Let’s talk about Juice! (…and Fasting!)

February 24, 2013 by Lorien

Juicing has been popular for years in the natural health and alternative medicine community. Juice fasting has been promoted as a way of cleansing toxins from the body, losing weight and improving health and wellbeing. Some people live purely on juice and nothing else.

Juices are becoming more and more popular with fresh juices being available in every major city and town, not just from alternative hippy loving health food cafe’s. You can get a juice almost anywhere. The world loves juice!

There is a great reason why juice is so popular and can make us feel so good.

When we drink juice it has a particularly nourishing effect on the plasma (rasa) tissue of the body. This means that it has a cleansing effect on our blood, lymphatic system and skin, giving us greater energy and vitality almost instantly as a result.

This is a wonderful thing. We all want to feel better, look better and live better. If we over do our juicing however, the body can start to become depleted and the natural juice ‘high’ starts become an over juiced energy ‘low’. The motivation behind ‘juice fasting’ is often to ‘detox’ and improve the functioning of the digestive system.

In Ayurvedic medicine, poor digestion and a build of toxins in the body is often due to the air element in the body (Vata) being out of balance, leading to undigested food mass, gas, bloating and feeling out of it.

To detox and improve digestion with this in mind, we must balance the air (Vata) element by having the opposite to cold, fresh, raw juices (which will only increase Vata) and instead choose to have warm, light, brothy vegetable soups for example. It’s a different way of viewing things and comes from a perspective of balancing elements and qualities to improve digestion, looking at the reason why things have gone pear shaped and treating the cause.

Balance is the key.

For some people, at certain times of their life, under certain circumstances and conditions juice fasting might prove to be the best medicine. For other’s juice fasting might be too depleting and a in the case of wanting to ‘detox’ to improve digestion, a few days on warm Vegie soups might be the best medicine!

To incorporate a Vegie juice or a fruit juice into your daily eating in a balanced way can be a wonderful way to build your blood (great for women particualry or those with Anaemia), get a boost of minerals and cleanse your body in a balanced and grounded way.

Ayurvedic wisdom reminds us that we are all unique. We must live, eat and drink in ways that are harmonious for ourselves as individuals. To find inner and outer balance we must respond to our own body and see what works for ourselves, rather than following what works for someone else.

So enjoy your juices with awareness and being in tune with your body and what it needs. Remembering that one man’s medicine is another man’s poison. We must learn to listen to our own bodies and trust that guidance with our food and life choices.

Ayurvedic Principles for Balanced Juicing:

Mix vegie with vegie & fruit with fruit.
Add ginger to balance the heavy, sweet qualities of juice.
Have a moderate amount, a small or medium sized cup will be plenty as it is so concentrated.
Allow 20 mins until eating or drinking something else, to give the digestive enzymes time to do their thing.
Go for Vegie juice as much as possible, the minerals in vegie juice are great for the blood and full of goodies your body will love. (My favourite!)
When having fruit juices, keep combinations simple. eg: Apple & Pear or Apple & Pineapple. This makes it easier for the body to digest.
Drink your juice mid-morning, when the sun is getting high in the sky. In Ayurveda the digestive fire is strongest in the middle of the day, so having something like a juice which is quite dense will be most effectively digested in the morning or close to lunch time.
Finally, love your juice and treat it like medicine. For women, having a Vegie juice with Beetroot around the time of menstruation can be a wonderful remedy for building the blood.

Enjoy & listen to your body! It’s all about balance and being in tune…

x Lorien

Gentle Ayurvedic Morning Cleanse

February 9, 2013 by Lorien

When we sleep at night our body eliminates toxins and brings them to the surface to be removed.

Often we wake up and automatically swallow the ‘gunk’ that is in the mouth rather than spit it out, as we want to sleep in or just don’t feel like getting up.

When we do this, we are swallowing toxic build up that our body thoughtfully brought to the surface over night to be released! Oh my, not so pleasant.

There are many ways to gently cleanse this build up out of the body. There are herbal preparations that can be taken as well as treatments.

