Authored by Vanashree Belgamwar, BAMS

​Ayurveda mentions six seasons that are divided into two groups. The seasons are divided by solstices. There are two solstice or ‘Kaal’.

1. Northern solstice - Aadan Kaal - includes summer, spring and late winter. During Aadan kaal, the sun and wind become increasingly powerful. The Sun takes away the strength of the people and the cooling qualities of the earth. Increasing heat reduces the strength of individuals. During this period, plants show predominance of bitter, astringent and pungent tastes.
2. Southern solstice - Visarga Kaal - includes rainy seasons, autumn and early winter. During visage kaal the moon is more powerful, the earth is cooled due to clouds, rain and cold wind. The digestive power of agni is good during this period. Food is more nourishing and strengthening in nature. During this period, plants show predominance of sweet, sour and salty tastes.

Summer is one of the major seasons from the northern solstice. Summer is also a high Pitta season with hot, sharp, bright, intense qualities are associated with this season. Pitta constitutions have more challenges during the summer as they naturally have more of those same qualities in them. Red inflamed rash, acid reflux, headaches, heartburn, loose stools, nausea, acute inflammation, frustration, (Fire+Water) elements are imbalanced.

Ayurveda works on the principle "Like increases like and opposites balance."

Hence, Ayurveda recommends following a diet and lifestyle opposite of the hot, sharp, light, oily qualities of Pitta to include more cooling, mild foods. Here are some other diet and lifestyle recommendations for finding balance in the Summer season:

Foods to Favor:

• Foods that are naturally sweet, bitter and astringent.
• Cooling foods (both energetically and in temperature) - this is the best time of year to enjoy fresh fruits and salads. Other cooling foods include cucumber, apples, avocado, dates, grapes, asparagus, coconut, melons, pomegranate, prunes, amaranth, coconut, dairy and lentils. 
• Eat whole, freshly cooked foods and fresh, raw foods in moderation.
• Cooling herbs and spices like coriander, cilantro, fennel and cardamom.
• Dairy, - if you digest it well - but avoid drinking milk with your meals. It is best to have milk at least an hour before or after other food.
• A moderate amount of high-quality olive, sunflower and coconut oils or ghee in your daily diet.

Foods to Avoid

• Foods that are pungent, sour and salty.
• Unripe fruits, aged cheeses and warm carrots, beets, radishes, onions, garlic, ginger and mustard seeds.
• Warming foods (both energetically and in temperature) such as chili and cayenne peppers.
• Highly processed foods
• Caffeine, nicotine, and other stimulants.
• Red meat.
• Deep fried foods.
• Alcohol, except for an occasional beer or white wine.

Lifestyle Habits to Adopt

• Establish a routine for meal times.
• Avoid exercising between 10.00am-2.00pm. Exercising instead early in the morning, when the atmosphere is crisp and cool. It’s also important to be moderate in your exertion and not to push too much.

Authored by Vanashree Belgamwar, BAMS

According to Ayurveda, learning how to live in harmony with the nature is very crucial in maintaining a great level of health and preventing diseases. Ayurveda has great tools to cope with the seasonal changes. Here is some helpful information about spring.

How Spring Manifests in the Doshas
Ayurveda says every dosha or functional principle in our body goes through a series of changes during every season. The doshas go through a cycle of accumulation, aggravation and coming back to balance, naturally as the seasons change. For example, Kapha dosha is accumulated in late winter, aggravated in the spring and comes back to its natural balance during summer. Hence, Spring is a high Kapha season where - no matter what unique constitution or Prakruti you have - Kapha dosha will naturally be aggravated in every constitution. This natural aggravation can be more bothersome to a Kapha prakuti person as they already have higher levels of Kapha dosha (i.e water and earth elements).

