Ayurveda recommends the principle of opposites for reducing the level of a dosha that has become aggravated. Since we’re still on Vata and the characteristics of Vata include dryness, coolness, roughness, lightness and constant motion, qualities that are opposite to these in diet and lifestyle help restore balance to Vata dosha.
How you live and how you use your senses has a remarkable impact on how you feel. This is why it’s important to create harmony within your bodily elements (aka the doshas) and for aggravated Vatas, you can help balance out your dosha with the lifestyle recommendations below. If you missed last week’s dietary recommendations for Vata then visit https://elev8lifeholistic.com/blog/ for Balancing the Vata Dosha.
Lifestyle Recommendations: Balancing the Vata dosha
- Maintain a regular routine. Vata needs structure. Irregularity in regular daily activities, like waking up, eating and sleeping, will add to Vata’s light and mobile qualities and increase uncertainty and fear in a Vatas life. We’ll look at this in more detail next week so that all you Vatas can create a simple morning and evening routine and set times in a day for eating, working and sleeping.
- Stay warm. Layer up, wear a scarf, cover your head and protect yourself from the cold and wind. A windy day means that Vata is high in the environment and that will increase Vata in you. Make sure to wear some lip balm to prevent your lips from getting dry and chafed too!
- Slow down: Multitasking divides your attention and creates a scattered mind. Build focus in every activity and you will build calm in your life. Don’t think that you have to rush through everything- you’ll miss the joy of living. Do one thing at a time and give it the respect of your full attention.
- Reduce screen time: So much of our lives happen through screens. The flickering movement in these devices aggravates Vata, so it’s important to take regular breaks from screens and create set times of day when you use your electronics.
Meditate. Set aside about 30 minutes each day for meditation to help calm the mind and reap all the other incredible benefits of meditation! If 30 minutes seems too long at the moment, start small and work your way up. - Try silence: One of the signs that Vata is high is excessive talking. You expend great amounts of energy talking, so making room in your life for silence can help you attain even energy levels throughout the day. When Vata is high, take a day or more of silence. Maybe even consider a silent retreat!
- Cultivate softness and comfort: Try to avoid loud music and being exposed to sharp, penetrating sounds. Do gentle activities that allow you to enjoy the subtle realms of life. Sounds in nature are great for this!
- Take a break from traveling: Vata is aggravated by movement, such as in planes, trains and cars. Of course this doesn’t mean cutting the travel and exploring the world and yourself completely, but when travel happens too frequently, you will experience a Vata imbalance. When you do travel, make sure to try and keep your regular practices and daily routine as possible.
Ok, stay tuned for next week where we go into specific daily routine suggestions for a Vata and if you still don’t know your Ayurvedic constitution, then go back and find out at this link https://elev8lifeholistic.com/an-intro-to-the-oldest-healing-system/