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Category: Ayurvedic living

Kapha Body Type Obvious Signs

Kapha body type is found in those with hearts… yes, that’s all of us, but not all of us are natural Kapha bodies. Gaining Kapha obvious signs and awareness-knowledge helps us in our daily lives.

Raspberries are good for heart health and even mimic heart shapes 🫀These whole wheat raspberry pop tarts celebrate heart health month. 💗 You can find this recipe in this blog website.

Whether you’re a natural Kapha body type or or another Ayurvedic body type (…that you’ll learn more about in this article), you can have a Kapha imbalance as all of us have some Kapha in us.

Kapha dosha is the earth and water 🌎 in us (that sometimes carries mud and creates sluggish seasons in our lives!).

The other elements are wind, fire, and air to complete the five elements.

Ayurvedic Pitta dosha is fire and water and Vata dosha is wind and air (or space) that rounds out our human body makeup. And mind too in the mind-body connection.

And with sharing water commonality, Pittas have more in common with the Kapha constitution than a Vata dosha body.

One area that’s a common distinction is that to naturally balance Kapha, this usually involves weight loss while Vata balancing is on the other end of the spectrum.

It doesn’t take a lot to find someone close to you that you can determine is a natural Kapha. You may have friends and relationships with many Kaphas who in-balance make great friends, but outta balance can rub off in not-so-great ways you’ll learn more about below.

…But for the most part, Kaphas are loving people at heart so we can lean toward those positive traits. 💕

Backing up just a ‘lil, you may not be so familiar with the Kapha body type description because it’s part of our newer age and Ayurveda today is a common approach among eastern way cultures where it started.

Thousands of miles away in America where I grew up and live, it’s catching on, but not everyone is aware. There, we learned about pear and apple body shapes as descriptors.

And endomorphs (Kapha) 🍐, mesomorphs (Pitta) 🍏, and ectomorphs (Vata) ⏳ body types… sound familiar? Body types were often illustrated with doodle images in magazines.

Today, a sturdy planted elm or a full fruit blossomed tree can be another Kapha body type description if you want to take it outside for nature descriptors or into your Ayurveda Tree yoga pose that has caught on like wildfire in the Western hemisphere.

And, of the three dosha ayurvedic body types (Kapha, Pitta, and Vata), Kaphas can usually withstand and endure tougher conditions like palm trees, that you can mimic in Swaying Palm Tree pose.

A Kapha body type is more like a palm tree that can endure and thrive in an ecosystem where they're planted.

Kaphas are like palms 🌴 that are enduring in nature.

Or, you can show off your Kapha body soul with firmly planted feet in a majestic Mountain Pose if balance poses a challenge in your Ayurvedic moves. ⛰️

Other obvious Kapha body type characteristics:

Kapha body type can be described as solid and larger frame (compared to the Pitta and Vata body types).

But there are other natural characteristics, like: dewey skin (moist) and a colder internal body thermostat. They share cooler body temps in common with Vatas.

That’s why it’s good to have a thick, comfy hoodie or warm blanket close by that comforts especially on wintery nights, wet days, and dreary weather  outside.

Often, Kapha lazy sides rule. Hibernation during the colder months warm the soul, along with deep sleeping.

A Kapha body type can carry a daily sinus life and a regular cough-as Kapha. Sleeping with breathing difficulties is also common, along with waking up with sinus or chest to head congestion since the body was laying flat.

And these are other noticeable common signs (tell-tale even amongst strangers):

A Kapha body type gains weight easily. Kaphas tend to have larger frames. And most noticeable on the outside to a Kapha body, is the tendency to add weight and fit in larger clothing. They also tend to digest slowly and store more fat easily as another sign.

Kaphas tend to walk slowly. Others (Pittas and Vatas) walk faster ahead. It’s easy to chalk this up to longer legs, but the Kapha slower pace is not just body-part related. It’s also Kapha mind connected to the way each likes to do lifein their Kapha body type if Kapha dominant overall, and taking life in stride. Think of the relaxed coastal lifestyle vs. fast city dweller life.

Which btw, a natural Vata mind and Kapha body is more anxious and a Pitta mind in a Kapha body takes life faster.

How these traits complement good Kapha body type sides:

As already mentioned, Kaphas prefer to embrace a relaxed, slower paced life that’s healthy and less stress to the body. So that can lead to a longer life if other health and wellness areas are self-care maintained.

…And this leads to a Kapha body type who lives more calm ☺️ than anxious Vata types 😦 or competitive Pitta Type-A’s. 😠

Mind you, none of the body types are better than the other per se, but being overall healthy is the best of all dosha worlds.

Kaphas also have a higher tendency to forgive other people as being sympathetic. And they have good memories (…a memory like an elephant 🐘), so they can make good reminders. Other types like Vatas, not so much as more forgetful.

And these help to support the idea that Kaphas often make great friends because they’re nice at heart, supportive, loving, and likable.

Kaphas are common among us and are often our funny, light-hearted entertaining friends we like to have fun and laugh with.

We love our balanced Kapha friends because in those moments they let things roll off their back and not bother them. They don’t take life too seriously like score-counting Pitta counterparts or worry wart Vatas.

