Following this Ayurvedic wisdom could help you to stay healthy and balanced this autumn

This week’s blog from guest writer and Mindfulness, Yoga and Stress Management Consultant, Bev Alderson, explores how applying Ayurvedic wisdom can help with the seasonal transition from summer into autumn.

---

It doesn’t seem possible that autumn is already on the horizon.  In fact, it feels like it was only a micro-moment ago that I was preparing a sister blog, ’10 wellbeing tips to step into spring’ 

Yet here we are, and here we go, into the season of darker nights and darker days. 

The time of year when nature begins to shut down shop, animals stock up or prepare to hibernate, and when many birds migrate, in search of warmer skies and more abundant food sources.   

I can’t personally profess to this being my favourite time of year, but I do appreciate that it is not all bad.   With Mother Nature’s beautiful autumnal colour palette, long winter walks in the autumn sun, and cosying up with warmer foods, clothing, and at home – just some of positives. 

However, like most things, it is not all good either.  Autumn, according to the Ayurvedic calendar, is vata season and this can bring with it a few seasonal challenges including dry skin, constipation, stiff and aching joints, anxiety, and insomnia – to name a few.   

It is also the time of year, in any calendar, where the immune system may dip, letting in seasonal bugs including colds and flus. 

Whilst the autumn winds have the propensity to blow in a few challenges to the physical and mental wellbeing of some, Ayurveda invites us to shift with the seasons.  To give nature a hand and take steps to balance the dominant dosha, in this instance vata, in maintaining or enhancing the status quo.   

Aligning with the seasons

Let’s begin with a recap, from the spring blog, on what Ayurveda is all about. 

Often called the sister science of yoga, Ayurveda is one of the oldest recorded wellbeing systems.  It is believed to have been developed thousands of years ago in India and is one of the Vedas, which yoga is also part of. 

It approaches health holistically, and is principally concerned with prevention and keeping the body in balance – so that it remains in optimal working order.  

It works on the premise that we are all made up of a mix of the five elements – ether, air, fire, water, and earth.  These five elements take the form of 3 constitutions or doshas named Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.   

Our unique blend of these doshas determines our mind-body type.  They manifest to influence our mental, physical, and emotional tendencies which, according to Ayurveda, are given to us to help us fulfil our life purpose. 

This is a huge subject in itself, which when explored can help us to understand our nature a little better.  It also provides an opportunity to make diet and lifestyle choices that promote mental and physical balance and wellbeing. 

Along with each of us having our own blend of the doshas, each dosha also has a time of life, time of day, and time of year.  Which essentially means that anyone can be affected by a dosha, regardless of its personal prominence. 

As we move from summer to autumn, vata, with the elements of air and ether, is the dosha that is most likely to take front of stage. 

In and out of balance

Those who have a dominant vata constitution are likely to have a slight or slender frame. That annoying friend who can seemingly eat whatever they want without gaining a pound! 

It is not uncommon for them to have light skin, freckles, dry and/or coarse hair.  They are generally creative, enjoy growth and change, are adventurous, enthusiastic, and inspirational. Easily bored, they are always on the go in both body and mind.   

The flipside, for those with a high dose of vata, is that they can be prone to worrisome thoughts, forgetfulness, a lack of focus or direction, and dare I say a scatty disposition.  Vata is the dosha that can see you unsettled and constantly seeking the next new shiny thing or adventure.  Or running around the house trying to find your keys, multi-tasking, or forgetting what you were doing in the first place!   

Physically, an excess of vata may bring with it poor circulation, cold hands and feet, dry skin, constipation, stiffness, along with dry, sore, and cracking joints.   

And then there is the stress, anxiety, and insomnia, that preys upon anyone who lacks the ability to be physically or mentally still. 

It is probably worth pausing here, to reiterate that the ayurvedic clock is not limited to the seasons, but also time of life.  Vata is the prominent dosha for those over 55 and for women who are post-menopause.  Just in case anyone in this camp is relating to some, or all, of the symptoms!   

So, what can we do to balance out the negatives of vata, and stay healthy during the autumn of the season or the autumn of our lives? 

In order to answer that question, we need to take a look at what is all around and within us, literally.  

Getting support

Before we dive in, a word to the wise. 

This is a generic and lighthearted blog, aimed at informing and inspiring those wanting to enhance their wellbeing and day-to-day experience. 

It is not aimed at those who have specific physical or mental health challenges. 

