Ahh, seasonal allergies! We know they’re coming every year but they still hit us like a ton of bricks. Because they tend to be strongest in the spring and the fall, it’s a good idea to have our self-care measures in place so we don’t have to resort to medication like antihistamines. Catch Part 1 of this series to learn about the dangers of anticholinergics and simple things you can do to co-exist with your local environment.

In this post I’m sharing two more ways to support your body during allergy season. The first is for your head, and the second is more systemic.

Facial massage is incredibly helpful in easing pressure in the sinuses. I like to make an essential oil blend: in 1oz of carrier oil (sesame, coconut, jojoba) put no more than 7 drops of essential oil. Please, please, please do not put essential oils on your skin directly from the bottle. Always dilute them in a carrier oil. My favorite essential oils are a combination of mint—peppermint, eucalyptus, spearmint—and citrus—neroli, bergamot, grapefruit, orange, lemon.

Put a few drops of the carrier oil/essential oil combination into your hands and rub them together. Massage along the cheek bones and into the temples. Use your index fingers to make gentle circles around the eye sockets. Always be careful that you don’t get oil in your eyes. Also use your index finger to press gently on the inner part of the eye closer to the nose bone than the eye itself. Hold for 30-60 seconds and you’ll usually feel some drainage of the sinuses.

Slide your index and middle fingers downward several times with gentle pressure along the front of the ears and directly behind the ears. Also massage down the sides of the neck. All of these movements encourage the downward flow of mucous.
 
Herbs are another natural way to counteract plant allergies. The only caution here is that, if you know you have an allergy to specific plants, it’s best to do a little research on the herb before taking it. If it is in the same family as the plant you’re allergic to, it can make you feel worse not better.

By far the best herb I’ve ever taken for allergies is Butterbur. Capsules are easy to come by in the health food store. It has the advantage of working quite quickly, often within 24 hours.

Stinging nettles (or just “nettles”) has long been used for allergy relief. The dried plant can be taken in capsules or it can be even more effective if you grow the plant yourself and make tea from the leaves.

Rosemary is an herb you probably have in your pantry or growing in your yard. It is also a natural antihistamine. Make a tea from dried rosemary, supplement with capsules, use rosemary tincture, or mix some rosemary essential oil with a carrier oil at a stronger dilution of 14 drops per 1 oz of carrier oil and massage it on the bottoms of your feet, belly and the back of the neck.

Garlic is both antihistamine and anti-viral so it will help both seasonal allergies and colds. You can take garlic supplements if you like, or just add more raw and cooked garlic to your diet. Raw garlic opens your nasal passages so you can breathe better.

And breathing easier is what we all seek to do during allergy season.

I just learned of a scary new study on antihistamines in the Journal of American Medicine demonstrating a distinct increase in dementia in those who regularly use anticholinergic medicine. Yikes! Since antihistamines are a common medicine taken to combat spring and fall allergies, this is information we need to heed.

Ayurveda is the ancient medical system of India and, fortunately, it relies on natural remedies to heal body and mind. Ayurveda’s take on seasonal allergies is that they are a result of ongoing dryness in the body. This may explain why the antihistamines are so detrimental—they increase dryness in the body. Ayurveda says that when the body is dry, it produces mucus as a way of fighting off an allergen, whether it be ragweed, pollen or grass clippings. While an anticholinergic might provide symptomatic relief, it does not tackle the main cause of the sickness which is a weakened immune system due to dryness.

Ayurveda offers many suggestions for coping with seasonal allergies. We’ll look at a few in this post and offer a few more in the next post.

Eat local food. The most obvious is to eat food that is in season and grown in your local community. Why? Because local food has natural bacteria from the local microbiome which helps your internal microbiome develop a powerful immune response to allergens. Perhaps you’ve heard of the benefits of eating local honey and honeycomb. Visit your farmers’ market or grow your own vegetables.

Use water and oil to counteract dryness. One way to do that is to drink one half of your body weight in ounces every day. If you weigh 150 lbs., drink 75 oz. Favor fresh water with lemon or lime, herbal teas and fruit juices.

Use a neti pot each day to rinse your sinuses with saline solution. This is very effective in clearing out the allergens before they can cause a problem. There are excellent videos online to walk you through the process.

Put a drop or two of sesame or coconut oil in your nostrils every day. Sniff it in and massage the outside of the nostrils.

