It's been a good year for the roses

 Roses are truly Ayurvedic flowers that embody beauty and wellness 🌹. Their enchanting fragrance and delightful taste offer profound health benefits, particularly in balancing the pitta dosha 🌞. As summer blooms, immerse yourself in their beauty, which wonderfully supports pitta—linked to vision 👁️. Experience the benefits of consuming rose petal paste or rose water, both delicious and refreshing 🥤. Opt for organic or home-grown varieties, as conventional roses often face heavy spraying 🚫. Rose water is also a nourishing gift for the skin 💧. Take a moment to pause, breathe deeply, and smell the roses; it can rejuvenate a stressed pitta and prevent burnout 🌸. In Ayurvedic aromatherapy, essential oil derived from roses represents the concentrated essence, strengthening the heart ❤️, liver, and stomach while alleviating cramps, aches, and stress, ushering in joy and love 🌈. It's been a good year for the roses, so seize this opportunity to embrace the beauty and benefits of roses while they are in bloom 🌼.

Strength training

Strength training is vital for our overall well-being, especially as we age. It not only strengthens muscles and bones 💪, reducing the risk of injury, but also keeps our minds sharp 🧠. Summer is the perfect time to take your workout outdoors! 🌞 Many municipalities have created fantastic outdoor gyms, allowing you to train your whole body effectively—completely free of charge. A well-rounded program targeting all key muscle groups might include:

1. Squats with a log

2. Deadlifts with a log

3. Pull-ups (or back pulls with a bar) 

4. Bench press with a log

5. Shoulder press with a log

6. Dips between bars or against the edge, depending on your capability

7. Sit-ups in a plank with an appropriate incline

8. Hanging from a bar for as long as comfortable, which helps relieve spinal pressure and builds hand strength—an important indicator of longevity. 🧘‍♂️

Embrace the challenge and let these exercises elevate your fitness journey! Good luck! 🍀

Swimming

Swimming is an ideal form of exercise, especially in the summer ☀️. It gently activates the whole body, providing a refreshing experience 🌊. Unlike many other workouts, swimming cools you down, which is perfect during the pitta season 🌡️. This summer, embrace the opportunity to swim outdoors in the stunning beauty of nature 🌅, which captivates the eyes, uplifts the spirit and is particularly useful for pitta, which is connected to the sense of sight✨. Enjoy the freedom of avoiding chlorine found in pools, which isn't ideal for pitta 🚫. Just be mindful of jellyfish in the sea 🐙, as they can create acute and unpleasant temporary pitta imbalances. Apart from that, seize the moment to dive into the joy of healthy swims in our beautiful waterways 🏊‍♀️.

Fresh herbs

 In the summer ☀️, fresh herbs 🌿 are abundant, and you might even be cultivating them yourself. According to Ayurveda, these vibrant herbs are a source of health and vitality 🌱. During the pitta season, embrace the cooling qualities of dill, parsley, fennel, and coriander 🥗 to nurture a sense of calm and happiness 😊. Plus, their delightful flavours elevate every meal! 🍽️

Food for balancing summer pitta

In my previous post, I shared that sweet, juicy fruits like melons 🍈, pears 🍐, and grapes 🍇 are excellent for balancing pitta in summer. What other foods can create balance? Generally, sweet, bitter, and astringent flavours work wonders to suppress pitta, while salty, sour, and strong flavours can stir it up. 

Embrace the goodness of squash 🎃, cucumber 🥒, pumpkin 🎃, fennel, asparagus, artichokes, rice 🍚, olive oil 🫒, and ghee. Coconut 🥥 in all its forms is a powerful pitta suppressant, as is aloe vera. Milk 🥛 can also be a nourishing choice; just remember to enjoy it boiled and warm (but not hot), ideally with a pinch of cardamom. Avoid pairing milk with vegetables, meat, or fish for the best results. 

This summer, savour these foods and remember to choose those that bring you joy! ✨

Fruits for pitta

 As the summer days heat up ☀️, it's important to keep the pitta dosha in harmony. Embrace the sweetness of juicy fruits 🍉🍐🍇 like melons, pears, and grapes to bring balance and calmness back into your life. When you feel overheated and irritable 😤, these delicious choices can make life easier for you, as well as for those you meet 🤩

International Yoga Day

As we gather to celebrate the summer solstice ☀️, we also embrace the beautiful occasion of International Yoga Day! 🧘‍♀️ In the Western world, yoga is often primarily viewed through the lens of physical postures, or asanas. However, yoga is a much deeper journey. The word "yoga" translates to "union," symbolising our path to recognising our individual waves as the entire vast ocean of existence—the universe. 🌌

The esteemed Yoga Sutras, penned by the wise sage Patanjali, introduce us to the enlightening eight-limbed path of yoga, known as Ashtanga Yoga. While physical postures are undoubtedly significant, they are merely the tip of the iceberg! 🧊 This path encompasses vital elements such as ethical living, breathing techniques 🌬, and practices aimed at transcending our everyday experiences, as in Transcendental Meditation. 🧘‍♂️

Though we often emphasise the benefits of yoga in stretching the muscles and improving flexibility, it's vital to appreciate how these exercises also connect us to the deeper rhythms of the universe. 🌍 The various postures not only invigorate but also cleanse our organs, supporting our internal health. Scientific studies affirm the multitude of health benefits that arise from regular yoga practice. 📊

This year’s theme for International Yoga Day, “Yoga for Healthy Ageing,” resonates powerfully in our contemporary world. 🕰️ As our populations age, maintaining our health is increasingly essential. Yoga serves as a remarkable avenue to help us remain vibrant and active in our later years. 🌼 I invite you to carve out some time today for yoga and consider making it a cherished part of your routine. Embrace this journey with enthusiasm and an open heart! 💚 You've got this! ✨