Elimination: Regular bowel movement is very important for your body. It may be once a day or more than once a day for your body type, but it needs to be regular. To regulate this, you need to consume cooked veggies with grains, cooked fruits, warm water, eliminate/reduce meat etc.
Hydration: You may not need 8 big glasses of water every day. For eg: The Kapha body type does not need that much water, as their body is already prone to retaining water. But having said that, 1-2 glasses only is too less and we all know that. Again, moderation is the key here. Also, no gulping down.
Hot/warm water: Prefer to sip warm or hot water. If not, room temperature water. But not ice-cold water or sodas or cold beverages. Cold water dampens the agni/digestive fire. Have you accidentally spilled some water/cold water on food? Do you see how it hardens? That’s exactly how it is going to harden in the stomach as well. Even if you are Pitta type who does not do well with hot water, it is recommended to heat the water, cool it down to room temperature, and then consume it. Also, do not consume any water (even warm) 30 minutes before and after meals.
Abhyanga or Oil self-massage: This is highly recommended for Vata and Pitta body types. This too increases lymphatic and blood circulation in the body just like dry brushing. It also lubricates the joints and hydrates the skin.
Garshana or Dry Brushing: This is recommended for all, especially for Kapha type. Dry brushing or Garshana increases the lymphatic circulation in the body. Lymph, unlike blood, does not have a pumping system like heart and relies on gravity and body movements to circulate. It sounds very “harsh” on the skin, but it is really not. It feels very refreshing. Check out some of the videos on YouTube related to Dry brushing. You are going to love this if you give this a try! You can alternate between Abhyanga and Garshana every other day.
Meat consumption: What do you think Ayurveda’s take is on meat? If Ayurveda does not prefer even leftover foods, its only natural that Ayurveda treats meat as “dead” food with no prana. The topic of karmic accumulation aside, it is simply not good for the humans of the current age. No matter what spices you use to cook it or how you cook it. The “dead-er” the food is, the harder it is to break down and assimilate and longer it sits in the colon creating various issues in the body such as IBD, indigestion, constipation, etc in the long run. If it is hard for you to not eat meat, at least reduce the frequency. I see people consuming meat for all 3 meals of the day, that’s very heavy for the body to digest. Consume no more than 2-3 meals with meat in a week and consume them during lunch where you have more probability of digesting it better. Again, the farther you are from health, the lesser options you have to bargain here. If you are already suffering from any illness, meat as per Ayurveda is “Apathya” for you i.e., a big “no-no”.
Packaged food and “All-white” food: This is a big no-no for everybody. Thanks to industrialization and technological advancements, we have all succumbed to the ease of “everything available at the fingertips”. What all can you avoid altogether? Packaged biscuits, cookies, chips, bread, ready-to-eat noodles/pasta/anything. Also, if any food has been refined until its white, like Wheat, Rice, Sugar, Salt, Pasta, Noodles, etc, steer clear of it. Use healthier, whole-food versions of them. As well as explore other grain options like Ragi, Amaranth, Buckwheat, Barnyard Millet, Fox Millet, Semolina, Daliya, etc.
