5 Ways to ward off Viruses this Winter Season!
Winter Season is here, and with it many of us are experiencing colds, flus and viruses of various manifestations.
Ayurveda to the rescue!
According to Ayurveda, Winter Season is actually seen as the Healthiest! Ayurveda offers us comprehensive ways to preserve our healthiest balance (svastha) by living in an alignment with the seasons - Ritucharya.
In Ayurveda, the winter or Hemanta season is seen as the healthiest. In the Ancient Ayurvedic text, the Charaka Samhita, it is clearly stated that all the doshas or elemental factors are balanced in this season. This is also the season when digestion is at its best. Thus, eating well, exercising, and building strength now, and letting this accumulate during the hibernation season of Winter, will pay off throughout the year.
So...when you are at your healthiest, how can viruses enter in?
An aligned system cannot harbor pathogenic factors, according to Ayurveda. It's as simple as this.
Ahara (diet) and Vihara (lifestyle) imbalance, however, may create fragile spots in our system and allow pathogens to take hold. It is crucial to follow the Hemanta Ritucharya, or Winter Seasonal Regimen, during this time, to keep your system in its own natural balance and to allow the strenght of your inner balance to stop viruses in their tracks!
Our Winter Ritucharya Basics:
1) Protect the Primary Entryway
The easiest way for viruses to enter your body is through your nose. Ayurveda recommends that you cover the inner lining of your nose with an antimicrobial and nourishing coating! As a very ancient Ayurvedic method, Nasya, or the Ayurvedic nasal oil has been used for many centuries to protect the sinuses from viruses.
Nasya's antimicrobial protection is only one of its multiple health benefits. According to Charaka Samhita, Nasya can revitalize the nasal cavity. It effectively prevents headaches, migraines, sinusitis, hair fall, early hair greying, chronic colds, and coughs. Hence, Nasya oil is something you can use every day during the winter.
2) Bolster Inner Defense
Immunity is like our bank account. Every healthy and sattvic (balanced) habit increases immunity, whereas every unhealthy habit decreases it. In other words, if you want to maintain a strong immune system, you need to keep investing in it each and every day. Here are a few tips to enhance your immunity naturally for the winter:
Neem Churna (Powder)
The neem plant (Azadirachta indica) has been scientifically proven to have powerful antiviral and antibacterial properties. By developing a natural resilience against viral attacks, it helps the body's cells to fight infection. Furthermore, Neem is one of the best blood purifiers and helps to maintain clear skin. It is truly a gift from Mama Earth.
Tulsi Tea
The holy herb Tulsi balances the vata and kapha dosha imbalances in the body. Thus, it is especially effective in respiratory problems common to winter.
In addition to improving digestion, purifying the blood, and preventing internal inflammation, Tulsi tea may also prevent coughing, colds, headaches, and heaviness after meals.
Tulsi, in its 3 varieties of Rama, Krishna and Vana, is at the base of all of our teas!
Golden Milk
The liver is one of the primary sites and organs responsible for assimilating your food and your detoxifying blood. It bears the brunt of all the improper things that we ingest. However, Ayurveda can help us protect our liver.
Turmeric is one of the most important herbs in Ayurveda for liver detox and for decreasing inflammation throughout the body. Turmeric is so deeply cleansing that it is also called Varnya, or the one that brings a flawless skin tone, hence why it has traditionally been part of daily ingestibles that contributes to radiant and glowing skin. Winter is the perfect time for this gentle ongoing liver cleansing with warm golden milk.
Juice up the Body
Ayurveda offers some great herbs called Rasayana. The word rasa can mean juice and ayaana refers to the process of infusion. Hence, Rasayana herbs are the ones that can infuse the juice of life into your body!
Rasayana herbs have a special quality - they help to balance the entire system. They also have incredible anti-aging properties. In Western Herbalism, many Rasayana herbs are 'Adaptogens'.
One of the well-known rasayana herbs is Ashwagandha. It helps to balance all three doshas in the body. Combined with other anti-aging herbs like Ginseng, Mucuna, Gynostemma, and many more, our Adapt to life Potion is a great immunity support during winter.
You can incorporate all of the above Ayurveda benefits into your lifestyle with our Ayurvedic Immunity Kit.
3) Soothe Your Mind
Ayurveda recognizes that our body is an extension of our mind, not independent from it. In the Ayurvedic tradition, a healthy body lives in conjunction with a healthy mind! This is why stress and anxiety have a direct impact upon our immunity, and the state of our mind can have grave impacts upon our resilience and capacity to ward of viruses.
Ayurveda recommends a daily sādhana of Yoga, Meditation, Pranayama, Prayer and items such as our natural incense to pacify the mind and maintain an established sense of sense of peace and security throughout our days. Surya Bhedana Pranayama or the Solar Breath to anchor the body and mind in resilience!
4) Maintain your Dinacharya
Ayurveda doesn't suggest only a curative or symptomatic approach in which we fight against a virus once it has taken root, but instead that we continuously contribute to maintaining and preserving a foundational state of balance and resiliency so that disease and viruses don't find a way into the system.
In that Ayurveda is science of life itself, maintaining a daily routine (Dinacharya) that is integrated with the rhythm of the Sun, and that contributes to purifying all the channels and senses, is one of the most beneficial things we can do for ourselves each day.
This is Truly Lived Ayurveda!
A few of the daily immuno-boosting practices that you can begin to integrate today:
- Tongue scraping - keeps the tongue clean and prevents viral accumulation into the oral cavity, head and digestive system.
- Neti - a process that helps to detoxify the nasal cavity and boost our defenses against viral attacks. Cleaning the filtration station!
- Garshana - eliminates dead skin cells, enhances skin circulation, and protects your skin from viral infections.
- Gandusha - a process that helps to protect the entire oral cavity, and deep down into the lungs and digestive system, from viral infections, and also strengthens the teeth and gums.
- Copper water bottle - scientifically proven to infuse a powerful anti-viral property into our drinking water.
- Abhyanga - ayurvedic body massage brings multiple health benefits such as enhanced blood circulation, deep nourishment and cleansing of the skin, improved digestion, better sleep, and a profound sense of peace and relief from stress.
5) Receive Personalized Ayurvedic Care
Ayurveda recognizes that each individual is unique. It describes three primary body types or Doshas that require distinct dietary, lifestyle, and herbal support. But, how do we come to know our specific Prakruti, or constitution, and what is best for us to align to?
Prakruti Parikshana or an Ayurvedic Constitutional Analysis is the traditional way to discover your Doshic typology and in turn your most compatible dietary, lifestyle, and herbal plan. This personalized plan is intended to be your roadmap to your most enhanced alignment and health.
To know your Prakruti more deeply and to receive guidance about how to sustain optimal wellness for YOU, book a consultation with Tiffany now!
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