Reenita's Wisdom

If you are like most people, then your new year probably started out with resolutions for trimming your waistline. A great intention but how committed are you? While most people have good intentions on January 1st, come mid month, they are all too willing to slip back into old patterns of comfort eating. This year, instead of training your belly, why not try training your mind instead?

Mindful eating is not rocket science.  In days when life was not all about TV dinners and eating on the go, people would actually have longer and more enjoyable meals that actually resulted in skinnier waistlines.  Think “French family dinners”  which are inevitably a social event. Traditionally, the focus has always been on the food and the wine. Well, it’s no Ayurvedic secret that focusing on food, aids digestion. [...]

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Understanding the concept of Rasa or ‘taste’ is critical for understanding the medicinal value of foods. There are six different tastes, each of which has a post-digestive energetic effect on the doshas, influencing the ultimate state of the mind and body. Most foods are a combination of tastes.

In the West we think of a balanced meal as one which combines carbohydrates, proteins, fats and so on. In Ayurveda, a balanced meal is one that comprises all six tastes. We can then further tailor to dosha balancing needs by having more of some tastes than others. A healthy person is able to enjoy all of the six tastes, but if vikruti (imbalance) exists then we might develop an aversion to foods with similar qualities as the doshas that are imbalanced. These foods are then no longer palatable, no longer medicinal and in fact become unhealthy for us. So, we need to reduce these and use other foods as medicine to rebalance.

There are six tastes in Ayurvedic cuisine –

Sweet Foods with a sweet taste are calming and soothing to the system. Their grounding qualities balance Vata and their cooling qualities balance Pitta. But taken in excess, these foods will imbalance Kapha creating heaviness and slowing digestion. Sweet foods include sugar, honey, milk, sesame seeds, fruits and vegetables with a naturally sweet taste such as bananas, yams or fennel and also carbohydrates such as potatoes, rice or bread.

Bitter Foods with a bitter taste create lightness and clarity. They balance Kapha and Pitta but taken in excess, they aggravate Vata inducing dryness in the skin. Bitter foods include olives, dark leafy green vegetables like spinach or mustard greens, and coffee.

Sour Foods with a sour taste stimulate digestion. Their warming qualities balance Vata but taken in excess they will disturb Kapha and Pitta increasing body weight and skin sensitivity. Sour foods include yogurt and sour cream, citrus fruits, tomato or fermented foods such as vinegar and pickles.

Pungent Foods with a pungent taste decongest the system increasing digestion. Their drying and heating properties balance Kapha but taken in excess, these foods can disturb Pitta and Vata creating excess internal heat and dryness. Pungent foods include garlic, onions, wasabi and hot spices like ginger, cumin and black pepper.

Salty Foods with a salty taste are calming and enhance digestion. Their warming qualities balance Vata but taken in excess, they can disturb Kapha and Pitta leading to water retention and internal inflammation. Salty foods include seaweeds, salted chips and foods, and soy sauce.

Astringent Foods with an astringent taste create lightness. Their cooling properties balance Pitta and their drawing properties balance Kapha but taken in excess these foods can disturb Vata creating dryness and flatulence. Astringent foods include pomegranates, aloe vera, green grapes and chickpeas. All the six tastes translate into one of three post digestive tastes: sweet and salty tastes end up as sweet tastes and are digested in the stomach by the Kapha dosha. So, these foods should be eaten first, which makes a great case for having bread before a meal! Sour tastes remain sour and are digested in the small intestine by the Pitta dosha. These should be eaten next. Pungent, bitter and astringent tastes all end up as astringent and are digested in the colon by the Vata dosha and should be eaten last.

In the West, meals are typically served in courses. But in India small portions of food representing each of the six tastes are put together on large platters called thalis. This way, we can pick and choose what food to eat in the preferred order and also adjust our intake of the tastes according to the doshas we are aiming to balance.’

– Taken from ‘Inner Beauty ‘Discover natural beauty and well being with the traditions of Ayurveda”

How many times have you heard the cliché “You are what you eat”? I think that when it comes to staying healthy, most clichés originated from Ayurveda. According to this ancient healing science, everything that you eat, and the way you eat it, has a strong effect on your mind and body. So not only the food and herbs that you eat, but the amount you eat, the timing of your meals and snacks, and the combinations of flavors all influence your well being. Ayurvedically speaking, food and cuisine can have a medicinal effect. When you eat well, you maximize your vitality or ojas. Ayurveda recommends whole, nutritious foods and eating patterns that are tailored to balance your mind-body constitution or prakruti (primary dosha).

