On my Facebook page and on Instagram, I shared 21 days of Pitta Season meals--one meal idea per day.  It had great response so if you'd like to see those posts here's the links. 
Facebook page:  Sandra Briand, RHN KYT
​Instagram:  SandraBriand95

Stay tuned for my online group 21-Day Seasonal Eating and Lifestyle Program for Vata Season, starting November 4th!  If you're on my mailing list, you'll get advance notice! 

Today let us celebrate the curative powers of the Six Tastes according to Ayurveda.  
So often we eat unconsciously.  Oh, we might notice that food is sweet or salty but what else do we notice?  The temperature?  The texture?  There is an even greater depth of taste to every individual food we eat which, with some awareness, we can discover and use for our individual benefit.

Ayurveda recognizes taste as one of the important values of food.  Other values are the quality, i.e. whether the food is heavy, light, dense, watery, oily, dry, etc; the elements that make up the food, i.e. water, earth, fire, air and space; and the cooling or heating effect of the food, both its immediate effect on the stomach and then it's post-digestive effect.  Today let's focus on the taste of food.  It might be unusual to think of the taste of food as a doorway to personal health and sense of well being in body and mind.  However, according to Ayurveda, taste has therapeutic value.

Sweet Taste 
The sweet taste is found in most grains and sweet fruits (fresh or dried), winter squash, many root vegetables, natural sweeteners. The elements of water and earth make up the sweet taste. These elements are heavy, thus the sweet taste provides density and weight to the body.  The sweet taste is conducive to a sweet personality, and gives us a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment. Too much of the sweet taste in our diet leads to laziness.  And if the sweet taste is lacking in our diet we can feel unsatisfied, discontented or depressed.

The sweet taste will pacify the intense nature of Pitta, and ground Vata.  But it will increase the heaviness of a Kapha constitution.  Too much sweet taste will also cause weight gain for any one.    

Sour Taste
The sour taste consists of earth and fire and is found in lemon, lime, green grapes, vinegars, fermented foods, wine, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, hibiscus, rose hips, tamarind, green mango, tomato.  It stimulates the appetite and saliva, enhances digestion and elimination, and increases thirst.  It is considered hot and oily, so can increase heat in the body and liver.  

The sour taste aggravates Pitta and Kapha, but balances and grounds Vata.

​The sour taste increases discernment, heightens our awareness and sharpens the mind.  Too much can make us judgemental and critical, and too little can make us scattered, impulsive and careless.  

Salty Taste
Salt is a special combination of fire and water.  It increases heat in the body and can also contribute to water weight gain if taken in excess because it is considered moist (attracts moisture).  The salt taste is found in salt, of course, but also in seaweed, celery, and ocean fish and it bears qualities that are heavy, oily and heating.The salt taste in moderation enhances the flavour of food. It stimulates digestion, helps our electrolyte balance, increases the absorption of minerals and cleanses our tissues.  

The salt taste is great for Vata because it counteracts the cold, light nature of Vata.  Too much salt can cause water retention, especially for Kapha constitution folks.  And too much salt can aggravate Pitta conditions such as hypertension or ulcers.  The exception is whole mineral salt, such as pink Himalayan salt, which is a rock salt and is less heating than sea salt.  It can be used in moderation by Pitta types..  

The salt taste can combat dullness, depression and gives us a passion and zest for life.  Those who decide to avoid the salt taste completely in their diet could discover procrastination and feel unmotivated. Too much salt taste can make us hedonistic and can adversely effect the blood and skin. 

Bitter Taste
The bitter taste is the lightest and coldest of the six tastes.  It is made up of air and space.  It is anti-inflammatory and detoxifying and so can remove waste and toxins easily from the body.  Bitter foods can also purify the mind from toxic thoughts and negativity.  The bitter taste is best for Pitta because it cools the heat, and for Kapha because it provides lightness;  but it is less beneficial for Vata because of its cold, light nature. 

