The Medical Chest: Spring Edition

A Supportive Spring Diet

Many people notice a natural, but distinct, shift in their cravings as winter gives way to spring. The arrival of the warmer weather often marks a decline in our desire for the heavy, substantive foods so essential during the winter months. In fact, many notice an increasingly insistent preference for lighter fare. Your appetite may decrease and you may find yourself craving fruit, fresh vegetables, and salads galore.

In the ayurvedic system of health every season has a dosha, or set of qualities, associated with it. Spring is governed by Kapha dosha.

What is Kapha Dosha?

The Kapha Dosha integrates the elements earth and water and represents the structure principle. As such it embraces our cells, tissues and organs and ensures their integrity by lubricating, moisturising and nourishing them.

With a seasonal diet and lifestyle that invites a little extra lightness, sharpness, dryness, and heat into our lives, we can support our physiology in its natural process of springtime renewal and revitalization.

Here is the Kapha Pacifying Diet for Spring:

Fruits

  • Apples
  • Berries
  • Dried Fruit
  • Grapefruit
  • Lemons
  • Limes
  • Papaya
  • Pears
  • Pomegranate

Vegetables

  • Artichokes
  • Asparagus
  • Beets
  • Bell Pepper
  • Bitter Melon
  • Broccoli
  • Brussel Sprouts
  • Cabbage
  • Carrots
  • Cauliflower
  • Celery
  • Chard
  • Chicory
  • Chiles
  • Cilantro
  • Corn
  • Dandelions
  • Endive
  • Fennel
  • Garlic
  • Ginger
  • Green Beans
  • Greens
  • Jicama
  • Kale
  • Leeks
  • Lettuce
  • Mushrooms
  • Onion
  • Parsley
  • Peas
  • Potatoes
  • Radishes
  • Seaweed
  • Spinach
  • Sprouts
  • Turnips
  • Watercress

Grain

  • Amaranth
  • Barley
  • Buckwheat
  • Corn
  • Millet
  • Oats, Dry
  • Quinoa
  • Rice
  • Rye

Legumes

  • Adzuki
  • Fava
  • Qarbanzo
  • Kidneys
  • Lentils
  • Lima
  • Mung
  • Split Peas
  • Tofu

Oils

  • Corn
  • Flax
  • Mustard
  • Safflower
  • Soy
  • Sunflower

Sweetener

  • Honey
  • Maple Syrup
  • Molasses

Condiments

  • Carob
  • Chocolate
  • Pickles
  • Mustard
  • Chutney

Nuts/Seeds

  • Filberts
  • Pine Nuts
  • Pumpkin
  • Sunflower

Dairy (min)

  • Ghee
  • Non Fat Dairy Milk
  • Yogurt

Meat/Fish

  • Chicken
  • Duck
  • Eggs
  • Freshwater Fish
  • Lamb
  • Ocean Fish
  • Turkey

Spices

  • Anise
  • Asafoetida
  • Basil
  • Bay
  • Black Pepper
  • Chamomlie
  • Caraway
  • Cardamom
  • Cayenne
  • Cinnamon
  • Clove
  • Coriander
  • Cumin
  • Dill
  • Fennel
  • Fenugreek
  • Garlic
  • Ginger
  • Horseradish
  • Marjoram
  • Mustard Seed
  • Nutmeg
  • Oregano
  • Peppermint
  • Poppy Seeds
  • Rosemary
  • Saffron
  • Sage
  • Spearmint
  • Thyme
  • Turmeric
  • Tarragon
  • Vanilla
  • Wintergreen

How Can We Support You?

The Yoga Institute holds monthly Ayurveda workshops ran by Eleni Tsikrikas. Each month Eleni will introduce a new food or lifestyle theme and give a short talk, followed by an interactive discussion. You will walk away with a foundational knowledge of each topic along with some practices that will enhance your life and health.

See For Yourself Here


Meet your facilitator: Eleni Tsikrikas

Eleni discovered YOGA as a means for reducing stress in 1995 while practicing law in Sydney, Australia. Smitten, Eleni completed the Sydney Yoga Centre’s teacher training course. In 2000, Eleni quit the legal profession to teach Yoga full time. In 2004 Eleni moved to Los Angeles and began intensive study with Robert Birnberg a senior student in the T. Krichnamacharya lineage. The major focus of her studies is the “Yoga Sutras of Pantajali” the guidebook dedicated to creating a satvic mind.

Eleni is a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist, CAS, a Pancha Karma Specialist PKS. She runs a private ayurvedic practice and teaches “Ayurvedic Skills for Living” courses in Silverlake and Sydney. She is a faculty member of The Yoga Institute in Sydney and at California College of Ayurveda, where she teaches and mentors students. She continues to pursue her passion for herbs, studying with renowned herbalist KP Khalsa. Eleni has completed the educational component leading to qualifications as a Western Herbalist. She is presently working on the accreditation process for the American Herbalist Guild.

Eleni passionately believes food is medicine and is looking forward to sharing her passion at The Yoga Institute with a monthly Ayuveda Workshop.

The Yoga Institute acknowledges the Cammeraygal people of the Eora nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our centre is based.

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