Autumn has arrived and we're beginning to get our sweaters and jackets out of storage. Many of us find we are craving warmer foods that "stick to your ribs" like stews, hearty soups and porridge at breakfast. Are you someone who laments the end of summer and shivers at the mere thought of falling leaves and cooler weather? Are you finding it hard to eat cold yogurt in the mornings and cool salads at lunch now that's it's colder outside? If so, Ayurveda would classify you a "Vata" dosha, a body type that is generally cold and dry. If you want to stay healthy and energetic, you would do well to follow the sensible advice of what's best for your dosha.
Ayurveda is India's ancient system of natural healing. Like Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Ayurveda has been around for thousands of years and is a comprehensive method of preventing and treating all manner of diseases. The word Ayurveda means "knowledge or science of life" and it involves understanding and nurturing the "prana" or "life force" within each of us, to foster lifelong health.
According to Ayurveda, each of us has a body that contains a combination of energy types or doshas. Health is achieved when the body maintains its state of equilibrium. This is accomplished through doing what is best for your body type, thereby ensuring the doshas do not get out of balance. Contrary to modern times where we are encouraged to push against our natural urges to achieve success, Ayurveda asks that we respect our natural tendencies. Vata types are cold and have a tendency to be high-strung and they need to keep warm or they may fall ill. These types are often in constant motion, and need rest and routine to keep them focussed.
For example, Ayurveda dictates that a Vata type will get off-kilter in the face of less sun and colder weather or too fast a lifestyle, and so rest and warm foods are one way to prevent this from happening. This in turn will prevent illness.When foods or external forces don't supply us with a means to counterbalance our natural characteristics, we fall out of balance, which can lead to weakness and poor health. Modern medicine provides pills that silence symptoms of disease, whereas Ayurveda prescribes complementary foods and routines that keep us our doshas in check.
Ayurvedic texts talk a lot about seasonality and the effects that the sun and the rain have on our doshas. However, the old texts are written for India's seasons which involve wet, cool summers, warm dry autumns and springs and cold winters, so some adaptation is required for North America.
Ayurveda speaks of cold weather's effect on "agni" or our digestive "fire". It strengthens agni to allow us to digest ,heavy dense foods. We are encouraged in winter to take oil baths, stay indoors where it is warm and sleep when it is dark, as artificial lighting can throw our systems off-balance. Most of this sounds like sensible advice to follow during winter, but how many of us do?
It's interesting to observe how rarely we listen to our internal triggers; instead we reach for food or drinks that catch our eye on menus or at the checkout counter, clothes that are "hot this season" as opposed to comfortable, and we stay up well past dusk doing household chores or watching TV. Focussing on foods that are specifically recommended for our dosha-type goes a long way towards restoring our inner balance. And that may make us more ready to take on the stresses that life throws our way.
Here are some foods that help balance Vata: the preferred tastes are salty, sweet and sour, and for heavy and soothing foods, such as Mexican or Moroccan dishes, sweet fruits, avocados, banana, berries, fully cooked vegetables, stewed fruits, cardamom, cinnamon, clove and warm wet cereals such as porridge.Cool fall and winter weather aggravates and increases Vata. While each person is made up of each of the three doshas in differing amounts, even those who score low on the Vata scale may find themselves out of balance when the thermometer drops or when life causes them to rush around. Warm, liquid foods and rest and a good routine will help everyone have a more relaxed autumn.
Here are some foods that help balance Pitta: cool, dry, sweet, bitter and astringent foods such as milk, raw foods, fully ripe sweet fruits like grapes, cherries, melons, avocados, coconuts, pomegranates, mangos, and sweet, fully-ripened oranges, pineapples and plums, dry cereal, crackers, granola and cereal bars, and rice cakes.
Here are some foods that help balance Kapha: warm, light, dry foods that are lower in fat and not sweet. Food flavors should be stimulating, bitter and pungent such as hot spices, garlic, brussel sprouts, cabbage, onions, peppers, some raw foods, cherries, cranberries, prunes, pomegranates, pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
