Ayurvedic post-workout recipes

Feeding your body after your yoga class or workout can feel tricky when you are also trying to apply Ayurveda to your life.

You need to consider improper food combinations, using the right spices, the season, and the type of workout.

Plus, your dosha…

Often, when you feel dehydrated and are trying to recover fast, these factors will seem overwhelming.

So, these are some yummy recipes that can simplify the process.

They will also nourish your tissues and calm your nervous system after exercising.

Exercise effects

As we start practicing Ayurveda, we realize that balancing our body type is a daily journey.

And that includes taking care of what we eat after a workout session, particularly because exercise tends to elevate the air and ether elements within us, which increases Vata dosha.

We react to exercise in the same way we do to stressful situations.

• Our heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration rhythm increase.
• Our sympathetic nervous system — responsible for the fight or flight response — gets activated.
• The digestion process is no longer a priority as the body faces the stress of exercise / danger, and is in survival mode.
• Agni, our digestive fire, gets weaker.
• The body gets more “airy” and light.

Recovering from exercise is not immediate.

We must take some time to do a grounding session, stretch, and cool down. Resting in Savasana pose for a few minutes at the end of our fitness routine can be incredibly pacifying.

We can also do a deep breathing practice to help our bodies relax and prioritize digestion again.

Learn more about the right workout for your body type ⇒ Ayurvedic Fitness Guide

The importance of replenishing your body after a workout

At this time, we need to eat foods that are grounding, sweet, and nourishing to reduce Vata (This is a FREE Vata menu you can start today)

These foods also help us build Ojas, the essence of vitality.

But —

We still have to take into account a few Ayurvedic principles to ensure that digestion is optimal. This is important, as many health enthusiasts recommend smoothies post-workout.

Not only are smoothies heavy to digest, but they are usually cold, and their food incompatibilities can weaken your agni and leave you feeling bloated and gassy.

However, I understand smoothies are a quick and convenient way to restore our energy once we have settled from our workout rush. We just need to make them Ayurvedic to increase the likelihood of digesting them well.

These are some tips:

• Focus on rebuilding agni after your workout ⇉ Use warming spices like ginger, cardamom, fennel, or cinnamon AND try to avoid fruit, specially frozen.
• Try to adhere to proper food combinations ⇉ Don’t mix bananas with milk and avoid yogurt.
• Use foods that increase your Ojas, like dates, almonds, and ghee.
• Reduce the inflammatory response after working out ⇉ Inflammation leads to soreness and pain. Mitigate it by adding turmeric or ginger.
• Remember, eat / drink something that feels grounding, sweet, and nourishing.

I train first thing in the morning, so my post-workout meal is often my breakfast. But, if you train at other times during the day, these are some Ayurvedic post-workout recipes you can make.

Ayurvedic post-workout recipes