areyouvedic
SEASONAL reset
Join me this OCTOBER 7TH -9TH for
a gentle Ayurvedic cleanse.
The transitions of seasons and cycles of the year are a wonderful time to support the body to cleanse. Just like there are cycles in nature, we have natural cycles of rebirth and shedding of old layers that don’t fit anymore.
These three days will support you WITH:
Removing symptoms of heaviness, sluggishness, feeling overworked and tired
Create new supportive habits and routines you can bring with you into the fall
Reduce gassiness, bloating, indigestion, and IBS to strengthen digestion
Teach you how to cook simple delicious meals
Building a community of support and accountability
“The 3 day cleanse was such a wonderful way to enter into the new season. It brought on a feeling in comfort & calmness. I struggle personally with digestive issues regularity & I was impressed that throughout each day of the cleanse I had absolutely no issues in that department. If someone is looking for a digestive reset or finding comfort in simple food this ayurvedic cleanse is for you.”
“Lisa made me feel so comfortable while adding each ingredient into the various dishes we prepared together. Despite being half way across the world from one another on a zoom call, it felt like we were in the same kitchen navigating the assortment of nourishing foods and spices. She’s incredibly knowledgeable and left me feeling like I have the proper tools to incororats into meals for my husband, daughter and myself. Lisa made me realize that cooking nourishing and cleansing meals for my family doesn’t have to be overwhelming and gave me some great tips on how to minimize kitchen clean up. After a few days of cooking to balance the excess pitta in my body, I can already feel a shift and feel healthier than I have in months. I honestly cannot thank her beautiful and kind spirit enough.”
This is how
you will succeed
This is a simple cleanse anyone can do, even while working. It will leave you feeling light, clear-minded, and sharp, ready to take on fall and winter with all it entails.
You don’t need to be a great cook or have any fancy ingredients at home. It can however be helpful to invest in a few different spices. The spices assist your digestion in breaking down the food, give a wonderful flavor, and make the meal balanced in the six tastes.
When we eat just enough to feel saturated but avoid overeating, our body can digest better and have space for gases, liquids, and the kneading to take place. To eat the amount that fits in your hands at every meal is usually a good rule of thumb. How you eat is just as important as what you eat. This means that when you sit down and eat with full attention to your food, breathe between each bite and chew your food to liquid, it will digest better.
Invest in a food thermos if you don’t have one, or do the cleanse when you have the possibility to cook fresh meals for yourself. It makes it easy for you to have fresh warm food at hand. I recommend one from Lunchbuddy.
A food thermos from Lunchbuddy will make the cleanse easier.
the food
Reset your taste buds, create a new routine and increase energy and awareness of how and what you eat with a simple balanced method. The Ayurvedic way is not a strict regime leaving you feeling deprived and unsatisfied. Quite the opposite, it is a gentle loving way to reset while eating and feeling satiated. Since each meal contains all the 6 tastes (sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent) they will leave you feeling content and nourished.
By making the meals fresh and satisfying but at the same time easy to digest, your digestive capacity available to you, can strengthen. This means that you will create more space to process and integrate everything you consume in life, not only food.
Below is a sample meal plan. Vegetables can be left out completely or swapped out for others available and in season where you live.
sample meal plan
Click on the meals “Kunji” and “Kitchadi” below to get to the full recipes. They are suggestions and can be altered depending on what you have available at home. Get in touch with questions for how to alter recipies to fit your individual needs in terms of spicing, meal size, diet requirements etc. I can also support you to replace some of the meals completely to better suit your needs.
DAY 1
Breakfast - Kunji with a sprinkle of flaxmeal. Read more here.
Lunch - Kitchadi with augmenting vegetable; pumpkin and extractive vegetable; broccoli
Dinner - Plain kitchadi with rice and split mung
DAY 2
Breakfast - Kunji with a sprinkle of flaxmeal. Read more here.
Lunch - Kitchadi with augmenting vegetable; sweet potato and extractive vegetable; cauliflower
Dinner - Plain kitchadi with rice and split mung
DAY 3
Breakfast - Kunji with a sprinkle of flaxmeal. Read more here.
Lunch - Kitchadi with augmenting vegetable; Beets and extractive vegetable; asparagus
Dinner - Plain kitchadi with rice and split mung
Beverages
By only having warm beverages during the cleanse, we support and strengthen our digestion. Drink warm water between the meals and avoid drinking 30 minutes before and after having your meals. If you feel thirsty during your meal, only sip a bit of water with it.
1- 1 ½ liters of water per day is usually a good amount since you will get liquid from the food you’re eating too. Take this opportunity to listen to your body and drink when you’re thirsty, not because you’re supposed to.
Your best option would be to have only plain warm water or with 5 drops of lime.
GROUNDING and CLEANSING foods
Each food item has unique qualities. A balanced meal consists of 60% heavier, grounding nourishing foods. They are sweeter in the taste and will help you feel grounded, full and satiated.
Examples of GROUNDING VEGETABLES are:
Sweet potato
Pumpkin
Zucchini
Cucumber
Beet root
Carrot
Avocado
Seaweed
About 40% of the plate consists of cleansing foods. They are extractive in nature and help with peristalsis. They are light, have a more bitter taste and are actually a bit more difficult to digest since they require that the body gives up energy to digest them. If we have too much of these foods we will end up feeling spacey, unfocused, distracted and light headed.
