The Perfect Pot of Yogi Tea

Since video is my new favorite job here at spirit voyage, I have been roaming around the warehouse looking for useful products to explore for our customers. I realized that we have these excellent 1 lb bags of fresh yogi tea spices. They are so simple to use and make really fantastic tea!

In this video, Siri Om and I show you how to make the perfect pot of Yogi Tea with this mix.

Enjoy the video !

And here are the printed instructions:

• Boil 16 Cups of Water in a large pot
• Add 5 TBSP of the Yogi Tea Spice Mix to boiling water.
• Cover and lower heat to simmer
• Boil for 20 minutes to 2 hours (depending on how strong you want it.)
• You can add 4 Yogi Tea Black Chai tea bags if you want the caffeine for the last 10 minutes of boiling.
• When finished boiling, remove the black tea bags if you added them.  Strain the tea through a strainer or cheese cloth.
• Add milk and honey to taste.
• ENJOY!

Click Here to Buy the 1 Lb. Yogi Tea Spice Mix

Yogic Lifestyle: The Amazing Cold Shower!

It recently occurred to me that having grown up in a yogic community, there are all sorts of wonderful little tidbits of a yogic lifestyle that I have integrated into my life, but never really realized how powerful  it is to have access to them and what a blessing it is to just have them woven into the fabric of my life.  So, from time to time, I will add these things to our blog and would LOVE to hear other people’s experiences with these yogic lifestyle practices.

So, for my first yogic lifestyle tip, I’m going to share my experiences with cold showers.   Growing up, I took a cold shower every morning.  My parents told me it was to stay healthy, and I never questioned it.  As I got older, I started making the switch to hot showers and became completely addicted to the luxury of hot water.   It wasn’t until I was in college, and struggling to keep my head clear enough to maintain my grades that I remembered the heightened clarity that would follow me through the day after a cold shower.

There’s nothing that gives me clarity like a cold shower and helps me face my day – it’s soooo much better than coffee and it’s side effects are spectacular.    Taking a cold shower makes all of your blood rush inward to your organs, flushing out toxins and sending fresh blood through them.  It greatly enhances your circulation, charges your energy, activates your digestive system, circulatory system, lymphatic system and nervous system.

When I moved back to the US from India in 2001, I had allergies for the first time in my life.  When the season for mowing lawns started, my head completely fogged up, I sneezed endlessly and couldn’t stay awake.   I felt horrible and no natural medicines or home remedies could help.  The second year, desparate for a solution,  I started taking cold showers in the morning.  I found that my head would stay clear for hours afterward, and my allergies would clear.  It felt like a small miracle. 

Yogi Bhajan taught that yogis should start every day with a cold shower.  Before entering the shower, you should use a sponge or body brush to exfoliate the skin.  Then, rub almond oil over the entire body.  He suggested wearing shorts / underwear in the cold shower to protect the thigh bone’s calcium-magnesium balance.  You should stay in the cold water for a minimum of 3 minutes, and you should be moving the entire time, using your feet to massage your thighs and calves, and using your hands to massage your arms, back, chest, stomach, shoulders and face.

Women should avoid taking cold showers when menstruating.

On this video clip, Yogi Bhajan talks a bit about cold showers at the 2:00 minute mark. 

There is also a very powerful form of Hydrotherapy Yogi Bhajan called Ishnaan which is a lengthy self-treatment in cold water.  It’s a really amazing treatment and is worth trying at least once.  Click Here to Read a Lecture about Ishnaan from Yogi Bhajan

Share your experience with cold showers here!  We would love to hear what they’ve done to help you.

- Karan

Recipe of the Week: Green Mung Kichari (Kicheree)

From Karan’s Spirit Voyage Kitchen

 

Karan with a big bowl of Kichari

Since I was a little girl, I’ve eaten Kichari as a healing food whenever I started to feel sick.  For me, Kichari is like Chicken Soup – it’s my cure all for whatever ails me.  It gives me comfort and nutrition and makes me feel so healthy that I tend to continue eating it for the entire winter season.

Yogi Bhajan prescribed Kichari as a great colon cleanser.  When I lived in India, Kichari was the Ayurvedic staple, and anyone living a yogic lifestyle ate Kichari at least once a day.  Anytime I went to an ashram, spa, or clinic, Kichari was the meal served.  It made me feel perfectly at home.

Hargobind eating Kichari with yoghurt

In college, my friends discovered that Kichari is the perfect poor man’s (or woman’s) food.  A 5 lb. bag of rice and 5 lbs. of mung beans can last a few months for very little money.  So, in times when money is tight, make yourself a big pot of Kichari and eat it all week – you’ll feel better and your wallet can stay just a little bit fatter!

Last week, we started eating our first batch of Kichari here at the Spirit Voyage offices and we’ve been loving it.

My Kichari recipe makes 10 servings.