If this is you I, along with Ayurveda, recommend seeking the support of a medical professional or specialist. 

It’s all in the air

Depending on whether you follow the meteorological or equinox calendar, autumn kicks off either at the beginning or around the later part of September.   

It generally brings with it a shift in temperature and the nights begin to draw in ready for winter.  Along with more unsettled weather including storms, strong winds, and gales. 

You may recall that the vata constitution comprises of the elements of air and ether. So, is it any wonder that an unsettled external climate might equate to an unsettled internal climate? 

And it is not just the autumn of the year, or the autumn of our lives for that matter, that can negatively influence vata.  In fact, there is an array of things, that have the propensity to increase the volume of air and ether within us, for example:  

• Moving and/or thinking too fast 

• An excessively busy day 

• All mediums of travel 

• What we physically and mentally consume 

Whilst there is not much we can do about the UK weather, or our external climate, thankfully there is a lot that can be done to balance vata and in turn our internal climate… 

Balancing vata

In Ayurveda, vata is often the dosha that we look to balance first, when things are amiss.   

There is no balance in life when there is a gale blowing, right? 

In doing so, the aim is to cultivate qualities that are essentially the opposite to those of air and ether.  

Whilst the suggestions below are centred around staying healthy this autumn, they can be proactively, or reactively, applied at any time. 

 1. Keeping warm

Those with a dominant vata dosha are likely to run cold.  With their slight frame, low fat tissue, dry skin, and tendency towards poor circulation, – all contributing factors. 

Those experiencing a vata imbalance may also find that the autumnal winds can chill them to the bone.   

Wearing additional layers, cranking up the heating, or having a soak in the tub – will all likely help in keeping warm.  As will participating in physical activity which essentially fires up the muscles and in turn the body’s temperature. All fairly obvious and nothing new there, right? 

Let’s look at 3 other techniques, that might be less renowned: 

KAPALABHATI PRANAYAMA

The breathing practice of Kapalabhati, also known as the ‘breath of fire’, comes with many benefits.   

It is believed to enhance circulation, energise the mind, reduce stress, and strengthen the abdominal muscles and digestive organs, – to name a few. 

But the key reason I am including it here is, as the name suggests, it also stimulates heat. 

The practice is all about a forceable exhale, that requires you to contract the abdominal muscles, stoking digestive fire known in Ayurveda as Agni. 

Here’s how I teach it in yoga:  

1. Find a comfortable seat where you can sit up tall.   I like to sit in a kneeling position but, if your knees don’t like this, sitting in a chair is a good option.   
2. Place one hand on your belly, so you can feel the rise and fall of your breath. 
3. Take a few breaths in and out through the nose.  Feeling the belly expand on the inhale and release on the exhale. 
4. Then Inhale through the nose to three quarters of your capacity.  Then exhale quickly and forcibly, also through the nose, whilst contracting your abdominal muscles.   
5. Continue for 10 to 20 breath cycles, inhaling passively and exhaling forcibly.   

Note that the focus is on the exhale, the inhale will sort of take care of itself. 

1. Working up to completing the cycle 2 or 3 times.   
2. When you have finished, allow the breath to return to a nature flow and notice how you feel. 

Caution:  If the increase in oxygen makes you feel a little light-headed, when carrying out the above practice, then stop the exercise.  Or you may like to breathe naturally for a few moments and then continue. 

For more information on this practice, it’s benefits and contraindications, check out the Healthline Article, ‘The Benefits of Breath of Fire and How to Do It’ 

Self massage

The ayurvedic practice of self-massage, known as Abhyanga, utilises warming oils and comes with many benefits to all of the doshas.   

In terms of balancing vata, these include: 

• Warming and lubricating that dry skin and those dry, sore, and stiff joints.   

• Supporting the circulatory and lymphatic systems and in turn digestion.   

• Calming and soothing the nervous system. 

Simplistically, all you need to do is warm the oil and slowly massage it into your body, working from your head to your toes. Leaving it to absorb for a few minutes before washing it off.   In terms of which oils to use, the best ones for vata are sesame or almond oil.   

Or for a more comprehensive technique, check out the Chopra article, ‘The Benefits of Ayurveda Self-Massage “Abhyanga”’ 

Personally, I find the easiest way to warm the oil is to put some in a small bottle and place it in some hot water.   

Whilst I don’t personally like to put the oil all over my hair, I do occasionally put it on the ends.  A little tip in getting oil out of your hair is to put shampoo on first.  Then add a touch of water and massage the shampoo into your hair.  Then rinse and repeat.  

