Summer Loving – Happened So Fast

Living in the UK summertime or enjoying the wonder of summer days can be a muddle of amazing sunny long days or seemingly never getting started and then putting on a late show in September. The general energy from spring to summer takes us from the kapha time of earth & water to the energetic dosha of pitta with fire & water elements, ruler of the digestive system, the mover & shaker of getting things done. It’s seen as a Yang time of year, starting from the 1st June from a meteorological stand point and around the 21st June for the astronomical transition of the equinox. It’s an expansive, being more out there time of year, everything is bountiful & in bloom, there’s a feeling of movement, excitement and desire. Actions that started in spring with creation, now start to fruit and as in life so in nature with flowers, fruits and vegetables. The days are lighter and longer and temperatures are higher.

Ritucharya in Ayurveda translates to seasonal flow and how we can live with more ease & holistically if we style our life to what’s going on externally within each season, so getting up earlier, bringing in more exercise, allowing ourselves to open more, being more social and tweaking our diet to what’s available.

‘Ritu’ is season, and bringing understanding of the changes in our environment is the basis of seasonal routines so we can remain in balance with nature. Historically we’ve paid attention to the seasons due to farming techniques and most festivals in the calendars revolve around the growing & harvesting of local crops. With the ease of online shopping and large supermarkets and living more centrally a lot of the knowledge and interest of what grows when & where has been lost.

Buying seasonally, buying local, using veg box schemes, farmers markets or growing your own and eating organically where possible has a huge benefit to the body in the sense of relieving stress on what needs to be digested. Intuitively we tend to move away from heavier, larger meals and naturally start to eat less and the appetite will drop as we need less energy to keep warm. Cooling food, hydration and liquids are also more beneficial at this time of year.

The Ayurvedic Qualities of Summer

Summer is hot – it may be dry, humid or wet but heat is present and the sun evaporates moisture and as it’s pitta season we want to avoid anything that might cause an imbalance within that Dosha, so keeping ourselves cool, hydrated and moist. Heat can bring in skin problems, irritations, bites and stings, acid digestion, feelings of irritability, puffy eyes & overheated bodies.  Agni, the fire of our digestion is said to be less strong in summer as essentially we are wired to eat less.

Summer Tastes Are:

Sweet (Earth & water) which is heavy, oily, sticky and cool – foods like dates, bananas, raw milk, rice, almonds which help to build tissue, are good for bones, skin, hair and the reproductive systems. Too much leaning into only sweet can lead to weight gain and problems like diabetes.

Bitter (space & Earth) is dry, cool & light. Think coffee, dark greens & salads, fenugreek, turmeric, rhubarb. They reduce fat, manage blood sugar, clear toxins and if in excess can dry out the body or deplete energy.

Astringent (air & Earth)are found in substances that are dry to the taste like cranberries, fruit & some vegetable skins, black tea, red wine and honey. They remove water from the body, tone tissue and clear blood, so too much can result in feeling thirsty or constipation.

Foods to Increase for Summer Energy:

• Greens, rice, quinoa, coconut, fruits & berries, cooling veg like courgette and cucumber
• A more plant based diet
• Fish & white meats
• Herbal waters with fennel, coriander, mint, cardamom, and lavender to help hydrate and cool blood.

Grape & Cardamom Tonic Recipe

• 2 cups of red seedless grapes
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Blend and enjoy at room temperature. Cardamom & ginger are great to cleanse the upper digestive tract, any acid reflux and this tonic is super replenishing & hydrating for skin.

Seasonal foods as we move through summer are plentiful:

Asparagus, elderflowers, rhubarb, rocket, spring onions, new potatoes, broad beans, cherries, chicory, spring greens, mustard greens, radishes, sorrel, green beans, courgettes, broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, beetroot, fennel, peas, rubber beans, samphire, chard, gooseberry, raspberry, tayberry, loganberry, strawberry, blackcurrants, redcurrants, white currants, greengages, plums, figs, peaches, apricots, onions, aubergine, sweet corn, apples & pears.

There is an amazing abundance of choices containing the 3 main tastes the body needs and it can make sense financially & health wise to choose foods that have the vitamins & minerals we need at this time of year, with no nasties that are sustainably planet friendly. Many of these are perennials that are easy to grow and require little help once doing there thing.

