5 self care nutritional tips over the holidays
Brace yourselves, winter is coming!
Winter is the season with Vata caracteristics. Cold, windy and dark (at least in Northern Europe). Nature puts itself to rest and maybe so should we.
The holiday season is the time of year where we meet and eat, maybe wine and dine. Here are a few tips to keep your balance troughout this season:
Don´t give up your good intentions. Eaten too much? Still in the couch but your intention was to get to you yoga mat? Just take a deep breath and get back in the saddle. Some of us (read I) have the tendency to give up and continue eating, laying on the couch or mindless surfing on the internet. Every day, hour, minute is a new chance to start over. So……take a deep breath and get up and go for a walk, maybe do just 5 minutes of yoga or meditation or make yourself a nice cup of warm tea.
Rest. Allow yourself to rest. Are you the type-A personality who normally practices Bikram, Hot or Ashtanga yoga? Use the holiday season to do
something different. Turn inwards, try some deep meditative yin yoga, restorative poses and allow your body to adapt to this season.Dygestive enzymes. If you are invited to a lot of dinners maybe some digestive enzymes would be good to have at hand. Dining and sitting can upset your stomach. Pills no option? Make your own digestive enzymes, boil 0,5 dl water and let it cool to room temperature. Add juice of 1 lime and drink a shot before meals.
Hydrate with benefits. We probably all know we need to drink appr 2 liters of water a day. If you do Hot Yoga you need even more water and some electrolytes. Coconut water is a classic but you can make your own:
Boil one liter of water, pour it in a thermos and add some slices of ginger, a little honey and a half a tea spoon Himalayan salt. This is a great hydrater between classes. Not fond of ginger? Add some fennel seeds, fennel adds phytoestrogens and helps your digestion as well.
Stay warm and eat RAW desserts. As it gets cold(er) outside I would advise people to eat warm nourishing food throughout wintertime. Skip the breakfast smoothie for a couple of months and try some porridge instead. To keep the RAW diet alive treat yourselves and your family with a lovely Raw dessert. RAW desserts are the best! No gluten, no dairy and full of vitamins, minerals and other good stuff. Even non vegans love the taste!
You can easily make a Raw Pie by mixing 40 ml of cashew nuts with appr 6L8 soft dates. Put the dough in a pie dish. As for the filling you can just put some fresh or frozen berries on top. Want to make it more advanced? Mix 7 avocados with the juice of 5 limes, 3 table spoons of coconut oil and at least 2 table spoons of honey. Taste, when the taste is good, pour the filling on top of the dough and put into the fridge for a couple of hours.
Last but not least. Enjoy the season, adapt and have fun!
Juliette Snijders
Juliette is a Hot Yoga teacher, Raw Food chef and Feng shui consultant in Sweden.
Evolation yoga is devoted to helping you become more Self-centered – in an ego-free way. By combining the powerful physical properties of hot yoga with the awareness-enhancing effects of meditation, evolation’s aim is to make you healthier, happier, and more in touch with that elusive little thing called the Self.