Following bodily cues and switching to tea created a whole new life full of calm and clarity for me
I’ve been intensely studying Ayurveda, the 5,000-year-old Vedic philosophy of life that originates in India. In our modern era of diet-obsessed trends, we often think of Ayurveda as mainly relating to food. Indeed, it tells us that ‘food is medicine.’ However, it is a view on life that tells us how to procure balance and happy existence through the habits of our mind, body, and spirit. I am going to tell you how quitting coffee allowed me to live in a more harmonious and balanced way. Let’s explore Ayurveda and coffee.
While reading on, a basic understanding of the three doshas of Ayurveda (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha) may be useful, but not entirely necessary. You may benefit in general by discovering your dosha through this quiz from the Chopra Center. In what follows, I focus mainly on my own experience from the perspective of a Pitta dominance.
“Ayurveda is a complete healing system that is focused on giving you tools and practices to create health on a daily basis by using your innate healing ability.”
Dr. Sheila, Chopra Center
The Pitta Dosha at a Basic Level
The Pitta dosha is known for its heat. If your dominant dosha is Pitta, you have excellent digestive fire and stamina. When I started thinking about the world in terms of my Pitta imbalance, it became obvious that heat is the root of many of my frustrations and problems in life. My body gets overheated in summer, I am prone to have flare-ups resulting in a rage of anger if I am not careful, I love hot flavors and baths, and my body is internally hot — expressing itself through heartburn when I don’t consume the right foods.
Knowing all of this about Pitta and my own body, it gradually became apparent that my love for coffee was natural for my type, yet not beneficial.
Let’s be clear: I was an avid coffee drinker. I also was a coffee snob. I had a personal coffee roaster who supplied me with beans that were prepared exactly the way I wanted, and I traveled the world to places like Bali and Hawaii searching for the perfect coffee. But my Pitta craving for the drink was leading me down a harmful path. It put me out of balance. Pitta already has enough natural tendency for stress and heat, so why do I need more?
Acidity and Caffeine Interrupt Our Balance
While coffee certainly has its benefits, more so for those with a Kapha dominance in them, I see it as a threat to myself because of its acidity and caffeine. In recent years, the heartburn really got to me, and coffee is known to acidic. I noticed that if I add some natural vanilla syrup, it counteracts the acidity a bit. But it is still not a great choice for me.
Caffeine is also known to activate heightened stress levels. If you are stressed or prone to stress, your ability to remain balanced is all but lost. To keep a mindful grasp on reality, we should avoid being stressed. Life is just more enjoyable if we stop putting stimulants in our bodies. But it’s hard to understand this when we’ve been too used to drinking coffee daily.
Mental Benefits I Noticed and How They’re Related to Body Benefits
After switching to tea, I noticed a complete sense of calm returning to me. I approach the days without fear or anxiety, not caring as much when people say or do things that might normally upset me. I just enjoy each moment like I am floating on a cloud. Clarity has been restored. I can think through problems without stress entering my mind. Everything is just better.
The mind is not separate from the body, and what we manifest in one inevitably ends up in the other. This was definitely the case for me when I quit coffee. My skin seems like it’s glowing, and my joints feel supple and ready to go every day. Most of all, my mind is very calm and ready to take on whatever the day gives me.
Of course, if you were drinking coffee to compensate for lack of sleep, then you really need to bite the bullet and get more sleep. That’s going to make you feel better than quitting coffee can make you feel.
Final Thoughts
Ayurveda tells us that our bodies are all different, but generally, coffee affects our digestive fire. If your type is dominantly Pitta, like me, then you might benefit from quitting coffee because it only aggravates the heat inside our bodies. Pitta has too much of this heat already and needs cooling, soothing choices for us to come into balance.
After all, balance is what it’s all about. Balance leads us to our best lives and gives us a chance to open the door to the divine.
If you liked this post, you may like my post about Ayurveda and winter sadness.
