If you were going to try one new recipe to keep your cool this summer, try rosewater lemonade. The heat of summer can provoke anger and irritability, especially when a person is dehydrated from sweating, spending long hours under the summer sun or up late at night socializing. Altogether, these strains on your body may make it all too tempting to fight with your loved ones. Fortunately, you can recover your composure and find relief with cooling, refreshing beverages like rosewater lemonade.





When the thermometer seems relentless, the key to a kinder
personality lies in the understanding that summer is a firey season of
aggravated Pitta. When provoked, Pitta generally reacts with irritability,
resistance, and aggression. Pitta people have a basic need for sweetness and
beauty. When overheated, Pitta needs a gentle yes to calm them into a more
amiable easiness. They respond best to cooling, calming balms like sitting under
the moon, in the shade of a tree, and sweet foods with a pleasant aroma.
Rosewater Lemonade brings sweetness and beauty into the day, calming their
agitated mind. The mere smell of a rose cools their anger and criticism. Knowing
this about Pitta helps you to please and nurture yourself or a loved one, rather
than provoke them.

Rosewater relieves and cools inflammation. It's great
for spraying on your sunburned skin or summer rashes, but it also heals and
soothes internal tissues as well. It has a mild astringency that tones tissues,
including the digestive tract.

Lemons cool the skin because they help
you sweat. Lemons cleanse the blood of impurities, aid digestion and quench
thirst. Although lemons are heating in the digestive tract, they are a cooling
astringent in the blood. Sour taste focuses a scattered mind and helps nudge
your thoughts from the head back to the heart, the seat of kindness. For an even
more Pitta cooling effect, add lime instead of lemon and maple syrup instead of
raw sugar. Kapha may prefer honey.  

A wonderful, refreshing substitute for iced
tea. It is inspired by a Tunisian drink with lemons and orange blossom water.
Rosewater is the water leftover from the production of rose essential oil. It
has an uplifting rose fragrance. As Ayurveda students, we sprayed ourselves with
rosewater mist on hot days to keep cool. Rosewater is available in most Indian
and Middle Eastern grocery stores.
 
 Ingredients 
1/8 whole Lemon 
1  tsp. Raw Sugar 
1/8 tsp. Rose Water 
2  c Water
Recipe from www.joyfulbelly.com

Ojas (pronounced oh-jus) is a Sanskrit word which literally means "vigor" or "life sap". According to the principles of Ayurveda, it is the essential energy of the
body which can be equated with the "fluid of life". Those who practice Ayurveda
say that Ojas is the sap of one's life energy which, when sufficient, is equated
with immunity and a cheerful mind and soul that is enlightened with happiness, when deficient, results in weakness, fatigue and ultimately disease.

Ojas  is the ultimate refined result of digestion, metabolism, absorption and
assimilation. The substance that connects the mind to the body and
consciousness, it is a wholesome biochemical substance that nourishes all body
tissues and has a direct influence on the nature and quality of physical, mental
and emotional life. Ojas' primary location is the heart, from where it
circulates to and pervades the entire body.
 
Ojas is collected from the body's seven tissues - plasma, blood, muscle, adipose tissue
(fat), bone, bone marrow, and reproductive tissue (semen and ovum) - by the
influence of enzymes (Agnis), similar to how a bee collects honey from the
essence of many flowers. The purest substance in the universe and omnipresent in
the human being, ojas is responsible for higher states of consciousness, purity
of thoughts, perfect health, positivity in feelings, love, joy, better immunity,
longevity, intelligence, creativity, memory, bliss, and thought process. When an
individual's inner consciousness awakens spontaneously, ojas increases. In a
nutshell, ojas is the sap of the entire physiology and sustains the life of an
individual.

Why does Ojas deplete ?
All the factors that cause the depletion of Ojas are excessive sex, abuse of  drugs and alcohol,
sedentary life style, loose talking, loud music, insufficient rest, worries,
anxiety, unsatisfied desires, jealousy, lust for worldly comforts, fear,
cheerlessness, excessive sleeping, daytime sleeping, lack of exercise, over
confidence, over eating, desire to rule over others. In short all the things,
which disturb the daily life style of a person, may lead to the  depletion of Ojas.
 
Along with eating a balancing diet, one can increase ojas in a variety of ways. General guidelines are to love
yourself and others, live a healthy lifestyle, and always take time to appreciate the joys in life.
Other ways to increase ojas include: 
Laugh and smile a lot
Take time to relax 
Make the time before bedtime quiet and non-stimulating 
Sensory control, TV, internet etc.                           
Meditate regularly
Spend time in nature
Exercise your creativity             
Offer your gifts to others                   
Follow your hearts passion                        
Engage in physical activity                           
Worship of the Divine

Ojas building foods; milk, almonds, dates or raisins, ghee, acia berries, kale, saffron, raw ginger, berries, pomagranate, nuts.
 

Here is a drink to build your Ojas...
OJAS DRINK
Use whole milk. Almond or coconut milk are an option if you have sensitivity to dairy.
Boil 1 cup of whole milk with 3 dates and 10 peppercorns. Boil and cool three times and then remove the peppercorns. Place milk and dates in the blender and add: 2T oil (ghee, olive oil, sesame oil, or coconut oil), 1 pinch of cinnamon, cumin and cardamom. Add 1 teaspoon of maple syrup or honey and 10 large nuts or seeds. Blend well, drink on and empty stomach and don't eat for 2 hours after you drink. Also drink 2 hours before you eat a meal.
OM Shanti

• Ingredients


• 5 cups Kale, torn, blanched (see note)


• ½ cup thinly sliced onions


• ½ cup chopped red pepper


• 1 cup grated sweet potato


• 1 teaspoon minced garlic


• 1 teaspoon grated ginger root


• ½ cup lemon juice


• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


• 2 tablespoons Namu Shoyo


• 1 cup dehydrated mushrooms


• 1 handful dehydrated almonds or pumpkin seeds (optional)

DIRECTIONS

The magic of this recipe is that the mushrooms rehydrate with the marvelous
taste of the marinade. If you do not have time to prepare the dehydrated
mushrooms and nuts, plain mushrooms and nuts will work too.


In a large salad serving bowl, combine kale, onions, red pepper, sweet
potato, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, oil, Namu Shoyu, and dehydrated mushrooms.
Toss. Let the salad sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Toss again just
before serving and top with nuts or seeds.


Note: To blanch kale, tear into bite size pieces, removing stems. Place the
leaves in a sieve, and pour 2-3 cups of water that has been brought to a boil
and cooled for 1 minute over the kale. Drain. To speed up the draining process,
roll up the kale in a clean dishtowel for a few minutes.


Serves 5-6.