Friday, February 13, 2009

The lifestyle I prefer

To follow-up on my post of turning 50 later this year and my gifts to myself I would like to take a few minutes here and go a little further to explain why I had mentioned that my body prefers foods that are "cool". After practicing yoga for a few years and trying to live a yogic lifestyle as much as possible (this is a work in progress) I decided to further study the subject of Ayurvedic Medecine. Yoga and Ayurveda are sisters.

Ayurveda is India's 5,000 year old "Science of Life" - it's the art of living in harmony with nature. Don't get me wrong, I still prefer alternative medecine but the "doshas" are what brought my attention to Ayurvedic medecine. Your dosha is your ayurveda mind and body type (I won't go in details on this subject; way too complexe, but if you want to know more go ahead and google). There are three doshas and after talking with an ayurvedic consultant we've come to the conclusion that my dosha is "Pitta".
Here are a few facts about a "pitta" person :

- should keep a regular bedtime and morning routine. In bed by 10 p.m. and up by 6 a.m.
- are generally of medium built.
- body temperature is always very warm or hot.
- have a sharp wit and a good ability to concentrate.
- fire is a characteristic - shows up as fiery red hair or a short temper.
- can go out of balance with overexposure to the sun.
- are ambitious by nature but also can be demanding and abrasive.
- known for strong digestion.
- alcohol and tobacco show up as imbalance.
- to keep Pitta in balance - avoid jealousy, intolerance and hatred.


Our diet should consist mostly of the following but not limited to :

- cool liquids.
- sweet or bitter taste.
- moderate portions.
- butter, milk.
- olive and soy oils.
- barley, oats and wheat.
- apples, avocado, fig, mango, melon, pear, rpune, raisins.
- asparagus, peppers, brussel sprouts, cabbage, peas, sprouts, leafy greens.
- cardamon, cilantro, cinnamon, mint.
- coconut, pumpkin seeds.
- garbanzo and mung beans.
- chicken, egg whites, turkey and shrimps.

If you don't mind, I would love to talk about alternative medecine/lifestyle in another post. This is a subject very dear to me. But as I've mentioned a few times, this is the lifestyle I have chosen for myself. I do not impose this on any member of my family. Everyone is unique and individual so we should each be allowed to live the life we want to live and not worry about what others will say. I have to quote my favorite Dr. Seuss again - "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind".

Celebrate Life my friends and be well.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

This is so interesting.. I am going to look into this more.
xo Sebrina

Alli said...

Sounds interesting! Definitely will google it!!

Barb said...

Love the post. After reading about the Ayurvedic way of thinking, I discovered I am biodoshic with a predominately Pitta dosha alternating with a vata dosha. Who'd have thunk it??? LOL Barb