Other body types wish they could be like the Kapha body type. They can get their superpower things done in ease. They don’t sweat the small things.

Now, these are the downsides that an imbalanced Kapha body type can exude:

Kapha people can be clingy in relationships where too much of a good thing can be cloying and smothering.

And as mentioned they tend to metabolize slowly, and accumulate pounds easily (“look at food and gain weight”).

Accumulation can also carry into their lives as hoarding, clutter, or disorganization. When someone has too much Kapha (or imbalanced Kapha), these are typical signs.

A Kapha body type can also tend to hold in feelings and not express sad or other hurtful feelings that eat on the inside. This can stay as trauma to the body and mind in the mind-body connection. They can be more sensitive to criticism than Vatas and Pittas.

But the great news is an imbalanced Kapha from an accumulated seasonal situation (and not a health triggered one) can be restored with specific lifestyle tweaks using the 5-senses.

Our human bodies are intuitive and have built-in natural preferences. To optimize our lives, we can learn the internal body language and uncover what those are to restore ourselves and our lives. You can do this better when you know whether you have a Kapha (Pitta or Vata) body imbalance or a combination, and know what to do when imbalanced for each for starters.

You can also complement Ayurvedic lifestyle tweaks with hormonal or aging health imbalances. Solutions (such as healthy foods) are both headed in the healthy direction, so there are overlaps in natural prescriptions.

Taking small action in those healthy guided directions help turn the tide sooner to get back to the happy-go-lucky and calm temperament that is natural to a Kapha body type and the sides everyone around you loves…

And by taking care and nipping-in-the-bud accumulating imbalances that accrue easily in our busy Western and comparing cultures, you can avoid unnecessary potential depression, infections, and obesity. ❣

Awareness, daily restoration, and prevention can change the trajectory toward better healthy outcomes, daily life enjoyment, and longevity.

Since the body communicates with us through feeling-good and healthy vs uncomfortable (or body symptoms), we can use those clues to gather more information from our bodies.

Here are some habit examples that can restore the 3 most common Kapha imbalances:

Clear sinus problems, nasal congestion, or excess phlegm. Mucus is actually a way for your body to protect you from foreign body invaders like allergens (and sometimes over protect with daily allergies).

One natural symptom remedy is: you can breathe in ACV steam like our older and grandmother generations taught. If you feel the sting in your passages, then it’s working.

Shower steam is also good. You can also use and sniff essential oils like peppermint and eucalyptus that will help open up the passages.

A neti pot is also a good way habit that cleans out your passages naturally. You may want to do this regularly during heavy pollen season or year-round weekly (or bi-weekly). Use warm water and sea salt for best cleansing effect. You can prevent nasty sinus infections from this one cleansing move if you keep up with it!

Prevent weight gain and maintain a consistent healthy weight. When it’s colder, warm comfort foods are desired. Use healthy ingredients and consider making your own homemade soups and stews. Balance with plant-based foods such as beans, alliums, and indole veggies. And start the day with fiber like asparagus, bananas, oats, and whole grains.

You can have cook prepared veggies and salads ready-to-go on the side. You can also decide to have something “green” at every major meal.

And still focus on healthy proteins as the star of your meal that’ll keep you feeling full longer so you don’t feel the need to snack all day.

🌱 If healthy intermittent fasting is something you would like to learn more about, get the free comprehensive guide to start and sustain your IF or fasting lifestyle that works for all body types in bio-individuality.

Beating tiredness. Start your day with water. Get caffeinated and enough sleep. Intake enough Vitamin D and sunshine especially during colder months that doesn’t do Kaphas any favors.

Lessen blue light at night from devices and wear blue light blocking glasses that our grandmother’s ages didn’t have. Listen to uplifting and get-you-moving music ring tones that can also be your wake-up alarm.

And if you want to healthy balance weight and optimize sleep, intermittent fasting is one biohacking trick that helps in those areas and many other health longevity areas especially if you’re living and adjusting to your beyond 40s new normal body.

To learn more about Ayurvedic balance, take the body balance quiz.

Self-Care Wheel for Kapha Imbalances

Self-care wheel with love, spiritual, sleep, and energy at the helm.

Self-care wheel balance is heck-yeah! needed in the colder months when our unleashed Kaphas are in full-force…

Wheels in motion take you to where you want to go. A wheel can go slowly or fast, but no matter what speed its default is to move forward (unless you purposefully choose to reverse). And, this article is about moving you forward and bettering your life this season. 🎡

If you understand the nature of Ayurveda as our natural healthy design, then you’ll be able to use that insight for better self-care and restore natural seasonal imbalances.

Like on the exterior, if you have super dry skin every winter along with a skinny frame, then you’re likely a natural Vata body (and not a Kapha body). If you tend to hold extra body weight and metabolize slowly, then Kapha is your natural way. Both feel the cold extremities as traits.

And as natural as having a Kapha body, some of us are more Kapha minded. Or we get imbalanced with tired Kapha moods.

That’s sometimes how I feel in the mornings (when Delta sleep is more like it!).

