According to Ayurveda, the key to your health is harmonious coexistence with nature. Just as nature turns from the summer heat to the cool, windy autumn, the energies within your body, i.e., the doshas, also change. Autumn Ritucharya – a seasonal routine – helps counteract the characteristics of the season and maintain your inner harmony.
Autumn’s Dosha: the Dominance of Vata
Autumn – especially the late autumn months – is governed by the Vata (air and ether) dosha.
Due to the cool, dry, and windy weather outside, the cold, mobile, and dry qualities of Vata also increase within you. This can affect your nervous system (anxiety, sleep disorders), your skin (dryness), your digestion (bloating, constipation), and your joints (stiffness, pain).
Your primary task during this period is to counteract the dry, cold, and mobile qualities of Vata with grounding, warming, and oiliness.
General Autumn Tips for All Doshas and Body Types
These Steps Help Stabilize the Vata Dosha, which Can be Challenging for all Body Types During the Transitional Period:
- Oil Massage (Abhyanga): This is the most important autumn routine. Daily (self)massage with warm sesame oil (or Vata oil) calms the nervous system, nourishes dry skin, and effectively grounds (counteracts the air/ether element).
- Warm and Cooked Foods: Avoid raw vegetables, salads, and cold drinks. Prefer warm soups, roasted vegetables, and grains.
- Regularity (Dinacharya): The antidote to Vata is a consistent daily routine. Try to wake up, eat, and go to bed at the same time.
- Internal Hydration: Consume warm teas (ginger, chamomile) and lukewarm water to counteract dryness.
Vata Type Ritucharya – Autumn Diet and Lifestyle
Focus: Balancing Mobility – Stability and Oiliness
This period is the most challenging for you. The Vata qualities reinforce each other, which can cause nervousness, dry skin, and digestive issues (bloating, constipation).
Diet (Ahara):
- What to Eat? Warm, cooked, juicy, and heavier foods. Choose sweet, sour, and salty tastes. Creamy soups, cooked grains (oats, rice), and root vegetables (pumpkin, sweet potato) should be staples.
- Oils and Spices: Use plenty of high-quality fats (Ghee, sesame oil) to replenish oiliness. Spice warmly: ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg.
- What to Avoid? Avoid cold, raw food, ice cubes in drinks, and anything dry and crunchy (biscuits, crackers).
Lifestyle (Vihara):
- Always dress in layers, keep your head and lower back warm.
- Choose slow, grounding forms of movement, such as gentle yoga or leisurely walks.
- Avoid excessive exertion and rushing.
- Routine is essential, so go to bed early (before 10:00 PM), and get enough sleep.
- Strive for warmth, quiet, and a reliable routine.
- Avoid long, strenuous travels and excessive screen time, which increases Vata’s mobility.
To Balance Vata (Grounding and Calming): We recommend: Abhyanga (Warm oil full body massage) to calm the nervous system and combat dryness, as well as Shirodhara (Calming oil treatment on the third eye) to promote mental stability.
Pitta Type Ritucharya – Autumn Diet and Lifestyle
Focus: Calming the Fire – Moderation and Calm
For you, autumn brings some relief after the summer heat. However, dryness can still ignite the Pitta fire, which can cause tension and heartburn.
Diet (Ahara):
- What to Eat? Warm foods remain important, but avoid excessive heating. Sweet, bitter, and astringent tastes help. Consume sweet fruits (pear, sweet apple) and bitter vegetables (broccoli).
- Spices: Use cooling but flavorful spices like coriander, cumin, or saffron. Avoid too much chili and pungent spices.
- What to Avoid? Sour foods (vinegar, unripe fruits), alcohol, and excessive coffee consumption.
Lifestyle (Vihara):
- Stress-free evenings are key.
- Do not cool yourself down too suddenly, but also avoid excessive sweating.
- Choose moderate-intensity exercise, such as swimming or moderate-paced yoga.
- Accept if things do not go according to your plan immediately.
- Strive for moderation and keeping a cool head (avoid conflicts and arguments).
To Balance Pitta (Cooling and Detoxification): We recommend: Takra Dhara (Herbal buttermilk stream on the third eye) to reduce internal heat and acidity, as well as other Pitta-balancing cleansing therapies to support autumn detoxification.
Kapha Type Ritucharya – Autumn Diet and Lifestyle
Focus: Maintaining Activity – Lightness and Movement
As a Kapha constitution, Kapha is fundamentally cold and wet, but the dryness of autumn can initially be beneficial for you. Your main task is to maintain lightness and activity before the heaviness of winter.
Diet (Ahara):
- What to Eat? Warm, light, and dry foods. For you, pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes are best. Steamed vegetables, light soups, and whole grains (barley, millet) suit you.
- Spices: Use plenty of pungent, Kapha-reducing spices: ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, turmeric.
- What to Avoid? Heavy, fatty foods (dairy products, too much oil), sweet, salty, sour foods, and cold drinks.
Lifestyle (Vihara):
- For you, activity (physical activity, movement) and lightness (incorporating light foods, stimulating activities against heaviness and lethargy) are your main tasks.
- Dress warmly, and wear bright colors.
- Choose intense, dynamic movement (running, dynamic yoga). Sweat, as this helps break down Kapha.
- Strictly avoid daytime naps, and wake up early.
- Strive for lightness and variety. Wake up early, and avoid daytime sleep.
To Balance Kapha (Stimulation and Lightness): We recommend: Udvartanam (herbal powder massage) to reduce dampness, heaviness, and stagnation. Additionally, stimulating heat therapies effective for Kapha are excellent for increasing activity, and cleansing therapies to support autumn detoxification.
