There, I said it. Out loud. This whole week I’ve been battling a cold; first it was the sore throat, then the congestion in my head, then the body aches… it has subsided but it is not over yet.
Fall is a beautiful season, we’ve been having wonderfully clear days and getting some much needed rain, but fall can also aggravate dryness (despite the rain) and anxiety and because of the massive fluctuations in temperature, we become much more susceptible to germs. It is a busy time of year — as one of my teachers, Cate Stillman, said, just look at the squirrels! — and looking at my own schedule for teaching, attending class, and social obligations, I am no exception. In the last week, all of these things conspired against me and nature abruptly said YOU NEED TO REST.
Last weekend I did not do the things I planned to do and stayed home to be quiet. That helped because my sore throat went away and the congestion became more bearable. But as I continued with my regular teaching schedule this week, my brain continued to be over-busy and discontent. It occurred to me that my cold was as much mental as physical. I went back and forth in my head about whether I should do a cleanse because I wasn’t really feeling into it this fall. According to Ayurveda, fall is an ideal time to detox in order to let go of the excess heat that developed over the summer and to adjust on all levels, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, to the coming cold and damp of wintertime.
When I began cleansing in the fall a few years back, one of the first things I noticed was that winter became more bearable to me. I love winter when it snows! But when it does not snow (which is just as likely as not in the metro DC area) it is depressing. With a fall detox as part of my annual routine, I almost kind-of sort-of look forward to the longer nights and colder days as a way of nesting and hibernating. Spring does become that much more sweet.
Meanwhile, busy mind still here. To cleanse or not to cleanse? That is the question. I had lots of ambivalence as the week and my cold persisted. Dr. Claudia Welch, Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine practitioner and author of Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life, says when your life gets more complicated, simplify your diet. So finally on Thursday, it was almost out of the blue. A lightning bolt of revelation — I know how much better I feel when the detox is done. Somehow the mental chatter (which has been yelling at me lately) calms a bit, physically my digestion is easier and more efficient, emotionally I have a little more compassion for those around me and especially for those who regularly go without food.
It is decided. Five days of juicing. I’m beginning day three today. Slowing down to taste the juice, I make myself sit and offer a mantra of thanksgiving – Brahmar panam, Brahma havir, Brahma agnau, Brahma nahutam, Brahma eva tena gantavyam, Brahma karma samadhina – The act of offering, the oblation itself is pure Consciousness, within Consciousness it is offered to the fire of Consciousness, and those who act in harmony with Consciousness merge with blissful peace.
My current favorite recipe for juice:
4-5 stems of kale
1 medium apple
1/2 cucumber
1 inch of ginger root
Juice it up and drink it down.
Next up: Sadhana
Go back to Ayurvedic Comfort Food