Erratic changes in one season: How do I stay balanced?
Ah, Melbourne. Just when we prepared (and hoped for) for a warm, crisp summer, the days become erratic and unpredictable, leaving us all guessing and on our toes. Hot and dry days followed by humidity and wetness, stormy days and jacket weather, and then sunshine again. How do we adjust to this? We’ve had clients come in with headaches, dry skin, flaky scalps, skin eruptions, feeling frazzled and then other feeling congested, stuffy and blocked, sluggish, heavy and lethargic. It’s challenging to know how to stay balanced when things are all over the place.
The trick is to take it day by day. E.g. avoid kapha aggravating foods on the wet and cold days – e.g. heavy, cold and overly sweet or oily (smoothies, avocado, ripe bananas, rich desserts)…. And avoid vata and pitta aggravating foods on the hot and dry days (popcorn, chilli, too much coffee)…
Then, to manage the erratic energy around you:
Take care of digestion, support digestive strength. Try a day or two of a cleanse if you feel heavy or things aren’t moving along. Contact us here if you’d like help with this
Stop multi-tasking. Vata is erratic and when the mind needs to jump from one task to the next and back again this can be disruptive to the smooth flow of mental energy that calms erratic vata. Try and focus on one thing at a time, or try a concentration practice (Dharana) prior to daily meditation
Stay moisturised with a daily abhyanga (self massage). Black sesame oil is very grounding to vata energy, but always use an oil suited to your skin type. This also helps to calm the mind, improves circulation, strengthens the body, and boosts immunity. Check out our pop up shop in Richmond or contact us if you’d like to purchase an oil that’s right for your type
Try a pranayama (breathing) practice to soothe disrupted energy. Prana vayu is a sub-dosha of vata, and any prana-yama practice helps to manage this dosha. A rhythmic and flowing breathing exercise like nadi shodana (alternate nostril breathing) is very beneficial in this instance
Take guduchi for allergies and symptoms of hay fever (especially useful in pollen-full Melbourne) and inflammation. Available in the clinic shop - or online (here)
For heavy headedness, coughs, colds and congested try a steam inhale with some camphor balm added in to release the blocks, open up the airways,…and then this home remedy tea for cough/ colds - quick and easy (recipe is here). Balm is available here.
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For more tips, or if you have any specific questions, please get in touch.