Ayurveda And Vata Season

Autumn is a time of transition and change. You only need to look out of the window to see evidence of this. The lush greens of the summer have turned into shades of orange, crimson and brown, the earth hardens and the leaves fall to the ground leaving a carpet of crunchiness and crispness beneath our feet.

Many people find the transition from summer into autumn a little difficult but I quite like it, like all seasons it has its own charm.

Autumn is generally dry, rough, changeable and cool which are all properties shared by the Vata dosha in Ayurveda, it is because of this that Autumn is often referred to as the Vata season by those who follow Ayurvedic principles.

In Ayurveda it is believed that every person is made up of a combination of five basic elements (Panchamahabhuta); Space (Akash); Air (Vayu); Fire (Agni); Water (Jal) and Earth (Prithvi). These elements combine in the human body to form three fundamental energies called doshas: Vata (Air + Space), Pitta (Fire + Water) and Kapha (Earth + Water). Each of us has a combination of all three doshas but usually one will be more dominant than the others and each dosha has its own characteristics and a different energy.

There are a plethora of ‘online questionnaires’ that can help determine which is your predominant dosha but I would recommend seeing an Ayurvedic Practitioner to confirm if you’re thinking about following a specific diet or lifestyle based on doshas because as with everything one size does not fit all.

The Ayurvedic diet for autumn isn’t really that different to what we would naturally eat throughout the year. In the spring and summer we tend to eat lighter food and enjoy more salads and cooling, hydrating fruits such as watermelon but as autumn and winter begin to kick in we veer more towards comfort foods like hearty soups, steamed vegetables and my personal favourite roast dinners!

Our taste buds also seem to differ slightly in autumn months. We tend to eat spicier food to generate more heat in our bodies. Now when I say spicier I don’t just mean upping the intake of chillies but eating things like ginger, ginger really can give your insides a warm glow. My intake of ginger tea goes through the roof during autumn and winter.

But it’s not just our diets that change with the seasons, our lifestyle changes too. We may not stay out so late as the weather gets cooler and prefer to stay indoors in the warmth. Our sleeping patterns may vary as we may feel more tired and have less energy than we had during the summer and our exercise patterns and regimes may change. If you’re anything like me I really have to push myself to go out and exercise when it’s cold outside. Its not unheard of for me to change my plans because it’s raining outside, never mind that I have a car and the actual length of time I spend out in the rain is negligible, just the thought of going out in the cold will make me think twice.

That’s why I’m so grateful that I can practice yoga at home. This way, if I do decide to ‘chicken’ out of going to a class or to the gym I can roll out the mat in the warmth and comfort of my own home.

I do find however that the types of yoga I enjoy changes with the seasons too. In the spring and summer when I’m feeling more energetic and have an extra spring in my step I like flowing, dynamic yoga but in the autumn and winter months just like you enjoy more comfort food I like a little more comfort yoga and enjoy more of a Yin, restorative or guided relaxation practice. Even though I probably practice at home more often in the autumn and winter months I will still make a concerted effort to go to a class both for the social aspect, meeting friends or meeting new people but also because although following online videos or making up your own yoga sequences is great, it can get a little monotonous and repetitive after a while, which isn’t such a good thing (for me anyway).

As autumn is all about transition, grounding and finding and maintaining balance what are the Ayurvedic recommendations for enjoying and getting the most out of the vata season:

• Follow a regular routine. This includes mealtimes, sleep times, ‘you’ time.
• Think about your diet and how you eat. Eat in a calm and peaceful environment and eat seasonal foods that are warm, sweet and salty. Use warming herbs and spices in your food and eat less raw, cold food and eat more roasted root vegetables and grains.
• Sip plenty of warm beverages during the day. I like ginger tea and masala tea that has an array of tasty and warming spices such as fennel, cardamom, cinnamon and ginger.
• Enjoy an exercise routine that has a slow and steady pace.
• Soak in warm water infused with calming and soothing oils or if baths aren’t your thing have warm showers.
• Go for massages or try Abhyanga, an Ayurvedic self massage.
• Wear warm, soft clothes and protect your neck and ears from the cold to avoid catching a chill.

You’ll find that a lot of these principles and recommendations are what we do anyway. I’ve grown up in an Indian family and have followed these principles for as long as I can remember but I never thought of them as Ayurvedic principles or an Ayurvedic way of life, to me this is how I’ve been bought up. I did ask my mum once if she followed Ayurveda and she gave me the same response, ‘no, it’s just what we’ve always done’ Must be generational …