Winter is usually the time of year we hibernate on the couch with our ugg boots and hot chocolate, only to find by September we’re carrying a few extra kilos and are feeling kind of sluggish. According to Ayurveda, winter is governed by the Kapha-dosha, whose properties are cool/dampness, heaviness and sluggishness.
Some remedies to a winter Kapha condition, which may include chills, excess mucous and sluggish digestion, are:

· Plenty of pungent and bitter vegetables like spinach, asparagus, broccoli, beets, cabbage
· Reduce intake of nuts and seeds, except sunflower and pumpkin seeds
· Substitute red meat for white meats like chicken, turkey and fish
· Reduce dairy, have goats milk instead
· Reduce sugar, have raw honey as a sweetener instead
· Use pungent spices in cooking, like turmeric, cumin, and coriander, while reducing salt
· Increase exercise, especially yoga – keep moving to fan your internal flame!

Yoga practice increases our internal fire, which in Ayurveda is called ‘agni’, meaning ‘transforming force’. During yoga, we build our agni, our fire of healing which helps us sustain positive health and vitality. The fire transmutes negativity into positive attributes, and is the true power of our soul that motivates us from within.

“Yoga is a ritual fire in which we offer our body, our life and mind into the flame of awareness that is our true Self” ~ David Frawley.