Ayurveda ‘short’

Balancing kapha dosha

Last week I shared some tips for balancing pitta dosha, this week I’m sharing tips for balancing kapha dosha. You can read more about the doshas here, and the first Ayurveda ‘short’ here.

Balancing kapha dosha

When Kapha dosha is out of balance you need to stimulate your system, by bringing in warm, dry and light qualities through food and life choices. Eat foods with the tastes that balance kapha dosha – bitter astringent and pungent – and have a regular exercise routine (aerobics would be good), play lively music and dance, carry out daily dry skin brushing followed by a self-massage with small amounts of mustard oil, de-clutter your home and life, avoid damp and cold conditions.

Eat more foods with these qualities: light, dry, warm, rough, hard; eat chillis. Best grains – barley, rye, corn, millet, buckwheat; steam vegetables rather than roasting; use light pungent sauces. If you’re not hungry you can skip breakfast, two meals a day is fine.

Eat less: sweet, heavy, oily, cold, damp food.

Have more of these tastes: bitter, astringent, and pungent.

Best oils to consume: mustard, safflower, sunflower, corn, flax.

Focus on these spices: ginger, chilli, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, turmeric.

Limit or avoid: overeating and snacking, sweet treats, sweeteners (a little raw honey occasionally), raw food, meat, dairy, cold food, alcohol, caffeine.

The hardest thing to address when kapha dosha is out of balance is lack of motivation. Sometimes it’s easier to get started with changes by enlisting the support of a buddy, or joining an exercise group to get you moving.

I hope this has been useful for you. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments.

If you enjoy these Ayurveda ‘shorts’ a like will let me know to carry on!

Warmest wishes,

Lucy x