kapha or the earth handout - elemental om...cleanse ! vata 1 1 pitta 2 3 kapha pamela quinn is a...

elem ental L ifestyl e l ed by Pamel a Quin n Author, The Elemen tal Cl ean se

Vata

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Pitta 2 3 Kapha

Pamela Quinn is a Yoga Teacher, Kundalini Teacher, Ayurvedic Specialist, Author, Social Entrepreneur, and Gifted Speaker. She is the founder of Elemental OM, has two yoga centers in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a single mother of two, and a really bad dog owner. Building upon the foundations of ancient Ayurvedic principles, Quinn takes a holistic approach to helping people create a physical, emotional and spiritual path for balanced living. As a philosophy, Ayurveda recognizes the interconnectedness of the mind, body and soul and how these dynamically link to one’s overall health and vitality. To achieve a joyful state of well being, it is important to support all of these aspects of yourself and create a lifestyle that sustains and nurtures your unique nature, or in Ayurvedic terms what is defined as one’s unique dosha.

Kapha Body Characteristics

• Medium to large broad frame • Balanced bone structure • Wide set shoulders & hips • Store energy and create mass • Well lubricated joints flexible • Excess weight • Gains weight easily loses weight with difficulty • Burns and then tans • Likes heat and sun • Skin is cool to touch • Pleasant smell • Stable appetite • Emotional eating • Menstruation is regular to light with mild and dull cramps • Pms..holding water, bloating, swollen breasts, vaginal itching, • In lovemaking...steady desires slow to arouse, but great endurance • Excellent immunity • Need vigorous daily exercise, but will avoid it. • Deeply love napping slow to move in mornings

Common body situations that Kapha is prone to: weight gain, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, weak digestion, loss of appetite, pale stool, mucus in stool, bloating, swollen ankles, runny eyes, runny nose, pose nasal drip, lethargy, loss of motivation, arms and legs feel heavy and hard to move, tumors, cysts, scanty urine, cholesterol build up

Kapha Mind Characteristics

• Emotional and/or pleasant • Shy • Avoidance • Calm, Quiet, Stable • Nurturing • Love of the comfort of home and family • Patient • Humble • Passive • Overly attached or possessive • Prone to greediness and accumulation • Stubborn • Strong steady faith. • Likes to save money • Remembers slowly and never forgets • Hard to anger, but remember forever • Great managers

Common mind situations that Kapha is prone to: melancholy, sadness, depression, sluggish thinking, procrastination, excessive sleeping, materialistic, hoarding, difficulty getting up in the morning, difficulty making decisions, not wanting to deal with problems at hand

Kapha Imbalance: • Weak digestion • Heaviness in abdomen • Loss of appetite • Pale stool • Mucus in stool • Bloating • Swollen ankles • Runny eyes • Runny nose • Post nasal drip • Lethargy loss of motivation arms and legs • Feel heavy and hard to move • Tumors • Cysts • Scanty urine • Cholesterol build up • Melancholy • Sad • Depression • Inflammatory diseases • Sluggish thinking • Procrastination • Excessive sleeping • Materialistic • Weight gain • Obesity • Diabetes • Cancer • Difficult y getting up in the morning • High cholesterol • Hay fever • Pale, cool and clammy skin

Elemental OM, 2013, all rights reserved Pamela Quinn, [email protected] 513.315.5042, www.elementalom.com

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Kapha Dosha is created from the combination of earth and water elements. It has the following properties: Kapha or The Earth (the elements of earth and water are abundant): When you think of Kapha in your body or mind, you have only to think of a boulder sitting in a cool forest covered in moss. The boulder is heavy, dense and cool. It is strong, stable and inert. The boulder does not change quickly. It sits calmly through the shifting of the forest. Kapha in your mind is your ability to remember and feelings of compassion and understanding. It is the gift of love. Kapha in your body is stable, lubricating and predictable. Kapha creates a person who is heavyset with smooth skin. It creates an easygoing, thoughtful and caring person that is devoted and loving. The Kapha Digestion The Earth or Kapha has stable digestion. If anything, The Earth may become a little bit sluggish at elimination. You love food, but can skip meals with little effect. You crave sweets and really have to watch yourself to not eat too much of them. You have probably been fighting your weight since childhood and easily gain weight while struggling to lose. The Kapha Mind The Earth is the tension needed to allow Water and Earth to combine. This dosha Ayurveda is known as “Kapha”. You do have the other doshas Fire (Pitta) and Wind (Vata) in your mind; however, their expression is not your first response. To understand how your mind behaves, you only have to think of the elements that combine to make the force of the Earth: Earth and Water. Earth and Water are heavy, cold, soft, lubricating, sweet, stable, immunity enhancing and slippery. Envision a boulder covered in a bit of moss sitting in a cool forest. The boulder is a constant and if you were to walk by it every single day, you would not notice that it is changing in any way. If you were to lean against the boulder you would find it to be cool and grounding at the same time. Its solid unmoving presence is calming and nurturing. You probably exhibit the following characteristics in your personality:


