THE VEDIC CIVILISATION that gave us Ayurveda, was founded on the perceptions of the Rishi’s, whose knowledge passed down to us through the ages. The Rishi’s of ancient India were able to perceive the visible and invisible, which is why Ayurveda is such a rich approach to our health.
They explained the underlying energy from which everything in the universe comes, in terms of the different qualities it expresses. They used the language of nature for this. And so we learn that everything in the universe, including us, the food we eat, our environment; is made up of the qualities of ether, air, fire, water and earth. We are each born with a particular balance of these elemental qualities — our constitution — and to stay in good health we need to keep this balance, in balance.
These elemental qualities create the tastes in our food. That’s why what we eat can effect our constitutional balance, and can mean the difference between health or dis-ease. And, when dis-ease isn’t corrected, the conditions for disease further on, are created.
For instance. If you are a pitta type, you have a lot of fire in your constitution, if you eat a lot of chillis which contain the fire quality, you can shift out of balance. Symptoms that show up and create dis-ease for imbalanced pitta types include impatience, irritability, driven nature, inflammation, red irritated skin. To correct this you would consume less of the fire elemental quality through your food and lifestyle choices. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments. Later in the year there will be a podcast to explain all this step by easy step, so that you can create your own health plan.
Seeing the beauty
The sky last night had a tiny slither of white shining moon with a solitary star. Or perhaps it was a planet. They shone so brightly. I arrived back home to serenity and silence under a silvery moon. The front garden, small as a postage stamp but ever so more beautiful, dripped in wisps of moonlight. Trees down the street silhouetted against darkness. This big black sky with one twinkle in it, well, it reminded me of my time in the Catalan Pyrenees.
Out there at night, sometimes lying on the earth to sleep, the Catalan sky was all that seemed to exist. Bursting with stars that painted diamonds. Stardust met stardust, as I gazed into space. And when I closed my eyes and went to sleep, this twinkling blanket of beauty came with me. In the morning, when I opened my eyes to early new beginnings, I would be met by an immense ocean of half-lit blue, sun rising slowly, pale salmon mountains painting into life. And sometimes there was gold.
I would get up and walk over to where I could look down into the mist covered valleys, to where the world did not exist yet. I would sit with my morning cup and watch, as the mists gradually dissolved, and the world ever so gradually, came back into existence. To the sound of goat bells, somewhere in the distance.
Photo by Enrique — pixaby
Recipe
Courgette hummus
This is a simple hummus made with yellow courgettes. Everyone can enjoy a hummus. If you know your constitutional type, Kaphas add cayenne pepper instead of black pepper and eat with crunchy crackers.
INGREDIENTS
2 large yellow courgettes
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup light tahini
Juice 1 lime
1/4 cup olive oil
Rock salt and black pepper to season
METHOD
Saute the courgettes and sliced garlic in a little olive oil, then blend with the next 3 ingredients and season.
Wishing you the warmest, till Friday.
Lucy x