15 Tips to Stay Cool & Balanced

1. Massage your whole body with coconut oil or Pitta oil* before you shower.

2. Drink lots of cooling drinks: coconut water, Aloe vera juice, hibiscus, raspberry, mint, nettle and rose.

3. Favor bitter, astringent and healthy sweet tastes. According to Ayurveda, the sense of taste is a natural guide towards proper nutrition. Our taste buds do much more than simply identify tastes; they provide the initial spark to the entire digestive process and unlock the nutritive value of foods.

4. Eat lots of cooling foods: cucumber, water melon, apples, pears, avocado, grapes, peaches, lettuce, arugula, kale, dandelion greens, green beans, burdock, peas, celery, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli, summer squash, zucchini.

5. Prepare foods with pitta calming digestive spices: coriander, fennel, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, cilantro, parsley, mint, mustard and nutmeg.

6. Amalaki Tea* This tea is ideal to purify toxins and strengthen your immune system. It neutralizes acidity, improves memory and has antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties.

7. Fennel Tea. Simmer 1 tsp seeds in 1 cup hot water for 10 minutes, then strain and drink.

8. Licorice Tea* not to be taken if you have high blood pressure!

9. Enjoy a soothing milk tonic before bed. Boil 1 cup organic cow's milk or almond milk with pinches of turmeric, cardamom, and/or nutmeg.

10. Limit alcohol.

11. Limit hot pungent spicy, sour and salty tastes: chili, garlic, onions, horseradish, vinegar, lemon, kiwi, pineapple, tomatoes, salted chips and soy sauce.

12. Limit inflammatory foods: red meats, wheat, nightshades (mushrooms, eggplant, bell peppers), egg yolks, spinach and citrus.

13. Limit oily fried foods.

14. Avoid excessive exercise, especially during the hottest hours of the day between 11 am - 2 pm.

15. Practice Shitali Pranayama. Curl or roll the sides of your tongue upward into a tube or "straw" for sucking in air. If you are unable to do so, line the upper and lower teeth together, widen your mouth and press the tongue against the lower row of teeth. Inhale slowly through the rolled tongue or teeth (notice the cooler temperature of the air upon inhaling), hold the breath and close the mouth, then exhale through the nose. Repeat at least 20-30 breaths.

This is from a newsletter written by Heidi Nordlund, of Namaskar Healing, a practice of ayurvedic healing and Tibetan Cranial adjustment.

http://www.namaskarhealing.com