AYURVEDA
SEASON DETERMINES DAILY ROUTINE
Ritucharya – ‘ritu’ means season and ‘charya’ means following routine, Ritucharya means seasonal routine, guidelines which involve changes in diet, lifestyle and daily routine appropriate for the season.
They are meant to be a set of soft guidelines and not a rigid set of rules to be followed strictly because your lifestyle and diet needs to be defined with additional considerations such as your body type, age, occupation and current ailments. A person should generally be aware of the seasons (Ritu) and take care of adapting the appropriate seasonal guidelines into the lifestyle. If ritucharya is followed, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of seasonal disorders.
The seasons are generally divided into three types – Vata season, Kapha season and Pitta season.
Winter – Around November to February, it is Vata season. The temperatures are lower.
During this season, people of Vata prakruti or going through Vata imbalances need to take extra care of their food and lifestyle better to maintain dosha balance.
Mid-winter and Spring – Around March-May, it is Kapha season. The temperatures are low to moderate. During this season, people of Kapha prakruti or going through Kapha imbalances need to take extra care of their food and lifestyle better to maintain dosha balance.
Summer – Around June-October, it is Pitta season. The temperatures are at moderate to maximum. This is the hottest season. The sun is the nearest to the earth, the atmosphere is hot and dry, and so we lose a lot sweat and energy. Generally, everyone should follow regular dinacharya and follow dosha specific diet and lifestyle as per their dosha. During this season, people of Pitta prakruti or going through Pitta imbalances need to take extra care of their food and lifestyle better to maintain dosha balance. Vata also increases during summer because of dryness.
Tips for the summer:
Lifestyle
-
Avoid heating activities, stay cool and go easy on the exercises, exercise when it is cool.
-
Swimming in the daytime and walking in the moonlight are ideal for this season.
-
Spending time in the woods and garden is good.
-
Wear thin cotton clothes with fragrance of flowers.
-
Keeping flowers around you is cooling.
-
Wearing pearls is beneficial.
Diet
-
Follow a pitta-pacifying diet such as avoiding spicy foods.
-
Favor more of sweet, bitter and astringent food.
-
Grains like rice and wheat and pulses like dal.
-
Dairy products like ghee and milk are good as is diluted butter milk.
-
Eat more fruits and vegetables.
-
Fruit juices and cool drinks are fine.
-
Avoid alcohol and caffeine.
Seasons and Food selection: Choose seasonal food – food grown locally in the same season. In the past, when there was no refrigeration, fresh and seasonal food was easy to find, and our food selection was seasonal since only seasonal food was available. In this age where all season food is available in the super markets all the time, most people may not know which food was grown in which season.
Disclaimer: The purpose of this article is for general education only, not for diagnosis, treatment, prevention or cure of any ailments. If you have any health concerns, please consult a trained health professional. Any recommendations are not a substitute for medical examination, diagnosis and treatment for any disease, mental or physical.
Mohan Govindappa, RALC, RYT is a Registered Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant at Satvik Ayurveda LLC, in Lake Mary, and can be reached at [email protected] or visit www.SatvikAyurveda.com