We can have a Vata body and a Kapha mind (and vice versa) as a simple example. And, there are 9 organized combinations if we want to keep it simple. Because you may be one born dominant in two body or mind ways (doshas). And mind and body connect in the daily mind-body connection to how you think, act, and feel.

The good news is you can positively impact and gradually change what you don’t like by your lifestyle choices. It’s nature vs. nurture where nurture is what you’re living today.

…You don’t have to settle for what you’re born with as lesser personality and traits you want to change.

Genetics is a tougher one to influence and turn the rudder on, but not impossible… and lifestyle tweaks and choice prevention can completely change a lesser situation or a higher probability likelihood.

And so, this article is meant to help you connect-the-dots and live your best life you can today with better lifestyle choices!

I’m focusing on Kapha here because all of us have a little of Kapha going on and that can be heavy in this seasonal time of year (where we hear more cough-as life). 😷

But here I share what I learned circa 2008 that has stuck with me, and what’s newer that I applied starting in 2023 to support healthy daily living intentions and prevention.

…And we know a healthy body translates to a better happy day where we get to do more and make more choices on our terms!

Letting in self-care influences give us more daily joy and balance. When you add better sleep, energy, spiritual, and love self-care into the equation, those move the needle forward. 🧭

A self-care wheel just like that can be the practical guide toward priorities tipping away from the heavy Kapha mind that makes it hard-to-get-going in the morning… or that makes you feel more depressed during colder seasons.

…Where growing up, we called this the SAD season (seasonal affective disorder). I went through this every February in my teens and early 20 years (when one that age should have had more energy). Lack of supplemental Vitamin D and sunshine affected the happy hormones we didn’t know much about back then. Winters were colder in the mid-Atlantic region where I grew up.

But, today we have more self-care knowledge and winters are warmer, and sometimes 70 degrees in some regions. So you can use the better products and circadian rhythm advice out there to your self-care wheel advantage.

…Plus, my healthy lessons learned (that btw get better with age 😉). Below is the skinny on what could help you get the self-care wheel balance you’re needing today.

✨ And these are some obvious Kapha Signs to look out for 👀that may be affecting you (and your self-care wheel):

Kapha Sign #1 (Sleep/energy):

Sleep and energy together because they are so closely knit together. 🧶

Do you find yourself needing more sleep in the cold weather seasons? Or maybe you’re consistently tired?

And that’s a bummer because less sleep means less time enjoying the day or being productive. Not enough sleep, you also lose free time and can lack energy as downsides.

Number of sleep hours are important, but better quality sleep is the better biohack way. And I share the best biohack routine I know and practice below. ⬇️

But for most days, when you get enough sleep, your body wakes up feeling energized. (Sleep + energy = 🤸🏻‍♂️)

You get better connected, cohesive thoughts. Because your body was able to fully recharge its batteries the night before.

Your daily energy ⚡️ is directly affected by how well you sleep. We all know that… and that’s why alarm clocks and caffeine are so popular in the morning.

…And getting less blue light in our eyes at night is up there too as newer healthy artificial habits.

We can also affect the energy systems inside us with better lifestyle choices, like: healthy food and drink choices, when we consume, and exercise.

Energy is not just physical and movement. Or calories.

…It’s also energy in the mind. Our minds can be slow and lethargic and that can be part of a Kapha imbalanced mind.

But there are other signs too… like, we’re not connecting energetically with others (who are energy).

We can have an invisible positive magnetic or negative repelling energy. That’s something visible in your life to consider that often gets missed in relationships and the community around us.

✅ Tips for daily sleep/energy ⚡️self-care wheel balance:

Give yourself more energy. You can listen to music that puts you in an energetic mood, get blood pumping through your veins doing your exercises, and doing a new activity that stimulates your mind. And give yourself daily healthy mind-body energy food.

Kapha Sign #2 (Spiritual):

When our Kaphas are off balance, there’s a domino effect, affecting: feelings, thoughts, and how much of our lit spiritual selves we let in. And these impact our daily actions.

The actions (or inactions) that accumulate pounds, things, emotions, and piles of things as examples are obvious exterior signs. They’re processed deeper in mind-thoughts that change our feelings and moods.

To change, it’s easier to look at the exterior signs (as mirrors and clues) to our inner going-ons that creates our world, so we can get more grounded and tap into our inner power.

If you find the clue that you’re accumulating in some way, the deeper source could be because you’re wanting to be alone and building up a wall from others. Or you’re just plain tired from picking up toys and piles, and cleaning up.

…The source isn’t as important as knowing that those are classic Kapha awareness imbalanced signs. And since we don’t want to exude growing unhealthy behavior that accumulates, we can change choices…

So, look around… have you accumulated things or have you stopped putting things away as much? Do you have unintentional messy piles, clothes, or toys left out for another day?

“Disorganized” and “clutter” (descriptions that can harshly rub like an abrasive scrubber as the elephant in the room) —  usually go hand-in-hand because it’s the same mind feeding the non-serving abrasive message.

…And this can leave feelings of shame that can gradually turn into self-loathing if allowed. That’s sobering, but helpful because then we can be aware and fix what isn’t healthy.

