Vata Season (Autumn-Early Winter)
Signs of Vata Imbalance: nervousness, anxiety, dry skin, dryness in general, headaches, difficulty sleeping, constipation, gas, bloating, fickle digestion, bone or muscle pain.
Tips for Vata Season:
Dietary Tips: Favor sweet, sour and salty tastes and dis-favor pungent, bitter and astringent tastes. If you know you are a “Vata” follow a vata-reducing diet.
1. Spices: favor fennel, ginger, turmeric, cardamom and cumin; add in some hot spices like pepper, cinnamon and hing (asafetida). Use vata spice mixture. (see below)
2. Make vata chutney once a week (see below)
3. Include warm milk in the diet. Consider a date milkshake (see below) once or twice a week. Kaphas: add hot spices like ginger and pepper to low fat milk to aid digestion.
4. Hot Water Routine: include cumin seed, fennel seed, coriander seed and a quarter sized piece of raw ginger. Boil water and put in a thermos with 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds and 1/4 tsp coriander seeds. Sip all day. OR…
5. Enjoy vata tea (see below)
Lifestyle/Routine Tips: Routine. Routine. Routine. Use a planner and set a routine…especially as you enter the holiday season. Do abhyanga massage with dosha-appropriate oils. If you are not sure use sunflower or sesanme oil. Kapha types, consult with your Ayurvedic consultant before doing abhyanga. Meditation can be increased during this time of the year and get good rest. Early to bed and early to rise!
This is a great time of the year to be gifting yourself and loved ones the relaxing and stress reducing support of Energy Restoration Therapy.
| Vata Chutney 11½ tsp fennel seeds 1½ tsp cumin seeds 3 tsp ground coriander 1½ cup soaked raisins ¾ cup dates, pitted/chopped 3/8 cup orange juice 2 tbs fresh ginger root minced ¼ tsp nutmeg 3/8 tsp salt Combine in food processor until coarsely ground. |
Vata Chutney 2½ tsp cumin seeds ½ tsp mustard seed
½ tsp turmeric 1/8 tsp hing (Asafoetida) 1/8 tsp green chilis ¼ cup raw sugar 1/8 tsp fenugreek ¼ tsp nutmeg 1/8 tsp ginger (dried) 4 cups apple (cooked) Skin and core apples. Slice into thin slices. Make a paste |
You can order VATA SPICE MIXTURE and VATA TEA premade from WWW.MAPI.COM. Use this 10% discount
Vata Spice Mixture
2 tbs whole fennel seeds
1 tbs whole coriander seeds
1 tbs whole cumin seeds
1 tbs ground turmeric
1 tbs dried basil
2 tsp powdered ginger
2 tsp salt
1 tsp asafetida (hing)
Put all ingredients into an electric grinder or spice mill
Vata Tea
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp fresh grated ginger
-place in 4 cups of boiling water and steep 2-5 minutes
-then add 1 squeeze lemon juice and raw Organic Sugar, Turbinado Sugar, Sucanat to taste
Date Milk Shake
- 6 dates, pitted
- 1 1/2 c. cow, soy, goat or almond milk
- 1/2 t. vanilla extract
- 1/2 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
Place all ingredients in blender and blend. Serve immediately (or the coconut will begin to settle out).
