Tips to keep balanced in the cool, windy fall

Have you ever been in  yoga class and overhear another student say they are feeling "vatta-deranged"? They probably laugh afterward, as if it's an inside joke. And, it kind of is for yogis; they are probably saying that they are feeling spacey, forgetful, and having problems focusing. Like having a "senior moment".

If you are feeling this way, it may not be funny to you. And having someone tell you "it's just the weather" might even make you feel downright irritable. But, I'm going to take a risk and tell you that according to Ayurveda, "it's the weather" might be a valid explanation.

Everything we know is made up a varying amounts of five basic ingredients: air, ether, water, fire and earth. This includes you and me. We have each of those elements in us, but the proportions differ from person to person. If you have a lot of fire and water, this means you have a lot of a quality we call "pitta". If you have a lot of earth and water, we'd call that "kapha". If you have a high proportion of air and ether, we say you have a lot of "vatta" in your constitution.

These three constitutions are called "doshas". There is so much more to say about doshas, but since we are talking about vatta-derangment here, let's stick with vatta. We all have some air and ether, even if it's just a little.  Air and ether have the qualities of lightness, movement, dryness and coolness. It resides in the spaces in our body.

A strong concept in Ayurveda is the idea that "like increases like". So, the airy quality of your body attracts more of the airy and dry quality to it.

Now, what is fall? Overall, the quality of fall is dry (think dry leaves, grass), windy, and cool. So, if you have a lot of vatta, a lot of the air and ether quality in you, you may be sucking up these qualities from the environment like a sponge.

If this goes unchecked, what might happen? You begin to feel airy, spacey, a little anxious. You may have difficulties focusing. You may notice your skin and hair becoming more dry, maybe even dry patches. You may feel "irregular" or constipated. Stay in this condition too long and it may lead to fall illnesses.

If "like increases like", the logical next conclusion might be that "opposites increase balance". Given that, we can logically come up with a game plan for managing fall if you tend toward vatta.

Dress warm. Avoid getting cold. Pull out the funky hats and cool scarfs.

Eat warm, wet foods. Now is not the time for salads, icy smoothies, or raw foods. Instead of dry granola, choose warm oatmeal. Instead of a cold salad, have a steamy bowl of soup.

Eat seasonal vegetables. Hit the farmer's market and what do you see? Squashes, root vegetables, earthy, grounding, heavier foods. Yes, there are lot's of apples and pears, also. Ayurveda would suggest enjoying these cooked and warm. Stewed apples sound good.

Emphasize routines. Vattas tend to dislike routine...they want to be "free like the wind". But, they need routine. Go to bed and wake up at the same time daily (remember, staying up past 10:00 or 10:30pm can invite sleep troubles). Eat meals at consistent times. Try to develop a schedule for activities. Eliminating unnecessary variances can ease vattas already slightly disorganized mind.

Self-massage with warm sesame oil. Sesame oil is very warm and nourishing, better for vatta than cooling lotions. There is a technique called "abyanga" that is very grounding to vatta, that we will be covering in our Ayurveda workshops.

Emphasis grounding yoga poses in your practice. Sustained standing poses and restorative work are helpful for vattas.

Learning to seasonally manage our vatta, pitta and kappa is important so we feel energized, focused, strong and vital year around. We want you at your best, so Focus Yoga will be sharing much more about the Ayurveda lifestyle with you in our blogs and workshops. Watch our schedules and in the meantime try to incorporate these tips and see if you are better able to manage your fall symptoms.