… leads to a gentle transformation.
Vata, Pitta, and Kapha – discovering my dosha seemed like the most sensible first step. Have you Googled, “what dosha am I,” yet?
Haha! I’m still noodling around with that one! Banyanbotanicals.com is proving to be a useful, user-friendly, free resource which also offers an assortment of free next steps, including yoga variations, to help each dosha.
Those questionnaires are a bit tricky because it’s important to understand the point of reference for each item and to be mindful of how you used to be – versus how you are now, including when you were at your most-balanced state – versus – when you were stressed.
Taking assessments from various free sources would be beneficial to more accurately zero-in on your dosha. Banyan recommends retaking the quizzes to get a feel of how you are changing over time.
So, doshas aside, the text I am using to launch my journey of self-discovery is Kate O’Donnell’s The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook.
Just starting with her introduction, I was already finding myself skipping around her excellent book to learn more about each of the concepts I was discovering. There are bookmarks and Post-it notes everywhere!
Which brings us back to the grounding philosophy I have always used: make any changes to your life in teeny, tiny bites that are sustainable.
As you get comfortable with that one thing, add another teensy adjustment – that is hardly even a blip on your radar – and incorporate that into the fabric of your life.
I chose to start with a simple cooked breakfast cereal.
Longtime readers of foodtalk4you know my fascination with variations on the theme of ‘gruel’ – often adding everything I could think of (chia, ground flax seed, pumpkin seeds, etc.), and using what I called ‘sweet spices’ plus vanilla, to trick the palate into not needing much or any added sugar.
The recipe in O’Donnell’s book features just buckwheat – not a grain, but a seed – and is gluten-free. She flavors this with her trio of sweet spices: cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom, plus vanilla extract.
After the 1/2 cup of buckwheat, sweet spice mix, and 2 cups of water have cooked, 1 cup of fresh strawberries and 2 teaspoons of coconut oil are stirred in and allowed to rest for 5 minutes before serving – along with 1/4 cup toasted, unsweetened-shredded coconut sprinkled on top of the two bowls.
The next time we made this, we found adding a pinch of salt to be beneficial.
Holding power? Our bowl of her ‘berry buck-up cereal’ not only felt easy on the tummy, but sustained us all morning.
The rational behind this?
Seeking more ways to calm inflammation, which is the first domino to fall leading to ‘dis-ease.’
Whether you believe yourself to be sensitive to the effects of gluten or not, gluten is pro-inflammatory.
Take a tiny first step to start your day with less inflammation on board. You don’t have to jump into the deep end – just a few times a week. Start there.
Our next post will dive into a balancing staple food of Ayurveda, which is good anytime, anywhere, for anyone – and is perfectly neutral, adaptable, and an excellent resource for the change of seasons we are all experiencing right now.
In health –
Deidre
