Already Nostalgic for August 2013: Here’s to Sivasana Pose and All-Season Coffee Consumption

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Om shanti! How is it possible that it’s already August? Summer, which we spend half the year contemplating, is slowly, stealthily starting to fade. More than half of the season’s barbecues are over, many people have already returned from vacation and the mums are just starting to peek though the ground. On cool evenings, it’s not hard to envision fall, with its medley of oranges, yellows and browns. Back-to-school sales are starting, and parents are already making granular decisions about the upcoming year’s extracurricular activities.


But, wait, it’s only August! There is still time to go to the beach and the pool, play tennis, frolic with children or chill with friends---and drink lots and lots of coffee (and wine too if that’s your thing). I love drinking coffee while the hot summer sun shines overhead, or when it rains in fat, warm pellets, causing people to seek shelter at the closest Starbucks.There is no right one season to drink coffee. Drinking coffee is part of daily life. Drinking coffee is a year-round event! In fact, it is O.K. to drink hot coffee in the summer and iced lattes in the winter. There are no hard and fast rules.



Surprisingly, there is even room for coffee-drinking in Ayurvedic culture.  In Ayurvedic philosophy, there are five basic elements---ether (space), air, fire, water and earth. People have various constitutional make-ups comprised of some combination of vata, pitta and kapha. Surprisingly, the experts at kripalu.org do not dismiss coffee drinking as bad---only if you are constitutionally unable to handle it, or it does not work well with your ayurvedic make-up. According to our Kripalu expert, the properties of coffee---its heat, dryness and stimulating properties---balance out excess kapha. Signs of excess kapha include water retention, weight gain, sinus congestion, a lack of motivation, and a feeling of being “fuzzy-headed.”

Drink up!


Here’s to a good August and an epic season finale for summer 2013. And remember before you embark on sun salutations, have a strong cup of dark brew….and feel free to reward yourself for a well-executed downward dog with a cappuccino. Namaste!

A special thank you to you, Andrew Cohen. You are a remarkably gifted photographer, and a man with a deep, deep soul. 




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