Spice Up Your Day
What’s the first thing you do when you get up on a cold morning? Many of us would just try to squeeze out that last second staying in bed in that warm blanket. Me too with no exception. I salute those who still take their dog for a walk or go for a run in the morning. Hong Kong’s living spaces here aren’t typically built with heated floor boards and central heating. The idea of doing any Pilates exercises doesn’t sound appealing when it is only 7 to 10 degrees Celsius!
We always have a million of excuses not to do something, don’t we? To avoid that morning procrastination, I would do a little prep the night before so that I can wake up to my favorite warm tea to start a lovely day before any activities and my Pilates teaching.
What tea for me? It’s Masala Chai!
“A powerful blend of tea, herbs and spices, chai has been cherished for centuries in India to preserve health and increase peace of mind. But, the more we learn about chai, the more benefits we find. In addition to improving digestion, chai enhances the immune system, fights inflammation and has antioxidant properties. It has also been suggested that chai has antibacterial and anti-cancer effects.” – from Dr. Issac Eliaz’s article on mindbodygreen.com written on August 16, 2012
Read his article to find out more benefits on chai - https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5825/Why-Everyone-Should-Drink-Chai-Tea.html
I love cooking and eating Indian food, not only because of its flavor and spice, but also its health benefits. Once, many years ago, I had a cold and a friend of mine introduced me to a home remedy which is very similar to masala chai. It has clove, cinnamon, black pepper corn, and cardamom in it. Then you’d add lemon and honey when serving. After drinking a couple days; a few cups each, my cold went away.
Finding more and more amazing health benefits on different spice and herbs, so I thought to myself, why not drink more? I do find it helpful to boost my immunity and it’s my go to drink when I feel slightly off. Besides Masala Chai, another two healthy hot drinks I always make are ginger tea, and warm milk with turmeric and cardamom. I’ll save them for another blog post.
A healthy life comes from the synergy of mindful daily habits. May you all eat well, sleep well, exercises, do your Yoga, Pilates, TRX, practice Martial arts … you name it… so you’ll have a healthier body with stronger immunity.
Now perhaps try this recipe below and spice up your day!
There are many recipes out there, and many trials and tasting different recipes, I came up with this lovely yet easy to remember version with a close reference to these two websites:
http://www.chai-tea.org/rec/rec101.html
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/homemade-chai-201226
Don’t forget to check out our winter warmer Pilates routine next.
Enjoy your tea sipping and have a balanced body and mind!
- Karen Leung, Head of Pilates at Mindful Pilates, Hong Kong
