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Balance your kapha

We have good news: there is a valid reason why you are craving high carb food (or indeed any food), to go to bed five pounds heavier, hibernate for a few weeks and then wake up ten pounds lighter. And while we’ve not tried but we’ve heard bears are hard to tame, you can tame the feeling.

The sweet spot lies in finding the balance of giving your body what it needs whilst realizing that sadly, no one has the time to sleep for weeks, nor can we eat likes bears.

According to Ayurveda, the 5,000-year-old (give or take) Indian “science of life”, we are born with our unique ratio of three doshas or energy types: pitta, vata and kapha.

Winter is the season of kapha, when the cold and heavy weather slows the pace of life, or at least the pace should slow. A balanced kapha is responsible for joint health, softness of the skin and our immune system.

With modern-day living getting faster and more demanding, we often slow at the end of the calendar year and end up getting a cold or feeling under the weather. But this can be avoided by nurturing your kapha, starting with some simple everyday adjustments:

Be an early bird: Start your day between 6:00 am and 10:00 am. Kapha energy doesn’t respond well to sleeping in past 10:00 am. As much as getting out of the cocoon of your bed is sometimes hard when it is dark and cold, you will feel better for it.
Get moving: Move your body in the morning. It is the ideal time of day for kapha to exercise. Something to raise the heart rate and bring a little sweat on.
Spice up your life: Bring digestion-enhancing spices into what you eat and drink. We recommend ginger, cumin, coriander, cardamom, and cinnamon.
Keep warm: Choose warm or hot water to drink over cold.
Master your inner bear: Eat only when you are hungry, this allows the body plenty of time to properly digest its food.

If you are traveling to warmer climes this winter, look out for spa treatments that will balance kapha, says Dr Gupta, resident Ayurvedic Doctor at Six Senses Spa Shaharut, “Our Abhyanga, a 60-minute body massage, will relieve winter fatigue, while strengthening the skin with sesame seed oil and boosting the immune system.” He says it’s the ideal treatment to start your holiday with. “I also recommend Choornasweda, a comforting heat treatment using warm poultices filled with dry herbs to stimulate circulation and aid the release of toxins. This massage is often described as a winter hug for the soul.”

He can also go deeper with guests and support them through a Yogic Intestinal Cleanse program which has many benefits. “We detox and cleanse the digestive system in a natural and non-invasive way with Laghoo Shankha Prakshalana, combining five yoga postures with the drinking of six to eight glasses of lightly salted water. The results can be both instant and long lasting.”

If you are someone that finds it hard to slow your mental activity, the healing vibrations of sound therapy can take you along a slower thinking path.

Six Senses Shaharut offers guests a Sound Journey into Space for 60 minutes. This experience allows the sacred sounds to reverberate in your innermost self. When you are open to the sound and vibration of the oceanic drum, gong and singing bowls, you will experience your true, limitless nature. It is a wonderful experience best shared with a loved one. And for those of us that are spa-ing at home this winter, why not add a little self-care into your day?

Self-massage: A daily 10-minute massage with oil will help to alleviate fatigue, flu-like symptoms and revive the body and mind.
Scrub in the tub: When you bathe, scrub down your body, if possible, take a steam bath, and steer clear of cold water while bathing. That’s right, we give you permission to skip the bucket shower!
Soothe and purify: Relax with a weekly or twice-weekly face mask, something that smells nice and feels comfortable on the skin.
Burn uplifting scents in your home: If you have an oil burner put a few drops of peppermint, lemon or grapefruit essential oil in water and let the vibrant scent lift the room.
Download and reset: Meditation, journaling or maybe just read a book. Kapha needs a little downtime.

When kapha energy is balanced we benefit from the beautifully loyal, supportive, solid and nurturing energy that it emits.

Find out your unique dosha mix by completing our consultation form below to see where your dominant energy lies.

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