Courgette Soup Recipe

• 2 medium courgettes
• Tsp of ghee or coconut oil
• 1 cup of water
• Pinch of salt
  
  

1. Chop courgettes into slices and gently fry in the ghee or oil until softening. Add water and salt and warm up.
2. Whizz up with a hand blender and add pepper and I like a little cumin or fennel on top. A really easy simple recipe and it’s amazing how creamy & delicious it tastes.

Dinarcharya – Our Daily Routine

[Dina – day charya – activity]

Summer is the perfect opportunity to look at how we spend our time, how we structure our day and if we feel efficient & calm within that? As we have longer days it’s an easier time to bring in tweaks to daily habits allowing for more reverence, more honouring of how we spend our hours rather than just moving from one thing to another without really connecting to our time.

In Ayurveda the circadian rhythm is imperative to the day and within that the energy of the doshas flow through times allowing a fluidity for how we spend our time.

As it’s lighter earlier it’s helpful to focus first on our morning routine aiming to wake up with the sunrise these are guidelines that can be easily integrated without taking up too much time:

On Waking:

• Elimination – going to the loo
• Tongue scraping – recommended to clear any toxins (ama) from sleeping during the night, ideally with a copper tongue scraper ( more on this another time but would highly recommend)
• Oil pulling – gently swilling coconut oil around the mouth for a few minutes, clears bacteria and cleanses the gums ideally once a week and you will really notice a difference.
• Clean teeth
• Body brushing – still good at the start of summer to clear dead skin and give some va va voom to the circulation and lymph movement.
• Abyhanga light massage to the body in summer using cooling coconut oil which pulls the heat out of the body or aloe Vera gel if very hot. At best a daily practice but if time is light choose a smaller part of the body each day or do as a weekly ritual to still get benefits.
• Shower / bathe
• Get outside walking, looking at the sky, time in nature .
• Yoga – sun salutations or tai chi
• Meditation – outside if possible.
• A light breakfast
• Hot water and then go about your business from a place of being connected to yourself.

Bringing this part of your day into a discipline can help the rest of the day fall into place feeling more motivated and it doesn’t have to take an age . Then for the evening it is time to wind down, limiting screen time, having time to relax and getting ready for the next day with the aim of being in bed by 9.30/10 p.m. so more in rhythm with sundown and ready to rise again at sun.

General Guidelines for Summertime

• Stay out of the midday sun
• Wear a hat as the head reacts the most to heat.
• Take a little afternoon nap if you wish.
• Exercise early in the day or early evening.
• Eat less garlic, onion, chilli hot foods .
• Reduce alcohol & caffeine
• Finish shower with 30 secs of cold water
• Cool the eyes using organic rose water on cotton pads. Eyes can become hot and irritated during the summer months and are our seers of what we digest. Place the pads gently over the eyes to soothe and then wipe around eye area.
• Pranayama focus can help keep us in balance, alternate nostril breathing to centre & calm, sitali breath to help cool the system.
• Get out in nature more, go at a slower walking pace enjoying the shady leaves and calm of green
• Walk by water, especially soothing for pitta types, go to the sea, have a swim or a paddle.
• Be more social, find time for friends and put in time with the family.

Ritusandhi is the change over between the season where we have a transition between the two seasons and the energies & weather can go backwards and forwards and we may feel a little push me pull me ( see my spring blog for more info there) it’s the time to start stopping some spring routines and bringing in more summertime vibes, it’s a less dramatic change than winter to spring where action is needed. It can still be beneficial to bring in a gentle 3 day cleanse choosing to eat clean, have simpler food to give the digestive system a rest and prioritise some self care to regig the intention of well being. As Kate O’Donnell says in `Everyday Ayurveda & Self Care’:

“It’s easy to get so busy that external changes go by unnoticed. That’s why the ancient Ayurveda practice of observing seasonal changes can be a great help today. Observation naturally illuminates the wisdom of living in relationship to nature the aspects of life that are true & undeniable – change, age, hunger, thirst, sleep, waking – speak to us as soon as we start listening”

If we work intuitively with our own unique body and listen to the seasonal change we can much more easily stay balanced and not go off kilter into stress and anxiety at doing too much. If living holistically and with intention is already an important factor in your life this will already sound familiar and it’s age old and makes sense but if your well being has been put on hold recently and life has taken over just taking a look at your daily routine can instigate a realisation and a desire to change , choosing to up your water intake, adding in more seasonal fruit & veg or deciding to go to bed earlier is always a great starting point for change.