The most effective and lasting way to prevent poor digestion and toxic build up from occuring is to adopt a ‘daily lifestyle practice’, known in Ayurvedic medicine as ‘Din-Acharya’, or daily routine.

3 Simple Tips for Cleansing Toxins and Mainting Balance Daily:

As soon as you wake up in the morning, go to the bathroom and spit out the ‘gunk’ in your mouth that has accumulated during sleeping. Brush your teeth and scrape your tongue with a tongue scraper. (Copper tongue scrapers are found in most health food shops and are said to be the best as the copper conducts the toxins away from the tongue most effectively.) You will fall in love with tongue scraping!

Drink a cup of warm water with a squeeze of fresh Lemon juice, some Ginger grated or finely chopped and half a teaspoon of Raw Organic Honey. (Make sure the water is warm, not hot, as honey changes its structure when heated to high temperatures and can be poisonouse to the system. So make sure your water has cooled down and is warm when you add the honey.)

Give yourself time to move your body, go for a walk, do some Yoga, stretches or whatever your favorite activity may be. It is great to get outside and into nature first thing when the birds are still chirping and the sun is still rising. Exercising in the morning will flush your body and boost your digestive fire which will assist in the process of burning up any toxins that are built up in the channels. Follow your exercise with a swim or a shower to cleanse and refresh your body before you move onto having your breakfast.

Incorporating these practices into your daily morning routine might take some initial organisation to fit the exercise into your schedule and get used to the idea of ‘scraping’ your tongue, however the benefits will be worth it. Trust me. Within a short amount of time you can expect to notice your breathe smelling sweeter, your appetite coming back to life and that your bowels are working much much better.

Making sure the elimination systems of the body are functioning properly is a vital ingredient to long-term health and wellbeing.

Cleaning the body regularly, on a daily basis in simple (yummy) ways is like making sure your space is clear (your body) so that it can do exactly what it knows to do and function in a state of balance and wellness.

To healthy, happy elimination!

x Lorien

Chewing for Peace

January 26, 2013 by Lorien

Daily living in a modern society can be busy. Within the course of one morning, it is easy to over commit and find oneself rushing to get from A to B, to get the school lunches ready for the day, to prepare your own lunch, to have the time to sit, meditate, exercise, drink your warm water, have a shower, make your breakfast, eat your breakfast, decide what you will wear, brush your teeth and finally get out the door.

Deep breath, that is an active morning!

So your morning might not look quite like that and may have it’s own unique features.

It is common that our lives have become busier than the ‘olden days’. Technology has streamlined many activities and tasks as well as enabled us to be more productive and in general, ‘do more’.

This can be a great blessing. This can also be a good time to remember the value of having time to sit, be still and savour the moments that make up your day.

When we get ‘busy’ simple activities like eating can become restricted to a certain amount of time. Look at the clock, five minutes to eat breakfast. Gulp, gulp, gulp, out the door!

We start to inhale our breakfast, rather than sit and CHEW what it is we are taking in.

It is admirable to make sure that breakfast is eaten, however the stress involved with rushing can create your digestive system to tense, your mind to become anxious and your nervous system to be in flight or fight mode, rather than rest and digest.

With this response in your body, digestion can become heavy and imbalances can start to occur.

It is at times like this that stopping and taking five conscious breaths into your belly can help the nervous system to calm down, relax and rebalance.

This could be where saying ‘grace’ before a meal once came from. The act of sitting still for a moment to centre your mind and body, gives gratitude to the energy and life that has gone into your meal as well as calms the body, so that when you take your first bite, you are present, centered and able to digest your meal properly.

Chewing is one of the first stages of digestion. Through this process, signals are sent to the organs of digestion to release enzymes, acids and juices that are needed for proper assimilation and elimination of the meal you are eating. This leads to peaceful digestion and nourishment of the cells and tissues in your body.

Like our physical digestion, we have mental digestion, which requires the same amount of mindfulness to keep the system clear and peaceful. When we are busy and miss out on time to eat our meals in a peaceful way, we also miss out on being able to digest our thoughts, feelings and emotions properly, which can lead to clogging of the channels and mental ‘indigestion’.

Here is a simple mantra to keep in mind for creating peace with-in and peace with-out…

Rather than trying to DO more, CHEW more.