✅ Tips for daily spiritual 🌟 self-care wheel balance:

Practice letting go. Ignore your heavy Kapha thoughts as this derails you from your this season’s purpose. This can sound challenging if you’ve never exercised this right to ignore any of your thoughts, but it’s so liberating!

Rewrite not-so-great thoughts if you never have (and do it over and over again if you have). Nip it in the bud when the thoughts arrive.

You can save time, money, and effort that your brain would otherwise send you to go spend on… like I’d be happier if I had ___ shopping item, ___  life, or ___ relationship.

Feeling content can do wonders for you if you can do that step.

Many years ago, I discovered that I didn’t have to accept my random thoughts that entered my mind. I could decisively ignore and even peacefully disagree. How was that the first time?… very weird.

…But when I practiced that habit, my life changed and I didn’t let the beaten down tracks play over and over again. The better track connect-the-dots and stops fictitious endings from forming.

With those positive step actions, I could walk away and then my better moods came back.

I could change my moody feelings and re-direct my perspectives. And you can too if that’s what you want…

Where and how are you on your mind and thought journey?

Here are the simple steps 👣

Recognize the thought: negative, unproductive thought (alert!)

The action: walk away

The walk away feeling: freedom vs. ego smothering protection and feeling bad about something, people, or myself

Repeat.

Kapha Sign #3 (Love):

Getting back or having healthy self-love is most important in matters of love and relationships. That’s how we also attract healthy relationships.

But, heavy imbalanced Kapha minds can have extremes: acting prickly toward people or relationships. Or acting needy and dependent to those who don’t reciprocate. These do the opposite of attracting (and sometimes wrongly attract opposites).

Smothering (or semi-mothering) can make others feel like a boundary is crossed, and can easily destroy a relationship.

When we expect others to make us happy, we set ourselves up for disappointment. So focusing on loving ourselves first allows us to energetically have an authentic overflow of love that pours out to others.

In self-care, we used to call this Me-Time that has become Me-Too as a form of love and healing.

✅ Tips for daily love ❤️ self-care wheel balance:

Be kind to yourself and your body, and tell your mind: “I am enough.”

Repeat saying to yourself: “I am loved” as a daily mantra.

******************************************

🧡 And FINALLY,  from my newer lessons learned on the self-care wheel:

In 2023, I started intermittent fasting in my life for healthy gut reasons. But I found in my self-experiment (that I journaled about)… it also improved daily sleep, energy, and gave lighter mind-thoughts.

On those IF nights, sleep is better because the body doesn’t need to go to extra work to process food ontop of all its miracle daily resetting functions (…and why we need sleep in the first place!). And the liver doesn’t have to work hard to process beverages other than the mostly water clear kind. I like herbal teas.

So building in a weekly routine practice, I experienced not needing as much sleep and improved sleep quality.

👣 If you want to know how to optimize IF and Kapha metabolism for all the daily healthy benefits (and biohacking your body’s health), you can learn and read more about my journey.

Mountain Pose Yoga Journey For Kapha Stimulation

Mountain pose yoga is a great way to get you into your daily groove in more ways than one.

Mountain steps are often uneven like these where you can practice your mountain pose yoga at the mountain top.
This is a 340 natural mountain step challenge 🎉

 

Mountain Pose for starters can be a morning pose to wake up your body. You can do wherever you have a floor or ground to stand on.

Standing tall with hands in the air helps additional blood circulation and Ayurvedic Kapha stimulation especially when you’re in a tired season (that can rob any imbalanced Kapha mind-body of excited feelings).

This article is about how to use Mountain Pose yoga this season, both in yoga and climbing your mountain top or hill.

Yoga Mountain Pose

To get the most out of your yoga Mountain Pose, swoop swan dive arms gracefully down like your arms are eagle spanning wings. And then forward fold your hands to your yoga mat or your ankles grounded on the floor. 🦅

And then weightlessly reverse swan dive your arms back up into the air. That’s a good way to be purposeful in your daily moves.

Mountain Pose yoga can be part of your Vinyasa flow.

It’s a way to finesse  your ways as you grow, and is a good metaphor for personal growth moves with intentional motion today.

Repeat your Mountain Pose, but next time, coordinate your deep breaths, with inhales up and exhales down in going up and down your pose. This keeps you purposefully engaged from head to toe.

Remember this Mountain Pose and your breath practice when you’re outdoors on a walk, hike, or journey up a mountain.

This outdoor practice is a great way to get energy flowing when you’re lacking energy, need new calm headspace, or just a ‘lil motivational push. It’s great exercise for your entire body.

And when you challenge yourself to get up a mountain if you’re nearby to one, you’ll get all the mind-body benefits.

If you’re feeling tired, stop and take a sip of water to refuel. Look around at your surroundings in awareness and mindfulness. Maybe do your stretching Tree Pose.

“They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31

Mountain climbing is a great way to accompany a mini-sabbatical journey. What’s interesting about each hike, is that there are different trails to choose from.

And every day, each trail is slightly different because the nature elements change… everything from the trees, sky, and ground you walk and rely on with each step.

Changing foliage reminds us that this moment is just a blink.

When you come back around, leaves and twigs have fallen and flowers and fruit change up the scenery.

