How To Stay Healthy This Vata Season?? (September-November)

Autumn is the gradual transition of the year from summer to winter, a slow, lingering death from the heat of summer to the cold and darkness of winter. It heralds the arrival of the most gorgeous rain, the warmest of snowflakes, golds and berry-reds reflected in glistening water, and morning frost. The weather turns colder and darker, and the trees lose their leaves. Overnight, there was a chill in the air, frost on the ground in the morning, and the air thick with mist and fog. The sky is extraordinarily blue and lofty. The sun isn’t as hot as it is in the summer, nor is it as cold as it is in the winter.

In Ayurveda, staying well is a broad idea. Optimal health encompasses more than the absence of disease and illness. One of the keys to keeping healthy, according to Ayurveda, is to live in harmony with nature and make choices that are respectful of one’s innate constitution. Autumn is associated with the Pitta and Vata doshas. Since Vata is chilly, dry, light, and movable, diet and lifestyle choices that reflect warmth, moisture, weight, and stability are beneficial. To keep healthy during the fall season, follow these guidelines.

Dosha Involvement During The Fall!!

Vata season is defined as the time of year that most exemplifies the characteristics of the vata dosha: dryness, lightness, coldness, roughness, subtlety, mobility, and clarity. Autumn is a traditional vata season. However, depending on where you live, the dry and expanding properties of vata may be the dominant features of your environment in other seasons as well, beginning as early as summer and continuing through the winter if fall is followed by a highly drying, cold, isolating, or windy winter. Beginning to study your environment from this qualitative perspective gives you the ability to respond to daily and seasonal climate changes in your area. The truth is that many of us already have seasonally appropriate habits without even realising it.

As long as the weather is hot, the Pitta dosha reigns supreme. When the weather gets colder, drier, and windier, the vata dosha takes over as the main factor. The Vata season typically lasts from the fall through the middle of winter. Late Autumn is a great season for Pitta types since it is the time of year when Pitta is at its most balanced. Those with a strong Vata constitution, on the other hand, must take extra precautions to manage the dry, cold, mobile, and light aspects of the season. Otherwise, these qualities might accumulate in the body and psyche, resulting in Vata imbalances.

Take Advantage Of Autumn’s Bounty…!

Invoking the earth element during the Vata season is beneficial since Vata dosha is light in nature and is made up of the air and ether elements. You can stay grounded by eating hefty foods rather than light foods. Root vegetables, for example, should take precedence over salads and leafy greens (which are light and bitter). This isn’t to say that leafy greens shouldn’t be a part of your diet. Just make sure you’re eating plenty of dense, substantial stuff. Furthermore, it is critical that we begin to appreciate specific flavours. While you should try to include all six tastes in each meal, it’s best to focus on sweet, sour, and salty flavours while avoiding astringent, bitter, and pungent flavours.

Many of the seasonal foods available to us at this time of year, fortunately, soothe Vata. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but hopefully it will give you some ideas for your fall shopping list! Apples, dates, figs, pears, and raisins are some of the fruits available in the fall.

Fall vegetables include beets, carrots, leeks, parsnips, pumpkin, rutabagas, spinach (boiled), and sweet potatoes. Cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, rosemary, sage, and thyme are some of the herbs and spices used throughout the fall season. If you’re having trouble coming up with fall sour foods, try a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of vinegar, or a naturally fermented item like sauerkraut.

Diet To Balance Vata…!!

When it comes to balancing vata, the way you eat and what you eat are crucial. Vata thrives when you eat in a calm and tranquil environment while paying close attention to your food. A vata diet consists of a blend of very nourishing and satisfying foods that will boost your appetite, support normal digestion, and nourish your body. It’s critical to emphasise warm, moist, and well-cooked dishes during the Vata season. Make an effort to serve food at room temperature and include warming spices such as cinnamon and ginger in your meals. Incorporate healthy fats into your meals to enhance moisture and heft. Ghee is an excellent food for the Vata season since it is heavy, warm, and oily, balancing the light, cool, and dry weather.

In the autumn, a Vata-balancing diet can include: Breakfast comprising oatmeal with cinnamon, ginger, maple syrup, and ghee in a warm bowl. Dinner or lunch with roasted or sauteed veggies (particularly root vegetables) and ghee, make a soup, stew, or hearty grains dish. Snacks like Apples stewed with Vata-balancing spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, or dates filled with almond butter. Raw vegetables, salads, smoothies, dry snacks like crackers and popcorn, and other cool, light, dry, and abrasive foods should be avoided this season. Remember that the transition from Pitta to Vata season should be gradual and depends on how you’re feeling at the time.

Tips To Keep Vata In Check!

Vata Dosha is prone to extremes or erratic behaviour, which might show as a chaotic, fluctuating schedule. Yet, just as nature ebbs and flows through its day and nocturnal cycles, the human system relies on a continuous rhythm to keep balanced. Sticking to regular bedtimes, waking times, exercise, and meal times, especially during Vata season, is beneficial to one’s health. There’s a good probability you’ve got a vata imbalance if you’re having difficulties like dry skin, constipation, disrupted sleep, dizziness, weight loss, and diminished strength. To address the issue of how to balance vata, you should use the vata dosha home remedies listed below on a regular basis.

External remedies for vata imbalance include wearing layers of warm clothing and giving yourself a regular body and head massages, taking regular steam baths to avoid fasting or going on an empty stomach for long periods of time and usage of simple purifying techniques like basti or vamana. Treatment for Vata Dosha comprises dry roasting asafetida and mixing it with buttermilk. For effective results, sip this delicious vata diet drink throughout the day. To tackle the issue of how to balance vata,1-2 gms of jaggery can be ingested everyday. Practicing nadi suddhi pranayama, Surya Namaskar, Bhujangasana, Veerabhadra Asana, Vrikshasana, Shavasana, etc. and herbal remedies like Chyavanaprasha, ashwagandha and herbal teas are also extremely beneficial.

Keep in mind that establishing a seasonal pattern is an investment in your own health and vigour. While the details may differ from person to person, we can all benefit from aligning ourselves with the natural rhythms throughout the year. This autumn, accept the season’s unique gifts and appreciate them from a place of stability, humility, and thankfulness, with the support of a seasonal routine…!!