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on steamed veggies and/or mix EVOO with balsamic vinegar to make a salad dressing.

Give these a try so you can feel better soon! Check back for more suggestions in the next post.

Have you noticed the transitions that are signaling that we are moving into Fall?

My friend pointed out today the change in the light because the angle of the sun has shifted
I am aware that the sun is rising later and setting earlier
Plants are starting to dry out and turn brown despite the rains
The breezes are cooler too even though the temperatures are still high

Fall transitions are important to note because it means we’re moving from Pitta season—the season of wet heat—to Vata season—the season of dry cold.

It’s hard to believe when you’re baking in the hot sun that Fall is on its way, but the signs are all pointing in that direction.

According to Ayurveda, we should look for these signs because, as creatures of Nature, we are affected by these transitions from the inside out. If we don’t pay attention to them we may be surprised when our delicate physical systems come under the sway of these changes and are unable to re-balance. Ayurvedic wisdom encourages us to take steps now to care for our bodies:

Eat apples and cherries, late summer foods which help to dispel summer’s heat

Sip water that is room temperature or hotter throughout the day to stay consistently hydrated

Move the body regularly so that all the systems of the body can operate optimally

Sit quietly for a while every day for meditation or deep breathing

Get more sleep by getting up with the sun and going to bed a little earlier in the evening

Observe the Fall transition in order to stay in tip-top shape as we say “good-bye” to another summer and prepare for the cooler, dryer, darker days to come.

The week before last I spent 30 hours in live training with my teacher. He organized these five days around the theme of “Yoga as Empowerment.” I notice that we don’t often think of yoga in this way; it’s more common to talk about the physical benefits of yoga, such as flexibility, balance and strength. So how did my teacher emphasize the empowering aspects of Yoga?

The key to Yoga’s empowering qualities is ENERGY. Yoga makes it possible for us to use energy in these powerful ways:
▪ to digest food and make good use of the nutrients we ingest
▪ to move our body to heal, lengthen and strengthen it
▪ to direct emotions in ways that regulate our nervous system and nurture meaningful relationships with others
▪ to organize our thoughts so we can accomplish life goals that will be of benefit to the whole world, and
▪ by sending love and light to all beings who are struggling or suffering.

For me, the most empowering aspect of Yoga is that it’s given me the tools to take better care of myself. I have learned how to move to care best for my body, how to breathe to self-regulate breath and emotions, how to meditate to maintain a calm and focused mind, and how to connect with Spirit as a way of connecting with the deepest meaning of life.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes just now to consider what empowers you and especially how you have been empowered through the ancient art and science of Yoga.

I just had a lovely visit with my dear friend. She is ready to embark on a great adventure and I am so excited for her. She is already a healer and, at the age of 32, is going to enroll in school to up-level her healing abilities. I have no doubt she will be successful in meeting her goal of sharing what she is learning and empowering others to embrace a healthy lifestyle.

My friend truly inspires me because in Yoga and Vedic teaching we encounter this notion of dharma. It’s often translated as “duty” which makes me say, “Ugh.” But fortunately it has other meanings too: “teaching,” “that which is established,” “morality,” “justice,” “good works,” and “devotion.” What I’ve learned about Sanksrit is that when a word has many meanings, it's an important concept that we need to pay attention to!

In the conversation with my friend, dharma carried the meaning of “life path,” “calling,” or “vocation.” Isn’t it wonderful when we know we are on the right path? Wouldn’t we be ready to do just about anything to fulfill that life path? Would we move across the country, go back to school and take a pay cut? Yes, yes, and yes.

The reason we practice Yoga, meditate, journal and reflect on the course of our life is so that we can know our dharma and do our dharma to the best of our ability. What we discover is that the Universe has our back when we set our course and start out on that journey. In fact, we can always look up to see the North Star which symbolizes our life goal. No matter what goes on around us that Star is always beckoning us to stay the course.

This week is a good week to reflect on these questions in light of the August 1st Aquarius Super Moon: Where am I going? How am I going to get there? Who is here to support me along the way? Let’s enjoy the trip!

It’s a hot summer, there’s no doubt about it! In yoga class and in my writings I’ve been offering yogic guidance for cooling down. My best suggestions have been 1) eat cooling foods, 2) practice shitali pranayama, or cooling breath, and 3) do yoga twists around the mid-section of the body. This is an excellent three-part strategy to cool down.

