Summer Ayurveda Made Easy

Lemon water, have it all day long. It pushes toxins out. Great for first thing in the morning.

Ayurveda is a natural medicinal practice from southern India as well as a sister science to yoga. It is complex to study, enriching to learn and like yoga healing to practice. What attracted me to Ayurveda many years ago is her natural cure concept that believes you must heal what's inside naturally for the outside to shine.

So, while it is summer hot, hazy and humid and obvious for us to do things to cool ourselves down, why do we start the day with a hot cup coffee, wear black, rely on only sunglasses to protect our eyes from straining and squinting in the sun and skip putting on a straw hat? There are many big and small unhealthy habits we all have and my feeling based on watching myself and many other people change for the healthier is you start small, keep it simple and understand the more we put goodness into and on ourselves, eventually our mind and body will no longer want what's bad. Our body is smart and if we let it, we will feel it say no to what isn't good for us.

Imagine starting the day with lemon water before your coffee. It just starts with one lemony sip. Eventually your new and healthy habits will weave into your lifestyle without thinking too much about them.

In the spirit of being simple here are 6 easy Ayurveda inspired things you can do now to beat summer's heat and balance your energy from the inside out.

My summer hot uniform that takes me everywhere in style. A white top and below knee length and longer statement skirt. It keeps me cool plus it is a great yoga tank and tight cover up.

Itchy and red eyes are common in the summer because we squint and strain a lot during summer's long light filled days. Besides wearing shades and a straw hat to care for your eyes and skin, soak two cotton balls in milk and place on closed eyes for a bit.

Keep an aloe plant on a window sill. They are easy to take care of and are perfect to use when you have a sun burn, scrape or rash that needs a little cooling down. Just break off a branch and spread the aloe's gel which is also an astringent right onto your skin.

During summer Ayurveda suggests we should avoid eating excess salt, spicy foods, yogurt (all year round), tomatoes (best on cool days & end of summer), soy, red meat, red wine as well as fermented foods. Sorry for the bad news! These foods have heating qualities that can create an inferno within your belly which leads to heart burn and end of the day bloating. During summer it is best to embrace plenty of summer foods like watermelons, cucumbers, corn and the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies in the marketplace. Other great foods are milk and grains. Try milk and cereal for breakfast, salads for lunch and dinner with bread, quinoa, pasta or rice on the side. Add fish or poultry if you are non veg.

Peppermint oil www.youngliving.com is like carrying a peppermint scented air conditioner in a bottle. Apply to wrists, forehead, back of neck and soles whenever you need to ground and cool off. Aromatherapy works because it unifies your mind and body simply by using your nostrils to smell. Your nose houses your breath and when you notice your breath your mind and body are glued together.

If you would like to learn more read Ayurveda Made Easy Summer Lifestyle Tips on my blog's side bar as well as joining me if you can @ www.bamboomovesenglewood.com for my Tone Your Core Body with Yoga & Ayurveda Workshop this Saturday July 13th at 4pm.