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• The Earth in all minds, regardless of the predominant force, is what gives a person stability, compassion and love. Combine that with a predominance of Earth (Kapha) and you have a person who is grounded, nurturing and stable. When I think of my Earth friends, I think of the people that I go to when I simply want a shoulder to cry on or someone to make me feel at home. The Earth is the nurturer in all of us. • Because of your stable mental state, you are prone to being very laid back. You take things in stride and don’t obsess or worry very much. In fact, you can be a little too laid back and don’t effectively deal with your situations. Many Earth types will shut down or seclude if life gets a little too stressful. You may even seclude on occasion when you feel you simply can’t deal with what life is handing out. • You may appear stubborn to others. It takes a very long time to come to decisions. You simply do things in your own time and take the time to absorb information and choose. The Earth tends to do everything a bit slower including reading, but has amazing long-term memory. • You probably love all things that are of family and that have a story. You are the person in the family that creates the photo albums and hangs onto report cards, old records and your grandmother’s recipes. You remember history and love to share all the memories of childhood and family vacations. You are very attached to your family, and will adopt anyone into your family including your friends and co-workers. You like taking care of them and showering them with love and affection. • You are focused and love routine. The Earth enjoys doing the same things each day. You are a person who loves to have a 9-to-5 job that is stable and predictable. You are a long-term employee. You are attached to your employer and co-workers. You may choose to stay in a job that you have grown out of due to the feeling that the Company needs you. In fact, you love that your desk has been in the same spot for many years and would be unsettled if it were to move. You get attached to objects and may accumulate clutter at work and at home. • You are fabulous at finishing projects and following through. You take great pride in your work, your dedication and your loyalty. Your friends, family and co-workers know that they can depend on you. • You are caring. You love to take care of others and give abundantly of yourself. You must be cautious not to give all of yourself away. The Earth has incredible stamina and will suffer greatly in situations that are no


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longer benefiting them. The deep sense of caring and obligation can be overwhelming to the point that life decisions cannot be effectively made. The Earth Body The Earth body is more of an endomorphic body. You may have shorter arms and legs; a larger frame and mass. Your arms and legs tend to accumulate more fat. Your bones are larger and heavier. Your muscles are larger. You are prone to excess weight and weight gain. It is imperative that you have invigorating daily movement or the weight will not stay off. If you cease your daily movement you can easily lose conditioning that you have worked so hard to achieve. • While you are not a “cold” person, your skin tends to be cool to the touch. It may even feel moist. You probably suffer in cooler weather and should take precautions to stay snuggly warm. • You are a cuddly, soft person. Your skin is soft, you hair is soft and your body stays soft and pliable. You have very good flexibility with loose joints. The Earth types are easy to identify if you simply touch their smooth, pore less and utterly soft skin. • You may be prone to excessive mucus and bloating. The recommendation for The Earth is to drink when thirsty, but not to drink excessively or you will suffer from bloat. • You are sweet. Sweet is one of the six tastes of Ayurveda. We will learn much about this a bit later during the Cleanse. Just know for now that our average American diet contains a lot of this taste. Pasta, breads, meat, dairy, fruits and sweets. You have a lot of this taste in your constitution so you really shouldn’t eat so much of it. • The Earth is very stable meaning it is slow to change. It probably takes you awhile to get going in the morning. If you fall into an energy slump, it may take awhile to turn that around as well. The good news is that this stability translates into forward momentum once you do get going. An Earth body committed to a movement practice will get into a good routine and stick to it. • When a person having an Earth body moves, it is slow, steady and graceful. Dancing is one of the most positive activities for an Earth body.


