Our Winter Guide For Wellness
How Ayurveda Can Help Your Well-being This Winter
Happy Solstice! Winter is here. We can take a cue from nature. It is a time to redirect our energies to align with the season. This is the time to rest, reflect, hold space, and direct our energy more inward.
Ayurveda teaches us how to live more in tune with nature, so practicing a seasonal routine (Rtucarya) is essential and helpful for our overall well-being. By adapting your diet and lifestyle to accommodate the changing seasons, you can drastically reduce the likelihood of any seasonally induced imbalances (vikruti). Should imbalances arise, Ayurvedic practices gently coax your body back toward its natural state of balance.
This article will explore Ayurveda's general recommendations for winter, starting with the best foods to eat this season. However, we acknowledge that everyone is different; therefore, specific suggestions might not apply to you depending on your Ayurvedic body type or state of balance. This guide is intended as a starting place to learn Ayurveda's core concepts about winter before adapting these tips to support your specific body type better. (If interested in learning more about your unique composition, schedule an appointment with one of our Ayurvedic Wellness Counselors).
Keep reading to learn how Ayurveda can help your well-being in Winter.
What Is Winter According To Ayurveda
Ayurveda recognizes winter as a Kapha season with strong Vata undertones. It is characterized by cold weather, dryness, wind, heaviness, increased moisture (rain or snow), cloud-covered skies, and the grounded, slow feeling that sends many animals into hibernation. These are all qualities shared by Kapha dosha, which is why winter is primarily considered a Kapha season. (However, if your climate is exceptionally cold and dry, or if you tend to feel more isolated during the winter months, Vata will also be a strong component of your winter season, and you will want to actively keep Vata pacified as well.)
Your diet and lifestyle should pacify Kapha and Vata energies to keep your body balanced.
Ayurvedic Winter Diet
Winter is when the digestive fire (Agni) is the strongest. The body requires more fuel to stay warm and healthy in winter, and the cold weather ignites the digestive fire. Our bodies, therefore, crave a more substantial, nutritive diet at this time of year, and you will likely find yourself eating larger quantities of food.
A supportive winter diet will pacify Kapha without increasing Vata or vice versa.
You’ll want to focus on eating warm, cooked, slightly oily, well-spiced foods, favoring a balance of the six tastes.
Drink room temperature, warm or hot beverages, and avoid iced or chilled drinks, if possible.
CCF Tea (Cumin, Coriander, Fennel) encourages strong digestion and can be taken after meals or sipped throughout the day.
Hearty, heating vegetables like radishes, cooked spinach, onions, carrots, and other root vegetables. Also, hot spices like garlic, ginger, black pepper, cayenne, and chili peppers.
Cooked grains like oatmeal, cornmeal, barley, tapioca, rice, or kitchari make a terrific breakfast, and lunches and dinners of steamed vegetables, whole wheat bread, and mushy soups are ideal.
Legumes are usually good for Kapha, but they should be well-cooked, well-spiced, and garnished with a dollop of ghee so as not to aggravate Vata.
If you eat them, winter is also a great time to enjoy eggs (especially poached or hard-boiled) and meats like chicken, turkey, and venison.
While dairy is best reduced in the winter months, a cup of hot, spiced milk with a pinch of turmeric or dried ginger and nutmeg before bed can help to encourage sound sleep and should not be overly congested.
Avoid salads, raw fruits, and vegetables.
The tastes to avoid are pungent, astringent, and bitter. Favor sweet, salty, and sour tastes.
Drinks such as herbal teas made with cumin, fennel, ginger, and mint are beneficial.
Have a cup of warm milk at bedtime.
Avoid iced tea and cold water.
