Moving into the Fall Season

In my recent workshop on Ayurvedic cleanse eight out of nine participants had Vata imbalance. As we move toward the fall season you will notice increased wind, dryness and cold. These attributes are of Vata nature as it is made up of air and ether.

Air & ether being two lightest of the five elements they are easily aggravated. Vata is especially heighten during the fall season as well as during the transition between seasons. The other 3 elements are fire, water and earth. Fire is heighten during summer. Water is heighten during spring. Earth is heighten in winter.

Because Vata is most unstable it is not surprising that there are more people affected by Vata imbalance than Pitta (fire & water) or Kapha (water & earth). In order to regulate Vata you need to regulate your physical rhythm. It goes without saying that once you do your mental and emotional rhythm are also regulated. It is a wonderful side effect for the fast pace, high stress world we are living in.

Our body, as complex and intelligence as it is has simple demands. You need to give it the nourishment it needs and allow the natural metabolism and waste removal to take place. It is easier said than done for most of us because we have been hypnotized into thinking that there is something out there that can fix us.

Ayurveda teaches us to simply connect to ourselves. The only real problem we have is that we are disconnected to our body, to our heart (emotion & feeling) and to our soul (faith in self and Self). I am saying this because I have seen it in myself and in all the clients I have an honor to work with.

Do not rely solely on drugs, herbs or body therapies conventional or holistic. They are helpful and sometime life saving. I do not under estimate their values and personally use specific herbs and body therapies to enhance my well being at certain time. They can treat symptoms effectively but you are not your symptoms.

Things cannot change you. Your doctor, massage therapist, holistic practitioner and even yoga teacher can not change you. Nobody can take this special responsibility and nobody can take a credit for improving your health. You are the only one who has the power to change and heal yourself.

So, please snap out of it(as I often remind myself) and follow the following simple guidelines. You should observe these guidelines throughout the year and especially during the fall season.

1. Eat regular meals daily. Allow yourself time to sit down and eat without distraction.
2. Have lunch as your biggest meal. The sun is strongest around noon and so is your internal digestive fire.
3. Drink a glass of warm water after morning rise then allow yourself time in the morning to eliminate.
4. Go to bed by 10 pm and rise during dawn or sunrise daily.

To counter the cold, light and dry qualities of the fall season you should eat warm, moist and moderately spiced foods such as soup and porridge.

Nothing above is beyond your common sense but how many of us are truly following our natural rhythm? It is so much easier to pop a pill or get a massage but nothing changes unless you change. The key is to move beyond pathology and see what is really causing you to sabotage yourself.

When the body is healthy and functioning well you can fully concentrate on your unique gift rather than your sickness. Nature is always in balance. Sickness allows you to stop going where you are going and return back to balance. Like the seasons, allow yourself to dance with nature, to ebb and to flow and to give your body the best it deserves. Your awareness.