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• The stability of your system also means that you have a strong immune system. You probably don’t get sick very often. The caution is that you are so stable that you push yourself even when you are feeling run-down or even sick. The Earth body needs to rest when it is feeling run-down. • Your digestion tends to be reasonably good and you can skip meals with no problem. Your digestive disorder tends to be that your digestion can become sluggish and it may take time to eliminate. You must stoke the digestive fire with spicy and cooked food


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Lifestyle Choices to Uplift Kapha

• Arise daily with the sun and by 5 am. • When you get out of bed, evacuate the bowels. • Drink a glass of water upon rising. (Hot Water with ½ a Lemon is

awesome) • Take a daily dose of neem, turmeric, ginger • Brush your teeth with neem toothpaste. • Scrape your tongue with a tongue scraper. • Wash your face with neem soap and then massage Almond or Brahmi Oil

on your face. This will facilitate meditation and is good for the skin. • Place a few drops of nasya or Sesame or Brahmi Oil in each nostril • Meditate for 20 - 40 minutes. • Practice vigorous hatha yoga with a 10 minute Shavasana or resting

period. 6 sun salutations a day keeps the doctor away. • Incorporate a little fun into every day. Embrace brisk walking, vigorous

biking, outdoor hikes, dancing and listening to uplifting music. • Loofah or dry brush (2x/week) before you shower. • Where bright colors. • Go for a vigorous walk every single day in nature. Plan for 30 minutes. • Experience a full body oil massage daily before or after bathing. Use

almond of safflower oil. Use spicy and uplifting essential oils like cinnamon, spearmint, clove, rosemary, and bergamot.

• Spend some time in self-study and reflection through journaling. • Be in bed by 11 pm. • Sleep well.


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Eating Routine for Kapha Dosha

• Eating 3 meals each day around the same time each day. Leave 4 to 6 hours between meals. It is okay to skip a meal.

• Eat within one hour of rising. • Lunch is your biggest meal and includes meat if you are choosing to eat

meat. Kaphas make good vegetarians. Of all the doshas, meat is your least good choice.

• Foods are warm and mostly cooked. Dry cooking methods like roasting and grilling are best.

• Do not eat two to three hours before bedtime. • Eliminate snacking • You benefit from a long walk after your meal. • Favor foods in the following order:

o Vegetables, cooked or raw o Whole grains o Beans o Fruits o Seeds

• You may eat a limited amount of nuts, honey and oil. These are heavy and dense and add to your mass. Honey is the best choice for a sweetener, but not to exceed one teaspoon each day.

• Eat a more pungent diet. • You must limit consumption of dairy.

Foods that do/may aggravate Kapha

• Caffeine • Alcohol • Fried foods • Oil • Sweet food • Sticky Food • Heavy Food • Dense Food • Very Cold food like ice cream


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Meat is best avoided: okay in tiny amounts...treat as a garnish and no more than 3 servings in a week: White Chicken Egg Whites Freshwater Fish Rabbit Shrimp White Turkey Venison

Not the best choice: Beef Buffalo Dark meat of chicken and turkey Seafood (Salted fish) Salmon and Tuna Yolk of eggs Lamb Pork

Dairy is best avoided Good dairy for Kapha in moderation: Buttermilk Cottage Cheese Ghee Diluted Yogurt Goats Milk (skim) Introduce your body to beans If you are not used to eating beans, you may have to acclimate. Plan to eat beans 2 - 3 times each week until your body adjusts to this amazing and healing food. Kapha should avoid heavy beans like kidney, black lentils, and soybeans (cold tofu and miso) The best beans are: Black beans Mung beans Pinto beans Red lentils


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Your BEST veggies are: All veggies especially those that are pungent and bitter. Raw Beets Fresh Corn Eggplant Mustard Greens Onions...they are hot Peppers...they are hot Spinach Tomatoes...cooked

Except really juicy ones like: Potatoes Pumpkin Squash Raw tomatoes Zucchini

Notice how the really juicy ones are heavy and dense. If you held a potato in one hand and spinach in the other, what would be the better choice? Kapha Favorite Fruit Apples Apricots Cranberries Mangoes

Peaches Pears Pomegranates

Grapes, lemons, limes & strawberries in moderation. Avoid fruits that are very sweet, sour, or juicy Avocado Banana Coconut Dates Grapefruit Mangoes

Melons Oranges Papaya Pineapple Plums Watermelon

Caffeine and Alcohol Alcohol may still be consumed in a very moderate fashion with mindfulness. No more than 3 servings of alcohol should be consumed in one week. These servings should be consumed consciously. Notice if alcohol contributes to bloat and weight gain. If you are shifting weight, you want to eliminate alcohol.


