Should we be caffeine-free just because we are yogis?

Okay, so I’ve spent a number of years practicing and teaching yoga and approximately the same number of years being told about the radical effects coffee has on the body. If you don’t already know these effects guess what? I’m going to tell you, however i think its important to tell you from a place of Love and not dictation,after all you have free will, right? You can choose to take note or to shut down this page and continue with your everyday chores with a mug of coffee in your hand…so let us begin.

Adrenal depletion.

Adrenal glands secrete adrenalin during a fight or flight attack.When you drink coffee your body is shocked into releasing ‘Epinephrine and Norepinephrine”mmm!! long words huh? So you drink the coffee, you get your jobs done and then BANG!!you crash.When the addiction and habit increases you then need another cup and another to get you through the day.Causing addiction and habitual behaviour,does this ring any bells?

Stress out your Glands and gain a lot of stiffness in those muscles and joints.

Coffee puts stress on the glands.A great experiment is to check your heart rate before and after drinking a cup and note the difference.Blood sugar levels go haywire and the muscles and joints become increasingly stiff.Not a good antidote for any yogi.

So there you go,thats a BIT of the technical side regarding the side effects of our nations favourite drink,kind of sad hey?.We truly have become a coffee nation we love the smell the taste the syrups the extra shots and not forgetting the social side this wee bean brings us.

For more information check out Yoga & Coffee.

To cut a long story short.

“Yogi tea!”

“Have you tried it? I mean the homemade kind, not the tea bag stuff.”

In Kundalini Yoga we drink yogi tea till it comes out of our ears.It’s the perfect tonic for cleansing the liver  and acting as a mild stimulant.It helps to correct damage to the nervous system that may have been caused by drugs or from living the highlife AND the best thing about it is that you can control the amount of caffeine you add which is totally optional.

By replacing coffee with yogi tea i broke my own coffee habit and caffeine addiction.Now when i do treat myself to a good Latte it taste 10 times better than it ever did.I make it a tall,not a bucket size and i savour the flavour instead of drinking it as if my life depended on it.

Yogi tea recipe.

A good word of advice,play around with the flavours,all our tastes are different.The vital ingredients are:

1. ginger root-approx 8cm peeled and chopped into slices
2. cardamon-4/5
3. black cloves-3/4
4. black peppercorns-3/4
5. cinnamon stick
6. one large pan of water
7. loose black tea or a black tea or green tea tea bag.Adding tea is optional

Add all the ingredients to the pan of water,except the tea if you are using it and cook until boiled.When the liquid starts to boil bring it down to a simmer and then add the tea.Leave to simmer for 10 minutes and then ‘voila’ you have the perfect Yogi Tea.Grab your favourite mug and pour.You may want to add milk and or sugar or honey to taste.

Oh! And before I forget, let me add…

The magic of ginger.

Ginger has been used before the days of Rome.It has been said to help lengthen life and woo a lover,(that alone is worth a daily cup of tea).Not only is ginger a spice but it is also a medicine .However this was the bit i thought you might all like to know,even you guys out there.Ginger is especially helpful for woman who suffer from menstrual tension and cramps,it also helps our energy levels too,which is always a good thing,keeping the spine and cerebrospinal fluid healthy and supple.

ENJOY THIS GIFT WITH LOVE!!

for more yogi recipe’s visit my site www.indrasinghyoga.com