Green Mung Beans

Ingredients:

10 Cups of Water
2 Cups Basmati Rice
2 Cups Whole Green Mung Beans (soaked in water for at least 6 hours, but up to 24 hours)
1 Medium Onion (diced)
4 Cloves Garlic (finely chopped – you can use as much as a full bulb if you are a garlic lover)
1 to 2 Inches Ginger (finely chopped)
3 TBSP Ghee (if you don’t have ghee, olive oil can be substituted, but use a bit less)
1 TBSP Turmeric
1 TBSP Cumin Seeds
1 TBSP Coriander Powder
1 TBSP Crushed Red Chili Flakes
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 Cup Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 LB Spinach (you can use any green leafy vegetable)
Fresh Cilantro as Garnish

• -Use the largest pot in your house for this recipe (8 qt. is ideal, but 5 qt. can work) . 
• -Turn the heat to medium, and add the cumin seeds.  Stir them occassionally until they start to pop. 
• -Then add the ghee, turmeric, coriander and black pepper and stir to create a sauce.  Let the spices cook together in the ghee for about a minute.
• -Add the onions, garlic and ginger, and stir.  Let cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until you can smell the onions and garlic cooking.
• -Add 8 cups of water and the soaked mung beans. (The mung beans should have doubled in size while soaking)
• -Cover and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, tilt the lid slightly but keep covered. Turn the temperature down to medium-low and allow to cook for 2 to 3 hours, adding water if necessary to keep it slightly soupy.
• After an hour, add the spinach. 

If you have a pressure cooker, you can cook the mung bean part of the recipe in the pressure cooker for 25 minutes.

In a separate pot, you cook the rice. Combine the rice with 5 cups of water. Add the crushed red chili flakes. Bring to a roiling boil and let boil for 7 minutes. Then turn off heat and cover for 20 minutes. Do not remove lid as the steam will continue to cook the rice, making it light and fluffy.

Check the mung beans from time to time. Once they are soft, they are done. You then turn off the heat and mix the rice in with the beans. Add the 1/2 cup of Bragg Liquid Aminos and stir together.

Your kichari is ready to serve.

I usually eat my Kichari with plain yogurt and fresh cilantro.  It’s a delicious combination.

After you let the pot cool, you can put the entire pot in the refrigerator and heat up individual servings all week!

More about Kichari:

Kichari is extremely easy to digest.  In Ayurveda, it is taught that one of the main causes of disease is poor digestion and elimination.  Ayurvedic healing always starts by working through the digestive system and focusing on diet and nutrition.  Kichari soothes your digestive system and is easily processed and eliminated by the body.   Because your body does not have to work hard to process Kichari, it can focus on the job of healing itself.

There are many different Kichari recipes out there, using both green mung beans and the split yellow mung beans.  The recipe we always used in my home as a child was the green mung beans, and when Yogi Bhajan visited us, that was what we always ate.  When I lived in India, Kichari was primarily cooked with the split yellow mung beans, which are considered much gentler on the digestion.  I’ll share one of those recipes in the future.

Akasha (my ex-husband and an incredible yoga teacher and health nut) studied Ayurvedic medicine under an amazing Ayurvedic doctor, Dr. Vasant Lad, at the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, NM.  He has a great cookbook called Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing  which is available on Amazon.com that has a bunch of different Kichari recipes focusing on specific ailments and your own body type.  Akasha, who is undoubtedly the healthiest person I have ever known, is a Kichari fanatic.  He likes to do Kichari fasts twice a year – in the spring and the fall – to cleanse his system and prepare for the change of seasons.  I would recommend trying this now as the weather is getting COLD!

Recipe of the Week: Golden Milk

With the advent of the cold weather, I always start to make Golden Milk.   It is a delicious, soothing drink that Yogi Bhajan recommended we drink at bedtime.  Golden Milk is great for lubricating your joints (both the almond oil and the turmeric help with this).  Turmeric is one of Ayurveda’s most revered roots.  It is a profoundly powerful healer with natural antibiotic properties.  Turmeric is believed to help purify the blood, clear the skin, heal reproductive organs, and balance blood sugar.

A Hot Cup of Golden Milk

Yogi Bhajan said that Golden Milk is an essential drink for women and helps the entire female system function.  It is also great for people suffering from arthritis and can help break up calcium deposits. 

My son was born in India in 1998, where I was living at the time.  In India, it is believed that drinking Golden Milk in the last few weeks of pregnancy ensures a simple, easy birth.  It is also believed that it will give your child beautiful skin and good health.   In addition, turmeric is supposed to be a mild, natural pain killer that can help reduce the pain of childbirth.  (Note: Turmeric is a mild uterine stimulant, so it is extremely critical that you consult a doctor before taking any herbs during pregnancy.)  

Karan - March 25, 1998 - One day before my son, Prakash, was born.

In the last few weeks of my pregnancy, I drank golden milk every night.  It was so soothing that it helped me sleep even during the most uncomfortable time of my pregnancy.  I had a labor of only 3 1/2 hours.  I believe that Golden Milk really contributed to my easy labor.  That and following Yogi Bhajan’s instructions (as much as I could) to walk 5 miles every day of my pregnancy! 

Ingredients:

• 1/8 tsp Turmeric
• 1/4 cup Water
• 8 oz Milk
• 2 Tbsp Almond Oil
• Honey or Maple Syrup to taste

Instructions:

• Place water and turmeric in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring to a paste for 8 minutes. 
• Place milk and almond oil in a separate sauce pan and heat until the milk just comes to a boil, then remove from heat. 
• Add the turmeric paste to the milk and stir until the milk becomes completely yellow.
• Add honey or maple syrup to taste.
• Drink Warm.

You can find this recipe and more in the following book:

Kundalini Yoga: The Flow of Eternal Power by Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa

  

**Our recipes are home remedies that have worked for us and our contributors.  Please do not consider them as medical advice, and always consult your doctor to treat any medical condition.