Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. – Henry David Thoreau
A person’s environment is constantly fluctuating—whether it’s truly atmospheric, or within the environments in which one lives, works, or exists in. Because of these fluctuations, one’s balance is constantly being challenged, and the Doshas are in a perpetual cycle of accumulation, aggravation, and pacification.
Perhaps one of the greatest challenges is maintaining balance during and after the seasonal shifts. Throughout each season and each seasonal transition, Ayurveda teaches that one must take precautions and adapt to the season’s energetics to maintain balance.
The Doshas are naturally provoked during the junctures of the seasons—the last week of the outgoing season and the first week of the incoming season. During these 2 weeks, the seasonal regimen of the previous season should be gradually omitted, and the regimen of the forthcoming season should be gradually introduced.
Ayurveda’s Golden Rule is “like increase like, opposites pacify”. For example, Vata, which is already cold and dry, can become aggravated if subjected to too much cold and dry things (like winter weather). However, Vata remains pacified if it’s cold and dry nature is balanced out with things that are warm and moist (like a hot bath or summer weather).
There are exceptions to this rule, however. For instance, if one is displaying Pitta (summer) tendencies in the Vata (winter) season, the imbalances need to be addressed first before one aligns one’s self with the winter’s seasonal rhythms.
Below you will find articles specific to eating for a Dosha or its corresponding season. These suggestions demonstrate the Golden Rule in action, describing how each of the 3 Doshas within respond seasonally, and how one can use food that the Earth naturally provides to find and maintain balance within each season. This “seasonal union” is called ritucharya in Ayurveda.