In my studies this week, however, I learned that while these strategies are somewhat helpful, they also tend to heat the body. And this makes sense when you think about—for each of these activities, you have to use effort to do them, kind of like trying to cool your face by using your hand as a fan. This extra effort we expend may actually negate any effects we think we’re gaining from them.

WHAT?! Any other ideas for cooling these hot, hot days?

Let’s try resting to cool down. In yoga class we call this “shavasana,” the pose of the corpse. Or we can do any of the wonderful restorative yoga postures where we use lots of props to support the body in a restful pose. Resting postures work more effectively than these other practices because rest activates the parasympathetic response of the nervous system.

When the parasympathetic system is activated, blood moves away from the surface of the skin toward the internal organs. As a result, the organs are nicely supported and happily begin to gurgle, activating what is also called the “rest and digest” response. At the same time, the hands and feet get chilly, which makes the body cool down pretty quickly.

So on these hot days, do continue to eat cooling foods, practice shitali and twists to release heat from the midsection of the body. But also make time each day for 20 minutes or more of still, dark, quiet rest. Resting really does make you cool—in more ways than one.

As we celebrate American Independence Day, I’ve been pondering the freedom of Yoga and how we could celebrate that this week too.
 
One of the Sanskrit words for freedom is moksha. It has several meanings including emancipation, liberation, freedom, release. In the yogic tradition, it is said that practicing yoga leads to moksha. Have you ever experienced freedom while in a yoga pose, while meditating or practicing a breath exercise? In other words, freedom in the body, mind, emotions or breath? I know I have, and in those moments I had a physical and mental experience of liberation and release.
 
But Yoga is free in another way—it doesn’t cost anything to practice yoga. I know, there is always someone trying to make a buck off of yoga. Full disclosure, I do too because Yoga is not only my path in life but also my livelihood. I pay for yoga trainings too when I study with my teachers. Yes, we should compensate our yoga teachers to support their work and express gratitude for the beautiful way they share the tradition with us.
 
I believe that my role as a teacher is to empower others to recognize the wisdom that already exists within them. I may have a way of teaching or sharing the wisdom of Yoga that connects with others, but then ultimately each person has to internalize the tradition and make it their own. No outer teacher can do that for us; we must make friends with our own inner teacher.
 
And that is what makes Yoga totally and absolutely free! You are free to take it or leave it; to choose some practices and not others; to believe the philosophy or not; and especially, to practice on your own free of charge in your home, your car, at work or in the park.
 
How will you celebrate freedom this week?

I’m on the second time through the new Netflix documentary about Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yes, I’ve seen every movie he made. He was making movies during the growing years of my two sons and of course we had to see them all as close to opening day as possible. There are so many amazing things about this larger-than-life man who had three successful careers as a body builder, an actor and governor of California. But what really caught my attention was how he saw what he wanted—to be a body builder and movie star—and then acted to bring it into existence.

This reminds me of two concepts in the Vedic tradition that show us how to follow Arnold’s lead. In modern language it’s called “visualize and manifest.” In Yoga it’s called purusha, or latent potential, and karma, or action.

The Universe recognizes thousands of possibilities—maybe even millions—in every second. Unfortunately, we never see how much potential actually exists because we allow so many things to limit us, like how we were raised, where we live now, the education we received, fear of the unknown, failing to believe in ourselves and others, etc. If we could get real still and open our energetic field, we could begin to see what is possible for us beyond the limitations we place on ourselves. Kind of like the young Austrian who saw himself as the body builder and the actor even though there was no opportunity to do these things in his home country.

The Universe also rewards karma, the actions we take to move ourselves forward in this lifetime. In fact the Universe takes karma so seriously that we also carry with us the energy of our actions from past lifetimes. Is this possibly where Arnold got the first inspiration to follow this path? Did he bring with him into this lifetime innate abilities he had honed in previous lifetimes? It’s definitely possible. But it’s also true that he worked very hard to get where he wanted to go and sacrificed much more than many of us would be willing to do to get there.

It's time for you to get still and open your energetic field. Let go of all the preconceived notions of what is possible for you. Release the limiting beliefs like “it’s too hard,” “I’m too old/young,” “no one wants what I have to offer,” etc. What are the latent possibilities for your life? What actions can you take to see where these possibilities might take you? The world is waiting for you.