Selecting a path or trail that suits you is fun. Take the hike that inspires you or sounds inspiring. The first time will always be a surprise. 🎉

Usually people who’ve never been on a trail, listen to what others  have told them who have walked the trail. Sometimes it’s better  to listen to your heart and nature as guides instead of other’s opinions.

Because we all interpret differently…

One time, I kept hearing the message about how much more difficult a specific trail would be. That reminds me of younger years when we didn’t have info. at our fingertips.

And so I avoided that one as a first-timer, so I could build up.

And then when I actually did the hike, I found it was the easier one than the long winded one. The “strenuous” reputation trail had hundreds of steps at the end, and that’s what was meant by “harder.”

But, steps to me actually shortcut the climb process because it provides interest and variety that keeps present awareness. So fully engaged, that feels like the process is sped up.

Mindful about your uneven steps, you’re already at the top before you know it.

The alternative is to take a longer trail path without a steep incline and as many steps. And that’s where natural Kapha tendencies differ from Vatas.

Know Your Individual Strengths

There’s a general fork in the road in body types.

Kaphas naturally prefer the endurance exercise which means longer courses and duration over steps that is perceived as work.

Vatas prefer the shorter, variety trail with different interest points that doesn’t seem like work.

And Pittas just want the challenge, so either trail is fine as long as there’s a little sprinting up and down the hill that wouldn’t hurt either. 😉

Each of us have our body strengths.

Climbing trails is an individual journey.

And in each season, we’re holding onto an imbalance even if just a smidge that we can course correct on our individual journey.

The first steps are the ones that can be mentally the hardest to get going on. And a part of you might be wondering: is it too late to turn around?

But when you focus on the baby steps of each step, it’s easier. You remove the blocks. And actually that’s what little kids on the trails do on their steps. They enjoy the climbing challenge and play with the immovable Lego blocks.

We need more of that in our everyday, where we look forward to trying a healthy challenge as part of our play.

It’s great natural exercise in the process.

With every step and turn, you can find your balance and appreciate how your body assets work for you.

Having a nudge motivation like seeing the mountain top view helps us get to the goal. The cherry on the top of the mountain doesn’t disappoint. And that’s a general consensus for all…

The ending is predictable. But the getting-there journey is not. The middle changes as you get different perspectives. And the next time, you’ve grown some. So you see life from a different lens and that can help you maneuver this season.

Balancing Kapha On Your Trail

If you’re needing a little push out of a tired mind that can make a tired body, on your trail, look for pops of color like fiery red leaves in autumn. Or berries on trees.

Wear a pop of color on your arm or shoes… (if you’re drawn to the bright or neon colors, that could be why as your body is intuitive). Just a pop of color though because bees are attracted to bright clothing and mountain air. 🐝 We can share the calm space.

Find a pine cone or forest fresh scent. Some natural bug spray scents have lemongrass and rosemary that help to wake up the senses. They’ll keep the certain bugs away and keep you awake.

Take energy food and water. Great snacks are nuts and energy bites. So, ready to get your Mountain pose on? ⛰️

Print Recipe

carrot energy squares recipe
Print

Gluten-Free Carrot Bread Squares

Course Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup gluten-free almond flour or coconut flour
  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 1/2 cup raisins and chopped walnuts (optional)
  • 1 cup finely grated carrots
  • 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg each (optional)
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Mix ingredients and bake on 350°F for about 40 minutes.
Homemade energy squares with: carrots, raisins, coconut, and apple cider vinegar.

Relaxing Easy Autumn Bread Recipes to Inspire You

autumn leaves inspires autumn creativity and autumn bread recipes for me that i share in this blog article.
When you blend autumn leaves together, they look like a colorful painting that life is. And that can give you inspiration for expressing creativity and your creative talents! One way I like to stay creative and express creativity is through baking. I share autumn recipe inspiration below that can help YOU find your colors. 🌈
Autumn bread recipes can be comforting for the soul. After baked, the hearty loafs with sweet or savory flavors bring moments of joy and satisfaction.

And creating your own easy autumn bread recipes is easy when you know what to do! You probably already have the few essential bread making ingredients needed in your kitchen cupboard. So you’re already half-way (or more) there to spark your inspiration. 🎨

After you’ve practiced and perfected your foundational bread making skills (aka making progress over perfection), you realize you don’t need “special” recipes to create your own bread masterpiece that will wow your taste buds and friends.

…And that can even be a table centerpiece for a few days, just long enough for you to have that enjoyment factor before it wears off. 😉

The simple things like bread can bring the most joy in this life. 🎉

And with satisfied feelings, bread baking is more an art, than a science experiment with baking measurements (in case that scares you off).

Bread chemistry science happens in the oven, so it’s mostly outta your hands! That can be comforting and take the pressure off.

And below step-by-step, I show you the easiest bread you can make and bake.

Your part is to put your love in your bread dough making process, and not to get mired down with complicated step-by-steps that doesn’t always pan out.

…And I learned this over many self-taught bread lessons. The a-ha is that sticking to the basics pans out every time. And that’s good for balancing Vata where the balance recipe is consistency.