There are no “bad” foods in Ayurveda—there is only the idea of balance. A harmonious diet balances not only nutritional qualities, but tastes and even the heating or cooling energetic effects of a food after it is digested. It takes into account single raw materials such as fruits, meats and vegetables as well as they meals that they combine into once they are cooked. While there is an emphasis on fruits and vegetables, and many Indians are vegetarian, Ayurveda in itself does not prescribe vegetarianism. In fact, a whole array of meats and fish are emphasized in the ancient texts.

But Ayurvedic doctors do recommend a diet that is pure and close to nature with plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish and lean meats, combined with herbs and spices that will purify and balance the mind and body. Moreover, if you are to truly benefit from these foods then it is important that each meal reflect the natural colors and flavors of the ingredients. Poor digestion, stemming from an unbalanced diet, is one of the first signs of ill health. When your diet is out of balance, not only are food nutrients are not easily absorbed, but they can also accumulate as toxins.

Since your digestive tract is the origin for imbalances, ahar or diet is always considered to be the first order of medicine. And since preventative medicine is the only surefire way to ward off disease, eating Ayurvedically as often as you can, will help you to stay healthy for the long term. Although this healing science originated in India, Ayurvedic cooking encompasses so much more than merely Indian food. As long as it is prepared per Ayurvedic principles, it can draw from just about any cuisine. You can have fun mixing and matching your favorite foods with Ayurvedic herbs, ingredients and cooking techniques to yield flavorful cuisine. It is simple to prepare, yet easy for the body to assimilate into the raw building blocks for health and vitality.

After being a classified cynic during all my years of singledom, I admit that I am now a staunch follower of customs that have arisen from the villages in Punjab. Like Karva Chauth. I think that much of the credit must go to my mother who sat me down right prior to my first Karva Chauth holiday as a married woman….oh so many years ago….and told me in no uncertain terms that she had had enough of my rebellious ways and that as a married lady in the community, I had better toe the line. I am still amazed by the impact of Mom’s threats especially when they are laced with words like community!

Karva Chauth is a Northern Indian festival during which married women fast for the well-being of the husband. Observed during the month of Kartik on the fourth day of Krishna Paksha (the waning moon) the festival was originally based on the idea of camaraderie between married women in the community during a time when most of Northern Indian society lived in villages. It is important to remember this: increasingly new cynics (like my old self) will tend to pass it off as an example of traditions that cater to a male dominated society.

Living in San Francisco, I find that I must observe the fast on what is typically a working day. It can be challenging to remain hungry yet make sure that you are not grumpy and irritable when it comes to dealing with your colleagues in the office. Ahh…the trials we must face to become better human beings!

But many women, especially those who live outside of India, continue to be at a loss for what exactly to do on Karva Chauth. If you need some tips or just plain moral support on how to get through the day, I thought I would share some words of wisdom on the subject.

Karva Chauth For Dummies

Eat Before Dawn

• While people increasingly skip this step, I would advise against this; your body is likely to go into ‘starvation mode.’ Ayurvedically speaking, this is a no-no.
• Aim for an early morning snack that will hydrate your system. Oranges are ideal.

No Food After Sunrise

• Sleep in if you can; if not, don’t worry too much about it.
• Think good thoughts; cliched as it might sound, you will be amazed at the difference you can make with positive energy.

Before Sunset

• Get together with other women who are fasting, an hour or two before sunset for puja (prayer ritual) and storytelling. This is probably the most enjoyable aspect of the festival and rings back to its tradition of camaraderie among women.
• IF you do not have a group of women to get together with, do a simple puja on your own and read the Karva Chauth story.

Breaking The Fast

• Once the moon rises, go to a open area like a terrace or a garden to look at it through a sieve before looking at your husband.
• If you have kids, it can be fun to involve the whole family by having Dad and kids search for the moon too.
• Break the fast by having your husband give you a glass of water to drink.
• Follow with a scrumptious dinner but resist the temptation to over-indulge. Your metabolism has been slowed down during the course of the day, your digestive system cannot deal with too much food.

Best wishes to those of you who are celebrating the holiday this year. And please do send me your personal Karva Chauth wisdom. The more that goes around, the more we can ring back to the symbolism of this Northern Indian tradition.

Image Credit: www.karwachauth.com

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