Yesterday I had a Zoom call with students in my Living Ayurveda course (check it out at www.yogaspiritonline.com). We were meeting at the transition of the seasons to talk about seasonal foods and changes in our activities that will help us feel healthy, vital and strong all year long. This month we transition into Summer, the season of fire known as Pitta.

Whether you follow an ayurvedic lifestyle or not, this information will lessen the effect of pitta’s inflammation on your body and mind. Considering how many of our physical and mental health issues are a result of inflammation, this is good information indeed.

Favor foods that are sweet, bitter and astringent. Ayurveda recognizes six tastes and these are the three that will help cool the body and mind. Enjoy apples, cranberries, dates, figs, grapes, limes, mango, melons, pears, persimmons, pineapple, plums, pomegranate, prunes, alfalfa sprouts, asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cilantro, cucumber, green beans, lettuce, mushrooms, okra, peas, potatoes, squash, turnips, zucchini, basmati rice, oats, wheat, corn, granola, beans, coconut, sunflower seeds, butter, coconut oil, ghee, corn oil, sunflower oil, flax seed, olive oil, cream cheese, milk, and cottage cheese. Sweeten with fruit juice concentrate, maple syrup, date sugar or coconut sugar.

Avoid foods that are sour, salty and pungent (spicy hot). These are the foods that increase heat in the body and contribute to inflammation: chilies, garlic, onions, pickles, radishes, lentils, nuts that are roasted and salted, sour cream, salty cheese, honey, molasses, all condiments, all animal products.

My two favorite summer anti-inflammatories are lime and fresh ginger. In general citrus fruits are to be avoided in pitta season because citrus is heating. Lime, however, is unique because it is a cooling fruit. Every morning I squeeze the juice of ¼ lime into a cup of warm water and sip it as the first fluid to travel through the digestive tract. Lime also tastes great added to a cup of water or herbal tea anytime during the day.

Fresh ginger is also unique because it is tri-doshic, meaning that it supports and does not aggravate any of the three doshas. This isn’t the case, however, for dried ginger which has a heating quality and will definitely aggravate pitta. Add fresh ginger to your vegetable stir-fries and steep it in hot water for a delicious tea. Ginger is an anti-inflammatory superfood!

Ice cream. Ayurveda tells us to always avoid icy drinks because it puts out our digestive fire. This is especially important to follow in the summer, the season when our digestive fire is at its weakest. Summer, however, is the only season when Ayurveda encourages us to enjoy a sensible portion of ice cream. Get me a spoon!

I just finished an amazing weekend of advanced yoga teacher training in Restorative Yoga. What a joy to teach yoga teachers how to teach Restorative Yoga to their students!

Did you feel the world tip a little more toward happiness and ease?

It got me thinking about what we mean by “self-care” these days. To be sure, binge watching a streaming service while eating take out and drinking alcohol is NOT self-care; it’s more likely self-harming. Taking a bubble bath while reading a book might be a better route to self-care, but the benefits only last as long as you are in the tub.

Here is self-care that endures:

Pick out veggies at the local farmers’ market and cook a meal for yourself and/or others. Infuse the food with positive energy by thinking about beauty and love while you cook. The food will not only taste better, it will also be more nutritious.

Drink clean water and herbal teas. Your body is 75% water and dehydration is one of the main causes of physical and mental distress. Drink about ½ of your body weight in ounces. (150 lbs person should drink 75 oz)

Spend time in Nature by walking your neighborhood, working in your garden, lounging beside or inside a pool or lake, hike in a forest or on a mountain. According to ayurveda, Nature is the best way to heal the body and mind.

Set up an appointment for massage, acupuncture or a float. Attend yoga class. Join a meditation group. The professionals who offer these services are well-trained to teach you about self-care. Don’t wait until you are in pain to seek them out.

Practice restorative yoga. Most everything listed above has a monetary cost. Restorative yoga is free. Place a soft blanket on the floor. Choose a pillow for your head. Roll a blanket to put under your knees. Cover with a blanket and put an eye covering or scarf over your eyes. Hang a “do not disturb” sign and close the door. Set your phone timer for 20 minutes. Judith Lasater says “Savasana is a gift you give to yourself and to the world.”

Now that’s what I call self-care.