The secret in making good bread is using your calm energy and heart where you enjoy the process. And maybe finding your bread making relaxing place, kinda like the one you find outdoors on a perfect fall day with no clouds in the sky.And then when the clouds roll in, spend time in your kitchen making progress on your bread baking skills. 🥖

Bread Making 101

Starting with pizza dough or crust is one easy way to learn bread making.

Because pizza crust is bread, and even if there’s no or low rise (or you don’t get it exactly right the first time), it usually tastes great. And will get eaten in minutes if you have delicious ingredients as toppings.

Oh, btw, did I mention I was a pizza maker for 4 teenage years, lol?

So in many ways, I got my feet wet with bread baking lessons starting from a young age. And in my more mature weekly recent home baking experiences, my pizza making lessons come inspired from those years.

When I do the bread in the young at heart way, then  it works out. And you can do this too with practice.

You need four common ingredients: bread flour, water, salt, and instant yeast.

(Tip: keep the salt and yeast in separate corners of the flour before the dough is formed, as salt can kill the yeast early on).

After breaking down the gluten by kneading and then forming a cohesive dough ball, you can let the dough rest and proof in a covered plastic bowl for a couple hours or longer. That’s proof that even bread need rest! 😁

You will get the hang of the elastic dough texture (like soft Play-doh) after you do it a few times. It becomes some of the easiest baking prep you can do!

Instead of intricately cutting out cookies or delicately icing your cake just right, bread doesn’t need slicing or icing precision. You might add a decorative incision or a glaze at the end, but those take less focused gaze on your part.

You can make rustic and airy bread when feeling a bit Kapha tired because it doesn’t require finesse (for my Great British Baking show friends who like to make cottage loafs). 🎪

Spice up autumn bread recipes with cinnamon like this bread muffin.

The hardest part (if there is one), is remembering to make and prep the dough hours or a day in advance, so the dough has time to proof. You let nature of time do the work.

So here are the easy steps to by pass flops. This is the skinny on what does work for quick bread making wins… and without making skinny bread! 🍞

Learn to Make Inspired French Bread Pizza  Crust

Once called “poor man’s bread,” this is actually an American invention that students love. In the public high school cafeteria I ate in, French bread pizza made a debut on certain days kinda like Taco Tuesdays.

With the same 4 ingredients you make pizza crust dough (mentioned above). After proofed, move the dough over to your baking sheet, and shape your dough in an oval or more football shape than a pizza circle.

Use a little bench flour to prevent sticky dough on your hands and the baking sheet.

When you’re about ready to bake and your oven is pre-heated to 350°F/180°C, you can flatten the dough center if you’ll be adding  toppings that are wet like tomatoes.

Or make your traditional French bread pizza with cheese and sauce only, and leave the center alone so it can rise in the middle (or the reason why you proofed the dough in the first place).

The trick to airy bread loafs, is to gently handle your dough (kinda like in baking cakes where at times you want to fold in your batter or ingredients like meringue whites, so you don’t flatten and knock out the air you just worked on).BUT, you’re the artisan, so you decide!

And then bake (or be-ake! in Great British Bake Off terms).

Healthy Autumn Bread for Balancing Vata and Kapha

Keeping bread healthy, breads that have light airy pockets like French bread interiors or pita bread will not be as heavy and can melt in the mouth.

Here’s the quick bread breakdown low-down on body science:

When bread first enters our mouths, the breakdown starts as an enzyme called amylase in your mouth that initiates the process. Bread is one of the unique foods that doesn’t have to get to your gut first to start digesting (breakdown).

And it’s also one food, if not chewed well in the mouth, that can sit in your stomach like lead (or at least feel that way).

If you have a Vata sensitive stomach or bloating that’s common, or more a Kapha body who’s trying to lose weight, then not eating as much dense bread like sandwich rolls and fast food buns definitely helps your healthy cause.

Whole grain and sprouted breads are wholesome alternatives that could be a game changer for your heartier and healthier bread life.

3 Sweet A-B-C Healthy Recipes (From Autumn Bread Recipes)

And when you have a sweet tooth, these are some autumn healthy wise tips and healthy recipes that can easily turn into healthy autumn bread recipes.

What I most appreciate about easy autumn bread recipes are the intense hearty flavors. Hearty is anti-inflammatory spices and ingredients. It’s healthy comforting food alongside your meals.

You can sweeten pair with a divine pear and cinnamon duo or add a chai tea flavor twist. And you can turn autumn bread recipes into a bread cake, scone, or muffin recipe with just a few simple tweaks. 

Sweet autumn bread recipes like these braided bread ones often have cinnamon or chai spices.

And these 3 sweet autumn baking recipes below are the healthy (my fave kind!)… with these ABC’s: apple, banana, or citrus orange. And loaded with other fall healthy spice and vinegar ingredients. And have no shortage of flavor burst wow! 🤩

Fall Apple Bundt Bread Cake with ACV (or pears) are loaded with polyphenols and apple cider vinegar is shown to lower blood sugar levels that’s good for losing weight and reducing risk of diabetes.

Healthy Fall Apple Bundt Cake Recipe

Chocolate Banana Cake Bread – banana and cocoa is loaded with polyphenols. Both will help to put a smile on your face so you don’t have to reach for processed foods and refined sugar sweets that lead to weight gain.

