EXCELLENCE OF AYURVEDA - C.S.1, V53
“As it is beneficial to mankind in respect of both the worlds (i.e. this life and the life beyond), Ayurveda, the most sacred and honored by those proficient in the Vedas will now be expounded.”
I know it doesn’t feel like it out there for many of us on the East coast right now but Autumn is in the air. Have you noticed the position of the sun in the sky? Do you have a sense of change in the air when you are out in the environment, out in nature?
Rutucharya - the Sanskrit word ‘rutu’ means seasonal movement of time - charya - means routine or lifestyle. Rutucharya means a seasonal routine or lifestyle to work with dosha and positively influence our cells, organs, systems, doshas and emotional changes in the mind.
We are at the end of the summer season of Pitta and moving into the the autumn/winter season of Vata. In my yoga classes and practice I like to offer Pitta reducing classes at this time of year that help to cool off our systems. Vata will begin to offer the lighter qualities of winter such cold, wind, subtle, and dry. You know that feeling of “static” in the air. These qualities will start to build at the end of summer so now is the perfect time to pay attention by continuing your ‘dinacharya’ (daily routine) and by watching the foods that you eat in order to balance your dosha as the natural qualities of this season (that we have no control over) build. We cannot control the season but we can prepare; just as we do when it is cold outside and put on a sweater. If we do this, we will be better able to balance ourselves when we are full on into the winter season.
Some of the symptoms that you might notice when your Vata is provoked is more constipation and if you have arthritis it might flare up now. In the mind we might notice a lot more rajas (movement, unable to focus) going on.
So what can we do about all this, right. Here are some suggestions. Try going to bed earlier especially if you are staying up later then you know you should. Begin eating warming, soothing foods like soups and kitchari. Do your daily oil massage with sesame oil and daily nasya (nose oiling) with sesame or vacha oil. Try to add some warming herbal teas to your day such as ginger and cinnamon. Heat up some digestive herbs in ghee such as ginger, cardamom and turmeric and mix into your veggies. Meditate, begin to balance your yoga practice with more grounding, and add some of the suggestions noted above. Here is to a healthy transition in body, mind and spirit.
Breathe and be in the Present, Namaste