Live In Tune – Stay Cool, Relaxed & Playful

How far away do you feel from these three words right now – cool, relaxed and playful? It could be there’s too much heat in your body or your mind and you could use some support in chilling out – on all levels. Fortunately, Mother Nature has your remedy.

As a yoga therapist, I often incorporate Ayurveda into my work. This nature-based healing system from India is the sister science to yoga. It’s deeply soothing to my nervous system to know that Ayurveda is just as true and effective today as it was thousands of years ago.

The premise is basic – like attracts like and when out of balance, bring in the gentle opposites. When feeling irritable, rigid (not playful), critical, crabby or physically hot, it could be a sign that your “dosha” or “energy type” is out of balance.

I won’t get into all the details here but suffice it to say there are 5 elements in nature – earth, water, fire, air and space. These 5 elements combine into 3 types, or doshas. One is made up of mostly earth and water. Another is water and fire. The third is air and space. Each person has a natural portion of these elements that is not equal fifths. One may be more dominant than another.

So, you may be a person who when in balance has more fiery elements in your mind and body than others. Add to this the heat of the summer season and hot conditions like rashes and irritability increase.

You can use cool elements from nature to bring in the gentle opposites, like mint and cucumber. You can trade your hot yoga class or competitive sports for yin yoga and cooperative sports.

At first, Ayurveda can feel overwhelming. I remember leaving my first visit to an Ayurvedic doctor in India in tears of frustration. Was I supposed to eat tomatoes or not?? They were balancing for my constitution but not my imbalance. Huh?

This is why I’m delighted to partner with Banyan Botanicals. This certified B Corp. crafts pure, effective and accessible Ayurvedic herbs and products that help take the guesswork out of balancing your constitution, or dosha.

So if you're feeling hot under the collar from working on website updates or steamed at the kids and all their friends who seem to now live at your house, help is on the way.

Use the breath to cool the system by smiling wide with your tongue on the roof of your mouth just behind the teeth. Inhale through this open smile and feel the cool air rushing in. You can also purse your lips and sip through an invisible straw. Close your mouth and exhale through the nose. Repeat this several times for a quick cool down.

Products I recommend to feel more cool, relaxed and playful are Banyan Botanical's pitta (heat) pacifying massage oil and herbal supplement. An expert blend of cooling herbs turn down the thermostat in body and mind.

These can also help you if you're feeling burned out or having hot flashes. You can find this on my new online shop on my website.

Be sure to use the promo code: MIRA15 to receive 15% off your first order.

And, here's one more cooling tool - Spa Water.