Chocolate Banana Cake Bread Recipe

Orange Scone – orange zest as a sweetner is loaded with Vitamin C and flavanoids. High in fiber and water content, that will help you feel full so you don’t eat other “bad” sweets with refined sugars.

Orange Scone Recipe

And before I leave you this week, I’m sharing some work inspiration from having professionally planned thousands of party menus with Lebanese food stirring up memories because of the pomegranates, that are an in-season autumn fruit. The red rubies are a dazzling pop of color that leave a juicy finish.

What do ya think?

 

Feeling-Thinking Mood Balance In Your Practice

thinking feeling mood balance with intention and purpose.

Getting your feeling-thinking mood balance this season prevents burnout, staying stuck, or feeling helpless from bouncing back.

And below I share tips to encourage your best mood season ahead.

Where most people don’t think about how their moods affect them. They’re focused on what they’re doing or not doing.

And most working people start their work day thinking about their workday, and not so much how they feel. When they have free-time or their feelings are provoked, that’s when feelings enter the scene.

So, there can be a disconnect between thinking and feeling on any given day. And over time, that can weigh any of us down or turn into heavy moods over a longer season.

But striking more of a balance between both in daily life helps to restore and prevent chronic moods and create space awareness of what’s missing today that needs restoring for a better tomorrow.

And knowing this can be the game changer for your bursts of daily joy and peace vs. disconnected or hopeless feelings.

Yoga is one empowered tool or practice you can use to get into calm feelings and feeling better right away in any moment.

You can get in your peaceful headspace wherever you are.

So, what if you’re well-intended to get on your mat, but you’re not feeling inspired? And no where near Happy Baby!? 👼

That’s a common example of disconnect from feeling-thinking that shows up in moods.

The good news is a thinking-feeling mood balance is something you can work to restore in small baby steps, just like mind-body imbalances. Knowledge and knowing what to do when unrest hits is how to healthy restore.

Simply scooping your body to the floor can start the process.

And if you don’t feel like it because your mind is fighting you or you’re tired, you can decide to just sit or lay back on the mat and see what comes up. It’s your second resting place next to your bed or couch.

Your higher thinking tends to show up when you create the space. So rely on forces outside yourself to kick in when you make just a little scoot effort.

The act of being on a mat or being on your sits bones can do that.

Your “being” is the baby step.

Yoga or your quiet practice is how you can get your deeper insides to awaken from feeling outside sensations or stretching. Sit in silence. Some call this meditation. And others, self-care.

If you rest your palms on your eyes, that can feel nourishing.

Many common stretches without yoga names are yoga poses even if it’s more a gym mat style one than a yoga one. In yoga poses, you’re usually working on multiple muscle groups at one time versus isolated muscle stretching. It’s balancing our muscles.

Yoga includes mind brain muscles where you get to marry thinking and feeling. Thinking because you have to remember which side you’re working on. Your left and rights can get tangled up easily if you’re not focused or tend to have two left feet.

If you don’t stay focused or start daydreaming, you fall out of your pose. Each move is an opportunity to stay present and feel areas and sensations in your body that are tight and tense.

Making Yoga Progress

If you don’t know what pose to begin with, work with common tight body parts first. The hamstrings (back of the upper leg) is one area that can tighten easily for most of us. The back is another. So you can get in a seated position on your mat, and try to reach your toes. Feel the stretch. And do it on each side, separately.

You get more flexible and the stretch feels better as your muscles loosen up if you’re not injured. And that’s the ‘lil accomplishment boost your mind needs to feel encouraged to keep going. 

And when you release your tightness over time, you sensitize other parts of your body and start feeling other sensations. The same ones that breathe new life into you.

And that’s when you can mindfully think about and appreciate your body parts that work for you day in and day out.

When you get familiar with how it feels activating a specific muscle or muscle region, you become more in tune and sensitized to your body.

And that leads you to awareness of deeper parts you can’t see like your heart or brain. You can think of how you deeply feel or think at that moment, that btw, would not have been an opportunity had you not gotten in the stretching pose.

Or you can do yoga from a chair If that’s where you spend most your waking hours doing computer work, where you likely got your tight hamstrings in the first place.

Take Anywhere Intention

In yoga anywhere, then you can reap the full mind-body benefits that help to feeling-thinking mood balance restore you. You can mindfully lighten the load and burdens from where you just came from.

And if you look forward to yoga or enter with enthusiasm, that activates growth intention as you operate with healthy intention and your body cooperates in your full range of motion that each pose offers.

You get more healthy intention energy with your open headspace.

You also deepen the connected mind-body benefits of being present and engaged, that lead to:

-relaxation vs. stress undertone (stressful energy)

-joy vs. depressed (if this hits everyday at a certain time, then you want to restore this)

-calm vs. unrest (restlessness is a sign for a need to shift)

-peaceful alignment vs. disconnect (this can show up as two identities that are often affected by moods)

-clarity vs. confusion (feeling stuck or making poor decisions)

And calm, joy, peace, and clarity all help to mood balance.

