Restoring Agni Post Cleanse
Digestive Rehabilitation Post Pancha Karma
After Pancha karma, typically jathara agni (digestive fire) is weakened because of all of the intensive therapies during the cleanse. To restore agni it is important to slowly build it back up.
When building a campfire you would never throw logs onto a match and expect the logs to ignite. You must first add kindling like dried grass and leaves or brown paper bags. With kindling the logs are able to light on fire and sustain that flame throughout the night. The same goes for our digestive fire. You do not want to suddenly eat a hamburger after the cleanse and expect it to digest properly, we need to slowly build up the digestive fire over time before eating harder to digest foods.
After Samsarjana Krama some people need a little bit extra time to restore their digestive fire before moving onto the Rasayana (Rejuventation) Period. Here is how you can restore you digestive fire in order to prepare for Rasayana.
Eat agni kindler before meals, especially with lunch
This is a simple recipe of fresh ginger, turmeric, salt and lemon. You will eat ~1 tsp of this before lunch or all meals. Like CCF tea, these herbs are known as “agni dipan, ama pachan.” This means that they stimulate digestive fire and help with the elimination of toxins.
Take note of allergies and sensativities as you add in more foods. Take note of your reaction and avoid foods that you are allergic to or sensitive to.
Take triphala daily for the next two weeks.
See directions and more information below.
Follow Agni (Digestive Fire) Guidelines
Healthy strong digestion is one of the most important components of Ayurveda. The classical texts say, healthy strong digestion = overall wellbeing, health and longevity. In ayurveda, the disease process begins in the digestive tract, so it is of the utmost importance that we worship our digestive fire. Everything that we put into our bodies is an offering to our digestive fire. How we eat, what we eat, when we eat, combinations of foods, temperatures and mental states all affect our overall wellbeing. If you tend to get gassy, bloated, constipated, acidity ect… the following suggestions should provide great impact.
When reading the following guidelines please do not overwhelm yourself. Pick 2-4 items from the list to start incorporating into your diet and lifestyle, then you can add more over time.
Here are suggestions on how to best support your digestive fire:
Eat food at room temperature or slightly above
Allow two-three hours between meals to allow digestion to be complete before adding new food to the system
Eat your largest meal between 11 am and 2 pm. Take a brisk 15 minute walk after eating.
Eat a light dinner that consists of mostly cooked, well-spiced vegetables.
Don’t drink excessive amounts of liquids and eat at the same time. Drink a half hour before or two hours after eating.
You can sip on warm water, just do not drink a lot of water with meals.
Use proper food combining.
See below “proper food combining”
Wait two hours after a meal before, sleeping, exercise and meditation.
Try cooking with the cumin, coriander and fennel (spice blend). This will support your digestion plus it is delicious. You can cook with it or sprinkle it on meals.
Learn to make these herbs your new best friends. Daily incorporate these herbs/spices into your diet. You can cook with them, sprinkle them on top of food or drink them in a tea.
Tea recipe: https://www.zaidycharron.com/recipes/cumin-coriander-fennel-ccf
Only eat when truly hungry.
Stop eating before you get to the full sensation.
Eat one protein at a time (don’t combine cheese and milk, meat and nuts, eggs and cheese, meat and cheese, etc.). Depending on the strength of your stomach fire it might be okay to take more than one for lunch (pitta time of day), but not breakfast or dinner (kapha or vata time).
Cook with herbs like cumin, coriander and fennel, ginger, turmeric, mustard seeds, hing (gluten free), and black pepper. These herbs are known as “agni dipan, ama pachan.” This means that they stimulate digestive fire and help with the elimination of toxins. Cook as many meals as you can with these herbs. If you do not like to cook, then simply sprinkle these herbs on your meals.
Drinks
· Throughout the day and between meals drink fresh ginger tea and/or CCF tea to continuously support your digestion.
Ginger tea
· For ginger tea, use 4-6 slices of the root for every 2 cups.
· Bring to a boil, and simmer for 10-20 minutes at low heat. Grate the root or add more ginger to make it stronger. Strain, drink warm, but not too hot.
· Add 1⁄2 tsp licorice powder to steep if you have burning sensations or gastric irritation.
· Add several slices or the grated root of fresh turmeric for joint pain and general inflammation.
*note: if ginger tea is too heating for your digestive tract then stick with CCF tea
Cumin, coriander & fennel tea (CCF)
https://www.zaidycharron.com/recipes/cumin-coriander-fennel-ccf
Triphala
Triphala is one of the most popular herb blends in Ayurveda and I have seen it perform miracles. It is a mild “virechana” herb meaning it is a supportive purgative. Triphala is mild and a safe herb to take, note the contraindications below.
You can learn more about it powerful properties in my blog, https://www.zaidycharron.com/blog/triphala
I have also found some incredible peer reviewed research about triphala as well,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5567597/
How to take triphala.
Powdered Triphala - take ½ tsp in the morning or evening on an empty stomach (you can still drink water).
Triphala Tablets - Read the instructions on the bottle (however I recommend the powdered herb variation)
Contraindications: pregnancy, breast feeding, diarrhea, emaciation, dysentery. also, some studies do report findings that would advise caution in people taking blood-thinning medicines.
If you have very loose stools you can lower the dose to ⅛-¼ tsp, and see if that helps bind the stools, if not stop taking the triphala.
Proper Food Combining:
Remember to allow three hours between meals for digestion to complete itself and to avoid toxic build up in your tissues.
MILK is incompatible with:
Legumes
Meat
Fish
Vegetables
Grains (except rice pudding)
YOGURT is incompatible with:
Milk
Sour Fruits
Mangoes
Bananas
Hot Drinks
Meat
Fish
Cheese
EGGS are incompatible with:
Milk
Yogurt
Meat
Cheese
Fish
Fruits
VEGETABLES are incompatible with
Milk
Fruits
NIGHTSHADES (Potato, Tomato, Eggplant, Chilies) are incompatible with: Yogurt
Milk
PEANUT BUTTER is incompatible with:
Jelly
FRUITS are incompatible with:
Meat
Fish
Eggs
Yogurt
Legumes
Starches
Cheese
Vegetables
Melons
* Fruits are incompatible with other foods because they require a different metabolic pathway. One should allow at least one hour digestion time for fruit before partaking of other foods.
STARCHES are incompatible with:
Eggs
Chai
Milk
Bananas
Dates
Persimmons
LEMON is incompatible with:
Yogurt
Milk
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
MELONS are incompatible with:
Everything (including other melons)