Slow Sunday, a little bit of Ayurveda & a recipe

Chicken & creamy mash with minty courgette purée

For a brief moment this week I felt spring in the air, as the sun shone down. It was Imbolc the ancient Celtic festival of light when farmers planned the planting of seeds. Myth has it that sun on Imbolc means spring is truly on the way.

Today the grey skies shine charcoal silver and winds are blowing the trees in all directions.

And the sound! Roaring through the tree branches. Only the holly stood barely moving.

It’s that funny in between time, when hints of new beginnings have disappeared, and winter seems to have decided to take firm hold again. This brought lots of Woolley hats out for a walk today, and joggers were wearing many layers. Even small dogs wore jackets.

It’s that time of year when we in the UK talk of moving to a different country. The sap is starting to rise, but winter is saying, stay, hunker down, keep hibernating; and yet, there is a light in that deep grey sky that I can see, and I know, spring is not far away. And the snowdrops know it too.

Today, has been a great example of how the elements that underpin the weather play out during winter season.

Ayurveda explains that each season corresponds to one of the dosha’s of vata, pitta and kapha. The doshas make up our constitution and form every material thing. They bring qualities that are like earth, water, fire, air and ether. Vata brings air and ether, pitta brings fire and a little water, and kapha brings water and earth. Winter is a combination of vata and kapha. When winter brings the elements (qualities) of vata air and ether increase, but by late winter kapha starts taking centre stage with the elements of water and earth increasing.

Today is late winter, lots or wet earth—kapha—but also lots of wind—vata. Why is this important to understand? Because, we are made up of the doshas too, and we consume their qualities all the time, through our food and our senses. Today lots of vata was entering my human system from the huge winds, but water and earth too as I walked across the wet mud and drank in the earth and water qualities in the environment.

Imbalance

If you are a vata type, and too much of the vata qualities enter your biological system, you will end up with too much of those qualities, and this will lead to vata type illnesses, if you don’t rebalance yourself.

And so, at this time of year those with too much of a build up of vata will be feeling anxious, restless, ungrounded, spaced out, even fearful; and they will need to fill themselves up with warm, soft nourishment. Those with too much of a build up of Kapha qualities will be feeling lethargic, flat, depressed, lacking motivation, excess mucus; and they will need to energise their lives, begin a lively exercise routine especially if they don’t feel like it, and switch from eating sugary heavy food to eating light foods. And, the kapha qualities will continue to gain ground as we move into spring, which is why we need to adjust our diet and behaviour at that time. Nature supports us to do this, by growing the very plants our body needs more of, to stay in balance. Our health, for Ayurveda, is all about balance.

On the way back home, as I walked past the unmoving holly bush, I realised the natural world was still mostly asleep. As I sit now and write these words, everything is silent. Cocooned in velvety softness. The branches on the tree out front and across the road are waving around, and in the distance nothing stirs except more trees above dry red rooftops. It really is as if the whole of Bristol is sleeping. People snuggled inside with fires and warm mugs, books, and pottering. Slowly, slowly attuning to the hints of possibilities. We are ready to move on. But, it isn’t quite spring.

Photo by Aaron Burden—unsplash

Joy dots

Wet earth

Damp soil

Worms

Sound of the wind in treetops

Cosy times

Music

Lights

Candles

Flapjacks

Friendship

Hopes

Snowdrops

Furry buds on bush branches

Recipe

Chicken & creamy mash with minty courgette purée

This was an easy throw together lunch. I sauted the chicken and at the same time, had the potatoes on cooking. In another pan I put the courgettes chopped in a with a little water and a handful of mint and cooked them. When the courgettes were cooked (I waited until there was no water in the pan) I blended them with the mint and a little cream, salt and black pepper. I mashed the potatoes with butter, cream, salt and black pepper, and served with green beans and the chicken. Very simple but also, delish.

Beginnings of a new ‘fall asleep’ story.

The fox decided it was time to move to the country. The night was dark as he slivered between parked cars, ran along pavements, and disappeared in and out of driveways and across slips of roads. The sky was full of clouds and the fox stayed on the back streets, as he made his way to the end of concrete and into a field. Ran he did. Ran and ran when paws met wet earth. And then he ran some more. As he ran, the clouds became thin and moonlight, shone down. That moon, almost full but not quite, lit his way, and stars sparkled at him. On and on he went, without stopping, under fences, into woodland, over hills and down muddy pathways until, he found himself far far out and away from the city, with the sun beginning to rise. The birds, they sang to him, and he found himself a lovely wood to fall asleep in, under trees of wood and green. Later in the day, he opened those sleepy eyes. Stared up at the sunlight shining through softly moving branches and, up he got, padding his way into open space where grass grew out of warm wet earth. There he enjoyed the feel of the sunshine on his ginger furry back, as he settled down on the grass, and just beed.

Wishing you the warmest,

Lucy x