Showing posts with label Ritucharya/Season Regime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ritucharya/Season Regime. Show all posts

Tuesday, 27 August 2019

Varsha Ritu or Rainy Season


Varsha Ritu or Rainy Season

Rainy season regime

Rainy season marks start of “Visarg Kaal” during which the air carries moisture. “Adaan Kaal” when the air is dry, weakens the human body as well as digestive fire. Due to hot sun of summers, rain water, continuous contact with rain water and hot vapours weakens the digestive fire. This in turn pollutes the three doshas of the body. Ayurveda suggests following a plain regime during rainy season.

Things to avoid in rainy season


Things to avoid:
1.       Sattu Sharbat” or beverage of roasted gram flour.
2.       Sleeping during day.
3.       Mating
4.       Sun
5.       Work out

Must have things:
1.       Honey water or honey with “Drakshasav
2.       Sour and salty food with applied clarified butter (Ghee), particularly on a stormy and colder day.
Yush from grains and flesh

3.       Wheat, barley, aged rice and wild animal flesh in form of soup with clarified butter helps preserving digestive fire.

Rain water pot

4.       Freshly collected rain water, pond water or water from well should be used for drinking after boiling and cooling.
5.       Oil massage, bathing and wearing dry light clothes.

Note: “Vata”, “Pitta” and “Kapha” are three doshas of body mentioned in ayurveda which in balanced state keeps the person healthy.
“Vata” is gas/air or air in your body. If aggravated, it causes joints pain and gas trouble.
“Pitta” is acid and heat in the body. If aggravated, it causes burning sensation, thirst, over hunger etc.
“Kapha” is cough or lubrication which lubricates the body.

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Saturday, 13 April 2019


Grishm Ritu or Summer season

Summers and ayurveda

Ayurveda divides the year in to six seasons based on the revolution of earth. Three seasons are observed during the period when the sunrise seems to have shifted towards north or “Uttrayan” which are “Shishir”, “Basant” and “Grishm”. These three seasons combined are also called as “Aadaan Kaal” and the other half when the sunrise seems to have shifted towards south is called “Visarg Kaal”. “Visarg Kaal” consists of “Varsha”, “Sharad” and “Hemant”. Entire “Aadaan Kaal” experiences dry air whereas “Visarg  Kaal” experiences moist air.
It’s said that humans are relatively weaker during “Grishm”/ summers and “Varsha”/ rainy seasons.
During “Grishm Ritu” (Mid May - Mid July) or summer season hot rays of the sun dries up the fluid from earth. So the “Kapha” from human body is also lost which results in increased “Vaat” dosha.

Food preferences:
 1) Cool and sweet drinks.
Sweet drinks during summers

 2) Unctuous and easily digestible food stuff should be consumed. Unctuous is heavy to digest but if taken in small quantity is still light.
 3) “Sattu” or roasted gram flour mixed with sugar.
 4) Meat of dry forest animal and birds.
 5) Rice with milk or clarified butter (Ghee). Or rice with soup of dry land animals meat. Again the meat soup should not be thick.
Rice with ghee or meat soup in summer

6) Panchsaar is a drink prepared with honey, dates, raisin (munnaka), grewia asiatica (Phalsa), sugar candy and water. The entire ingredient are crushed and mixed in water.
7) Buffalo’s milk mixed with sugar candy is allowed in summers. Night is the best time for milk. Milk can be exposed to moonlight.

Donts:
No liquor during summers

1)   No liquors and if you must have to, then mix more water than usual. Too much of alcohol can cause swollen body.
2)   Salty, sour, bitter and foods hot in potency; should be avoided else it will aggravate “Vata”.
3)   No exercise or half of your strength exercise.
4)   Least exposure to sunlight.

Lifestyle tips:

1)   Sleep in cool places during day time.
2)   Night sleep should be enjoyed in open terrace under the moonlight. One can apply sandal paste on body during sleep.
3)   Mating should also be reduced to once in fortnight.

