How do you do pantang?

When asked this, I'd say 'sederhana je' - not too strict, tapi tak pulak tinggal langsung. A few days ago, an aunt who came to visit reminded me: Jagalah betul-betul, sekarang memang tak rasa apa-apa, tapi nanti bila umur dah lebih 40, barulah rasa... The thing is, it's not that I don't care, but rather - I don't know. I asked people around me of course, my mum, my mother-in-law, my aunts, the makcik urut etc, and they each give bits and pieces of information but somehow it's all still blurry. Actually there is now an Ensiklopedi@ Perbid@nan Melayu written by Anisah Barakb@h in the market which probably contains all the information I need to know, but well - I haven't read it nor do I have plans to buy it anytime soon. For now, this is how I do my pantang.

Makan. General rule: makan benda yang 'panas', and avoid benda yang 'sejuk'. I don't really know how to tell between the two though. I don't feel panas even bila makan durian, lots of them. I was told that most fruits and vegetables are cold. Melons are definite no-no. Oranges too. Apples and bananas are ok. Sayur jenis labu are cold, avoid kangkung, carrots are ok. Guava is another no-no, but for a different reason. Black pepper and ginger are hot, therefore I take these two together with my rice almost each lunch and dinnertime. Fortunately for me, I like them. Oil and butter and their sisters should be minimised, therefore the best types of cookings are soups and grills. Well, kalau tak pantang pun, it's a healthy eating habit anyway. Ikan haruan is supposedly good too, but I don't really make the effort to look for them (in the market I mean, not in the sungai/parit). Talking about food that are sejuk and panas, I've always wondered what they mean. To our physiology. I imagine the chemical reactions during digestion either releases heat or the opposite. Pure conjecture. Just like I imagine 'angin' being the gaseous released in those reactions. Betul ke?

Jamu. This time I bought the set Mustik@ R@tu, but I suspect I'll only finish the pills. I'm not rajin enough to do the 'oles-oles' bit. Oles pada dahi lah, seluruh badan lah, perut lah. The magic herb to take is of course manjakani. Drinking the air rebusan of the biji itself is best, though it's more covenient to take the pills. My mum drinks air akar kayu too, but I don't really adopt this - pahit sangat.

Mandi. My mum helps gather some leaves to boil untuk mandi pagi - daun pandan, daun lempoyang (probably known by another name, but that's what my mum calls it), and daun serai wangi. I'm not really clear on what they're for, but they are supposed 'menyegarkan badan', and I like the smell - harum. This is usually done only in the first week or so.

Urut. I believe this is quite important. I'm fortunate to know a good makcik urut. It was by chance - serendipity I would say. She handed out her number to me at a pasar malam (seeing I was pregnant and therefore a potential client) more than two years ago when I was pregnant with my first son. She spent two hours mengurut, usually about a week after delivery, and charges RM30 per hour. The 'angkat peranakan (uterus?)' bit was really painful (well, not if compared to labour pain lah), but it was a case of bersusah dahulu, bersenang kemudian. My second pregnancy was relatively smooth sailing compared to someone close I know who had to endure months of abdominal pain during her second pregnancy because rahim dah 'jatuh/turun' (whatever that is in medical terms). The bad news for me was, quite a number of my urat were tegang/bengkak, especially at the legs. Makcik cakap it's probably due to careless (unhealthy) eating habit and possibly also too much driving. I think I'll go for more urut sessions with her in the future to reduce this. I do feel lenguh quite easily (the result of having these urat tegang). This is also another thing I've been wondering about - what are 'urats' anyway? I presume they're arteries and veins? What does it mean urat 'tegang/bengkak'? Since it resulted in cepat lenguh/kebas, I suppose it's something to do with blood flow. Blockages? Hmm...

Fizikal. I'm not supposed to lift heavy things - and that includes Munief! I'm quite used to dukung-ing him, so it's quite difficult sometimes, especially when he's in need of a good pujuk, but we cope. I'm not supposed to rush or hustle (or run, needless to say), I try to walk calmly, macam gadis ayu gitu. I'm not supposed to walk up the stairs, though I admit I already did - had to look for something urgently. I wear socks, though not too religiously, I do take them off when it gets too warm. But I do appreacite them especailly after a bath, in the kitchen (cold tiles), and at night. I do bertungku once in awhile, or rather three times so far, my mum helps heat up the really heavy round batu. I've only berbengkung once so far, because putting it on is so leceh, and having it on is so uncomfortable - kalau duduk, tak boleh bernafas, nak makan pun uncomfortable.

Hmm.. looking back at the list, it seems like I pick and choose the practices which I like only kan? Heheh.. What about you - how do you do your pantang? Do share your stories and do's and don'ts. By the way, MHH has registered our baby at the JPN this morning. Her name is Afiefah Mardiyyah - or Fifa for short :)