Heating a small saucepan covered with several small dollops of clarified butter, I reached for my favorite hand-painted seafoam green tea mug that one of my interns gifted me with a few years ago, and gently placed it beside the collection of sweet and warming spices gathered.
Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom..
As the ghee melted into a translucent gold liquid, I poured in a cup of coconut milk, heated the two together, then poured into my mug, added my spice medley, and curled up on the oversized reading chair in the library to drink and read for a while, while still early morning.
For several days, this was my morning routine.
Oleation
Oleation, which I wrote about this past Spring, is an Ayurvedic therapy that uses ghee along with a non-fat diet, deeply and thoroughly lubriacting all the body’s tissues from the inside out. It also gently flushes the liver and gallbladder and bonds to fat-soluble toxins and drives them to the colon for elimination.
For me, oleation, although outwardly goal-oriented, is a deeply feminine and nourishing practice. I can’t help but start focusing on the care and health of my organs and my nervous system.
How often do most of us do this? (or feel we have time to?)
I generally have a really good experience and have also worked many years on creating the right mental/emotional state to enter this type of thing with minimal stress or pressure. As you know, changing anything with the diet is as much psychological as it is physical (in many cases, moreso!)
When I was in my mid-twenties and totally enamored by every so-called detoxifying way of eating around, I found myself muscling through various protocols, only to feel excessively hungry and restricted and very “bingey” afterwards.
No bueno.
I’m telling you, timing, circumstances, and the right relationship with food go a very long way…
Yes on Fat
Whether something like drinking clarified butter intrigues you, seems pretty out-there…or even makes you want to gag (totally me in the beginning,) what I’d really like to do today is invite you pay attention to fat in your diet this season.
Fat is the great nourisher. It calms our nervous system, feeds our brain, supports the absorption of nutrients in your favorite veggies, regulates the appetite, and supports health blood sugar levels.
As the air naturally shifts to cool and dry, the body and nervous system would likely appreciate some lubricating and calm-burning fuel.
It’s a good time for it. So make sure it’s present in your diet.
Here’s one idea:
Autumn Smoothie*
(you knew this was coming!)
1 cup very soft cooked sweet potato (bake an extra sweet potato or two for dinner) 2 TBS almond butter 1 Tbs chia seeds A drizzle of pure maple syrup to taste Ground cinnamon -many shakes Ground nutmeg – a few shakes Ground ginger- a shake or two Water to desired consistency
*I usually add vanilla protein powder to smoothies to really sustain me. Sunwarrior and Garden of Life are good ones…
Thanks for reading. I hope your diet continues to support your life and what inspires you most…
Love,
Commentaires