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The Ayurvedic Approach to Balanced Weight Control:
Beyond the Cookie Cutter: A Unique Individualized Approach to Weight Management
Like in every other area of health, Maharishi Ayurveda recommends a
holistic approach to weight management. In Maharishi Ayurveda, the
emphasis is on determining the cause of the individual's health need,
and based on that analysis, offering an individualized treatment that
includes diet, daily routine and herbal formulas. It is a very safe,
holistic approach that is far different from prescribing the same
isolated ingredient to everyone to fix a certain problem.
There are three major causes of weight gain, and these can be thought
of in terms of the three main doshas, Kapha, Pitta and Vata. The most
common type of weight gain is caused by having a slow metabolism.
This is common for a person who is a classic Kapha type.
Kapha dosha is comprised of the earth and water elements, so this
sort of person is going to reflect those qualities. A Kapha person
will be structurally bigger, with bigger bones and a more easy-going,
stable, gentle personality.
For a Kapha person, being skinny is usually not a healthy goal. If
you are prone to gain weight, and are always five to ten pounds
overweight no matter how little you eat, it would go against your
nature to ever be really thin. Rather, it would be better to balance
your metabolism, increase your ability to digest sugars and
carbohydrates by adopting a Kapha balancing diet and lifestyle, and
allow your body to naturally find its ideal weight. You may not be
skinny, you may always weigh five to ten pounds more than average,
but you will feel better and look healthier, and you will lose most
of your excess weight.
Remember that all body types are good. It's just a matter of adopting
a diet and lifestyle that will optimize the health of whatever body
type you are.
Balancing Kapha Dosha
The main principle is to introduce some of the fire element into your
food and lifestyle. This will balance the earthen and watery elements
of Kapha dosha. Flavor your vegetables and dhal soups with spices
that are mildly pungent, such as black pepper, fresh ginger, and
turmeric. In research that was recently completed at UCLA, turmeric
has been found to help promote digestion, reduce cholesterol and
allergies, and metabolize fat. Turmeric is such an important spice in
Indian cuisine that it is considered inauspicious to eat a vegetable
that is not flavored yellow by it. The only time that turmeric is
left out of the food is during the thirteen days of mourning
following the death of family member. (Important note: Turmeric
activates the liver, so if you have any history of liver or bile duct
disorder, consult your doctor before including it in your diet.)
Other flavors to balance Kapha Dosha are the bitter and astringent
tastes. These include green leafy vegetables, split mung dhal soup
and other bean soups, and astringent vegetables such as broccoli,
cauliflower and brussel sprouts. It's important to cook your
vegetables and eat them warm, rather than relying on raw vegetables.
Raw vegetables are difficult to digest, whereas to balance Kapha
dosha you want to eat warm, light, cooked foods. Quinoa is an
excellent grain for managing weight, as it has high protein and zinc
content (4 mg of zinc per cup). But it should be cooked with a bit of
ghee or olive oil, as otherwise it may be too drying. Basmati rice is
also a good grain for Kapha dosha, because it has a more drying
quality than other types of rice, but quinoa is better because it has
the intelligence of fire to support weight loss.
The fire element can even be added to the water you drink. If you
boil your water for five minutes on the stove, you are adding the
intelligence of fire to your drinking water. If you sip the water
throughout the day, the intelligence of fire will permeate the
molecules of water, and thus permeate your body. You won't notice
anything right away, but if you continue with this routine in time
you will feel less fatigue. This is because Kapha dosha tends to
create a feeling of lethargy, and by introducing the fire element in
the water, you'll gradually feel more energetic.
If you are Kapha by nature, you'll want to stay away from heavy, cold
desserts such as ice cream and cheesecake, as these will only slow
your metabolism and increase the cold, heavy qualities of Kapha in
your body. Rich desserts, fried foods, foods made with refined sugar
and refined flour, cold foods and drinks--all of these should be
avoided if you want to balance Kapha and reduce weight.
These are just a few extra tips to follow in addition to the Kapha-
reducing diet. You can go to www.mapi.com to find out about that diet
in detail.
Lifestyle tips to balance Kapha dosha?
Regular exercise is the most important change you can make to improve
your metabolism. The problem is that people with excessive Kapha
dosha often feel somewhat complacent or even lethargic, and they
might have to push themselves a little to exercise every day. Usually
Kapha types need more vigorous exercise for a longer period to have
the same effect as milder exercise would have on a Vata person.
Even making a habit of breathing more deeply can help charge the
metabolism with more of the fire element. When Kapha dosha is out of
balance, one of the first things that happens is the person becomes a
shallow breather. Deeper breathing is healthy for all body types, but
especially for Kapha dosha, because deeper breathing helps wake up
the body's metabolism. When the metabolism is lower and breathing is
shallow,the body's channels get blocked and cause even more lethargy,
which becomes a vicious cycle.
Don't try to force your breathing, but just easily make a habit of
breathing more deeply. You can also consult an expert in Maharishi
Ayurveda to learn pranayama, the yogic breathing exercise that
prepares the mind and body for meditation. These gentle exercises
cultivate deeper breathing and help cleanse the pathways of prana, or
life breath, in the body, removing obstructions and enhancing
metabolism.
Ways to increase the fire element?
People with more Kapha dosha need to be sure to eat their main meal
when the sun is strongest, right at noon. This is because the body's
internal digestive fire, called agni, is also strongest at noon. If
you eat your main meal then, you'll digest it more easily and create
less of the waste product of digestion, the toxin ama, which blocks
the channels and slows metabolism.
The digestive fire is weaker in the morning when you wake up and in
the evening before bed, so breakfast and dinner should be lighter
meals. An excellent breakfast for balancing metabolism for all three
body types is a cooked apple or pear with cooked prunes and figs.
This breakfast choice is light and sustains most people until noon,
when they can eat their heaviest meal. A healthy supper for a Kapha
person might be soup made with vegetables, grains and dhal and
flavored with spices such as cumin, fresh ginger, black pepper, and
turmeric. Or kitcheri, a light meal made with rice and split mung
dhal, is also a light Kapha-reducing meal (recipe available at
www.mapi.com). Kapha Churna is an excellent spice mixture for
balancing Kapha dosha.
Note : This ayurvedic information is educational and is not intended
to replace standard medical care or advice.
Copyright MAPI, 2002.
For more information on Ayurveda or to subscribe to free newsletters,
plaese visit http://www.mapi.com
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