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Get the 45 minute presentation 'Balance My Excess Heat (Hot Guna)' given by Joyful Belly founder and director John Immel.
This presentation will show you Ayurvedic essentials on fixing this imbalance, including diet, lifestyle, and herbal tips from Ayurveda.
Price: $15.95
Hot is identified by increased body temperature, metabolism, or inflammation.
Hot Climate
"Hot" is anything that causes an increase in temperature or causes sweating. The body radiates heat from the blood through sweat. When the weather is hot, the blood vessels on the surface of the skin dilate and the heart rate increases, making the skin red and flushed.
Summertime is the season of poor appetite. Red skin is engorged with blood, leaving less blood for digestive organs. Hot weather makes the body relaxed, comfortable, and grounded. Pathological heat causes dizziness and fainting. The body becomes lethargic like the "lazy dog days of summer."
Sweating and secretions help cleanse the skin, digestive tract, circulatory, and lymphatic system. Saunas, baths, steam baths, sweat lodges, and exercise are among the numerous ways people cleanse with heat.
Heating Foods
Spicy food brings blood flow back to the GI tract. It stimulates the appetite, burns toxicity, and reduces tissues (burns ojas). Heating foods cause thirst, sweat, a burning sensation (as in chilies), and even bleeding. For example, eating too many chilies makes the body sweat. Chilies are hot because they irritate the digestive tract lining.
Eat too much turmeric and you might get angry. Turmeric is heating because it dilates blood vessels. Vinegar is heating because it is acidic. Generally, avoid heating foods in the summer.
Hot Water
Hot water is one of the most powerful herbal medicines. As hot weather brings blood to the surface of the skin, hot water brings blood to the GI tract. Flush with the blood, hot water improves digestion, absorption, and assimilation of food. Hot water improves circulation. It is a powerful diaphoretic that opens the surface of the body, and is the primary therapy for fever in Ayurveda.
Hot water is also a decongestant, liquefying all Kapha.
Effect of Heating Foods on the Nervous System
When there is too much heat, the mind becomes hot tempered, angry, irritable, or impatient. Heat increases courage and valor. Passion is hot. Heat generally projects the personality outward. Yogis spend time in cool mountaintop temperatures because it helps them turn inward.
Causes of Excess Heat
Any irritation or wound, fermentation in the small intestine, exercise, or too much clothing causes heat. Liver imbalance, infection, hot climates, hot foods, and Pitta imbalances cause heat conditions.
Signs of Excess Heat
The signs of heart and blood heat are red skin, red eyes, and a red tip of the tongue. The signs of liver heat are yellow eyes or a yellowish tinge to the hands and skin. Other signs of heat include rashes, acne, infection, fever, anger, irritability, and sweat. Heat relieves spasms and causes suppuration of wounds, liver spots, premature graying of the hair, and loss of hair.
If you have poison ivy and eat heating foods or take a hot shower, the poison ivy may get worse.
Treatment of Hot
Bitter tasting food and herbs, such as neem, clear blood and liver heat. Astringent food and herbs, such as amalaki, relieve inflammation in the gut. Sweet tasting foods and herbs, like shatavari and licorice root, cool Pitta and soothe Vata. Milk, cucumber, cilantro and watermelon are cooling. Washing the face or sprinkling the body with cool water is cooling.
Rajasic foods stimulate desire or nervous energy. Red meat, high protein food, garlic and onions stimulate desire. Rajasic foods include chili peppers, coffee, and anything that stimulates movement.
An herb that strengthens spleen function by improving strength of the blood. Spleen tonics Builds agni, brighten the person's appearances & firms up tissues.
Herbs that promote urine formation, thereby flushing the kidneys and urinary tract while eliminating any excess water retention. As diuretics reduce water retention, they are often used to reduce blood pressure.
A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.
Expectorants help you eliminate mucus from the lungs. These herbs often work by increasing the quantity of mucus, or thinning the mucus. Expectorants are indicated when phlegm congests the lower respiratory tract.
In Ayurveda, oily refers to anything moistening. More specifically, oily refers to building substances that increases fat, or are themselves fatty. For example, sugar is Oily.
Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues.
Bland means doesn't have much taste. In Chinese medicine, bland taste refers to afood without little macronutrients, such as cabbage, radish or bok choy.
Geriatric conditions typically involve low agni / metabolism, poor circulation, weakness & debility, muscle weakening, poor digestion, a drop in sex hormones, and connective tissue degradation in bones & skin.
A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.
Expectorants help you eliminate mucus from the lungs. These herbs often work by increasing the quantity of mucus, or thinning the mucus. Expectorants are indicated when phlegm congests the lower respiratory tract.
Herbs that promote urine formation, thereby flushing the kidneys and urinary tract while eliminating any excess water retention. As diuretics reduce water retention, they are often used to reduce blood pressure.
An herb that strengthens spleen function by improving strength of the blood. Spleen tonics Builds agni, brighten the person's appearances & firms up tissues.
Rajasic foods stimulate desire or nervous energy. Red meat, high protein food, garlic and onions stimulate desire. Rajasic foods include chili peppers, coffee, and anything that stimulates movement.
In Ayurveda, oily refers to anything moistening. More specifically, oily refers to building substances that increases fat, or are themselves fatty. For example, sugar is Oily.
Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues.
Geriatric conditions typically involve low agni / metabolism, poor circulation, weakness & debility, muscle weakening, poor digestion, a drop in sex hormones, and connective tissue degradation in bones & skin.
John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, teaches people how to have a
healthy diet and lifestyle with Ayurveda biocharacteristics.
His approach to Ayurveda is clinical, yet exudes an ease which many find enjoyable and insightful.
John also directs Joyful Belly's School of Ayurveda,
offering professional clinical training in Ayurveda for over 15 years.
John's interest in Ayurveda and specialization in digestive tract pathology was inspired by a complex digestive disorder acquired from years of international travel,
as well as public service work in South Asia.
John's commitment to the detailed study of digestive disorders reflects his zeal to get down to the roots of the problem.
His hope and belief in the capacity of each & every client to improve their quality of life is nothing short of a personal passion.
John's creativity in the kitchen and delight in cooking for others comes from his family oriented upbringing.
In addition to his certification in Ayurveda, John holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University.
John enjoys sharing Ayurveda within the context of his Catholic roots,
and finds Ayurveda gives him an opportunity to participate in the healing mission of the Church.
Jesus expressed God's love by feeding and healing the sick.
That kindness is the fundamental ministry of Ayurveda as well.
Outside of work, John enjoys spending time with his wife and 7 kids, and pursuing his love of theology, philosophy, and language.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The information and products on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
disease.
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