When we take the time to really chew our meal, or chew our thoughts… a profound sense of inner peace and relaxation comes about, as we have given our mind’s and bodies the space they need to assimilate, transform and eliminate what we have put in.

Next time you sit down for your meal try the follwing:

Take a moment to give thanks for the food and the energy from others and yourself that has gone into bringing it to your table. This will calm and centre your mind and body, bringing you into the present moment.

Take one mouthful at a time and enjoy the process of chewing, allowing the mouthful to become smooth and broken down into a paste. This will streamline the job of your stomach and intestines, allowing the enzymes and acids to mix easily with the food and digestion to be peaceful.

As you enjoy each mouthful, be aware of the various tastes and textures of what you are eating. It takes the brain 20 minutes to realize that you are full when you are eating. By chewing your food properly, the brain has more time to tell you when you are full, before you get full. This can help prevent over-eating, which can burden your digestive system and leave you feeling heavy.

Chewing can be a meditation. Chew your thoughts in the same way, through taking some deep breaths, giving gratitude and sitting still with yourself, allowing any undigested thoughts, feeling or emotions to come to the surface and then dissolve with your awareness.

Through chewing our food, thoughts, feelings and emotions with a greater sense of mindfulness, we relax the nervous system, digestive system and mind. This removes blockages on the physical or emotional level that could prevent proper nourishment from coming into our bodies and allows for true nourishment from the inside out.

Chew chew chew, for peace within and without. x

Ayurvedic Digestion Tip: Shower before eating…

January 25, 2013 by Lorien

According to Ayurvedic medicine it is best to shower before eating, rather than after.

When we eat, our blood goes to the stomach and centre of our body for digestion to take place. When we shower, through the pressure of the water and the temperature, blood is directed back out to the extremities, distracting the body from it’s task of digestion.

For smooth, easy, sound digestion try showering before breakfast or dinner and see if you can notice a difference.

It becomes a nice ritual, to cleanse and purify the body, then enjoy nourishing it with your wholesome food! A simple alteration that can make a big difference to the effectiveness of your digestion over time.

It feels so good to be fresh and sparkly before eating and you will smell lovely for your own company or those who you will be sharing your meal with.

To happy eating & healthy digestion! x

“Only eat what you can digest”. ~Jayadharma

A New Cycle – 2013

January 12, 2013 by Lorien

Today, the 12.1.13 is the first New Moon of this new year. The New Moon represents the beginning of a new cycle. A time to reset and start from scratch, to lay the foundations for what will unfold as we move towards the full moon and the fullness of this year.

Ayurvedic medicine has a deep connection and respect for the moon. The moon governs the water element within our body, and our bodies are made up of up to 60% water. When the moon goes through it’s cycles (changing daily), on a subtle level we too are going through cycles and changes internally and externally.

Some may notice that their emotions vary quite dramatically throughout the course of a month. Females having a larger proportion of the water element in their make-up can notice a big difference in their body, mind and emotions as the moon goes from new moon to full moon. Being aware of this can be a wonderful way to gain a deeper appreciation, acceptance and understanding of why we may feel more emotional on some days and very clear and calm on others.

We are connected to nature. The Sun and the Moon play a big role in our lives. When the sun rises, it signals our body to wake up and start a fresh day. When the sun-sets and the moon rises, it signals going within and time for rest and rejuvenation.

Seeing the sunrise and spending time bathing in moon-light feels good!

Since there is a balance of both elements within our body, seeing these beautiful wonders of nature reminds us on a deeper level of who we are and what we are made of.

With this in mind, today is the first new moon. Make the most of this fresh energy with a simple activity of writing down on a piece of paper what you intend for your year ahead. Take ten minutes to do this with yourself. Draw, make dot points, however you feel to express. While today is a ‘good’ day for doing this, you can do this any day of the year… Setting intentions can be a 24/7 activity if you wish!

I wish for you all a year of health, peace, joy, creativity, beauty & love!

Welcome to the first post of 2013. It is a honour and joy to share with you this new space on such a appropriate day, the beginning of a ‘new cycle’.