Utilising body heat

When cold starts to creep in, the body pulls warmth back to its core, leaving some parts of the body feeling like ice blocks.   

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do, to help thaw out those areas left out in the cold: 

• Cold hands:  try placing them under your armpits, on your belly, or under your thighs.  

• Cold feet: try bending and flexing each leg at the knee – engaging and firing up your thigh muscles. 

• Cold nose: cup your hands over your nose and breathe in and out a few times, through your nose, into your hands.  Not only will this warm up your nose, but the warm breath will also warm up your hands. 

Still cold?  

As body heat is transferred between people, you could also try cuddling up to keep warm.  Or a pet will I’m sure be happy to oblige.  

Alternatively, it might be time to dust off that hot water bottle! 

2. Nourishing nutrition

Another sure-fire way of helping to pacify vata, is to make few seasonal changes to what we eat and drink. 

Here we look to the one pot wonders, think soups and casseroles, that are both warming and nourishing to the vata constitution.  Incorporating high quality oils and warming spices such as cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg, and ginger. 

Drinking warming and hydrating teas such as liquorice, and lemon and ginger.  And perhaps camomile to soothe and/or for sleep support. 

The reverse of all this, ayurvedically speaking, is to avoid the cooling raw foods of summer, ice-cold drinks, and cooling teas such as mint. And to limit nibbling your way through the day on drying foods such as bread, dried fruits, popcorn, and crackers. 

3. Stay grounded

I often liken autumnal vata imbalance to a helium balloon.  Without being firmly connected to the ground, it is easily uprooted by the prevailing autumn winds. 

When we are not grounded, we can lose our sense of connection and control. Physically, this can show up as being less sure-footed or more clumsy.   

Emotionally, us airheads may literally find ourselves all over the place – forgetful, busy, scatty, stressed, and/or anxious. 

Like the balloon, we need something that securely anchors us to the ground and one such technique is as simple as, well: 

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 

Developed by Betty Alice Erikson, the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 method utilises the senses to ground us in the current experience and help restore a sense of equilibrium.   

Below is my take on the technique and all you need to do is work through each of the 5 steps.  You might like to begin by taking a few settling breaths in and out through your nose. 

5:	Acknowledge what you can see	Look around you and simply name 5 things you can see.  It can be anything from your immediate environment or you might like to take a closer look at a picture or photograph.
4:	Acknowledge what you can hear	Close or soften your eyes to one point as you seek out 4 sounds you can hear.  The music of life is all around us: the birds, the white noise of the traffic or the kitchen appliances, or perhaps the sound of your own breath.
3:	Acknowledge what you can feel	Next tune in to 3 things you can feel.  Perhaps the temperature of your environment, the clothes on your skin and the surface you are sitting or standing on.
2:	Acknowledge what you can smell	Take a breath or few, in and out through your nose, and seek out two distinct smells.  The scent of your clothes, the toiletries you use, or the aroma of a cup of tea or coffee.
1:	Acknowledge what you can taste	And lastly swallow a couple of times, or have a sip of that tea or coffee, to connect to your sense of taste.

Go barefoot

Another quick and easy grounding technique is to go barefoot.   

Whilst this is a wonderful thing to do outside in the summer, it’s probably a bit too cold for your tootsies this time of year.    

It really is at simple as mindfully walking around the house barefoot, or sitting and feeling your feet on the surface beneath you.   

4. Slow down

Those with a good chunk of vata going on, are likely to feel compelled to be busy in body and in mind.   

Of course, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with leading a full and busy life.   

However, if you find yourself constantly flying through your days at a gale force pace, with little regard for yourself, anything, or anyone, that gets in your way, then it might be time to calm and slow things down a notch. 

Rushing around at a rate of knots is not only stressful and exhausting, to yourself and anyone in your wake, but it generally makes you less effective too.  

If like me you have form, in taking on too much and moving too fast, vata excess may be at play. 

And, whilst it might sound obvious, slowing down is the antidote.  To practice moving and thinking at a more deliberate pace and when you catch yourself speeding, to take it down a gear or two.  

Plan to slow down

I’m also a big fan of a spot of regularly planning – as a way of consciously choosing how much, or little, you include in each day. 

Life will always provide us with an endless array of activities, responsibilities, and distractions, to over-do and multi-task our way through.   

