In Ayurveda, the ancient science of natural healthcare, how we consume water is as important as the quantity. On a recent trip to India I met a woman who prided herself on being very healthy. Despite drinking litres of water each day she complained, ‘I can’t drink enough and I’m always thirsty.’ She’d noticed me sipping my mug of hot water and wanted to know why, in the scorching summer, I was filling my body with more heat!
As my Ayurvedic doctor explained, it’s a question of absorption. Water that has been boiled before being drunk will be absorbed more quickly by the cells of the body than cold water. When this woman started sipping boiled water, her constant thirst disappeared.
Instruction: Sip boiled water every thirty minutes throughout the day. It’s the regularity that’s important. I tend to boil the kettle and fill my Thermos so I have it on my desk. I always start the day by sipping a cup of very warm boiled water. If you want to add a slice of lemon you can, although plain is best.
Three reasons to drink hot water:
1. More nourishment
According to Ayurveda, we get maximum digestibility from our food by cooking it. When we ‘cook’ water by boiling it, it will be more effectively absorbed by the body and therefore more nourishing and balancing.
2. Peak purification
Imagine a blocked drain, clogged up with gunk. Hot water is going to be more effective than cold water in clearing it out. In the same way, our body is made up of millions of super-fine channels (‘shrotas’ in Ayurveda) that over time accumulate toxins, fatty deposits and the residue of undigested food. The most effective way to clear this unwanted toxicity out of the body is to sip hot water and flush the system. The intelligence of the body then flows without obstruction.
3. Dependable digestion
Digestion depends on our ability to burn up the food we consume. If our ‘digestive fire’ is burning strongly, we’ll be able to convert food into energy without building up undigested residue that turns toxic and leads to disease. Drinking cold water is like dumping a load of iced water on a fire. The digestive flame goes out, and the food is unable to be processed, remaining in the body as toxins.
~ This is an extract from Jillian Lavender’s book, Why Meditate? Because it Works.
