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leaves blowing off of trees
There’s a pretty big chance that as you scroll through your social feeds, they occasionally flicker with mentions of Enneagram tests, real-time horoscope apps (like the prescient Co-Star), and birth charts. So what do these planetary and personality diagrams all have in common? They help give us a better understanding of where we stand, as our own individual pushpin, amid the vast map of the Universe and its grand unknowables. When catastrophes like a global pandemic strike, we get existential: What does it all mean? Who am I at my most authentic self? Should I chase after a more lucrative career?
While it can’t predict your next financial windfall or big career break, Ayurvedic medicine is a 7,000-year-old healing system that’s rooted in humanizing the galaxies. It thinks of the Universe as a living, breathing, thinking entity, with our bodies as its physical manifestation. Ayurvedic wisdom says we’re all made up of water, Earth, fire, space, and air—just like the Big U—but in proportions that are unique to each person, where one element may be more dominant than the other. This combination results in three doshas, known as vata (air + space), kapha (Earth + water), and pitta (fire + water).
Each one of us is assigned a dosha at birth, and while it’s important to know which one—so we better understand when and where we fall out of balance—Amrit Devgun argues that knowing which dosha governs the season should take precedence, especially as daylight shrinks and temps drop. “We’re coming upon a season of change,” says Devgun, a naturopathic doctor at Northwestern Health Sciences University Bloomington Clinic. “Ayurveda is about eating, living, breathing, and thinking within the seasons.” And as it stands, fall means we’re entering the season of vata, the fundamental energy of the natural world.
Dull, Dry and Dehydrated: From the Inside Out
According to the Ayurvedic Institute, vata presides over most physiological things: breathing, blinking, muscle and tissue movement, pulsation of the heart, and all movements in the cell membranes. When out of balance, it can provoke fear and anxiety—the breeding ground for our current climate. “It’s the dosha that really controls everything and pushes other doshas around and stirs up a lot of trouble,” she says. “It’s incredibly important to keep it under control.”
Devgun says roughly 80 percent of illness and health conditions are linked to a vata aggravation. “Someone with a kapha dosha might say, why should I be following vata recommendations right now?” she says. “But it’s important to understand that vata is the primary driver of disease, and most health-related issues stem from vata aggravation.” She goes on to say that vata has an “on-the-go” nature and when you combine that with our doing-obsessed culture—”When we have nothing to do, we don’t know how to handle that!”—it pushes us into a chronic state of vata aggravation.
Physical properties of vata are described as light, dry, cool, mobile, and rough. These qualities are evident not only in nature, but also in our bodies. “We can feel it in our hands when they start catching on our clothes,” she says. “And like the skin, if you go outside and look at the bark on a tree trunk, you’ll notice a lot of roughness there versus how it would look in the springtime: smooth and moist.” Vata is the principle of air, setting out to suck the moisture out of our skin and internal organs. Vata skin tends to be dull and thin, with visible blood vessels. “We have to minimize aggravation in our own body,” says Devgun. “Otherwise, we have dry skin, cracked lips… [the dryness] even causes us to start feeling spacey or checked out. These are all signs that the vata is starting to build and get aggravated.”
Tips for Taming Ungrounded Energy
Manipulate the Melatonin. “It’s one of the universal hormones for every living creature,” says Devgun. “It’s our connection to nature, it’s how birds know when to fly south.” So how do we know when we’re supposed to naturally wake up? She says if it weren’t for artificial light (which cuts into our melatonin production), we would naturally wake as the sun rises. But that’s just not realistic for most. “It’s important to make sure we expose ourselves to light during the times we’re supposed to,” she says. “When you wake up, even if you don’t get out of bed right away, turn on the lamp on your nightstand so the light can start hitting you.” Our pineal gland, influenced by light, will start recognizing that the body needs to wake up. “That will help us start to get back in alignment with our circadian rhythm,” she adds.
Brush Your Tongue. A layer of toxins usually forms on our tongues overnight, thanks to a lack of saliva. Cleaning your tongue with either a scraper or soft brush will not only keep your oral health in tip-top shape, it will prevent mouth bacteria from entering the digestive tract. (Vata digestion struggles are characterized by bloating and constipation.)
Practice Daily Massage. Our largest organ (aka, the skin) gets the brunt of the seasonal dryness. While applying lotion and heavy creams is helpful, the best way to pierce through the layers is through a warming massage, says Devgun. “Some recommend 20 minutes … I say, whatever you can do, even if it’s a minute of quick application, it’s better than nothing.” Warm sesame oil is best for counteracting vata’s signature dryness. Since we can also feel vata in our joints, applying oil also helps to reduce friction and increase mobility.
Oh, and Oil Your Nose (Seriously). The name of this technique is called Nasya. “You dab a bit of that sesame oil in your nostrils and it’s like oiling your brain, preventing it from drying up,” says Devgun. She says lubricating the nasal membrane keeps passages healthy and robust, better equipping them to fight off different infections. “If we have a cold, it won’t hang around as long.” Other benefits of Nasya: it supports mental clarity, promotes restful sleep, and relieves heaviness in the head.
Bust Out the Slow Cooker. Replace your cold salads or raw foods with warm and mushy eats—this is the time of year where your body can handle more fat. “Add some olive oil or coconut oil to your dishes,” Devgun says. “Even butter, if your system can handle it.” ‘Tis the season for one-pot meals with warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, cumin, a pinch of cayenne, or turmeric. Also, as a friendly reminder: chew your food slowly so your digestion doesn’t have to work twice (or thrice) as hard.
Lastly: Ready, Set, Routine. “Some people say having a routine just isn’t in their nature which, true, since we’re such a vata-induced society, but start with small goals,” says Devgun. Like going to bed and/or waking up at the same time. The same goes for establishing regular mealtimes. “That way, keeping things consistent will inch you back to being more in alignment with your circadian rhythm,” she says.
Located in Bloomington, Northwestern Health Sciences University is a pioneer in integrative natural health care education, offering degree programs in chiropractic, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, massage therapy, medical assisting, medical laboratory programs, post-bac/pre-health, radiation therapy, and B.S. completion. Its Bloomington clinic is open to the public and provides chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, massage therapy, naturopathic medicine, nutrition, and cupping. Among its product offerings, the clinic carries a line of Ayurvedic oils and spices.
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