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As you deepen your spiritual practice, you will notice that losing your senses to alcohol or anything else for that matter does not agree with you. Let this happen organically. Kapha Fast: The following is the suggested routine to “kick off” a Kapha appropriate cleanse. If your digestion is off, if you are depressed, if you have put on weight, if you need something dramatic to get you to move….

Organize:

1. Mentally prepare and begin to incorporate the meditation practice. 2. Go to the Grocery Store.

(day 1, 2, 3) Breakfast:

• Drink a cup of hot water with lemon first thing in the morning. (You may drink this 15 minutes prior to ANY meal)

• Within one hour later….Eat fruit for breakfast…berries are best. Snack (options…not all of them at once):

• Ginger tea when you get a craving, after meals, and before bedtime. • Pamela’s favorite energy up juice (recipe below) or glass of carrot juice • Berries, nuts (especially almonds and walnuts), dates, dried fruit • Yogi Breakfast (recipe below) • Yogi Energy Drink (recipe below)

Lunch:

• “one pot meal” or dahl (recipe below) • Steamed veggies

Dinner

• Basmati Rice • Steamed Veggies

or • Soup with a slice of multi-grain bread

(day 4, 5)

Breakfast:


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• Drink a cup of hot water with lemon first thing in the morning. • Fruit Juice Beverage

Snack:

• No snacking

Lunch and Dinner The intent is to only drink juice. If you are simply starving but want to maintain your fast have a small serving of “one pot meal” served very hot and eaten very slowly. Chew each bite 15 – 25 times if possible and sip warm water between bites.

• Juice

(day 6),

This is an all water day.

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This is a 1/2 day of water

Dinner: Basmati rice Before bed: Yogi Drink

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Eat for your dosha or your state of imbalance. Yogi Drink is perfect to begin each day with. If you can maintain one meal each day of either “one pot meal” or “basmati rice with steamed vegetables”, you will thrive.


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Recipes

Energy Up Juice

• 1 carrot • 1 celery • 1 apple • 2 cups of leafy greens…spinach, kale or other • 1 square cube of fresh ginger • Cumin to taste • Cayenne pepper to taste

Blend all in a juicer and drink it down! Yummy. Yogi Energy Drink (Recipe is from “Food as Medicine” by Dharma Singh Khalsa

• ½ cup water • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder • 8 ounces of non-milk milk (soy, rice, hemp, almond) • 3 – 5 dates • 1 Tablespoon almond oil • 1 teaspoon honey

Place water and turmeric in a pot. Boil until the turmeric has a paste like consistency, thick and viscous, and then add non-milk milk. Stir well and bring to a boil. Chop the dates and add to the milk. Let boil for 3 minutes and then let cool for a few minutes In a blender, place the almond oil, the mixture you just made, and honey. Blend. Consume within 2 – 3 hours and do refrigerate. Yogi Breakfast

• 8 unsalted almonds • 1 cup of non-milk milk like soy milk, almond milk or rice milk • 1 teaspoon honey • Nutmeg • Cinnamon • Dried Ginger (optional) • Turmeric (optional)


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Get out a small pan. Place the almonds in the bottom of the pan. Pour the milk over and heat on low until milk is warm and bubbles just on the edge. Remove from heat and poor in a mug. Add the honey, nutmeg and cinnamon to taste. Enjoy. One Pot meal or “Dahl” or “Kitchardi”

• 1 bag mung dal, if split, you do not have to soak. If whole, soak for an hour or even overnight. Mung dal or lentils are red, yellow and green. Dal is a Sanskrit word for lentils. The red dal tends to be more heating.

• Vegetable broth or water • Garlic, minced • Onion, chopped • Celery, chopped • Carrots, chopped • Organic salt/pepper, to taste • Cumin, 2 or more tablespoons • Cayenne pepper, to taste • Basmati Rice

Always rinse your beans before cooking and remove any discolored beans. Place mung dal (lentils) in pot and cover lentils with vegetable broth. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer. Add garlic, onions, celery, carrots, salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Simmer on low until beans are cooked through. You may cover with a lid. You will have to keep checking the liquid level and adding broth or water to keep moist. This should take 40 minutes or so. You may add the rice to your pot and cook all as one or cook rice separately.

kapha or the earth handout - elemental om...cleanse ! vata 1 1 pitta 2 3 kapha pamela quinn is a...

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