Digestive Tea for Late Winter Kapha season

Late Winter, peak of Kapha season – digestion slows down, mucus accumulates, and immunity weakens

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, late Winter is the time we carry escess weight, start to feel sluggish, lethargic, heavy and … depressed.

This is the result of slow digestion.

Logical, after indulgence of holidays, more movie nights and shorter days to actively enjoy the outdoors. And very expected at the peak of Kapha season (Winter / Spring)

Ayurveda advises that we start boosting both digestion and immunity in order to have an easier time in the cold, flu and allergies season, Spring.

Here is an easy tea recipe that does precisely that: kindles sluggish digestion and boosts immunity, as well as increases absorption with “warming” (a.k.a. kapha reducing) kitchen staples:

Gather together (find it all here):

• 1/2 tsp GINGER – digestive herb and immunomodulator. Use fresh or dry (for more heating effect, if congested)
• 1/2 tsp CORIANDER – ingredient in traditional Ayurvedic all-year-round digestive tea formula, use seeds or ground
• 1/2 tsp GARLIC – immunomodulator, heating for excess kapha
• 1/4 tsp LICORICE powder – immunomodulator, sweetener and throat soother
• 1/4 tsp BLACK PEPPER – expectorant, transporter (ensures absorption of all the above ingredients, increasing their action)

* If using coriander seeds, grind them together with black pepper to increase absorption (it, too, slows down with sluggish digestion).

** You can use a high quality garlic paste or powder in place of fresh garlic.

Mix all ingredients in a medium sized teapot, add 4 cups of hot water, let steep for 5 minutes.

If the licorice does not lend enough sweetness, you can add raw HONEY to taste for extra “scraping” effect on clogged channels and additional immunity boost. BUT: wait for the tea to cool a bit before adding honey. Honey should never be cooked!

Finally – ENJOY! Before meals, with meals, any time of day.

And, of course, don’t forget to add these ingredients to your cooking 🙂

And if you want to kick off the Spring Detox –

throw soma yoga into your morning mix:

• Add the Perfect Morning Stretch for circulation and digestion to your waking moments

• and AGNISARA to speed up elimination and melt down stagnation from the GUT