Blocks To Remove

A repeated ego block could be the veiled blind spot that is not helping you see overall if left unaware. Catching your ego in the act is the way to awareness. You do this by watching your reactions and actions that you internally question whether they’re helpful or hurtful to you and others.

Other blocks could be a misaligned season in your situations. I discovered this in my own block removal seasons when emotions got the best of me from my situations.

Yoga helped me to gain revelations to remove my blocks. When I centered with my deep breaths, I could stay in the moment in those breaths. And that created space and a way to escape from thinking thoughts that caused emotional unrest.

And you can do the same in your life. 🎉

You can get back to your center. In the pause, you can feel good and think good thoughts.

And after you leave your yoga mat or breathing space, you can continue your feeling-thinking mood balancing.

Feeling-Thinking Mood Balance 

For some of us, we prefer to feel our way through life over thinking (and over overthinking). Thinking is work. And most the time, worth the time and effort for the positive thought-out results that occur.

And some of us feel more than think. Feeling can be suffocating if we can’t get away from our feelings. And it can be cathartic releasing feelings, so we are aligned with ourselves and don’t hold onto negative energy.

Finding the healthy feeling-thinking mood balance is always the best answer. And when balance is restored:

As a thinker, you know the benefits of noodling out ideas, problem solving, and planning.

As a feeler, you know the benefits of your feelings guiding you, and empathy for helping others and yourself from your feelings first.

Tipping the scales so they’re more feeling-thinking balanced, make a big impact to your daily perspectives and outlook. And that’s everything that matters in life. ⚖️

Getting More Feeling-Thinking Mood Balance

A good way to get more balanced on your thinker-feeler scale is bridging intentions and calming the mind to feeling sensations in the body that help to feel more in life. Yoga was one way already mentioned.

And if yoga is not in your wheelhouse, you can try other quiet practices like taking a nature walk, meditation, or journaling.

Find a solo practice that makes you feel alive.

Those restorative activities are good to time block in.

But where we spend most our time influences us the most.

Such as, those who choose careers in physical labor work or play sports rely on their bodies to work, and they rely on their feelings as to how to move and use their bodies.

They feel the weather impacts for outdoor sports when a ball or a person tackling them collides into them. They feel pain effects lifting or pushing intentionally to activate muscles.

Or those who choose professions that help others like nurses, social workers, and teachers feel for their patients and students.

Then there are those who do office work, behind-the-scenes jobs, data analyze or problem solve for a living. Those are thinking jobs.

One profession is not better than another. We’re all called to do different work.

But whatever you do impacts your feeling-thinking mood balance. And over time if not aligned, you could feel there’s something missing.

#1: To help stay balanced, you could do the opposite feeling-thinking moves when you finish your work, like an office worker plays or coaches sports after work. Or someone who spends time in a kitchen or gym most the day, then works on the computer at night.

You get the feeling of relief as you have an outlet to express more of yourself in feelings or thoughts in your spare time. That’s the healthiest daily restore.

But often situations change on a dime so as soon as you get your rhythm, the beat changes.

I know this all too well when I was constantly adapting to new work situations from hotels, offices, and  remote.

When I did corporate work, that was heavy on the thinking. I often felt uninspired that turned into feeling lack of purpose and growth with unhealthy feelings. So I was out of balance.

Until I was able to pivot. Today, my thinking-feeling balance comes from writing, doing yoga, and baking on the weekend. And having those elements baked into my week creates balance so I can do the other purposeful work tasks.

The contrast is I look forward to my work and balanced activities and that create a healthy lifestyle that provides enough sleep, emotional rest, and joy.

And maybe that’s what you need…

And if so, taking a few moments this week for you to consider how much feeling-thinking mood balance you have (and by default, discover the deficit). You’ll gain self-insights and revelations.

When you get awareness and connect the dots, then you can make self-helpful shifts to find your way back to your balance. And those become your better ways.

…And that’s about a decade or two of lessons I had that you can do in a weekend. 😊

Especially when we’re younger, we have times when we’re less aware or de-sensitived because our professional and personal lives are jam packed with being busy.

Leading with activity that’s not helping us grow is an easy way to lose sight of who we’re becoming as time passes, and time is the only asset we know we can’t get back.

From experience, I know those seasons catch up with our mind-body when we look in the mirror one day in present awareness, and wonder who the stranger is staring back at us that we’ve become.

And in intention and wisdom, we can make the change, start the process, and seek the answers we don’t know today.

Like the shift I made from “being busy” in the busy metropolitan culture I grew up around. I learned “being busy” as good for us and made us more important.

And then along with culture shifting away from working all the time, I realized that busy was actually hurting. So I unlearned that way that’s aligned with my value in balance.

I’m not sure that has caught up with most people these days…

And in the upcoming weeks I’ll share my tips and thoughts on work life blend that work life balance has turned into, as I DO believe balance can exist in your prime years!

And especially since we have so many work choices these days, more than when I started and it was expected you went to college.

…And thankfully these days, there are even mental health resources and departments in companies as acknowledgement that personal life can be part of the professional life. And if you do career life your own way, then you choose your tasks and days.

So stay tuned for that! 🌱