Print article According to Ayurveda, October is the beginning of Vata Season, when Vata characteristics are prominent. Attributes include qualities of cold, dry, light, and movement, reflecting the changing autumnal environment. It can leave us feeling scattered, dry, chilly, achey in the joints and fragile in our nervous system-yet, it’s also filled with possibility.
Fall is a time of transition. Many trees and shrubs are quietly undressing in preparation for the winter. There is a subtle browning of the earth. The season harbors a certain emptiness that can leave us feeling exposed and a little raw, but it’s a time when we, too, can strip down to a quiet essence of being and savor the simplicity.
Vata is the subtle energy associated with movement — composed of Space and Air. It governs breathing, blinking, muscle and tissue movement, pulsation of the heart, and all cellular motion and nervous system activity.
In balance, vata promotes creativity, flexibility and a quick mind. Out of balance, vata produces fear and anxiety, dry skin, and erratic routines. Ayurveda says the opposite quality is the remedy. Balancing vata with warmth, oiliness, nourishment, stable routines, and loving relationships is recommended.
Fall Diet
If you find yourself feeling cold, anxious, scattered or experiencing dry skin or digestive issues, diet is a powerful way to soothe vata this fall/winter.
You may need a larger quantity of food than you ate in summer, but be sure to eat only as much as you can digest well- stop eating when you are about 80% full. Focus on warm, oily, cooked, foods, like gingery vegetable soup with olive oil or chicken soup, prepared with easy-to-digest vegetables and spices, that doesn’t overtax the digestive system (agni), which is often sensitive in vata-dominant individuals. If you eat meat and eggs, this is one of the best times of year to enjoy them. Choose grass-fed meats and pasture raised eggs. Favor grounding, nourishing root vegetables like sweet potato, butternut or acorn squash, carrots, pumpkin and beets. Favor heavier fruits like avocados and bananas. Cooked grains of oatmeal or quinoa with warm spices of cinnamon, cardamon, ginger or nut butters are perfect at this time of year, incorporating the sweet, sour and salty tastes.
Foods To Reduce
Reduce light, dry, cold foods and the pungent, bitter, astringent tastes (often found in foods like coffee, dark chocolate, certain teas, and some vegetables). Reduce dry (crackers and rice cakes) and raw foods; use a little more oil in your diet or ghee. Dairy products help reduce vata. Warm your milk (whether dairy, or nut milk) before drinking. Kefir is easy on digestive system, nourishing, grounding, and moisturizing—all qualities that counter vata’s dry, light, and cold nature. Reduce all beans, except for mung and tofu.
Fall Season Exercise Tips
Vata is very easily aggravated by fast, mobile activities. Ayurveda recommends a routine for Vata that incorporates gentle, consistent, and grounding slow-paced exercises with occasional, short bursts of activity, rather than prolonged or frequent high-intensity workouts. Gentle, strengthening forms of exercise to include: walking, hiking, gentle cycling, yoga, and tai chi are good choices, provided they are done at an appropriate level of intensity.
If you are a Vata type who is drawn to more vigorous exercise, follow these guidelines to prevent imbalance:
Alternate with gentle exercise. Follow the principle of opposites balancing. If you do a short burst of high-intensity workout, alternate it with more gentle, restorative activity. Another option is to take a day off between more intense workouts or alternate them with gentle activities like walking.
Bottom Line
Balancing the nature of your local climate with lifestyle choices that offset the potential for seasonally-induced imbalances, is one of the simplest ways that you can protect your well-being. This fall, embrace the unique gifts of autumn and—with the help of an appropriate seasonal routine—enjoy it from a place of stability, humility, and gratitude.
Keep Thriving!
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