The bitter taste is found in dark green vegetables.  It is also found in turmeric, coffee, and black or green tea, eggplant and dark cocoa.  It imparts dynamism, cool-headedness and focus.  Too much bitter taste in our diet, such as too much coffee or tea, can make us feel pessimistic, depressed and bitter.  If we avoid the bitter taste in our diet, we could feel perpetually disappointed or sad.  

​

Pungent Taste
Fire and air make up the pungent taste. Reach for warming and hot spices and herbs such as hot peppers, cayenne, ginger, mustards, onions, garlic, cloves, pepper, radishes, oregano, basil, arugula, thyme, rosemary.  Pungent foods are extremely drying.  They are great for wet nature of Kapha, and warming in small quantities for the cold nature of Vata.  Pitta wants to avoid most pungent foods but there are some specific pungent spices and herbs that can be used to advantage in small quantities. 

The pungent taste warms the body, enhances  digestion, gives us drive and ambition.  It stimulates the circulation, breaks up clots, reduces fat, eliminates congestion.  The pungent taste gives us drive and ambition.  With too little, we become passive.  With too much we can become sharp and critical, even aggressive.  

​It's so important during this season, more than any other to stimulate ourself with exercise and movement, particularly in the morning before 10:00 a.m.  Any kind of cardio-vascular physical activity that increases the heart rate and circulation will help throw off stagnation in the blood and lymphatic season. Some good examples are brisk walking, jogging, ball sports, active yoga, swimming, calisthenics or rebounding (mini-trampoline). 

Equally important is to arise early and quickly, definitely before 8:00 a.m., best by 6:00 a.m. If we linger in bed after waking, this aggravates the sluggishness of our circulation and lymphatic flow and we will feel slow and dull-minded all day. The lymph fluid is part of our immune system, and if it's sluggish then our immune system is impaired. So wake up, do a 5-4-3-2-1 countdown and get out of bed! Then start moving! You'll be amazed at the difference this makes to your sense of well being.

My 21-Day Ayurvedic Seasonal Eating and Lifestyle Program for Pitta/Summer Season is starting at the end of June.  Sign up for my newsletter to receive future announcements and tips on food, yoga and soul, and get your free gift of Ayurvedic Tips for Better Digestion.  Sign up here.

According to Ayurveda, like aggravates like. Watermelon is delicious, yes! But are you still eating watermelon during the Winter and Spring?  As it's name implies, watermelon is full of water.  It's also very cooling.  Your body needs water during the heat of the summer to hydrate it and cool it down.  Your body, however, will protest the cold quality of watermelon during Winter resulting in a weakened immune system, and its watery quality during Spring could make you feel even more bloated and heavy (like mud).  Don't waste your money and your health on less than optimal out-of-season foods.

The best food choices during Spring are light or drying such as non-gluten grains (which by the gluten is fine in other seasons), very little dairy (goat milk or goat cheese is best), lots and lots of non-root veggies, especially cooked leafy greens; choose seeds instead of nuts; and eat lots of beans and lentils for their astringent/drying effect.  

​If you missed my online group 21-Day Ayurvedic Seasonal Eating and Lifestyle Program for Kapha/Spring season, stay tuned for my 21-Day Ayurvedic Seasonal Eating and Lifestyle Program for Pitta/Kapha Season, starting around the end of June.  You'll learn how to eat for the season to stay balanced, ward off fatigue and irritability from heat, achieve an appetite that will allow you to enjoy the best foods yet even lose weight, neutralize acid reflux and heartburn, and increase your friendships. Yes! that's right.  Staying balanced during Pitta season will draw new friends to you.  More about that later :)  

Get on my mailing list to be kept informed.  Subscribe here.  You'll also get my Ayurvedic Tips for Better Digestion!  

