Warm, Spiced Milk

Grounding, soothing, and perfect for supporting your body & mind in the cooler, drier seasons of autumn & winter. It can be especially grounding right before bed. 

A cup of warm, spiced milk uses the sweetness and heaviness of kapha dosha to calm vata and pitta dosha as you wind down for bed.  When I first started practicing Ayurveda, I would have sweet cravings right before going to bed. Looking back I can see that these cravings were due to an imbalance, combined with programming I had been taught over the years to indulge in a dessert before bedtime. Nonetheless, these cravings were a hard thing to ignore as I was shifting my habits. 

Ayurveda was teaching me to support agni, my digestive fire. Eating a heavy, sweet, usually refined sugar treat right before I climbed into bed was not supporting agni. In fact, it was doing quite the opposite. Instead of reaching for that brownie or bowl of ice cream, I started to make a cup of warm, spiced milk. 

The process of making the milk was calming in itself. Roasting the spices of cinnamon, cardamon, and ginger in ghee brought a beautiful aroma to the air. Then watching the milk begin to heat up and integrate with the spices seemed magical to me. Witnessing the integration of tastes and textures reminded me of the interconnected nature of all living things. 

Finally, pouring the finished drink into my favorite mug and cozying up on the couch to sip my creation was the icing on the cake (figuratively of course). As the warm milk hit my lips, it soothed me from the inside out. I slept like a log that night, and now pretty much all nights now that I have adopted an Ayurvedic lifestyle.

Enjoy this recipe before bed or anytime you find yourself swept by spacey vata or fiery pitta. It will surely ground you and bring you back to youself.