Tonight I learnt about all sorts of health related practices. My housemate and one of my best friends, Becki, from Just Lady Jane.

I worked at Pukka Herbs, a herbal teas and supplements brand, for a short time as a temp when I first moved to Bristol. That's how I learnt a little about herbal practices and met Becki, Sebastian, Tim and the team.

Tonight I discussed with Becki what my dosha was.

First question, if you don't know already, what are dosha's? 




In Ayurveda, your dosha is your body/mind type. In my case, I am a mix of Vata and Pitta. Your dosha affects how you perform on a daily basis. For me, it was most interesting to learn why i'm not sleeping so well, and why I have bursts of energy and then crash during the day multiple times. I've thought for a long time it's been connected to sugar alone, and my addiction with the stuff, but now i'm starting to think it's my dosha which is completely imbalanced...

According to Sebastian Pole, co-founder of Pukka Herbs, during the colder months (October - March) I should eat a Vata based diet, then I should switch to more of a Pitta based diet during the summer months, when I don't need to keep my body warm so much.

Ok, so you're asking 'I'm a Vata - now what should I eat?'

Sweet things: Natural sugars, fructose
Tastes I my body needs: Sour/citrus fruits, fermented food, sourdough bread, vinegar, fermented yoghurt.

Spices great for Vatas:
Ginger
Garlic

Take supplements:
Taranaprash (Golden preserve)
Cardamom
Ashwuganda

Grains:
Basmati
Brown rice
Wild rice
Wheat
Cooked oats
Quinoa

Grains to reduce:
Barley
Corn
Buckwheat
Rye

Veggies to eat:
Avacado
Beetroot
Cucumber
Carrot
Sweet potato
Seaweeds

Vegetables are a funny one for Vata's, as we get really cold all the time it isn't good for us to eat lots of raw food.

It's better to cook veggies, but avacado, beetroot, cucumber and carrot are not so bad to eat raw.

Salad leaves apparently are particularly bad to eat for Vata's, as they cool the body down even more, so it's best to stick to cooked spinach or greens rather than a cold bowl of leafy salad.

Don't eat raw:
Peas
Leafy green veg (eg. kale or spinach)
Summer/Winter squash
Potatoes
Onion

An interesting pointer is to cook veggies in a little bit of ghee butter and spice them well, as the butter will lubricate your digestive system whilst the spices compliment your Vata diet (providing it is not too spicy!)

Good spices for Vatas:
Cardamom
Cumin
Corriander
Ginger
Fennel
Dill
Cinnamon
Salt
Black pepper
Cloves
Mustard seeds

Vata super foods:
Asparagus
Spiraliner (I would rather take this in tablets as it isn't so yummy)

Sweeteners:
Honey
Moulasses
Barley
Malt
Maple syrup

Drinks:
When drinking water, never drink it cold.

A tip is to boil the kettle for a cup of herbal tea (in a Vata's case, a tea with cinnamon or licorice root is perfect), and to pour another cup of hot water at the same time. Take them both to your desk at work, and wait for the hot water to cool down until it is drinking temperature.

Drinking warm water won't cool your body down so much, like cold water does. Vata's struggle to keep warm, at the best of times, so it is recommended you match your diet to your body, so the body doesn't use up so much energy in the day trying to stabilise your body temperature.

Drinks to avoid: Anything that contains tannin's.
Black tea
Green tea
Red wine (this one I'm mortified about... I LOVE red wine).

Other things to avoid: "The top two won't be hard to avoid as I don't do either!" she says, coyly.
Drugs
Tobacco
Poor quality oils
Extremely spicy foods

You can take Pukka's quick test to find out what your dosha is.

Let me know in the comments below!

Sarah

I had the pleasure of practicing with Linda Yoga yesterday in West Somerset, facing out onto a beautiful lake. Linda let me know that yoga teachers and students everywhere are practicing today and focusing the practice on world peace. I joined in with this movement today, and you can, too!


1. Seated position
I like to start my session by finding my breath. I take a deep breath through the nose and exhale through the mouth. I do this about five times until I feel relaxed and ready to continue with my routine.

 2. Downward Dog This pose targets the upper and lower body at the same time. There is pressure on the upper arms but you can also feel this pose through the legs. I usually transition out of child pose into downward dog, and then into plank.

2. Plank
Doing the plank pose is great for your abdominals. People who plank regularly can achieve a six pack! It's also amazing for the upper body. I am not great at plank, as it requires lots of upper body strength. If you're new to yoga, practicing plank and timing yourself from 1 minute is a great idea. The better you get, the longer you can time yourself for.


My sporty kit is from H&M's women's sport range. They are super comfy and in a lovely stretchy cool fabric.

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