This is it, the last official day of the “cleanse”, though this journey will continue for the next several months. The āyurvedic tradition recommends offering your system some extra support throughout the entire vata season (fall through early winter). The idea is to nourish yourself deeply, building and supporting the entire organism. Fall rejuvenation is soothing, sweet, and incredibly enjoyable.
Everyone will have their own special ways to nourish themselves mentally and emotionally - making more time for naps, snuggling up with a good book in front of a cozy fire, long walks in nature - do the things that make your heart happy this fall. Some reminders for your rejuvenation period:
Get adequate rest. The days get shorter and the nights get longer during the time when our bodies need more rest. Honor this day/night cycle by going to bed earlier and sleeping a little later. And never, never, never feel guilty about taking a mid-day nap. Just watch the animals in nature and do what they do! Let yourself rest without any agenda. You have a right to rest, simply for the sake of rest. You don’t have to rest so you’ll be more productive, all you have to do is just be. Your mind, body, and spirit will thank you with health and vitality when you honor them with this period of rejuvenation.
Yoga and meditation. You already know that yoga and mediation are incredibly healing for the body, mind, and spirit. Continue your practices. Opt for gentler physical practices, or join me in the studio every Tuesday thru Thursday for my āyurvedic yoga classes, where we will practice in ways to nourish you throughout each season. Also, try to practice at least one rejuvenative session like restorative yoga or yoga nidra each week (I teach a yin/restorative class every Thursday from October through January). For your meditation practice, the repetitive nature of mantra meditation can be soothing for the mobile qualities of vata. A simple mantra to use is “let go”. Simply sit, be still, breathe, and repeat the phrase “let go” to yourself, inhaling as you repeat “let” and exhaling as you repeat “go”, matching the mantra with the rhythm of your breath.
Establish a daily routine (dinacharya) and stick to it. This is remarkably stabilizing for the system. Include the oiling techniques of abhyanga and nasya in your daily routines, and continue to oil your feet nightly for grounding support.
Favor all things cozy! Warm sweaters, fuzzy socks, hot tea, and woolen blankets for home. Scarves, hats, and extra top layers when you go outside. Keep your neck and ears warm and protected from cold and wind.
Nourish yourself physically by observing a vata pacifying diet. Eat seasonally as much as you can. Mother Nature provides us just the right foods at just the right times. Refer to the vata food list in the resources section of the main portal page for guidance on foods to favor during vata season, or any time you are experiencing a vata imbalance. Favor foods that are warm, moist, unctuous (oily), heavy, and soft. Choose naturally sweet, sour, and salty as your primary tastes (whole grains, eggs, citrus fruits, root vegetables just to name a few).
Sweet foods are a combination of the earth and water elements, two of the heaviest, most dense, and most gross elements. Sweet taste is the ultimate rejuvenative, and the primary support for vata dosha. Sweet taste benefits our mucous membranes, but be careful, if you are prone to mucous (have elevated kapha, or a high kapha constitution), sweet taste can create congestion.
Sweet, however, does not equate to sugar. When we talk about sweet foods in āyurveda, we are referring to foods that are naturally sweet, nourishing, and building. Sweet is found in many foods that are rich in carbohydrates, fat, and protein, and despite the fear that modern diet culture has instilled in us about carbs and fat, these are essential parts of a healthy diet. Sweet taste can be found in foods like dates, avocado, carrots, sweet potato, almost all grains, dairy, animal proteins, nuts and seeds.
Salty taste is a combination of the fire and water elements and, like sour, increases salivation, improving the taste of our foods. It also helps maintain the body’s water-electrolyte balance, enhances absorption of fluids, and is a demulcent (it forms a protective layer over the mucous membranes). The primary benefit of the salty taste for vata dosha, is to combat vata’s dry quality. Salty taste comes almost exclusively from added salt, but can also be found in vegetables like celery and seaweed.
Thank you for participating in this year’s fall cleanse and rejuvenation. I hope you benefitted from the rest, rejuvenation, and reset. The cleanse portal and all of the information within will be available to you through the end of November, so refer back to it as you need reminders and support, and please do not ever hesitate to reach out to me if you could use additional support in implementing a supportive daily routine for vata season.