Kapha season, like the earth in spring, makes us feel heavy and dense, stagnant and lethargic, and cold!  We can counteract those negative qualities by engaging in activities that produce the opposite effect.  For example, the active postures in this Kundalini Yoga series will get the blood and lymphatic circulation activated to help move out toxins from the liver, colon and stomach.  Foods during Kapha season necessarily need to be lighter than other seasons of the year to help the cleansing process.  You'll learn some of those tips during this yoga series.  

There is a saying that "disease begins in the colon".  When the colon doesn't work, the liver and stomach suffer and can't do their jobs properly.  Nutritional deficiencies, plus untended emotional and physical stresses, plus an inflexible spine that disrupts the easy flow of energy through energy channels can all contribute to disease.  Check out some of the benefits you could see by engaging in this Kundalini Yoga series:

• Your digestion could improve!
• The removal of toxins could eliminate bloat and/or headaches!  
• Feel lighter and more joyous!
• The waistline could become slimmer!
• Become inspired to make positive changes in your life!

Kundalini Yoga Series to Cleanse the Liver, Colon and Stomach
Small group classes.  Only FIVE spaces available.
Dates:   Wednesdays, April 3, 10, 17, 24, 7:00-8:30 pm
Where:  Halifax (Spryfield), NS 
Cost:     $80 for four sessions (no refunds)
​Register:  Contact me to register.  Payment is required to reserve your spot. 

And don't forget to check out the blog (coming soon) on my upcoming online 21-Day Ayurvedic Seasonal Eating Program starting April 8th as a complement to this yoga series . ​

Are you feeling off, not quite yourself or not quite the way you'd like to feel? There's nothing better than a rousing class of Kundalini Yoga to enliven your energy and awaken your mind.  I have a new six-week Kundalini Yoga and Meditation series starting Sunday, February 17, 10:00-11:30 am in Spryfield.

The theme this series is our Ten Light Bodies, aka Ten Energetic Bodies.
You might think of yourself as having only one body, the physical body.  In reality you have ten bodies, all of which are equally real and which make up your essential self.  All of these light bodies or energetic bodies are equally important and by putting your attention on all of them for six weeks, 42 days, they each become enlivened.  In turn, you become enlivened and you will experience and see life in a different way.​

Each week we will practice a Kriya (set of active postures) for awakening the ten bodies with lots of breath work and will end the class with a profoundly transformational mantra meditation that allows you to consciously remember and experience the link between you and the Creator.  During the six weeks, we will also explore the significance of all ten bodies and how they effect you:  

• the Soul Body
• Negative Mind 
• Positive Mind
• Neutral (Meditative) Mind
• Physical Body 
• Arc Line 
• Pranic Body 
• Auric Body 
• Subtle Body
• Radiant Body. 

Classes are limited to five participants.   
​When:  Sundays 10:00-11:30 am, February 17 & 24, March 3, 10, 17, 24
Where:  Spryfield (Herring Cove Rd near Old Sambro Rd) 
Cost:    $120 (six classes), $110 (five classes), $100 (four classes)
Register:  Send a message through my contact page to register and receive payment information. Payment is required to reserve your spot.  
Oh-la-la! This will be a fascinating series.  You'll get to know many new aspects of yourself and discover new found energy of body and mind. 

The Chakra Body Map Art Intensive is a journey in creating a full body map through the lens of guided chakra meditations and Kundalini Yoga.  This workshop can give you a transformational experience of clarity and insight as you listen to your soul speak at a new level of understanding, wisdom and guidance.   ​
How does it work?  

