Stillness in my bones & warming masala
When stillness goes bone deep, something miraculous happens to the mind and the body; they settle down.
The ordinary, simple things in life can achieve this.
I’m blessed to have an ever-changing skyline where I live. My home is in an ordinary suburban street and I have an upstairs apartment, with red tiled rooves and an ocean of sky for my view. There’s also a big tree in the street that stands like a friend in front of my sitting room window.
On Sunday afternoons in the winter, I cosy into the sofa that becomes my boat, and gather books around me, gazing out at the ever-changing ocean-like skyline. Even when its grey, there are subtleties of hue my human eye can catch. There are wood pigeons and magpies too, that fly past the windows, ever so close. Or perch on the pollarded tree. And there are seagulls, soaring through the clouds further out in this ocean of sky. Today, I sighted my first black crow close up, while writing these words. Jet black wings and body came out of no where, landed on the tree. Then took off just as quickly and was gone. But in that tiny moment, I felt the crow in my sitting room. We met.
When I take the time to gaze without hope or expectation for anything to happen. Not needing anything, not searching, and not grasping at the sense there is anything to get. It is a beautiful thing. And, when I do this my eyes; they feel different. Different to when I’m looking at a screen, or ‘getting things done’. They come alive. It is as if they have been fed. They feel wide awake and clear. I feel as though I have just arrived properly in the room. In my life.
Sometimes on a busy and full day, the sight of a single seagull surfing the air currents cuts through my ‘to do’ list. I’m reminded to gaze without expectation or gain. A fraught day becomes one that soothes and calms, and I remember the stillness in my bones.
photo by Tom — pixabay
Ayurveda
The Sanskrit word for food is ‘ahara’. One of the 8 limbs of yoga — Often referred to as Ayurveda’s sister science — is ‘pratyahara’. Pratyahara translates as control of the senses. It refers to turning inward away from sensory food and controlling what we consume through our senses.
I talked in this post about how Ayurveda recognises three forms of food; the food we eat to build our body, the things we consume through our senses which feed the mind, and relationships that feed the heart.
When I scroll my phone or iPad, I don’t nourish my mind. When I gaze at the sky, I do. For Ayurveda our state of mind will determine how well we are, and so creating the conditions for health, includes what we feed our senses.
Taste
In Wednesdays post I said I’d chat about the sense of taste, and how the different tastes help to build your body. Ayurveda teaches that all material things consist of the 5 elements of ether, air, fire, water and earth.
The rishi’s of ancient India who brought us Ayurveda over 5000 years ago, weren’t talking about the elements in the periodic table. They were explaining how the energy that underpins every material thing in the universe, expresses itself like ether, air, fire, water or earth.
The different tastes of food, bring the different elements into our body. When energy expresses itself like the ether and air elements we get the bitter taste; ether and earth give the astringent taste; air and fire give the pungent taste; fire and water give the salty taste; fire and earth give the sour taste; water and earth give the sweet taste.
The different tastes build the different tissues of the body through the elemental qualities they bring, which is why Ayurveda explains we need to consume all 6 tastes. If you know your Ayurvedic constitution, vata types need more of the sweet, sour and bitter tastes, because they need more of the elemental qualities those tastes bring, to keep their constitution in balance. Pitta types need more of the sweet, bitter and astringent tastes, and kapha types need more of the bitter, astringent and pungent tastes; for the same reason. If you have any questions please feel free to drop them in the comments.
My recipe today has all the tastes, and could be tweaked for each constitution. But more of this another day because understanding Ayurveda, is best done with small mouthfuls, if you want the understanding to become a deep and nourishing reservoir that you can draw upon.
Recipe
Warming masala
This is a very quick masala sauce, for those days when you need some comfort food but don’t have much time. You can serve this with any protein source you prefer. Sometimes I make it with chicken, other times I use lentils or another legume. Tofu and tempeh also work. If you know your Ayurvedic constitution, vata types do well with meat in their diet, while pitta and kapha types (if their digestion is okay with legumes), do well with the astringent taste legumes bring. For anyone following a low oxalate diet, meat is the best option, and use 2 teaspoons of tomato paste with 2 cups of vegetable stock, instead of the tinned tomatoes.
INGREDIENTS (serves 2 small bowls)
1 can tinned tomatoes
1/2 tin coconut milk
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 small red onion chopped
1 courgette chopped
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon freshly ground coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 inches freshly grated ginger
Rock salt to season
Fresh lime
METHOD
Sauté the garlic and onion, when soft add the courgette and spices and sauté for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and coconut milk. Simmer for a few minutes.
Serve with your preferred protein and rice, and drizzle with fresh lime juice.
I hope you enjoy this simple and easy warming masala recipe.
Wishing you the warmest of weekends,
Lucy x