Some examples of CLEANSING vegetables are:
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Kale - all sorts
Brussel sprouts
Asparagus
Bok choy
shopping list
download shopping list here
Split mung dhal (⅛ cup per serving)
White basmati rice (¼ cup per serving, both breakfast and other meals)
Ghee (or sunflower oil to make it vegan)
Himalaya rock salt
Ginger root (or powder)
Turmeric root (or powder)
Asafoetida (also known as hing) or Fenugreek
Coriander (Ground or seeds that you ground yourself)
Cumin (Whole seeds or powder)
Fennel (Whole seeds or powder)
Three augmenting vegetables of your choice
Three extractive vegetables of your choice
Optional: Seaweed (Kombu, Seapalm, Nori, Hijiki, Arame, Wakame or Kelp)
EXERCISe and RESt
This is not a time for you to power through. Instead practice the Ayurvedic approach and rest, unwind and gently allow your body to reset without stress. You find a GENTLE YOGA PRACTICE HERE great to dive into during the cleansing days.
Additionally take a short walk around the block for 5-20 min after each meal, about 1000 steps. This works like a kickstart for your digestion after the meal. It will also support you in eating the right amount when you leave the table to walk after you finished your meal.
This is a great time to do a digital detox too. See if you can at a minimum have two of the three days away from the phone, computer and TV and allow yourself to read, journal and tune in to your inner landscape. You might be surprised by what you find.
HOW TO EAT
There are many ways which you can improve your wellbeing by HOW you eat when you can’t eat exacly WHAT you would like to eat. The following tips are suggestions for you to implement during the cleanse.
When the detox is done, choose one or two of the things on the list to implement in your daily life:
Eat warm breakfast
Eat warm lunch
Eat warm dinner
Sit down while eating
Chew your food well about 20 times for each bite
Put down your cutlery between each bite
Use all 5 senses when you prepare and eat your meal
Avoid talking while eating
Eat undistrubed away from your phone, TV and computer
Cook fresh food when you can
Avoid snacking throughout the day
Pause twice a day by stopping, take 12 deep breaths into your belly, and notice how you feel. Go to the bathroom to do this if you can’t in your workplace or where you are
Practice gratitude for your meal and all the hands that went into bringing it to your table
how do you feel?
It’s important to stay aware of how the cleanse is working for you. I will provide you with a download to a the wellness journal that you can use to fill in all the colums every day. Be honest, attentive and kind with yourself. When you reach out with questions share the journal with me so that I can better help you.
THE ROUTINE
I am here to support you through your cleanse.
Get in touch with me below to ask questions and get support.
Enjoy this space you’re creating,
it’s the greatest gift you are offering yourself.
The sesonal changes
Autumn and winter are the times of Vata dosha. As we move from the fiery Pitta time of the year, into Vata, the qualities of cold, light, dry, subtle, mobile, sharp, airy, flowing, hard, right, and clear become more prevalent in nature and in us. It’s an opportunity to shed layers and prepare for the colder months of the year. Use this as a reminder to soften into gentle knowing, slow down and turn inwards for reflection on the part of the year that has passed. The opposite qualities of Vata will support us through the fall and winter, can you think of any?
“Like attracts like, and the opposite quality brings balance.”
The springtime of the year is relating to Kapha dosha. It has qualities that are similar to how the earth element show up, but also the water element in nature. Kapha dosha is heavy, dense, wet, gross (the opposite quality of subtle), cold, smooth, soft, dull, and static.
This means to balance Kapha dosha in spring, when these qualities tend to be more pronounced in us, food, activities and lifestyle choices that are of the opposite qualities will support us. Can you think of any? Find the opposites at the bottom of this page if you’re curious to learn more about Kapha dosha. If you’re primarily interested in the cleanse, read on.
The qualities of Kapha and its opposites
Heavy - Light
We need food of a lighter quality and to reduce dairy, heavy fried foods, and eating late at night to a minimum. This is why we’re doing this spring cleanse with Kitchadi which is light and easy to digest.
Dense - Flowing
Next time your practice Yoga asana, try switching things up a bit. Go to a new class, try a new sequence in our home practice and allow yourself to step out of your box.
See if you can make space for Yoga practice every day during the cleanse with Nath’s video or Lisa’s.
Wet - Dry
If you don’t have any symptoms of your Vata Dosha being out of balance (get in touch to learn more about this) this is the best time of the year to have dryer food. Add a few sprouts on your kitchadi for example.
Gross - Subtle
Train your senses to pay extra attention to the details. How does it really feel to chew your food? Can you notice a difference between the prana in the fresh herbs from your balcony and the sad avocado on the supermarket shelf that’s been shipped in from Chile? Life is in the details, cook your meals this week with as much fresh ingredients as you can.
Cool - Hot
Have warm food and drinks. Like this Fennel, fenugreek and cardamom tea for example.
Smooth - Rough
Challenge yourself in your exercise. Can you walk a little further on your lunch break? With a slightly brisker pace?
Soft - Hard
Again, challenge yourself. In what area of your life are you being to soft with yourself? What do you need help inspiring yourself to try out?
Static - Mobile
Next time your friend suggests you join them for an unusual event - say yes! Honor your routine of course, but take the chance to try something new this spring.
Take this cleanse for example!