• We'll start by creating an outline of your full body on long brown kraft paper.  This will be a fun way to interact with others in the workshop.
• Follow this with a session of Kundalini Yoga for the chakras will help remove blockages in the nervous system and the chakras.  The different nerve plexus are intimately connected with the chakras and when there are blockages, the true nature of the chakras cannot become manifest in our lives. So for example, if the throat chakra is blocked we're not able to express ourself well or we are fearful to speak our truth.  If the third-eye chakra is blocked we're not in touch with our intuition or we lack insight into the deeper meaning of life experiences.   
• Follow this with a chanting meditation to increase our spiritual awareness and raise our energetic vibration. This expands the aura and takes us beyond the earthly realm.  This experience allows us to see in a different way.  Your personal journal will be handy to record any insights you have. 
• After a short lunch, we'll experience a guided meditation for each of the chakras as you listen to your soul speak the medicine you need to hear.  Again your personal journal will be the tool to record your insights and images of areas in your life that you seek to heal or transform.  
• Then comes the fun of creative expression as you transpose the "soul speak" onto your body map using coloured markers.  No art experience is necessary as the purpose is not to create a great work of art but instead to give expression to what your soul has told you.  Your body map might need an expression for each chakra, or maybe just a few of the chakras need to be expressed but they speak loudly enough to cover your whole map.  Each person's body map will be unique.
  
• Afterwards, you'll have an opportunity to share your creative experience and your insight, and view others' body maps. 

The Body Map Art Intensive will take place Saturday, December 8th.  Check my Workshop page for further details.  

We all experience similar emotional and physical challenges yet everyone's map will be different. 
​Some chakra elements we'll look at that could be translated onto your body map:
ROOT: fear/security, spaced out/grounded, blocked/prosperous
SACRAL: apathy/emotions, stifled/creative, dull/passionate
SOLAR PLEXUS: aggresive/assertive, weak willed/volition, indecisive/decisive
HEART: self hate/self compassion, cold/forgiving, jealous/open, pain/joy
THROAT: shyness/expressive, withholding/communicative, dishonesty/truth
THIRD EYE: logical/intuitive, nightmares/spiritual dreams, practical/visionary
CROWN: disconnected/connected, lost/inspired, unaware/aware
AURA: unnoticeable/radiant, weak/protected, stagnant/vibrating

During the yoga and meditation portion, and afterwards, there will be lots of prompts to self reflect on how your chakras are effecting you.  This will then be translated into images on your body map. 

WHEN:  Saturday, December 8, 2018 (only five spaces available)
             10:00 am - 4:00 pm (5 hours)
WHERE: Spryfield 
COST:    $85 (includes art supplies and lunch)
              Payment required to reserve your spot (no refunds after Dec. 2 )
REGISTER: Message me for payment information or questions
BONUS:     Tea and Lunch served

In each season, nature offers us foods to help balance the qualities of the season that might throw us off balance.  For example Kapha season (Spring) is characterized by it's heavy, wet, cold and sluggish nature.  One of the things we might experience is sluggish or sticky bowel movements, but nature provides us with a perfect remedy in the form of rhubarb.  Rhubarb is light and dry with a bitter, astringent and pungent taste to counteract the heavy, wet tendencies of Kapha season.  Because it has a cooling effect on the body it's good to combine it with warming spices such as fennel, cinnamon, ginger or cardamom.  

How do you like to eat rhubarb?  I can think of several ways and you'll find lots of recipes for these on Google:  stewed rhubarb, baked rhubarb strawberry crumble, rhubarb berry muffins, rhubarb jam, strawberry rhubarb pie, rhubarb coffee cake, and rhubarb syrup.  Eat rhubarb and your root chakra will thank you :) 

​Rhubarb will be featured in my upcoming Ayurvedic Spring Green Cleanse in April where you can join others in a challenge to include as much green food as you can eat to help cleanse and balance your body and mind during Kapha season.  Don't worry, there's LOTS of green foods, and you can even modify the challenge to include just one green food at each meal.  Stay tuned for more info!  

Rhubarb is a powerful food and should be avoided by pregnant and breastfeeding women, anyone who has a tendency for gout because of it contains oxalic acid, and anyone experiencing general sense of debility or with any bowel obstruction because of it's purgative effect.  Rhubarb should be eaten in moderation by anyone experiencing dry constipation or strong anxiety.  In these latter cases add some butter or ghee to your rhubarb dishes to counteract these effects.  

​#ayurvedicgreencleanse