The Getting Sick Tea

Body's signals to avoid summer overwhelm - and a tea that helps us break through

Hello beautiful human,

Ya'll, I never cook with garlic anymore because it agitates the mind and body, it stimulates rather than nourishes, and in someone already running hot, anxious, or depleted, it adds more fire to a fire that doesn't need more fuel.

IT IS STRONG MEDICINE!

And we should not be having medicine all the time.

But here I will show you when I do actually have it...

Welcome to the peak of spring!

The world is awake, things are blooming, schedules are filling, and there is this particular energy in the air - an invitation to expand, initiate, say yes, do more.

And Āyurveda says: this is a GREAT time to pay attention.

🔥The transition from spring into summer is one of the most common entry points for burnout.

Not because summer is bad, but because we sprint into it carrying whatever we didn't fully shed in spring, and heat amplifies everything.

The extra energy, extra excitement, from the spring sun, bloom, and moon cycles can overshoot our capacity, and we overbook.

What was undernourished is vulnerable and can become empty.

And we can get sick.

Āma & Impending Dis-Ease Signs

These are drawn from classical Āyurvedic texts.

The signs of Āma (accumulation of undigested or improperly digested food) and Pūrvarūpa (the prodrome, or early signs of fever and illness).

They overlap with what modern medicine calls early immune activation and HPA axis dysregulation.

Catch it here before it takes you downnn:

Mind, Energy & Behavior | Often the First to Shift

🔴 Restlessness and inattentiveness - the mind moves but can't land. A hallmark of Vata aggravation and pre-burnout.

🔴 Mental agitation - irritability, short fuse, or a low-grade anxiety that has no single source. Cortisol is elevated. The margin is gone.

🔴 Disinterest in your own routine and responsibilities - when the things that normally feel meaningful start to feel like a burden. Not laziness. A signal.

🔴 Excessive or irrelevant speech - talking more than usual, or saying things that feel scattered. Vata ungrounded.

🔴 Excessive yawning and sleepiness - yet unable to sleep at night - the nervous system is dysregulated. Tired but wired is Āyurveda's version of HPA axis disruption.

🔴 Reduced enthusiasm - a general flatness. Not depression, not sadness. Just a dimming. The life force is conserving itself.

Body & Physical Channels

🌿 Heaviness in the body - feels like gravity turned up. Not tired from doing, just heavy from being.

🌿 Loss of strength - tasks that are normally easy feel effortful.

🌿 Obstruction of the body's channels - little to no sweat even when warm, reduced urination, irregular or absent bowel movements. The body's ability to clear is compromised.

🌿 Exhaustion without exertion - tired before you've done anything. A sign the system is working overtime internally.

🌿 Vata not circulating - stiffness, reduced mobility, a kind of inner stillness that isn't peaceful.

🌿 Altered sensation - numbness, tingling, tooth sensitivity, or a strange awareness of the body that feels unfamiliar.

🌿 Congested or tearing eyes - the eyes are a window to the liver in Āyurveda. Congestion here often signals deeper accumulation.

Digestion & Agni

🍂 Indigestion & loss of appetite - food doesn't sound appealing, or sits heavy. The digestive fire is dim.

🍂 Tastelessness - food loses its appeal or flavor. A sign that the body is redirecting energy away from digestion.

🍂 Aversion to sweet and chewy foods - the body is asking for lighter inputs.

🍂 Sudden cravings for sour, salty, or spicy - the body is trying to stimulate a sluggish agni. Listen, but don't indulge blindly.

🍂 Urge to spit frequently - excess phlegm/Kapha is accumulating and the body is trying to clear it.

🍂 Chills, shivering, or goosebumps without cold temperature - the immune system is activating. A classic prodrome of fever.

Burnout and illness travel the same road.

One is physical, one is energetic, but the body gives the same early signals for both.

The difference between a vibrant summer and an exhausted one is often caught right here, in May - in how you choose to respond to your body.

And now - the tea.

I first had a cup in Queretaro, Mexico, when I got sick, and my Tia Malena saved me with this recipe that was passed down from my grandmother and great-grandmother.

This protocol can cut your sickness time in half or stop it in its tracks - but you must also rest with integrity ;)

I am glad this has already worked for so many of you! Share with your loved ones so we can keep the nourish train going.

xxo,

Vero