Learn the Personality of the Friends in Your Kitchen!
Did you know there are inherent differences between Ginger Powder (Śunṭhī) and Fresh Ginger (Ārdraka)? They might be the “same” substance, but Ginger undergoes a huge transformation when it becomes dry that it does not express when it is wet.
Dry Ginger (Śunṭhī) is pungent, sweet, light, oily, hot. One would think that because it is pungent, light, oily, and hot that it would aggravate Pitta, but this isn’t so! Why? This is because it is sweet!
Madhura rasa (sweet taste) is made of qualities that are neutralizing to Pitta doṣa. This spice is incredible because it balances all 3 doṣas, supports hunger, kindles digestion, and cooks āma. It directs Vāta to flow properly (anulomana), so it can be used in instances of gas, bloating, constipation, hiccups etc. For this reason, it also calms pain, which is a sign of Vāta’s presence. It improves the voice, absorbs liquid, puts coolness in the body, and because of that mysterious Sweet Taste, it increases strength.
Fresh Ginger (Ārdraka) however, is pungent, heavy, rough, and sharp. Because of this, it is too intense for Pitta, cannot be used in every season. Due to this harsher potency, it is best used for shorter periods of time.
WOW. Surprising, no!?
We will cover a list of over 24 household kitchen items. You will learn what they do so that you can create a relationship with them that will put some magic powered by deep understanding into your kitchen experience!
Every Spice + Food is Unique but How They Relate to Your Digestive Fire is Key
Every spice in your cabinet has special abilities. Many of them kindle digestive fire, which supports long-term health. The reason for this is because they ensure that while you cook your food, there is extra specific “cooking” happening by their presence. This is called creating a Samskara.
I’m sure many of my yogis out there are like what, samskara in food?! Yes! When things are cooked together, the guṇas (qualities) of the different substances come together creating a samskara. Like in our more psychic realities, samskaras create patterns. When the guṇas of different spices come together with the guṇas of different foods, they create a new and unique pattern of action – in YOU!
Brocolli does one thing, Black Pepper does another. When they come together they form something new with enhanced capacity!
When two+ unique substances come together in your pan or oven, a new third thing comes out.
So, when cooking, the goal is to infuse the guṇas of particular spices into the guṇas of the particular foods to give them specialized action in you!
Gametva – Going-ness
This process I just alluded to is called gametva – goingness. Because different substances have different capacities/affinities within the body, when they have samskara with other food substances, the spices direct the guṇas of the foods they are paired with to particular locations.
For example, with Śunṭhī, Dry Ginger has an affinity for the voice, so whatever else you pair Ginger with will also bring those qualities to the area of speech.
See what I mean about Kitchen Witchin’?
Misused Foods
There are also plenty of foods and beverages that are often deemed “healthy.” Coconut water, Kombucha, Triphala (!!) are a few that come to mind. We we also peer into the qualities and potencies of these substances to learn when they are supportive to you and when they are not.
Hint! It is not all the time.
We will also look into some of the foods that are common to the American diet – what they do and how to augment them or be more selective with them so we can enjoy our lives without causing disturbance to our digestive fires.
We’ll talk about wine, beer, ketchup (my favorite!!), mustard, fruit, eggs, meats – when they’re supportive or usable and when they are not. And, of course, as always the WHY.
Part of why lists of superfoods and diets don’t work is because there is no inherent understanding in many of these lists. We learn key words and just try that it happens, but without the WHY there is no digestion of information which is the key to WISDOM and FREEDOM!