The balancing lifestyle for Vata Dosha is aimed at reducing Vata’s qualities such as being cold, dry, changing and light, which occur in excess when the dosha is out of balance.
Vata Is Irregular And Changing
The best solution here is to create and follow a consistent daily routine, which means taking meals at the same time, going to bed and waking up at the same time, working, exercising and having rest – all about the same time during the day. It may be a challenge in the beginning, but later, once you get used to following the routine, your life will become so much easier and less hectic.
Vata Is Cold
We’ve got a couple of tips here:
Eat warm, solid meals, three times a day; don’t skip any. Your meals should be nourishing, juicy (not dry) and in appropriate quantities. Vata people should not overeat, since the digestion will not be optimal; at the same time, your meals should not be small or scarce. Eat enough but don’t eat too much per meal.- Stay warm. Cold weather may cause Vata Dosha imbalance, especially after prolonged exposure. If it is very cold outside, wear several layers of clothing, must have some warm socks, hat and scarf. Protect your ears and throat, apply lip balm before getting outside when it’s cold, and be safe from wind by wearing the wind-resistant clothes.
Read about Vata Pacifying Diet
Vata Is Light
Again, nourishing food, taken at regular periods, will help. Also everything that brings peace, is also helpful for Vata to stay grounded: meditation, relaxation, peaceful activities such as reading or walking, yoga practice, and similar exercising programs, meditation; staying warm also.
Vata Is Dry
The important thing is to drink enough water during the day – it will provide your body with the necessary liquid to moisturize its tissues, especially skin, which gets really dry when the dosha is out of balance.
Your food should be quite juice and contain good amounts of healthy oils such as ghee, olive, almond, etc.
Proper skin care is essential: moisturize your skin with the appropriate creams or oils, avoid exposing the untreated skin to harsh, cold and windy weather.
Various types of oil massage are great for this dosha (best oils for massage are sesame, olive, jojoba and almond).
Exercising
Exercises are important to keep Vata grounded, but not all of them. The workout routines should be moderate in time, not very heavy, but can be intensive. The key points are balance and flexibility ( and some static strength too). Avoid exceeding the limits of your energy by pushing yourself too far.
The best workout types for Vata Dosha are: Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, golf, bicycling, tennis, short hikes, dancing. Walking is very good, so do it as often as you can.
Other things that contribute to balancing Vata lifestyle
- Drinking ginger tea and other hot teas.
- Listening to calming or meditative music.
- Having a regular massage.
- Wearing or be surrounded by warm, earth colors and pastels.
- Favoring sweet, warm and heavy aromas (basil, cinnamon, cloves, bay, citrus, lavender, sage, pine and vanilla).
- Touching and being touched by the people you love.
- Getting enough sleep.
- Doing work in smaller/shorter periods and making smaller or short-term goals that are easier or faster to reach.
- If your digestion is weak, you need to take a course of Triphala treatment (which is about one month usually) and consume easy-to-digest meals at regular periods of time (around 3 times a day).
If you follow all the tips or at least some of them, you will create a Vata Dosha lifestyle that brings balance, peace and satisfaction to your life.