In Ayurveda, the 5,000 year old health system originated in India, the focus is on balancing the body and mind for optimal well-being. Understanding the doshas can help us create balance in our bodies and minds and become our best self.
Vata, Pitta, and Kapha are the 3 doshas that represent your mind and body type.
The doshas are the foundation for Ayurveda and help you understand yourself and others better… that’s the really fun part of understanding how Ayurveda can improve your total health and well-being!
Your unique dosha combination was established at the time of your conception and remains the same over your lifetime.
Quick lesson: Dosha’s are comprised of 5 elements, and each represents a quality of nature: space, air, fire, water, and earth. In different portions, these elements form Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.
- If you have more qualities of space and air in you, you are Vata
- If you have more fire and water, you are Pitta
- If you have more water and earth, you are Kapha
The qualities of your dosha predict certain tendencies you have in both your body and in your mind.
Because the doshas are found inside of us and in nature, it explains why we are so connected and in sync with the rhythms of nature – even if we aren’t consciously aware of it.
No matter what your unique dosha is, we are all particularly vulnerable to developing Vata imbalances during the cold, dry, windy time of year often experienced in late fall and early winter. If you aren’t aware of the impact of your lifestyle choices, you can easily get out of balance by experiencing too much space and air energy of Vata.
If you have too much Vata, it can look like exhaustion, an overactive mind, indecisiveness, restlessness, spiraling thoughts and anxiety, hard time with routine, dry skin, brittle hair, poor digestion.
Here are some tips for you stay balanced during this cold, windy, dry season.
Follow these grounding tips for cold, dry, windy Vata season:
- Bundle up to stay warm. Get out your hats, scarves and mittens and wear warm comfortable clothing.
- Favor warm, cooked meals like stew, soups, casseroles, and root veggies (hello potatoes and carrots!).
- Avoid the cold salads you love to eat in summer and minimize raw, uncooked foods. Because of the irregularity of vata digestion, you may notice a change in your digestion (bloating, gas, constipation) and warm cooked meals are more grounding and easier to digest.
- Keep hydrated since it is a dryer part of the year. But skip the cold drinks and think about warm ones like tea, apple cider, and when you drink water keep it room temp with no ice.
- Bring in grounding practices like slower restorative yoga and tai chi.
- Keep up (or begin!) daily practices of mantra meditation and mindful movement.
- As always, make restful sleep a priority.
- Learn more and schedule an “Activate Your Well-being Now Consult”. In this call we will talk about your life and well-being goals and explore the challenges you are facing getting there. I’ll give you a few steps you can integrate right away to help you whether or not you decide to work with me.
Many of the tools used in Ayurveda are intuitive and you may be already doing them. Yet getting back into balance when life and lifestyle choices throw you off, is a skill that can be learned and is paramount to elevating your well-being. That is something I help my clients with in my one-on-one coaching program and I would love to help you too.