We have a brief article by Nina Kamran for you on the current season. Here you can find out how your yoga routine can support you in the autumn and winter seasons, the Vata time in Ayurveda. Why are yoga tools in particular so supportive right now? At the end you will find a yoga session on our YouTube channel that you can do at home.
Do you tend to feel more restless, maybe more anxious and is overthinking an issue for you at the moment? This might be as we are in the midst of „vata season“. In Ayurveda we not only use the concept of the three doshas (vata, pitta and kapha) to discribe the physical and mental aspects of a human being. The seasons can be related to them as well.
Vata Season
Right now, from the start of autumn until about mid February , the vata dosha is very dominant in the Northern hemisphere. Consisting of the elements air and aether (space), vatas qualities are dry, cold, light, rough, subtle, mobile and clear.
As humans we always tend to mirror our environment, thus for many of us might react with dry skin and hair, might catch a cold easily or experience mental instability like worrying, doubting, pondering or anxiousness.
Yoga practice during the vata time
Next to our diet, our sleep hygiene and daily routines, our yoga practice can help us balancing extended vata in our system by preferring slower and more grounding styles like Yin or Moon Hatha Yoga. Slow flows, forward folds, long holds, focussing on the exhalation and meditating on the lower chakras benefit cultivating more calm and ease again.
Why yoga equipment is especially beneficial for you right now
Yoga props are a great support in those grounding practices. They not only assist us in finding more stability while holding poses for longer periods of time, they also remind us to stop trying to push harder to reach a position and making peace with the moment instead. Out of the mind, into simply being. This is what we need most during vata season.
You can find the grounding moon salutation on our YouTube channel here
And here we have a Youtube playlist for you with calm and slow yoga classes, there is sure to be something suitable for you: