Natural Remedies for the Cold and Flu Season

During my recent visit to Austin, I had the privilege of taking several classes with Craig Williams. Craig is among many other things an Oriental Medicine Doctor and Ayurvedic Practitioner who offers a wide range of classes and workshops related to physical, mental, and spiritual health. Here are a few takeaways from his recent class Natural Solutions For the Cold and Flu Seasons:

Prevention: Protect Yourself From The Common Cold

· Decrease or eliminate sugar and alcohol for the winter

· Frequently wash your hands with warm soapy water

· Consume Probiotics to maintain GI health (70-80% of your immune system lives here)

· Use essential oils in diffuser, ceramic lamp rings, shower tablets, or rooms sprays (examples include tea tree, eucalyptus, and/or lavender) to clean the air you breath

· Take Epsom salt baths with essential oils

· Sleep a lot

Herbal Remedies For Cold Prevention Or Immune Boosting: (Check with your healthcare practitioner if any are contraindicated for you.)

· Echinacea + Elderberry (at onset of cold – read labels for dosage) *best in syrup form

· Osho Root + Reishi (great if you often have regular upper respiratory issues)

· American Ginseng (if you have deficient Qi)

· Andrographis (gargle to clear a sore throat)

· Chyavanprash (Ayurvedic formula to boost the immune system and body)

· Triphala (Ayurvedic formula to promote elimination and digestive track health)

A Few Food Recommendations:

· Steamed broccoli

· Dandelion greens

· Kale

· Other dark green leafy vegetables

· Onions sautéed with ghee (tonic food – contains butyric acid that promotes large intestine health)

· Gogi berries

· Garlic

· Spices: cumin, coriander, turmeric, and fennel

Autumn Inspiration

Autumn is a special time in Ayurveda. It’s considered a joint season; just like in this vulnerable part of the body, during the autumn season it is easy to injure oneself. If you are not careful, you could become vulnerable or risk injuring your body by moving too quickly, doing too much, catching a common cold (through exposing your skin to the cold, dry, windy air) and depleting your immune system by not sleeping enough or through skipping meals. To ensure good health in fall, consider “oil + heat” as two of your new best friends. Give yourself regular sesame oil massages before you shower to protect your skin from wind and cold air. Heat yourself with warm showers, hot tea, baths, and soups.

At the turn of each season, ask yourself these simple questions, which will help you see the relationship that exists between your health and the natural world. Keep track of your answers in a journal so you can look back and reflect upon the difference or similarity in perspectives and challenges for each season.

• What changes are going on outside in Nature?

· How does this season make me feel?

· What are the challenges I face?

· What brings me joy during this season?

· What diet or lifestyle routines do I want to change?

· Am I getting the right amount of sleep?

· What yoga or exercise routine feels the best to me?

Put a comma—envisioning a momentary pause—after each season no matter where you live. Your body can benefit from experiencing and adapting to new environments, exercise routines, and foods; it will grow stronger, be more resilient, and keep you in touch with the cycles of nature. The yogis believe that you are one with Nature, and that in order for you to bloom, you need diversity.

From: Art of Sequencing Volume Two - Seasonal Vinyasa