Autumn (or vata season according to Ayurveda) is dry, light, rough, windy, erratic, cool, subtle, and clear. We can make this a less aggravating and more balanced, grounding time of year if we choose to fill this time with warmth, oiliness, deep nourishment, loving relationships, and a sense of stability, routine, and groundedness.
Tip # 1 - Slow Down Your Activity
The days become shorter and cooler, with our nights becoming longer. It is a time to let go of our high energy days of summertime, and instead surrender to the fall allowing the body to slow down and take in the changes of this season.
Tip #2 – Routine
Fall is the Vata Season. Vata tends to resist structure but in actuality needs it. In fall – more than any other time of the year – it is a time for routine to help the body and mind feel nourished and grounded.
Tip #3 – Eat Warming & Seasonal Foods
Enjoy foods that are in season such as root vegetables, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and squash. These foods are heavier, dense and sweet in contrast to the foods to limit or avoid foods that are astringent, bitter or have pungent flavors such as raw food, dry muesli, chickpeas, peas, popcorn, caffeine and sandwiches. Other foods to limit or avoid include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, sprouts, leafy greens, white potatoes, beans, popcorn, crackers, millet, dried fruit, and cold foods like raw/frozen vegetables or salads.
- Warming Breakfast Ideas: Oatmeal, tapioca, cream of rice, porridge, stewed apple, quinoa pancakes or cream of wheat.
- Warming Lunch and Dinner Ideas: Steamed vegetables, hearty grains, soups, stews, chapattis, and kichadi (one pot rice and dhal meal) are nourishing, moisturizing and grounding for lunches and dinners. Be sure to enjoy seasonal vegetables such as root vegetables, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and squash.
Tip #4 – Nourish the Body
Fall is a dry month and is considered a Vata season (according to Ayurveda). During this dry season, it is beneficial to nourish the body with warmth and moisture. To alleviate the dryness and moisturize and ground the body, try these two things:
- A Warmed Sesame Oil Massage: Warm a few tablespons of sesame oil. One way to do this is to place a jar of sesame oil in a mug of hot water for 5-10 minutes. Then pour the warm oil in the cup of your hand, begin massaging your feet and move up the body. Allow this to stay on your body before rinsing. Putting clothes directly on your body can stain your clothing from the oil.
- Moisturizing Avocado and Banana Mask: Mash ¼ avocado, ½ banana, an egg yolk and enough clay or oatmeal to bind (green or white clay available from Neal’s Yard Remedies).
Tip #5 – Warm the Body with Tea Time
Excellent time of year for herbal teas and other warm beverages. According to Ayurvedic Medicine, it is never great to have iced drinks but it is especially important to avoid these in the Fall.
Tip #6 - Take in Warming Scents
Warming aromas like vetiver, geranium, and citrus essential oils are very beneficial for this time of year.
Ayurveda is an ancient, healing medicine in India that is over 5,000 years old; initially recorded orally. Ayurveda refers to the transition between two seasons as Sandhi, or 'the place where seasons meet'. To help us prepare our bodies and minds prepare for the change that is already in the air, taking a few simple steps to balance vata this fall can be tremendously beneficial.
The change between seasons does not happen overnight, nor should we change rapidly. When we can transition in a slow, balanced manner, we help our body and mind stay balanced. Try one tip, then another. See how each resonates with you. Perhaps in the long term, they will become part of your fall ritual.
Photo: Fall in Central Park (southend), October 2020 by Jen Potocnik