Vata

Food is one of the primary means to keeping our bodies healthy and balanced in Ayurveda. Eating seasonally and making dietary choices based on our dosha imbalances can help us feel our best throughout the entire year. In Ayurveda, fall is Vata season, the season governed by air and space. During this season, it’s important to incorporate warming, moist, and heavy qualities to offset the cold and dry nature of this dosha. To eat your way to a nourishing and balanced Vata season, follow these simple Ayurvedic recipes.

Summer is on its way out the door and as the daylight begins to dwindle, we welcome the transition into fall, the season governed by Vata. Vata is the dosha ruled by air and space, and Vata season begins during fall and lasts until mid-winter. This season can bring along dry, cold, and flighty qualities that may create imbalances for those who already have Vata as a prominent part of their constitution.

Vata season is associated with autumn. Just as we see the wind blowing the colored leaves down to earth, the qualities of air and ether become dominant in our constitution. Leading up to the vata season, now is a perfect time to start changing routines and modifying yoga sequences.

When the heat of summer dwindles and the chill of autumn begins to set in, we welcome the onset of Vata season. Vata is the Dosha associated with the elements of air and space. The dry and cold qualities of fall can tend to aggravate Vata in certain people this time of year, so it’s imperative we implement proper self-care to counteract Vata imbalance.

Traveling endows us with the clear, light, mobile qualities of Vata, and can provide insights and open our eyes to a perspective we may have been missing. Vacations inspire us with new beauties of the world, cultures, and nature, and remove us from the redundance of our day-to-day energy bubble and life routine.

We are all different, at least from a physical and mental perspective. We each have our own likes and dislikes, our ways of reacting to situations, the health challenges we might face, and a myriad of other unique qualities. It would be a very boring world if we were all the same, these differences are what make life interesting. The science of Ayurveda recognizes these differences and categorizes them as combinations of three energies known as the Doshas - Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Knowing your doshic combination, or Ayurvedic body-type, opens a whole treasury of guidelines to balance and support all areas of life.

Familiarizing ourselves with the dominant doshas of the season and acknowledging what feels in (and out) of balance in our own constitution allows us to choose activities, foods, and even meditations that can support us through changes in seasons and in our personal lives.

In the modern world, there are plenty of things that drain our energy. We are constantly on the move, we are glued to electronics, and have information overload. We spend less and less time on self-care and the things that give us energy, like freshly prepared meals, moderate exercise, and uplifting company and conversation.

For the Ask Dr. Sheila column, Dr. Sheila Patel, Chopra’s Chief Medical Officer, answers questions from our community. If you have a general question for Sheila around health and wellness, please send an email to askdrsheila@chopra.com, and your question may be the one she answers next.