Autumn is the season when dry, cold, and sometimes windy weather predominates. Inside your body, Vata, the Dosha that also has dry, cold and moving qualities, tends to increase. At this time of year Pitta, the Dosha that regulates heat and digestion, and Kapha, the Dosha that is responsible for our strength and structure, tend to play second, and third, fiddles.
Vata Dosha is likely to continue dominating the environment until February, when the season outside, and the influence within you, will change to Kapha Dosha.
Vata can blow your mind
When Vata Dosha takes over during the coming months, its restless, sweeping qualities can blow your mind and body completely off balance. An unbalanced Vata can lead to restless nights, stress, fatigue, constipation, dry skin and irregular appetite.
In order to stay in tune with the cycles of nature, you have to look to things like diet, routine, exercise patterns and lifestyle to stay in balance and in good health.
To balance any Vata increasing effects on your body you need warming, unctuous and nourishing influences. This is how to deal with the Doshic balance in your body. If Pitta gets too high, you try to cool down and if Kapha increases, you detoxify.
Following are seven healing tips that are designed to help in the Vata season.
Being the most mobile of all Doshas, the key words in managing Vata is “regularity” and “stability”. And this is especially so during autumn and early winter, when Vata becomes dominate in the environment. During this time it is very important to pay attention to your daily routine.
7 Ways to support Vata this Autumn
Vata support 1
Try to ensure your meals are taken at the same time each day. Sticking to a strict meal schedule will regulate your metabolic activity, set your hunger cycles in order, generate a healthy Agni (digestive fire), and make sure that there is less Ama (toxic accumulation) in your system.
Vata support 2
Go to be early – ideally by 10pm – and make this a habit, regardless of the hours you have been keeping so far. You might have to adjust you work, lifestyle and TV watching patterns of course, but these sacrifices will reward you in terms of balanced Vata, ease of mind and body, and growing good health.
Vata support 3
Pay attention to the food you eat. To keep Vata in balance favour warm meals which are rich in moisture and oils. This will be especially important if Vata is naturally high in your physiology. Avoid drying foods like popcorn or steamed veggies that are not accompanied by some fat (like ghee).
Vata support 4
During Vata season, the cold and dry properties of Vata will be prominent in your system. So keep warm and make sure you have plenty of warm, freshly cooked food.
Avoid leftovers, raw foods, frozen meals, processed foods and canned foods, as they will disturb Vata. Cold sandwich and dry cereal should be avoided.
Vata Tea contains ingredients that are custom-blended to calm down Vata Dosha and keep you warm and your Agni (digestive fire) high.
Vata season foods can include:
- hot soups,
- freshly cooked and lightly spiced pulses such as mung dhal
- warm stewed apple taken in the morning (can stew some dried fruit along with the apples)
- oat cereal cooked with milk, a little ghee and some raw sugar
- warm milk with a pinch of ginger, cardamom or cinnamon
- veggies sautéed in a little ghee and with a teaspoon of Vata Churna (a specially blended spice mix suitable for the Vata season)
- wholesome nutrition whole wheat bread or chapattis
- snack on soaked dates or fresh fruit
- flavour a glass of milk with our Almond Energy Drink
- before you go to bed, have a warm cup of milk with a bit of ginger, cardamom or cinnamon and a little honey
Vata support 5
To really help you work out an diet plan, based on Vata-balancing principles, visit a Maharishi Ayurveda consultant. They will help you decide what foods are best for you and assess your overall health in great detail. They can also advise any herbal remedies and Ayurveda treatments that will also help.
Vata support 6
During the Vata season you need to take care of your skin and keep it well nourished. Because Vata is drying, skin can more easily tend to wrinkle and age at this time of year.
Give your body a daily massage with herbalised sesame oil such as MAV Rejuvenation Massage Oil. Apply Facial Revitalising Oil to support facial skin with lipids. Use Vata Skin Care cream – its rich healing herbs will nourish and pamper your skin during autumn and winter.
Vata support 7
The Vata influence in autumn can lead to restlessness, anxiety, tension and stress. The diet and tips mentioned above will help, but in addition take time to do some light yoga exercises and daily Transcendental Meditation – these practices will greatly enhance the benefits of anything else you do.
Work tips include:
- Introduce more regularity into your work routine
- Take regular breaks
- Avoid overstretching yourself when dealing with problems
- Make sure you have plenty of warm water and other warm drinks throughout the day
- Practice deep, relaxed breathing at regular intervals.
Adopting these new routines, and shedding older, less balanced patterns of work behaviour, may initially seem to disrupt your set schedule. Yet when they get established, an inner harmony will develop that will help heal your Vata Dosha. Then, whatever the season, you’ll be a picture of calm, health, and joy.
