Why is RASA Ayurveda committed to staying 100% vegan and cruelty-free, in all of our apothecary products, offerings, and in our own lives, actions and intentions? Because it aligns us to this natural recognition of interconnectedness with this Earth and all Beings. In the Ayurvedic world it is rare to find a commitment to vegan preparations, and RASA is not promoting “veganISM” (there is no call to take on yet another label), but we do invite you to inquire into the impact your every step has upon your own heart, this planet and those who reside here.
Consider how many animal products are consumed as a by-product of our collective pursuit of fun and indulgence. How many animals suffer for our temporary pleasure? Did you know that even wine relies upon fish bones for its processing, and most cheese is filled with rennet (animal stomach lining)? Ayurveda considers that all of creation, including animals, are expressions of the One Consciousness, living through an awe-inspiring diversity of forms. When we look within in deep meditative inquiry, we see this to be true. We feel the chord of sameness and our inherent unity. So when I hurt another ‘form,’ I am contributing to a collective wounding, which will have direct results in my own life. Statistics show that those who work in slaughterhouses have some of the highest percentages of alcoholism and domestic abuse. We are simply not separate. Touch into that knowing. Our nature is #Ahimsa; longing to live in peace and non-violence towards all beings.
There is however, another reason that Ayurveda recommends a vegetarian life. Plants themselves are seen to be great offerers of #Yajna, meaning divine sacrifice or offering. The entire Universe is founded on Yajna, on giving forward. Certain species of trees give oxygen 24 hours a day! Plants are an inspiring embodiment of this selfless giving. While humans and animals may spend their lives chasing their own individual survival and pleasures, plants come into existence with a much more communitarian intention of offering themselves up to continue and maintain the symbiosis of life. Plants do not worry about their own fate, they do not argue and compete amongst themselves, they are not status-seekers, they do not oppose their superiority or seek to be loved and validated. They are a living masterpiece and anyone who has grown a garden knows the awe we can have for their beauty. They sprout, they grow tall, they spread their seeds across the land, they offer their #Prana and nutrients to whatever creature asks for it, they retreat into the earth, and then when the sun beckons, they repeat this cycle all over again. They are wholeheartedly committed to #Dana, selfless giving. We have so much to learn.
We are not born to endlessly take, but to offer our life to life itself.
If we choose to eat more plants with awareness, we absorb their selfless nature, we start to consider how much we truly need to be alive, and we too find ourselves becoming more and more giving. What was once a health, humane or environmental choice, becomes a joy! And our bodies rejoice as well, happy to be charged with the food that nature intended for them.
We challenge you to start out this week fresh, by cutting down on your meat and animal-product consumption by one meal per day. Replace this meal with an abundance of nature’s bounty. Try new recipes! Visit a vegan restaurant. Get your family involved. Explore what happens if we eat less from conditioning and more from freedom. It is one of the primary actions we engage in in this life. What if 3x per day you ate in the spirit of Presence + Love? Well, that would be simply beautiful.
Ayurveda offers us guidelines of living, specific to each season (rutucharya), including suggested foods, herbs, daily habits, types of exercise, colours, aromas, Yogic practices, etc. which will bring in the opposite energies of those that are most predominant during that seasonal period, thus bringing balance back to our bodies. This is why Ayurveda is so amazing in its simplicity and applicability.
10 AYURVEDIC TIPS FOR FALL (+ 2 BONUS TIPS)
1. Think HEAVY, WARM & MOIST. Apply these tenets to everything, including what you eat, how you eat, and your overall lifestyle.
2. Prioritize foods that are Sweet, Sour & Salty. These 3 Rasas, or tastes, balance/decrease Vata dosha.
3. Avoid or limit foods that are Pungent, Bitter & Astringent. These tastes increase actually increase/aggravate Vata dosha.
4. Choose herbs like Cumin, Coriander, Fennel, Cinnamon, Clove, Tulsi, or just drink our VATA TEA daily to simplify things!
5. Avoid or limit coffee, as it can be very Vata and Pitta-aggravating (dry, spacy, heated, jitteriness anyone?). Try our AYURVEDIC COFFEE instead. It offers all the comfort and ritual of your regular cup of coffee, but without all the detrimental short and long-term side effects. Plus, it is enriched with the stress-busting and immunity-boosting powers of adaptogenic herbs.
6. Avoid cold or windy environments, or dress warmly, especially covering the head. Vata literally means 'wind,' which is why we want to limit our exposure to too much moving air at this time.
7. Keep exercise slow, calm and repetitive! High intensity, erratic workouts will only increase Vata energy in the body and mind. AND routine is key! Schedule your daily activities at regular, repetitive times. Eat, sleep, work and wake at the same times, as much as you can.
8. Take warm baths. Practice Abhyanga (Ayurvedic Oil Massage) 30 minutes before you bathe (Our VATA ABHYANGA OIL is especially grounding and calming for this practice.)
9. Meditate once or twice per day. If you are new to the practice, begin with just 10 minutes. Tiffany offers some beautifully-crafted guided meditations to ease you into a place of deepened calm and inner quietude.
10. Adorn your body and environment in scents that are warming, comforting and calming, like our VATA SACRED ESSENCE, or use Ginger, Orange, Clary Sage, Vetiver, Spikenard, etc.
BONUS TIP #1. Yogic Asanas (postures) & Pranayama (breathing techniques) to pacify Vata? Try Standing-Forward Bend (Uttanasana), Legs Up the Wall (Upavistha Konasana) & Bee 🐝 Breath (Bhramari Pranayama). Hold each posture for 3-10 mins, and breath slowly, with soft awareness to whatever sensations and releasing that may occur.
BONUS TIP #2. Fall into a period of internal cleansing & dietary simplification. Order a KIND CLEANSE, if you live in the Toronto ON area, and ease into a self-retreat of 5 or 10 days in which your diet will be paired down to the delicious, nourishing, unctuous and deeply cleansing Kitchari dish, a highly-revered and traditional meal of organic rice, mung beans, spices and vegetables cooked specifically for your unique needs and doshic imbalances. The junction between the seasons, this time of pause, has always been known to be a potent and ideal time for bodily and mental cleansing.
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