Importance of spices and well cooked meals in supporting digestive function and restoration.
Agni: Re-kindling Digestive Function
Digestive fire, Agni, is greatly weakened after delivery as the body has been working tirelessly to bring new life into this world. Those who labor long and have cesarean sections are also in a more depleted state post-delivery.
Agni is Sanskrit for fire and is our body’s central source for transforming, metabolizing and turning foods and drink into new cells and tissues. When the fire is weakened logs need to be added on slowly so that the fire has time to grow and maintain strength. If heavy foods that are difficult to digest are given too early, the fire will go out and struggle to get large again. When our digestive fire runs weak, we are less able to digest and absorb nutrients and more likely to have food stagnation and Ama, a buildup of toxic and unusable waste products in the body.
Spices
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| Photo credit: Dewang Gupta, Unsplash |
Spices like cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric and black pepper, among others, help to add warmth and strength to the digestive system and increase digestibility.
Warming Benefits
Taking in foods that are warm and well-cooked ensure that the small fire that is in the body will not go out. Foods that are cold and raw force the body to work harder to warm them up and digest them. When digestive fire is already weakened, it takes even more energy when the body could otherwise be giving to breastfeeding and healing.
Vata Dosha Pacification
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| Photo credit: Saad Chaudhry, Unsplash |
Post-delivery, there is an increase of Vata, a dosha that is made up of the qualities cold, dry, rough, changing, sensitivity, depletion and lightness, similar to the element wind. It is important to favor foods and activities that pacify this Vata quickly so that recovery can take place. Foods of Vata pacifying nature are warm, oily, wet, nourishing and easy to digest. Activities that support Vata pacification are warm oil massage and bath, rest, little talking and screen time, routine food intake and maintaining comfort. Therefore both food and activity is considered medicine in this time.
Long-lasting Change
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| Photo credit: Janko Ferlic, Unsplash |
In rekindling Agni and pacifying Vata over forty days postpartum, both new parent and baby have increased health, recovery, positive mood and digestive function that is longer lasting. Ayurvedic principles and therapeutics can be used beyond forty days and begin at any time.
Contact
If you are interested in Ayurvedic Postpartum Care, Ayurvedic Cooking Services, Belly Binding or any of the services mentioned above, check out Body Song Bundles or email to set up a free 20-minute consultation.