With love & wholesome loving wishes for an amazing year ahead!

x Lorien

Ginger Water

January 7, 2013 by Lorien

Sipping on warm ginger water is a simple & gentle Ayurvedic remedy used to improve digestion, circulation, clear the mind, cleanse toxins & naturally make you feel light & bright!

Simply finely chop or grate some fresh Ginger (organic is best!), place in our tea pot or cup and add hot water. Allow to sit and gain ‘gingery’ strength, then enjoy drinking it when it has cooled down to a warm temperature.

Ginger is regarded in Ayurvedic medicine as a wonderful healing herb/food that can be used on a daily basis. Ginger’s warming qualities are supportive to the digestive fire, boosting for the immune system, assists in nausea and morning sickness and at times when the body or mind is feeling heavy, lethargic and slugish. Since ginger is warming, it helps to improve circulation and allow toxins to be released from the channels within the body, allowing proper flow and harmony.

Ginger is such a wonderful food that can be used as a daily medicine. Enjoy cooking with ginger in soups, stir fry’s, dhal’s, kitchari and any other savoury dish, where you wish to add a gentle warming flavor. Enjoy sipping on warm fresh Ginger water through-out your day to keep your channels open and digestion strong.

How to Make your own Ghee

December 16, 2012 by Lorien

Ayurvedic Quinoa Porridge Recipe

December 5, 2012 by Lorien

Porridge is so warming, nourishing & restorative for the body. Great for grounding your energy at the start of your day!

(Serves 2 people.)

Certified Organic Ingredients:

2 tsp’s of Ghee or Coconut Oil
2 cups of Quinoa flakes
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
4 Cardamon pods opened
Pinch of Fennel seeds
1 tbsp Jaggery, Coconut Sugar or Rapadura
4 Blanched Almonds
12 Raisins
3 to 4 cups of Hot water

Method:

1. Add your Ghee or Coconut oil to your pot & warm
2. Add Quinoa flakes & stir to toast the grain
3. Once smelling, looking & feeling ‘toasted’ add hot water & stir.
4. Add Cinnamon, Cardamon, Fennel & stir.
5. Add Raisins, Jaggery/Coconut sugar & stir regularly until Porridge becomes creamy & smells yummy!
6. Serve with 2 Blanched Almonds & some Raisins on top for presentation!

Enjoy!

Note: This Porridge can also be made with milk (un-homogenised, raw Organic milk is best). Simply use 1/2 milk and half water instead of all water.

*Feel free to add some more Water during the process if it looks to thick, and if it look too thin and runny you can add a few extra Quinoa flakes.

Staying Cool this Summer

December 1, 2012 by Lorien

Today is the first day of Summer, a season that is predominant with the elements of Fire + Water (Pitta). Summer is a beautiful time of year to relax with the warmth of the enviornment around you and also a good time to stay cool.

Some simple tips for staying cool the Ayurvedic way:

Wake up early in the morning to enjoy the cooling qualities of Sunrise.
Walk on dewy grass to balance the fire element and cool your liver.
Enjoy fresh Coriander and Fennel seeds in your cooking, they are naturally cooling and avoid heating spices like chilli and mustard.
Enjoy seasonal fresh juicy cooling fruits such as Berries, Watermelon and Papaya. (Always eat fruits by themselves and watermelon always 20 mins away from other fruits).
It is easy to reach for ice cold drinks, however this hampers your digestive fire (Agni). Drink room temperature water or slightly warm, Your digestion will thankyou for it.
Enjoy Aloe Vera juice, Cucumber, fresh greens, light vegie soups and fresh fruit
Swim in fresh water and spend time in nature amongst lush green tree’s. Simply connecting with ‘cooling’ environments like this can make a huge difference to your entire wellbeing!

The Simplicity of Eating Well

November 28, 2012 by Lorien

Eating well can be simple. It is about reducing the amount of packaged items in your fridge & pantry and increasing the amount of fresh, alive, real, wholefoods such as vegies, fruit, legumes & whole-grains! Being aware of what you are buying will make a big difference to the way you eat, which will make a huge difference to your overall health & wellbeing!