I decided to challenge myself this Fall by doing the absolute opposite of what my nature tells me to do (and what most everyone's nature usually demands this time of year). That is to get cranking on projects, home improvement plans, develop a lot of business and work my tail off for the next three months. The energy level is high and my creativity knows no bounds...especially in the kitchen!
Instead I'm going in the other direction, setting an intentionally slow and quiet pace, for just one week.
Autumn is hands-down my favorite season. I love everything about it. I get a huge surge of energy right around September 1st, just as the evenings begin to cool and the first of the season's bountiful color palate begins to surf across the tree tops. But I try to keep my enthusiasm inside so as not to appear insensitive to my poor, grieving husband. I watch him stare out longingly at his garden. "S-I-O" (Summer Is Over) he sighs heavily toward the fruit trees, Japanese maple and green grassy yard that will soon be littered with shades of burnt umber, gold and brilliant crimson. And there I am in the kitchen pulling down cookbooks and gathering recipes for eggplant rollatini, cottage pie, saag paneer and poached pears. I cannot WAIT! I probably shouldn't ask him if he could climb into the attic and bring down my sweaters...now that's just cruel.
But something caught my eye last week as I pulled the latest edition of Yoga Journal from my mailbox. The rich mustard gold background of the cover photo was the first real affirmation that the publishing world was also with me and my fall fixation, even THEY were touting the coming seasonal shift in the most positive light. I flipped through to find a 7-Day Gentle Detox plan by Scott Blossom (Ayervedic consultant and yoga therapist) designed specifically for Autumn. And, best of all, it supported my personal challenge...to slow down!
The basic idea is to slow your life down and focus your attention to your internal systems; the mental, the physical and the spiritual. The article recommends reducing stress by limiting your daily interactions with technology, including cell phones (texting too), computer, television and other external visual/audio stimulation (I even kept my radio off today). Instead, participants are encouraged to meditate, practice yoga, breathing techniques, and most importantly, get outside and enjoy the beauty of the season (weather permitting).
The goal of the physical detox is to clean the liver, remove heavy metals and toxins from the body, balance the central nervous system and boost immunity against microscopic predators like the common cold and the flu. If you have elementary school children then you, too, know the value of having a plan of attack to battle the inevitable "back to school" viruses that roll into your home around mid-late September.
Finding time to meditate and practice an hour of yoga each day would be simple. But I knew I'd probably have to give running and weight lifting a rest for the week. The demands on my body for additional fuel would be overwhelming with weight training, and walking would be much kinder to my body than my usual hour of running. The only area I couldn't quite pull away from was the stress-producing activity known as the work day. I still have to make time to contact clients, set up meetings, and develop business. Additionally, I have to file quarterly taxes by Thursday, so my opportunities to get out and play a bit will be compressed tomorrow.
Regardless, I was steadfast in my activities last week in preparation for this week's "no stimulants" recommendation by tapering down my caffeine intake.
Starting the Monday before I reduced by a half cup every day, and by Sunday I was drinking only herbal tea. I also bought all my ingredients in advance for the Kitchari, an Asian dish comprised of mung beans, white rice, spices, seaweed and vegetables. It's important to take the Dosha Quiz before going for groceries to determine how "hot or cold" you run temperamentally, then buy the vegetables that correspond to your primary constitution. It is all well explained on the YogaJournal.com website. Also, read through the entire recipe as it will offer more information about portion size, sidedishes and other pertinent information about substitutions.
I went to "Good Health", a natural foods store in Hanover, Massachusetts to buy all the ingredients I couldn't get at the major grocery stores. This meant spending a bit more to get very high quality, organic ingredients. It wasn't very expensive to get what I needed, spending about $40.00 all in (including the netti pot, Triphala and I bought a body brush...not required but I've wanted one for awhile). Since I already have a well stocked spice cabinet that boasts traditional and exotic spices and herbs I didn't have to spend too much on these. Additionally, our garden supplied several of the necessary herbs and vegetables, so overall it was a reasonable investment.
Note: For the Kitchari, the only ingredient I couldn't find was "Hing" or Asafetida. Apparently, it's not widely available here in the northeast. I would have had to order from somewhere, but time didn't allow and so I left it out.
At 5:30 this morning I rose to a beautiful sunrise and a ready cup of herbal tea. Meditation followed for about 15 minutes, and then breakfast preparations. I made a simple rice porridge that involved about a 3/4 cup of cooked jasmine rice, added about 1/4 cup of soy milk (didn't have rice milk handy), dash of cinnamon, dash of cardamom, and a half dash of sea salt. This simmered down to a thick consistency that resembled what I thought porridge should look like. While you can't stand a set of chopsticks up in it, it looked respectable. I spooned about three quarters of it into my bowl, then added about about a half tablespoon of raw honey. I really enjoyed it and ended up finishing what was left in the pot.
Once the kids were on the school bus I dashed off to yoga class, walking instead of driving, and enjoyed a beautiful late summer morning. Yoga class was AWESOME! I felt very open and flexible. Several poses that always seemed like too much of a stretch for me came easily, and I wasn't too hungry at the end. I walked home and began preparing the Kitchari.
Kitchari preparation is simple, and because the vegetables are added later, you can begin cooking the rice and beans, then chop your veggies to be added about half way through the cooking process. Make sure you rinse the rice once or twice before boiling. This helps remove the starchy "flour" byproduct that gets packaged with the rice, and improves consistency.
In taking the Dosha quiz, I learned I am Pitta Kasha (for those of you who know me, that won't be a surprise if you read the description of the Pitta Kasha temperament) so my recipe called for carrots, zuccini and green beans. That made me happy. The stew is very thick and has a pleasant, cumin scent and accompanying yellow curry color. It definitely has bulk, guaranteed to fill you up, but it doesn't have a lot of flavor. I added some course hawaiian sea salt and cardamom to bring out the flavors. I think cardamom may be my new favorite spice.
Note: the recipe as followed makes a lot more than what you'll need in a day. That's helpful for those of us with time constraints. I have enough for at least two days or more. The recommended serving is 1 to 1 1/2 cups. Some may need more based on energy requirements.
I also made the Fresh Coriander Chutney, which has a very pungent but slightly sweet flavor. For my taste, I think I'll cut the lemon juice back to about half of what the recipe calls for...just a little too acidic for me.
I enjoyed (I'll use that term loosely) a cup of hot water with Triphala around 11:30 knowing lunch was about an hour away and I needed to fill my tummy with something. I do not like the taste of this stuff, but it's supposed to do wonders for your colon...so I toughed it out by adding honey. No idea whether this is ok to do, but there's no way I can drink this stuff without some sweetener.
It's now 4:40 on Monday afternoon, and I'm starting to feel the first rumbles of hunger in my belly, which will soon evolve into a shortened attention span, and an even shorter patience level. I have a 5:00 p.m. appointment for some "self care"...in the form of a desperately needed pedicure. I think I can hold out until 6:30 for dinner. More tea ought to help.
Another really nice recommendation of this plan is to make time every day for self care. The article offers tips on Ayervedic self-massage, yoga positions to aid in cleansing, restorative yoga and taking time to journal. In addition, I have two half hour reiki sessions booked for this week, a facial, and a long hike planned for Friday (again, weather permitting). Yes, these are beyond the recommended activities in the article, but I have self prescribed these as a way to reinforce my commitment to slowing down. Besides, my husband tells me he'll never buy me another gift certificate if I don't start using them. Another symptom of an all too busy life.
I'd say the first day is going pretty well. Now, if I can just avoid running into that overly solicitous can of lightly salted deluxe nuts sitting in my cabinet, I'll be just fine.
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