Thiruvathira- The Wellness festival for body and mind
Even though most people do not celebrate Thiruvathira, it reminds most of us of only an art form. A festival for ladies that originated at a time when there was no other form of entertainment, it had it’s own dance and involved bathing in ponds/river and eating special cuisine.
All of these in the name of getting an ideal husband or to increase the longevity of the marriage. But was there more to it?
Women folk don’t eat rice on this day and have wheat, millets, fruits and other food. In addition to these, a special dish called puzhukku is made. This is a curry made out of lentils and all local and seasonal tubers such as yams, sweet potato, koorka, chembu (taro root) etc. Apart from this, a koova kali (kind of halwa) is made out of arrow root, jaggery ghee and coconut. In some communities it is also made out of rice, jaggery , ghee and moong . All these foods are in sync with the season- Winter.
To make it more appealing to the current generation, this can be called as a comprehensive wellness program that increases physical activity in an enjoyable form like dance, swings, swimming/bathing in ponds/rivers, early morning walks to temple and completes your micronutrient profile by including lots of seasonal and local vegetables, includes ghee and jaggery which are essential for winter. These dishes also have the perfect amount of starch/carbs in the form of tubers. The medicinal flowers (dasapushpam) used are for aroma therapy, the betel leaf chewing increases the digestion, iron and calcium in body, and much more.
Why to go and spend money in resorts and spas when such festivals are celebrated which takes seasonal nutritional food, physical activities, spirituality and much more into account?
For Weight loss, nutrition assessments/consultation and fitness training, write to pavithrakarthik@outlook.com
If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends too.
