Glow this Autumn…
How to stay grounded and supported in Autumn through Yoga and Ayurveda.
Your diet is a powerful way to soothe vata this Autumn. You may find yourself naturally wanting to increase your intake of food but be careful to follow the lead of your appetite and digestion.
This is also a great time of year to do a mono diet (same food) warm apple and cinnamon is lovely, type of Ayurvedic cleanse for a day.
Vata requires adequate nourishment, so it is best to avoid full fasting.
Types of Food to Favour in Autumn.
Substantive, oily, nourishing foods that are high in protein, high in fat, brought to life with warming, stimulating spices, and served hot, will go a long way toward maintaining your internal reserves of moisture and keeping you grounded through the vata season.
You’ll also want to favour the sweet, sour, and salty tastes. In general, eat mushy, soft foods and garnish them generously with ghee or oil.
Breakfasts of cooked grains—like oats, or creamy rice with stewed apple and cinnamon are perfect at this time of year.
Lunches and dinners that include steamed vegetables, hearty grains, soups, and stews are grounding and moisturizing.
If you eat meat and eggs, this is one of the best times of year to enjoy them.
Dairy products and all nuts and seeds are also beneficial.
Ideal Autumnal Foods
The following is a list of ideal vata season foods:
Fruits
Apples (cooked) – Avocados – Bananas – Dates – Figs - Grapefruit
Grapes- Lemons – Limes – Mangoes – Oranges – Papayas - Prunes (soaked)
Raisins (soaked) – Tangerines - Clementines
Vegetables
Beets – Carrots – Chilies – Garlic – Onions - Pumpkins
Squash - Sweet Potatoes
Grains
Basmati Rice - Brown Rice – Oats - Quinoa
Legumes
Kidney Beans – Miso - Mung Beans (soaked overnight before cooking) - Lentils.
Dairy
Organic Butter- Cheese – Cream – Ghee – Kefir - Milk (not cold)
Sour Cream - Natural Yogurt.
Oils
Almond Oil – Ghee - Olive Oil - Peanut Oil - Safflower Oil - Sesame Oil
Sweeteners
Honey – Jaggary - Maple Syrup - Rice Syrup
Spices (Most Are Recommended)
Allspice – Anise - Asafoetida (Hing) – Basil - Bay Leaf - Black Pepper
Cardamom – Cinnamon – Clove – Cumin – Dill – Garlic - Ginger
Mustard Seeds – Nutmeg – Oregano – Paprika – Parsley - Rosemary
Saffron - Turmeric
Foods to Minimize.
In general, you’ll want to reduce your consumption of raw vegetables, cold and frozen foods, as well as the bitter, pungent, and astringent tastes.
It is best to minimize light, cooling, and drying foods like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, sprouts, leafy greens, white potatoes, beans, popcorn, crackers, millet, and dried fruit.
If you do eat these foods, eat them in moderation and make sure that they are soaked, well cooked, or served with ghee.
Lifestyle Tips for the Autumn Season.
Practice a daily routine. One of the most effective ways to support vata is by establishing a daily routine. Try to do the same things (wake up, exercise, eat meals, go to bed, etc.) at roughly the same times each day. Set the tone for your day by rising early, taking full advantage of the silence, stillness, and peace that are intrinsic to the early morning hours.
Massage yourself to calm your nervous system, awaken your tissues, and ground your energy by massaging your skin with warm, organic Sesame Oil or with an herbal oil. Follow this practice with a warm, relaxing shower, leaving a coat of oil on the skin to absorb throughout the day. Steam baths and humidifiers can help preserve internal moisture as well.
Try yoga and meditation. Some gentle yoga, and 10–15 minutes of meditation will further your sense of stability and wellness.
Use warming aromas. If you enjoy a little fragrance, vetiver, geranium, and citrus essential oils are very lovely this time of year.
Dress for the season. Wear autumn colours when appropriate—reds, yellows, oranges, and whites.
Autumn Season Exercise Tips
Vata is very easily aggravated by fast, mobile activities, so consider slow, gentle, strengthening forms of exercise.
Walking, swimming, biking, yoga, and tai chi are good choices, provided they are done at an appropriate level of intensity.
The best times of day to exercise are in the early morning and evening hours (6–10 a.m. and 6–10 p.m.).
Ideally, exercise at about 50–70 percent of your capacity, breathing through your nose the entire time.
And remember to balance your activity with adequate relaxation and sleep so that your tissues can rejuvenate properly.
Yoga for Autumn.
Incorporating a sense of warmth, grounding, stability, and focus into your yoga practice has a profoundly calming effect on vata and can work wonders during vata season. Your breath should be deep and fluid.
Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing) is very balancing this time of year.
In your asana practice, favour vata-pacifying yoga. Warm up slowly and include some joint rotations. Move with intention and fluidity—grounding the hands and the feet on the mat whenever possible.
Gentle flows like a relaxed Sun Salutation are perfect for vata. You can also favour standing and balancing poses such as Mountain, Warrior I, Warrior II, and Tree Pose to increase stability and strength.
Connect with the earth beneath you in poses such as Cat-Cow, Cobra, and Child’s Pose, and quiet the mind with forward bends.
Gentle inversions and restorative poses such as Legs Up the Wall are also very good for vata.
End your practice with a long Savasana (Corpse Pose), covering yourself with a blanket so that you don’t get cold.
Herbal Support for Autumn.
Ayurveda offers a number of herbs that balance vata that can be especially beneficial during the autumn season. Among them are:
Chyavanprash.
Taking Chyavanprash in the morning can help reinforce immunity, strength, and energy during the autumn season.
Ashwagandha. Ashwagandha is stabilizing to the mind and nervous system, and can promote sound sleep, strong digestion, proper elimination, and appropriate strength; it is available as a powder, tablet, and liquid extract.
Herbal Teas. Similarly, herbal teas—especially those made from ginger, liquorice, or Tissue Tea, an equal combination of cumin, coriander, and fennel, can promote proper digestion and warmth.
Preparation is key in Ayurveda. Get ready now to enjoy a cosy germ free Winter.