Ideal Winter Foods
The following is a list of winter foods recommended by prominent figures in the Ayurvedic community, including John Douillard and Vasant and Usha Lad:
Fruits to Favor
Apples (cooked)
Apricots
Bananas
Berries
Cantaloupe
Cherries
Dates
Figs
Grapefruit
Limes and Lemons
Mangoes
Oranges
Papaya
Peaches
Prunes (soaked)
Tangerines
Vegetables to Favor
Asparagus
Beets
Brussel Sprouts
Carrots
Chilies
Corn
Eggplant
Garlic
Green Beans
Greens (cooked)
Mushrooms
Leeks and Onions
Okra
Potatoes
Rutabaga
Spinach (cooked)
Winter Squash
Turnips
Grains to Favor
Amaranth
Barley
Buckwheat
Corn
Millet
Oats
Quinoa
Rice, Basmati
Rice, Brown
Rye
Seitan
Wheat
Legumes to Favor
Lentils (brown and red)
Miso
Mung Beans
Navy Beans
Tempeh
Tofu
Toor Dal
Urad Dal
Nuts and Seeds to Favor
Almonds
Brazil Nuts
Cashews
Hazelnuts
Macadamia Nuts
Peanuts
Pecans
Pine Nuts
Pistachios
Walnuts
Pumpkin Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Dairy to Favor
Butter
Soft Cheeses
Cottage Cheese
Cow's Milk (not cold)
Goat's Milk (not cold)
Sour Cream
Animal Products to Favor (If You Eat Them)
Poultry & Eggs
Freshwater Fish
Shrimp
Venison
Oils to Favor
Almond Oil
Corn Oil
Flax Seed Oil
Ghee
Mustard Oil
Olive Oil
Safflower Oil
Sesame Oil
Sunflower Oil
Sweeteners
Honey
Jaggary
Molasses
Spices to Favor
All spices can be supportive during the winter months
Foods to Minimize
It is best to reduce or avoid frozen foods, as well as foods that are cold, damp, or excessively sweet, heavy, or oily.
You may also find that your body responds well to occasional one-day water or juice fast. In fact, if you are prone to Kapha imbalances, the junction between fall and winter is a great time to do a cleanse. Ideally, this is a good time to see a Panchakarma Technician for therapeutic Ayurvedic bodywork to pacify Kapha and Vata doshas.
Acceptable Winter Indulgences
If you eat them, winter is a great time to enjoy eggs (especially poached or hard-boiled) and meats like chicken, turkey, and venison.
In the evenings—either before or after dinner—you can treat yourself to a few ounces of dry, red wine.
How to Create a Supportive Winter Lifestyle
You’ll want to cultivate a light heart and a sharp sense of purpose this winter in order to counter the cold, gray weather, and seasonal tendencies toward melancholy and loneliness.
Invite warmth into your mind, body, and relationships, and create frequent opportunities for fun and laughter. Try to avoid rushing. Instead, make a concerted effort to embrace a slower, more relaxed pace through the winter months.
This is a great time to engage in meaningful relationships and to socialize, but balance your gregariousness with some quiet time, reflection, and stillness. After all, the slow, heavy qualities of the winter months offer a rare opportunity to retreat and check in with ourselves.
Daily Routine for Winter
Maintaining a daily routine will help keep Vata in balance this winter and Kapha will benefit from keeping things fresh and a bit unpredictable, so do your best to strike an appropriate balance for yourself.
Certain parts of your day—like the times that you rise, work, eat, and sleep—can easily be consistent from one day to the next, while other times of day can provide some variation and spontaneity.
Start your day with a short but invigorating morning routine. Sleeping in a little later is somewhat permissible in the winter, but you will feel fresher and more motivated if you are up by about 7 a.m.
Brush your teeth, scrape your tongue, and soothe and support your gums and oral tissue with a mouth rinse.
Treat your skin to a warm oil massage (self-Abhyanga).
Follow with a warm shower.
After that, you can drink some warm water to activate the digestive system. Administer a few drops of Nasya Oil to the nasal passages to awaken the mind and lubricate the respiratory passages.
Shake off any sluggishness with some morning exercise or yoga.
Dress in bright, warm colors like reds and oranges, and always cover your ears, neck, and head with a scarf or hat if you are outside in the cold.
Skip daytime naps; the long, dark, evening hours provide a perfect atmosphere for you to relax and unwind.
Your body may also tolerate a little more nighttime sleep and/or increased sexual activity through the winter months.
Plan on retiring around 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. and, before bed, apply some sesame oil to your scalp and to the soles of your feet to facilitate restful sleep.
Daily Activities
Avoid loud noises, music, and speeding (while driving). Yoga practices include gentle Nadi Sodhana (Alternate Nostril) Pranayama, forward bending, backward bending, spinal twist, camel, cobra, and Savasana.
