Ground into Autumn: Vata Pacifying Practices to Help Root

Dry, rough, light, cool, subtle, mobile. The gunas or “qualities” of Vata dosha. Vata dosha consists of two elements, air and ether. We are IN IT my friends, Vata season is HERE. If you look around you and inside of you, you may experience a few or all the qualities of vata. 

We humans are heavily influenced by our surroundings so experiencing an elevated space of vata right now is not surprising at all. You may be feeling spacey, scattered, cold, chilly and busy. Like the world is spinning so fast. Maybe your skin is starting to chafe and your ends are starting to break. You may have noticed your lips are cracking and the warm summer glow is starting to fade away. 

So what can we do? 

Start to consider the types of foods you have currently been eating and/or craving? According to Ayurveda, like increases like and like wants more like, so we start to crave the qualities of the dosha that is most elevated. Most likely you’ve been eating and craving foods that are high in vata, which is totally normal. 

So what can we do?

The best way to pacify is bringing in the opposite doshas, opposite qualities. Since we just moved out of the Pitta summer season, we may have some lingering Pitta (fire+water) in our systems, so we’ll bring in the warming quality of pitta and infuse it with the qualities of Kapha (earth+water). Qualities or gunas of Kapha are slow, steady, moist, smooth, oily, and heavy. When you’re planning your meals, entertainment and movement practices be sure to keep these gunas in mind. 

What we’re working towards this fall, how to really ground into autumn. Your main focus is bringing in these qualities through diet and lifestyle practices. 

SLOW - STEADY - MOIST - SMOOTH - OILY - HEAVY - WARM 

Think warm hot soups and stews. Hot slow steady vinyasa or restorative yoga. Deep smooth yoga nidra meditations. Warm spicy golden milk. Lifting heavy weights. Oiling your body, practicing slow self-massage or abhyanga. A warm slow shower. Your favorite blanket, maybe a fire, a cup of tea, a candle and cozy up. 

Vata is soothed by experiences that are grounding and nourishing, warm both physically and emotionally, unctuous and loving, graceful and fluid, steady, reliable, tranquil and stress-free, tangible, measurable, wholesome and sustaining. These qualities help to balance vatas tendency to be undernourished and depleted. They are also perfect antidotes to vata’s flightiness, anxiousness and impulsiveness. 

With all things new, incorporating these vata pacifying practices into your day-to-day will require a bit of effort but with practice, these practices can become quite intuitive. Shaking off the old, and moving into, grounding down into self. How Ayurvedic of us, our ancestors would be proud. 

Embrace deep self-care, enjoy cozy nidra meditations, practice deep slow breathing and steady warming movements. From mama earth, eat SOUL foods. Seasonal, Organic, Unprocessed + Local foods. Think moist, warm and oily, your favorite comfort foods made with fresh ingredients and a whole lotta love.

Favor a diet of freshly cooked, whole foods that are soft or mushy in texture, rich in protein and fat, seasoned with a variety of warming spices, and served warm or hot. These foods help to lubricate and nourish the tissues, preserve moisture, and maintain warmth, all while supporting your agni or digestion and elimination. 

Tastes to Reduce:

Pungent: think spicy foods like chillies, radishes, raw garlic and onion, and heating spices.

Bitter: think bitter greens like kale, dandelion, and collards, bitter melon, and chocolate.

Astringent: think beans, raw veggies, green bananas and pomegranates. 

Tastes to Favor:

Sweet: think grains, fruits, squashes, root veggies and fresh dairy products.

Sour: think pickles, lemon juice, pineapples and grapefruits.

Salty: think pleasant and savory flavors. 

Favor warm over cold.

Favor moist and oily over dry. 

Favor grounding, nourishing and stabilizing over light. 

Favor smooth over rough. 

Vata is deeply soothed when we choose to eat in a peaceful environment—one where we can offer our full attention to the act of being nourished. 

Stay warm, cozy and nourished this season Moon Dancers.

For meditations and Self-care tips be sure to check out my podcast with new meditations and conversations dropping weekly. 

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