According to the 5 Elements system, Autumn is the time when nature rids itself of what is not needed, when nature sheds its leaves and lets go of the rubbish it no longer needs. With those leaves it produces its own compost, enriching the soil, ensuring the next cycle has the nutrients it needs to grow. 

During this season,  we help support and balance the Metal qualities - the Lung & Large Intestine energy pathways. 

So our practices include back-bends and twists in a way that opens and closes our bodies. Twisting is excellent to squeeze out toxins (physical and emotional) and bring the body-mind into equilibrium.  The metal style of back-bends is softer and more supported that the ones we practice in the Summer Fire practices that focus more on opening the heart to joy. We focus primarily on our breathing to unite each movement with your breath, increasing lung capacity, opening the chest and finding the space to be with yourself.  

According to the Ayurvedic system, Autumn is a time when the Air element VATA (Dosha) is predominant; there is more lightness, dryness and coolness in nature and within us.   There are the ‘winds of change’ and with more windy, cold and dry weather in Autumn into early Winter, Vata is naturally aggravated.

As Vata regulates the nervous system; levels of moisture in the body; how relaxed we feel and how well we digest food. All these can easily become disturbed = imbalanced.   This energy will affect everyone but especially those who have a Vata dominant dosha as they can easily get out of balance during this time.  Vata reigns over the years after 60+ when most people notice their systems feel drier.  This is the time of life to benefit from your accumulated wisdom and enjoy the fruits of what you have learned during your life.

Key words = Keeping the Balance, Routine, Regularity & Discipline. 

So keeping to a routine with sleep, food, yoga practice and rest - will help to keep the Vata energies balanced – and enhance your well-being.

Use these tips to help stay in balance during the VATA season:

1.  Rise early when the world is still calm and brush teeth with nourishing powder such as Liquorice, Haritaki or Mint.  Keep routines with waking up / sleeping / eating / resting.

2.  Daily 5-10 min morning self-massage with warm Sesame oil, Ashwagandha oil or Mahanarayan oil.  Wash off in a warm shower. This offsets seasonal tendencies to dryness, joint cracking, stiff muscle pain and poor circulation.

3.  Pacify Vata by starting your yoga practice with alternate nostril breathing and adopt a slow-steady approach to yogasana.  Especially useful are: wind relieving poses; all inverted poses where the head moves below the waist; all twists; seated forward bends; slow sun salutation with several slow breaths in each pose; and lots of relaxation in Savasana for proper grounding, nurturing and rest.

4.  Be regular with a daily Mindfulness meditation practice that brings calm, focus and soothes the mind and emotions, especially as increased Vata energy can aggravate worry, fear, anxiety and cause disturbed sleep.

5.  Wrap up well when out and about, ensure your mid-drift is covered – basically keep kidneys warm.  Take warm baths, saunas are good too.

6.  Diet to consist of warm, sweet, mildly spicy, sour and salty foods, seasonal are best.  Soups, casseroles, ghee, hemp seed oil and kicharee are nourishing. Stay away from cold or frozen foods/drinks and keep hydrated with herbal teas and tepid water.

7.  Add Ayurvedic Herbals (when needed) like Chywanaprash in morning to boost energy levels; Ashwaganda am & pm which is calming & strengthening to the nervous system; Triphala at night for bowel cleansing.

8.  Get at least 7-8 hours sleep, in bed by 10pm, rub soles of feet with warm sesame oil, drink warm milk with pinch of nutmeg & cardamom. Napping is allowed!

9.  Autumn is a common time to perform a seasonal cleanse to prepare for the winter ahead when excess Kapha arises.

10.  Giving thanks, gratitude, seeing your cup half full, being in nature, slow walks, keeping silence - all help to balance the Vata energies in you.

Finally, in fact my personal favourite part of the practice, when the teacher says, lie down in Savasana (corpse pose) for final guided relaxation, where you give yourself permission to completely let go.  So in class at the end of the asana/breathing practices, we get a moment of pause (10-15 minutes actually), to unburden ourselves of whatever we are still carrying - a time to let go of the doing, the goals, the to do lists, all efforts and let the natural unfoldment of ‘being’ to unfold in this priceless time.  The corpse pose is the practice of the ultimate letting go.    It’s a precious time when all the benefits of the practice can sink in, leaving you feeling rejuvenated, and ready to face the world again!

Interested to know more - try reading my Autumn blogs.