But, if we are going to stay in balance, we need to be controlling where we spend our time and energy.  And not taking on so much that we end up feeling frazzled and overwhelmed.  Controlling our to-do-lists rather than letting them control us! 

You might like to consider scheduling a daily and/or weekly meeting with yourself, where you consciously plan your time.  Checking that you are dedicating time to the things and people that are important to you and building in some opportunities for fun. 

Moving through your chosen activities one by one is the aim, endeavouring to think and move at a sensible and achievable pace.   

Put in a pause

Scheduling breaks throughout the day, provides an opportunity to check in with how you are doing. 

To ensure that you are on track, with your best laid plans, and that you have not started spinning too many plates or your own wheels.  And of course, to reset if needed. 

Doesn’t need to be anything fancy.  Simply taking a short break in the morning, lunchtime, and evening, will do the trick.  You might just ask yourself how you are travelling, or build in one of the vata busting practices from this blog. 

Putting in pauses throughout the day, not only helps to break the cycle of being vata busy, it also provides an opportunity to rest.   Which helps to overcome another symptom of vata imbalance…

5. Getting a good night’s sleep

Sleep plays an absolutely vital role in physical and mental health and wellbeing.  After a good night’s sleep, we essentially awake each morning with a rested and reconstructed mind and with a number of the body’s systems effectively reset. 

However, getting a good night’s sleep, when you are vata deranged, is like trying to sleep in the eye of a tornado. 

From the moment you wake each day, you need to start creating the conditions to get the recommended eight hours of sleep opportunity each night. 

A number of the vata balancing techniques, we have explored in blog, will support this. They will help keep you, and your nervous system, in check throughout the day – so that you have a better chance of coming down and staying down at night. 

Setting up for sleep 

When it comes to preparing for sleep itself, you might like to consider implementing a sleep routine.   

Doesn’t need to be complicated, just a few things that signal the body that it is time for bed and to sleep.  You might like to check a previous blog ‘Making Better Sleep your Goal’ for further information and ideas on what to include in your routine.   

Aim to do your routine every night, regardless of whether you are in period of experiencing sleep challenges.  This helps your body and mind to become familiar with the routine and recognise it as a call to sleep.  It will also help it to remain effective when you need sleep support. 

The practice of sleep

Yoga Nidra, also known as yogic sleep, is a deeply relaxing and restorative form of meditation. 

Whilst the benefits of this practice are many, I am including it here as it is particularly beneficial in reducing stress and anxiety. By evoking the more optimal aspect of the nervous system, known as ‘rest and digest’, both the body and mind will be more at ease. 

All you need is to carve out a space and time when you won’t be disturbed, and are able to close your eyes and listen to a guided practice. 

Whilst you can practice Yoga Nidra at any time of day, it can be a particularly useful practice to do in the evenings.  Both to come down from the day and in supporting sleep preparation.  

If you would like to give it a try, there are many free resources and practices available online, including from Insight Timer ‘Yoga Nidra Meditations’ . It is generally just a case of finding a voice and style of practice that appeals to you. 

Summary

As we move into autumn, the ayurvedic dosha of vata with its elements of air and ether, is all around and within us.  Left unchecked, it can leave our internal environments as unsettled as the autumn weather.  Fortunately, there is a lot that can be done to calm the velocity and in turn our physical and mental wellbeing.  This blog sets the stage in aligning to the seasons and in staying healthy and balanced this autumn. 

---

Bev Alderson

Bev Alderson is a Mindfulness, Yoga and Stress Management Consultant who works with individuals, groups and workplaces.

Having spent 18+ years in management in the IT industry, in both the UK and Australia, Bev learnt first-hand the impacts of a high-pressure environment and lifestyle and how, left unchecked, this can negatively impact performance and health.

Today, through her business Practically Balanced, Bev brings authenticity to the work she does, drawing upon her personal experiences, management capabilities and expertise in mindfulness, stress resilience, yoga and more.

Bev completed a Diploma in Yoga with the highly respected Qi Yoga School in Sydney in 2012 and with Sivananda in India in 2015. She also completed a Certificate in Stress Management with the London Centre for Coaching and Counselling in 2014, an ILM with the Stress Management Society in 2014 and a Diploma in Meditation with the British School of Meditation in 2016.

---

With many thanks to Bev for this blog. If you have any questions regarding the health topics that have been raised, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our nutritionist team via e-mail or phone:

nutrition@cytoplan.co.uk
01684 310099

Find out what makes Cytoplan different

Last updated on 2nd October 2024 by cytoffice