Dare Say " No means No" to Clod Water!

Too cold, that is!

Many American restaurants offer ice water to their guests. But traditional Asian restaurants start diners off with hot tea. Why the difference?

Think about what happens in Nature when the temperature drops—the land appears still as animals hibernate and many plants enter a period of dormancy. If you head into the woods, you’ll eventually come across a stream or a small lake. Once the temperature dips below freezing for long enough, water molecules slow down and join together, forming crystals. Even if bodies of water do not freeze over, the cold makes everything slow down. Many rivers and waterfalls flow at a slower rate in frigid temperatures, too.

So, if the cold makes everything slowdown in the outer world, what does it do in your inner world? The exact same thing. In traditional Chinese medicine, cold is considered a pathogen. When it is cold outside and you eat cold foods (raw vegetables, salads, dairy, chicken, iced drinks, smoothies) or leave your skin uncovered, you’re exponentially exposing yourself to cold. Your body then has to use more Qi to warm and then process the food and drink and keep your skin warm. On the contrary, when you support your body with warm foods (cooked vegetables, soups, warming herbs and spices—ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, pepper, etc.) and you bundle up in the elements, you are conserving your Qi and giving your body another opportunity to rest. We want our Qi to flow, and flow freely. When Qi flows freely, disease cannot enter! (@TCM-World)

In Ayurveda as well, as per Acarya Sushruta added to it that hot water burns fat, digest ama-dosha, purifies bladder, cures cough, dyspnoea and fever and is always most wholesome. Hot water works on Agni. Agni is maintained its equilibrium means your internal homeostasis is maintained. Hot water stimulates hunger, helps digestion, good for the throat, easily to digest, cleanses the urinary bladder, relieves hiccup, flatulence, Vata imbalance, Kapha imbalance, it is ideal during the days of Panchakarma therapy, useful in fever, cold, cough, Ama condition, rhinitis, chronic respiratory conditions and pain in flanks.

Deepana property of warm water causes expansion of srotas carrying digestive juices, thus increasing their flow, resulting in proper digestion. Boiling water changes its nature, making it lighter and changes its potency from cold to warm. By boiling the drinking water for 5 minutes the properties of the element of fire are incorporated, which magnifies the properties of the water. This sharpness allows it to cleanse the channels and penetrate deeper levels of the physiology to hydrate the tissues, and thus it becomes easier for the body to flush out toxins and impurities.

Ayurveda which is a way of life have rightly identified and incorporated the miraculous benefits and effects of a simple and effective formulation i.e., Ushnodaka which can be instantly prepared and used as a part of daily regimen in the present era to maintain health.