digestive fire. When agni is low our body temperature lowers, but also our metabolism slows and we may add weight or collect ama (undigested toxins). So we still want healthy agni without getting overheated. Enjoy the season and also add a few good habits. Check out the tips in this issue to keep your cool, maintain your weight, and stay clean.
Live with radiant intention and be well. Rhonda
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Top Five Great Summer Quick Tips
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
You may want to back off the iced latte and go for good ol' water, herbal tea, or coconut water. Caffeine dehydrates and iced beverages can cool the agni too much. That iced latte may taste good but can elevate your Pitta at a time when you want to cool it. Slightly cool or room temperature liquids are best. Try Mint  Limeaid [recipe to the right]. Lime has a cooling post digestive effect, called vipak in Ayurveda. Dehydration inhibits performance and causes fatigue.
Bitter is Better
Go for the bitter taste in greens like kale, collards, spinach and vegetables like brussel sprouts, broccoli, and asparagus. These vegetables have a cooling effect on the body.
Made in the Shade
Avoid mid-day sun. Be active --walking/yoga-- in the morning or cooler evening. Swimming in natural water is especially cooling and Pitta pacifying. Overheating can make you grumpy. Have you noticed?
S weet Sleep
Warm nights can make it challenging to get a full night's sleep. Try to make your room comfortably cool and dark as best you can. You can spray organic rose water on your face at bedtime, wash your feet with cool water or rub coconut oil on your feet. Actually use coconut anyway you can--as an oil on skin or for cooking, coconut water, or coconut garnish---it's all cooling.
Be Sweet
When temperatures rise, so can our heated emotions sending compassion and understanding out the window. Make a conscious effort to do something nice for someone each day. Breathe. Know how special others are in your life; let them feel it.
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Classes in Kalamazoo and Oak Park, IL
There are no classes over the summer. See you in the fall.
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Rhonda Egidio Ph.D., provides Ayurvedic assessments of primary health concerns, diet, sleep and lifestyle and offers Ayurvedic recommendations. It's a good idea to get a baseline assessment to help you to apply Ayurveda knowledge in a customized way to your particular needs. Check out assessment and session options.
Rhonda Egidio, 269-345-2991
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Mint LimeAde
Sweet mint limeade is a refreshing, cooling digestive aid for the lazy dog days of summer.
1/4 whole peeled lime
1 tsp mint
1/4 tsp raw sugar
1 C water
Mix all ingredients in a blender.
Lime improves digestive function while cooling and grounds Vata. Raw sugar brings ethereal mint back to earth also grounding Vata.
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Stay as Cool as a Lotus in Summer Heat Go here for a great article "How to Balance Pitta in the Summer" featured in the Yoga International Journal from the oh so fabulous Himalayan Institute. Includes tips on food, drink, sun/moon and yoga.
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Ayurveda information shared here is for general educational purposes and is not intended to substitute for medical or psychological advice. Please consult with a qualified medical professional in these matters.
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