For once in Galveston, a summer Saturday started with a shady, hazy sprinkle instead of the persistant sunshine that demands you to remember it by leaving behind a rosey-red burn every place it could touch you.
Despite the drizzle, this Saturday heralds for me the coming of summer, and even as I type those words the Oasis Juice Bar was lit up with a first flash of morning sunshine. School is over, this art teacher is ready to up her personal education as an avid learner and liver, and of course, this blog is a handy place to do it.Where else shall I document my attempts to more fully enjoy every 113 years it will take me to see that ball drop on 2100?
In full disclosure, the past school year was not one in which I focused on my health or well-being…or sanity, for that matter. My first full year was rather scattered, an attempt to stay upright on the rolling river log of parent contact logs, grants, and lesson planning. Magical wonderful things happened at our school, and I had the pleasure of starting some fabulous projects, like an educational art history mural (over 100 feet long!) and a school science and art garden.
Love Oasis–my lovely cashier was shocked when I didn’t know which dosha I was as I order my tri-dosha tea (not knowing even what a dosha was!), and led me to a What’s your Dosha? Quiz that even gave me a bit of guidance for calming my mind, rubbed raw from the stressful year.
**Beware! The dosha quiz, while insightful, will try to get you to buy all of Deepak Chopra’s crap. Don’t do it!
I was surprised to find that I am actually one of the rare tri-doshas, with almost an equal amount of all energies powering this train. The doshas refer to mainly your mind-body type. Tall and thin? Studious or lackadaisical? Oily skin, or red and ruddy? Get cold and nervous easily? All of these point to the five elements at work in you, wind, fire, water, earth, and ether. The scientific community, of course, is very busy curing cancer and solving the global warming crisis, so we have only thousands of years of less thoroughly-tested observation to rely on from various healers and thinkers around the world to support evidence of the doshas, but I’m sure they’ll get around to it eventually.
My quiz not only told me I was tri-doshic, but also that I have a bit of an imbalance to address in both mind and body, as follows:
Accumulated Kapha
Out of balance Kapha leads to heaviness, sluggishness and congestion. Stimulation and movement help overcome the resistance of accumulated Kapha. Think activation and invigoration. Here are some tips to maximize balance and well-being:
Body
- Take a yoga class to connect to your body and invoke your natural energy
- Perform a vigorous daily self massage with Invigorating herbalized oil
- Take deep breaths throughout the day
- Favor spicy foods with a predominance of pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes
- Walk 5-15 minutes after eating to aid digestion
- Drink Invigorating Tea
- Put your full attention on your meals when eating
Accumulated Vata
When Vata is out of balance, change and movement agitate the physiology resulting in a sense of instability. Balancing Vata requires introducing more grounding and stabilizing influences. Think routine and consistency. Here are a few tips to encourage balance and well-being:
Mind
- Meditate twice a day to quiet the mind
- Look for opportunities to create rhythm and routine in your life
- Go to bed and awaken at about the same time every day
- Wear Relaxing fragrances
- Listen to slow and relaxing music to calm Vata
- Minimize heavy reading, eating, or watching TV right before bed
- Diffuse relaxing fragrances into your environment
- Favor mild pastel shades and earth tones in your environment
How lovely that these directions are exactly what I’ve been craving, with the added (and excellent) suggestions of spa-ing out with calming oils and tea. Any excuse to act like I’m on a retreat is fine with me. And summer is upon us…retreat in the heat!
So I already have a cleansing massage scheduled with Joy Daily (she’s amazing: joyjoyjoy333@gmail.com) tomorrow, and the plan today is to work out when I need to regularly get up and go to be and such now that no one’s making me do it!
But what the heck to do with essential oils?
Fortunately, sitting around at Oasis means I’ve got access to lavender essential oil right off the bat. In the shopping cart. This friendly oil is famous for it’s seductively relaxing scent, and it happens to be gentle enough to use straight up without some of the intensity worries that come with other essential oils! Having declared today spa-day, I shall attempt to either mash this up into some home-made deodorant, or maybe smash it up with some clay I happen to have sitting around for a facial. If you don’t happen to have clay, try mashing up an avocado or using one of the other techniques suggested here by Nature’s Gift. Sprinkling lavender on the bedsheets is another famously fabulous application.
Ok, I’m on it, starting with the Tali’s Masala Chai as an invigorating tea.