Body Treatments to Pacify Kapha Dosha
Swedana
Kaphas generally don’t like the cold, and swedana is a great way to warm up and detoxify. The name swedana comes from the Sanskrit word for perspiration, and inducing a sweat is the key to its many benefits.
There are many treatments and activities that can be considered swedana in Ayurveda, but the spa version is usually administered after a full-body oil massage (Abhyanga).
A tent is placed over the treatment table, covering all but the head, and cold compresses are put on the forehead to prevent overheating. Herbalized steam fills the tent, drawing out toxins through the sweat glands, generally for up to about 20 minutes.
It reduces feelings of heaviness and stiffness in the body, increases circulation, improves digestion, and eases aching joints and muscles.
Udvartana
Often recommended for slow metabolism and obesity, Udvartana is an invigorating and exfoliating lymphatic massage using powders and finely ground herbs. The powder is applied to the body with rhythmic upward strokes to encourage lymph flow to the heart.
The benefits for Kaphas include improved skin tone and clarity, increased circulation and metabolism, and lessening the appearance of cellulite. When followed by swedana, it is a powerhouse purifying therapy.
Body Treatments to Pacify Vata Dosha
Abhyanga Massage
Unlike many other therapeutic massage techniques that use minimal oil or lotion and focus on correcting muscular issues, Abhyanga is all about oil. Warm, herbalized, dosha-specific oil is rubbed on the body in a rhythmic fashion from scalp to toes. The goal is to loosen toxins in the tissues and to rub in the nourishing, medicated oil as deeply as possible.
The lymphatic massage can detoxify, tone, and soften the skin; reduce the physical symptoms of stress; promote relaxation, and calm the busy Vata mind.
Shirodhara
Shirodhara is the process of pouring warm oil over the forehead in a continuous stream for anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes. Dispensed from a copper vessel that is suspended above your head, the oil creates gentle pressure and vibration on the third eye chakra, known as Ajna in Ayurveda. This energy center is connected to intuition. The pouring of oil is also streamed across the forehead to pacify Pitt and Kapha doshas, as well as the marma points.
Shirodhara has measurable effects on the central nervous system. According to a study reported in 2013 by the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, “A standardized Shirodhara leads to a state of alert calmness similar to the relaxation response observed in meditation.” Researchers observed significant improvements in mood, slowed respiratory rates, reduced blood pressure and heart rate, and an increase in alpha rhythms—the brain waves associated with a tranquil, conscious mental state. Warming, grounding, and deeply relaxing, it is perfect for balancing Vata.
Marma Therapy
Marmas are pressure points on the body that act as gateways for Prana, the life force that is key to our physical and mental well-being. Stress, emotional trauma, and environmental toxins can all collect at these points, blocking the flow of Prana and negatively impacting your health. Gentle manipulation of marmas can alleviate pain, calm the nervous system, soothe mental agitation, strengthen digestion, and improve many other typical Vata symptoms.
Using light pressure, the therapist applies dosha-specific oil (usually infused with herbs) to the appropriate points in a circular motion for one to five minutes each—clockwise for strengthening and counter-clockwise for reducing excess. The gentleness of this therapy works well for sensitive Vata types.
Visit Us For Winter Balancing Treatments
Our specials for the month:
Winter Kapha Balancing Treatment
Winter is dry, rough, windy, erratic, cool, subtle, and clear. These are all qualities Kapha dosha shares, and because, like increases like autumn is considered a Kapha season. Find soothing stability this winter with the Kapha Balancing Treatment. Be revitalized with UDVARTANA and warmed with SWEDANA. Balance the Kapha season with warmth, deep nourishment, and groundedness. Book both treatment services in a package and save $50!
Winter Vata Balancing Treatment
Winter is dry, rough, windy, erratic, cool, subtle, and clear. These are all qualities Vata dosha shares because, like increases like, Winter is considered a Vata season. Find soothing stability this winter with the Vata Balancing Treatment. Be energized with ABHYANA and grounded with MARMA THERAPY. Balance the Vata season with warmth, deep nourishment, and groundedness. Book both treatment services in a package and save $50!
Other Treatments For Winter
CranioSacral Therapy
Ananda Veda
Ayurveda Facial
Abhyanga Oil Treatment
Shirodhara
Heart Opening Treatment
Nasya Nasal Treatment
