Although we are ushering the holidays and winter fun the cold can be very hard on our skin.
The cold, dry and windy winter season makes our skin lose its glow, when it comes to Ayurveda or traditional winter care, the winter changes you feel externally are also going on inside your body. The season brings changes both inside and outside of our bodies, the 5,000 year-old Ayurveda calls this as Vata, Vata means “season”, so while you try to heal the exterior of your body like your chapped lips and dull and dry skin, it is important to heal the seasonal changes inside. These changes inside of our bodies can give us stress and insomnia, and not just dry skin and brittle hair, so if you are looking to maintain that glow of yours in the winters, read on some of the best tips by the traditional Ayurveda medicine that will help you maintain your inner and outer glow.
According to Ayurveda, try choosing warm food over cold food, why? Cold and raw food makes digestion difficult, like your smoothies, juices and raw salad, when the digestion is slow; there is less release of nutrients in the blood stream, hence the dull skin. Basically, what happens inside of your body shows on your skin and hair, if you feel eating cold food is making you duller, try eating it warm. Stop eating raw and start eating well cooked foods, such as soups; soups are nutritious to eat and easily digested. There are many delicious soup recipes to try this winter. A healthy soup will preserve your inner warmth and will give you the healthy glow you seek, try potato soups, spinach & cheese soup, chicken soups, and mushroom soup.
Eat high quality and good fats this winter, these include your favorite nuts that everyone loves to munch on in winters, almonds and walnuts have healthy fats, walnuts have the healthy omega-3 fats. If you want to counteract the both inner and outer dryness of your body, eat fatty foods but good fats, eat avocadoes, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts and seeds. Eat more fish this winter, and yes the oily fish, salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel, and trout are included in oily fish that are a rich source of the healthy omega-3 fats. Cheese is a good source of healthy fats, whole eggs, chia seeds, and dark chocolates are all loaded with healthy fats. Pick dark chocolate with 70% cocoa, along with having good fats, dark chocolates have antioxidants and nutrients that improve brain function.
- In Ayurveda, hydration is the key to achieving healthy and glowing skin, avoid fizzy and carbonated drinks, any cold drinks and juices, and go for water kept at room temperature. So, drink more water kept at room temperature, eat healthy fats, as fats are really good for your skin, and prefer eating warm food over cold and raw foods. But, you can also do something for the exterior of your skin, but do more than applying synthetic body lotions, get a massage or do a self-massage, use warm coconut oil to massage onto your skin.
- Try a soothing Himalayan salt bath and products. Your skin is an excretive organ that mirrors the condition of your intestines. When you take a brine bath, the salt minerals help your skin in the form of ions. Bio-energetic weak points will be balanced and your body’s energy flow will be activated.
To get the full benefits of a natural crystal salt bath, the right salt concentration is critical. The salt concentration has to be at least the same as the one of your body fluids (approximately 1%) to activate the osmotic exchange ratio. The formula for a 1% solution is 1.28 ounces of salt per gallon of water.
- Since a full tub normally takes from 100 to 120 liters (27-32 gallons) of water, at least 1.2 kg. (2.6 pounds) of natural salt is required.
- To avoid using body energy to balance the temperature, the water should be approximately 37° Celsius (97° Fahrenheit). Your bath will remain at a constant temperature because the biophysical composition of the salt is so strong – it causes the molecules to move in a constant rhythm.
- Do not use any bath additives, soaps, or oils.
- Your bath should last 20 to 30 minutes. During this time, the temperature and the makeup of the brine bath is comparable to the amniotic fluid in which the embryo floats in the prenatal state.
- Do not shower off, simply dry off with a towel.
- After your brine bath, you should rest for at least 30 minutes.
WARNING: While brine baths have a positive effect, they are also demanding on your circulatory system. If you suffer from weak or poor heart circulation, always consult your doctor first.
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