Note: “Vata”, “Pitta” and “Kapha” are three doshas of body mentioned in ayurveda which in balanced state keeps the person healthy.

Vata” is gas or air in your body. If aggravated, it causes joints pain and gas trouble.
Pitta” is acid and heat in the body. If aggravated, it  causes burning sensation, thirst, over hunger etc.
Kapha” is cough or lubrication which lubricates the body.

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Saturday, 9 February 2019

Basant Ritu



Basant ritu” or spring is the time between “Shishir” and “Grishma”, typically from mid March to mid May. Indians have festivals for every season and spring starts with “Holi”. It is celebrated on the last full moon day of winter or “Shishir Ritu”. During this season, air is drier than “Shishir” and the Sun is stronger. The “Kaffa” accumulated in the body during Hemant/Shishir starts to melt in Basant which diminishes the “Jatharagni” or digestive fire of the body leading to “Kaffa” related ailments.

(Kaffa present in the body is responsible for lubrication in the body. For instance, smooth and lustrous skin indicates a balanced “Kaffa” in the body. Someone coughing out phlegm indicates aggravated “Kaffa”)

Lifestyle tips for Basant Ritu:
·       Vaman” or detoxification through vomit. Person is made to drink medicated water in empty stomach and vomit afterwards. It should be done in proper supervision.
·       Workout
·       Use “Ubtan” on body. Typically a paste of turmeric and chickpeas flour in water applied on body before bath. Barley and wheat flour can also be used.
·       Nasal medications or “Nasya


What to eat and drink:
·       One year old wheat, barley and honey.
·       Smoking (Yeah, ayurveda is only for cool guys). But it is NOT about the branded cigarettes available in market.
·       Gargle
·       Use warm water for bath and other external uses (NOT for drinking)
·       Eat roasted flesh of dry land animals and birds like rabbit, reindeer, deer, wood pecker, quail etc.
·       Wine made of grapes (Enjoy). “Asava” and “Arista” are two fermented medicinal preparations of ayurveda which are also recommended per the nature of body.
The Shloka below from Charak Samhita says it all. Smoking is mentioned in Charak Samhita.


Don’ts:
·       Avoid food which are hard to digest and cold
·       Do not sleep at daytime
·       Fatty, sweet and sour foods should be avoided

All above increases “Kaffa” in the body.


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Friday, 8 February 2019

Shishir/Hemant Ritu


Ayurveda divides the year in 6 different seasons based on the shifting of sunrise direction or movement of earth. Namely Varsha Ritu, Sharad, Hemant, Shishir, Basant and Grishma and ayurveda have defined the ways of eating and general lifestyle tips. When I am writing this article, it is Shishir Ritu. It starts with “Makar Sankranti” or around 14th of Jan. From this day the sunrise starts to shift towards north and air starts getting drier. Hemant is first half of winters and differs from Shishir only by extent of dryness in the air.
In Shishir/Hemant the “Jatharagni” or digestive fire is confined inside the body and gets powerful. Humans are capable of eating and digesting more in these seasons. If not fed well, the body will get weaker and “Vatta”or gas will get aggravated.



What to eat and drink in these seasons to control “Vatta”:
·       Sweet, acidic and salty dishes.
·       Flesh of fatty animals and birds (Did someone say ayurveda is for vegetarians?)
·       Should have wine made from jaggery after non-veg (OMG ayurveda is awesome)
·       Milk, Curd, Mawa (Whole dry milk) etc.
·       Pudding made with cane juice, semi solid jaggery etc.
·       Fatty and oily food
·       Newly harvested rice

Below is the "Shloka" from Charak Samhita (Sutrasthanam -06)



Simple Lifestyle tips:
·       Use hot water for bath
·       Abhyang” or oil massage on body and head
·       Keep in underground,closed and warm places
·       Heavy clothing while traveling or in general
·       Sex per your desire

Don’ts
Do not eat small meals or food which aggravates “Vatta” or gas in the body. Avoid pungent, bitter and astringent food.

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