Ayurveda + The Seasons | Part I
To most in the industrialized world, seasons happen in the background of jobs, homelife, and social obligations. Even so, most folks notice a shift that takes place at each turn of the season. Some experience a sense of excitement, maybe a change in activity level, while some experience an onset of anxiety or depression.
What we can gather from this (and what Ayurveda and many traditional medicine systems teach us) is that when the seasons change we change. Not only from an emotional perspective but also a physiological one. We are, in fact, inseparable from nature.
Ayurveda and Nature
Ayurveda is literally translated as the science, or knowledge, of life (ayu-life, veda-knowledge). It taught us, over 5,000 years ago, that the patterns of the seasons are reflected not only in the external environment but also inside our bodies, minds, and spirits. A concept that is difficult to remember in our modern lives sometimes. It can even be argued that this forgetting of our inseparable connection to nature is one of the reasons for the destruction of our earth and her resources. But that’s a topic for another day.
So what do the seasons have to do with our health and wellbeing? And how do we harness the power of each season to leverage our own healing?
On a cellular level, our bodies want to be in sync with the rhythms of nature. But our modern lives disrupt this process. In Ayurveda, we acknowledge that different times of the season and even different times of the day require different foods, activities, and practices to maintain health. We call this dinacharya (daily routine) and ritucharya (seasonal routine). These routines bring the body back to balance should we experience illness, and helps keep things optimally moving when we are healthy. The field of circadian medicine supports this idea from a western scientific perspective.
Before we can understand why it’s beneficial to do certain things at certain times of the day or year, we first have to understand the Ayurvedic concept of the gunas, or qualities in nature. Note: these are the gurvadi gunas as opposed to the mahagunas (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas).
Qualities of Nature
According to Ayurveda, all matter has certain inherent qualities. These qualities are grouped into 10 pairs of opposites. We can look at anything we encounter in our world (including man-made materials) and attribute these qualities to them (ex. Fire is hot, sharp, dry, and light).
Very simply, we can think of Vata being associated with movement and motion (think peristalis and neurological activity), Pitta with transformation (think digestive juices, blood, and hormonal activity), and Kapha as form and structure (think bones, muscle, and lymph). These are just a few examples of associated functions of the doshas.
Connecting Gunas to Ourselves
From there, we turn our attention towards ourselves. Because, according to Ayurveda, all matter is made up of the gunas, we as humans are also made up of these qualities. If you are at all familiar with Ayurveda you have heard of the doshas, or constitutions: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.
These doshas and gunas can then be attributed to physical, emotional, and spiritual characteristics of any individual. These are three groupings of qualities and each of us is made up of unique combinations of them. Each dosha is also associated with certain gunas.
Seasons + Gunas
Now let’s go back to the seasons and take a look at the gunas of each season. Like the doshas, each season is associated with a few dominant qualities at any given time. Now, depending on where you live, the gunas may be different. This chart is based on the Northern Hemisphere and mostly temperate environments. If you live in a desert or tropical climate, the changes are much different from this chart. If you live in one of these climates, take a moment to think about note the gunas that you notice are most prevalent in each season.
By understanding the qualities in each season, as well as the qualities within ourselves (whether they are innate or transitory), we can leverage the seasons’ power to aid in our pursuit of better health. From an Ayurvedic perspective, consuming foods that are out of season but otherwise considered healthy may actually be less optimal.
Simple Changes Make a Big Difference
Food for Each Season
We will get into specifics of foods for the Autumn season as well as constitution, lifestyle modifications to make, and more in Part II. For now, it’s always best to remember that eating whole fruits and vegetables that are in-season and local is best. This is one of the most effective ways to help the body align with nature from the ground up. Beneficial bacteria and nutrients from our local environment help to further align us to the changing or current seasons.
Get Outside!
Speaking of nature, get yourself out into the woods, a park, or somewhere where you can see trees and earth changing and observe the intelligence of the process. This can be very powerful especially for those who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. It not only gets you out into the sun but can also help to deepen an appreciation for the season.
Sleep
Getting to sleep by 10-10:30PM allows for the body and mind to optimize the complex processes taking place while we sleep. Liver and brain function are greatly affected by our sleep habits (among others) so it’s important to aim for this target bedtime. If you have trouble getting to sleep there are several Ayurvedic practices and herbal interventions to explore.
A Deeper Dive
So let the takeaway of this post be that the seasons are not only happening on the outside but inside of us as well. That pertains to the mind and spirit too. Helping your body align with the seasons by eating seasonally and locally, getting out into nature, and taking in the changes with all of the senses can help support physical and mental health and wellbeing.