Ayurveda in dealing with season change - winter.

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AYURVEDA & MANAGING THE SEASONS HEALTHFULLYBy Bill Courson,Ayurvedic Practitioner Program atthe Starseed Center for Yoga www.starseedyoga.com/AyurvedaCourse.htm With the change in season taking us from long, warm days spentoutdoors to short and cold ones huddled inside our homes, it is quiteordinary for many individuals to feel a bit "off:" – disoriented, outof sorts and low on energy. The hours we sleep, the food we eat, andthe activities we engage in can all be affected profoundly by ourenvironment and the climactic conditions that surround us.Ayurveda, India's ancient system of healing (and the oldest medicaltradition in the world) has long recognized the impact of seasonalchange on the health of individuals, and for countless centuries hashelped individuals manage the change in seasons in a

healthfulfashion.The change in climate that we all experience tends to place a degreeof stress on the human body, and we all tend to respond to it in afashion consonant with our "metabolic type". Ayurveda postulatesthree such "types," (known in Sanskrit as the `tridosha') roughlyanalogous to the western concepts of endo-, ecto-, and meso-morphism.Thus, types of individuals are characterized by their predominantenergy. This includes Kapha individuals (who tend to be compact,heavy, easygoing, calm and self-indulgent); Pitta individuals(exhibiting high energy, irritability, perfectionism and who aregenerally "intense" in many respects) and Vata types (who areconstantly in a `mental whirl,' fretful, forgetful, prone to lackbodily moisture, thin and easily fatigued or depressed).Seasonal change can often unbalance (or as Ayurvedic practitionerssay, vitiate) one or more of the energies comprising the

tridosha(the singular is dosha) and Ayurveda suggests ways in which suchimbalances can be avoided or corrected. Note that one can see any ofthe dosas fall into imbalance: one's own predominant dosa or another.Thus, one can have a Vata constitution with a Vata imbalance, or be aVata with a Pitta or a Kapha imbalance, and so on.Kapha governs all structure, fluid balance and lubrication in thebody. It controls weight and growth as well as the functioning of thejoints and lungs, and the formation of all seven types of tissue -nutritive fluids, blood, fat, muscles, bones, bonemarrow andreproductive tissues.If you tend to be overweight, are often lethargic, experience sinusproblems, and wake unrefreshed from a night's sleep, then your Kaphaenergy may be out of balance. Other signs of unbalanced Kapha includeoily skin and hair, emotional possessiveness and over-attachment,discomfort in cold damp weather, laziness

and complacency, bloatingand water retention. If you exhibit one or more of the foregoingsymptoms, you may need to balance your Kapha energy; if you exhibitfour or more, then you certainly do.Unsettled Kapha can be pacified by vigorous regular exercise, alittle each day; keeping oneself in relatively warm temperatures andavoiding strong winds or chill (in other words, if you go outsidewear sufficient clothing!), and by making sure your diet includesfresh fruits, vegetables and legumes. Pungent, bitter, astringenttastes and light, dry and warm foods are preferred over others, andit is a good time to reduce heavy, oily, cold foods and to avoidsweet, sour and salty tastes. The ancient maxim "Early to bed, earlyto rise" will also serve Kapha folk well in dealing with winter.The body's Pitta energy governs heat production and distribution,metabolism and digestion. It also controls how we process our

sensoryperceptions, and how we discriminate between right and wrong.Do you need to balance Pitta? You may, if your hair is prematurelygray or thinning, or if you wake up in the early hours and find itdifficult to fall asleep again. If you tend to be more thanordinarily demanding. Impatient, critical or irritable, are oftenfrustrated, angry or intense, your skin is ruddy and prone to rashesand eruptions, and you suffer from excess stomach acid, then youlikely do need to tone down your Pitta "fire." Here are a few ways ofdoing that.Don't allow winter to keep you completely indoors, and don't allowyourself to become over-heated. You can take a bit of cold; it surelywill do you no harm, as you carry your own internal "heater" aroundwith you as a part of your metabolic make-up. Favor cool, heavy, dryfoods with sweet, bitter and astringent tastes.Reduce pungent, sour, salty tastes and avoid warm, oily and

lightfoods. Allow yourself sufficient leisure time and avoid thetemptation to overwork. It's also important to keep to regularmealtimes, and you may want to consume your largest meal of the dayat noon. As a regular treat, a nice massage with appropriatelyscented oils would be a very good preventive health measure as wellas make you feel great.Vata governs all movements and transportation within the body. Itcontrols blood flow, waste elimination, breathing and even themovement of thoughts across the mind. Since the Pitta and Kaphaenergies cannot move without it, Vata is considered the leader of thethree Ayurvedic energies in the body. It's very important to keepVata in good balance, but it is by far the most commonly unbalanceddosha.You may need to balance Vata if your skin is unusually dry, rough, orthin; if you are underweight, with a mind constantly in a whirl –restless, agitated and incessantly

worried. If in addition youexperience constipation, have difficulty sleeping, suffer fromdryness, experience discomfort in your joints or are easily fatigued,its time to implement a Vata reducing strategy.Such a strategy includes a nice daily massage or self-massage withwarmed sesame oil, making sure to keep your environment comfortablywarmed, and avoiding cold, undercooked or raw foods. Go for warm,oily, heavier (i.e., denser) foods that taste sweet, sour, and/orsalty, and avoid lighter or dried foods with pungent, bitter orastringent tastes. Avoid stimulants of any kind (caffeine is amongthe worst) and get lots of rest, observing an early bedtime.With these sensible, time-tested precautions observed and just alittle good fortune, winter will come and go with one's healthunimpaired. "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

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