I grew up in the 80’s. During that time, I remember seeing advertisements about the effectiveness of Ritalin on kids that had ADHD. I was just a kid, and even back then, I loved medical anything. Case in point: this pic of me, reading, of course, my favorite past time, waiting on my mom to finish up school, in her “waiting room” section of her classroom at St. Monica’s in Dallas.
I saw or read one of the ads about Ritalin back then, and it had mentioned that kids who had ADHD were often the ones who had only one shoe on. Essentially, they would take one shoe off, get distracted, and go do something else, not realizing they still had only one shoe on.
I was that kid.
In fact, if my memory is correct, I had only one shoe on as I discovered that news. And if memory indeed serves me correctly, I raced to find said missing shoe and get it on my foot before my parents heard about this insane correlation.
Turns out, I am still that adult, as I was just walking through my house with two socks and one tennis shoe on. Not kidding.
This might be why I have a hard time sticking with things. I get bored, lose interest. There’s too many things that intrigue me, and never enough time to learn about them all. It’s why I had to get off of Instagram, something that to this day I still don’t miss: too many distractions, too many shiny things to see or buy or want.
If you’ve read anything about Ayurveda, I am a vata type. I’m pitta too, but mostly vata.
Vatas are flighty, they learn quickly and forget even quicker; their minds are all over the place. They are often slender, very short or very tall, with long noses or fingers. They often have dry hair, dry skin, small eyes, and thin lips. They’re so dry in fact, that their joints crack whenever they walk.
I didn’t know I was vata until my friend Laura quite frankly pointed it out to me one day, long ago, as I was walking through her old East Nashville home; my joints and her wood floors creaked at the same pace.
We could say the first part of what I wrote above is similar to what many classify as ADHD. Not paying attention, not staying still, hyper, all over the place.
Yep. That’s me.
I thank every star above that my parents just let me be me and didn’t drug me up. I don’t know if I can ever thank them enough for that. All this energy, all these thoughts that don’t stop, all this flightiness – it turns into massive creativity (at times), massive curiosity (most of the time), and an overall general interest in the world around me. Thankfully, I was and still am mostly able just deal with it just fine. Meditation, yoga, mindfulness – that all helps, but it’s not a cure-all. I personally don’t think we need a cure-all. What helps most, is finding something that really intrigues me, that leaves me wanting more, that makes my mind so interested that it simply can’t stop focusing. That’s what helps the most.
A few months back, I went to an Ayurvedic Practitioner in Dallas. I had studied Ayurveda for years and years, signed up for any training within D/FW, and looked into several different certifications and programs where I myself could get credited to teach Ayurveda.
The looked into part is sooo vata, BTW.
I went out of curiosity, I wanted to know more. I always want to know more. Also, I was (still am) 39, and I wanted to make sure my body and my lifestyle was as healthy as possible as I continue to get older and experience so many new womanly issues.
I knew I drank too much wine, and I knew I stressed out too much, and I wanted to see what else. I came with my blood work report from my doctor, and a good understanding of Ayurveda. And I found out essentially what I knew all along: don’t stop practicing yoga, keep going on walks, don’t stop meditating, do alternate nostril breathing, wipe the body down in sesame oil every day, tongue scrape, do a daily oil pulling, focus on your breathing. Check, check, check, check, check, check…most of that I already do.
Then, the fun part: no more than 4 ounces of wine a week, stop it with all the processed foods (AKA bread for me), and drink this vata-pitta tea concoction.
The first two I have not been able to master. I’m getting better at the no-drinking-part. Less at the stop-eating-breads-part. The last request: the tea – I fell in love with, and that’s what I’m sharing with you today.
This recipe is courtesy of Gauri Junnarkar, founder of AyurNutrition in the DFW midcities. I have been to a lot of Ayurvedic trainings in Dallas, and I would say, I enjoyed meeting with Gauri the most.
My friend Christina Vargas also does Ayurvedic counseling; Richardson was just a bit further than I wanted to travel that day. She’s a beautiful soul if you’re in Dallas and wanting to learn more. I can’t recommend these two ladies enough.
Finally, this vata-pitta-possibly-ADHD-girl with one shoe on might not be able to stay consistent with thoughts or actions, but in the big scheme of things, it’s just fine by me.
Cheers, with this Vata-Pitta tea.
Love, Jen
Vata-Pitta Tea and Thoughts on ADHD
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. cumin, dried
- 1 tbsp. fennel seeds, dried
- 1 tbsp. corriander, dried
- 1 tbsp. rosemary, dried
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a jar and toss well. Put 1/4 tsp. of the mixture in a tea cup and pour boiling water on top. Strain, and enjoy.