If you are in tune with your body and mind, you will observe that your system naturally asks for cleansing during spring. That is the reason why people feel like cleaning everything around them as soon as spring hits. This season is quite challenging as our doshas are utterly confused on where to settle down in our body due to the erratic temperatures. Spring is a transitional period from cold to hot weather which leads to a certain level of chaos in our body that can affect most of our systems. Kapha dosha’s place of work is the upper body - chest, lungs, head, sinuses...hence everyone is more susceptible to respiratory disorders during this period. Also, Kapha being a slow, dull and a heavy dosha can affect our digestion and metabolism in turn affecting our immunity and vitality. Our bodies naturally start holding onto water and fat a lot more during spring. Fluctuation in body weight is quite common in this season.

It behooves everyone to keep the Kapha in check using certain Ayurvedic principles. Ayurveda, works on the principle "like increases like and opposites balance." To balance the Kapha dosha we need to follow the diet and lifestyle that is opposite to the qualities of Kapha.


Balancing Kapha
Here are some helpful Ayurvedic tips to balance Kapha prakuti in the spring. Following these recommendations will also strengthen your respiratory system and support your digestive fire during this transition season:

1. Eat a warm, cooked diet. Raw and cold meals can put extra pressure on the digestive fire creating a lot of digestive toxins in the gut that can decrease immunity.
2. Resist the urge to eat heavy, oily, deep fried food, sweets, bakery goods and heavier carbs.
3. Avoid watery and heavy fruits like watermelon, grapes and cucumber.
4. Exercise at least 30 minutes a day to counteract the dull, lethargic quality of Kapha. Avoid exercising outside in the cold, which can aggravate Kapha and make your respiratory system more prone to infections and allergies.
5. Use warming (thermogenic) spices in your cooking. Cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cumin, coriander and turmeric support your digestive fire and help your immune system. Spices also keep your metabolism active that helps to maintain a healthy weight during spring.
6. Drink only warm water or teas. Cold drinks can aggravate the Water and Earth elements in your body, clogging the subtle channels that can then lead to sinus infections, runny nose, congestion and other respiratory issues.
7. Keep your nasal passages well oiled and moist to avoid allergies. Use Nasya oil (available at Wellness Minneapolis), 2-3 drops of ghee or plain sesame oil to do Nasya. Administering oil drops in each nostril help coat the nasal passages to avoid allergens sticking to the nasal cavity. 
8. Spring is the most ideal season to do an Ayurvedic mono-diet kitchari cleanse to reset and rejuvenate. Always do a cleanse under the guidance of an Ayurvedic practitioner.
   

If you can keep your Kapha dosha in check during spring then it is the most enjoyable and a pleasant season that brings a lot of growth, nourishment, stability and utmost relaxation. Transition is inevitable but supporting your body through this change is completely doable, this is where Ayurveda can be very beneficial. 

Authored by Vanashree Belgamwar, Ayurveda practitioner

Three main causes:

1) Misuse of intellect (prajnaparadha)

• Prajna means "wisdom" or "intelligence", and apradha means "offence." So the literal meaning of prajnaparadha is "an offence against wisdom."
• That is, doing things without discriminating as to whether it is favorable or harmful for the body or mind. These actions may be verbal, mental or physical.
• The actions generated by prajnaparadha aggravate the tridosa and stimulate the rajas and tamas gunas, allowing diseases to become established.
• Excessive/atiyoga forms of this include talking too much, or excessive thinking, reading, mental work or physical activity.
• A deficiency (hina- yoga) of these actions is not undertaking these activities sufficiently, like not speaking at all or very little, and not working or engaging in any intellectual or physical activity.
• Incorrect (mithya yoga) forms include gossip, lying, inciting violence and irrelevant, illogical or harsh speech. Actions that are motivated by greed, anger, material attachment, envy, ego, fear, grief or delusion also are mithya-yoga.
• The physical form of this includes the suppression of natural urges or performing unnatural activity such as smoking cigarettes, driving recklessly or participating in dangerous sports.

2) Misuse of senses (Asatmendriyartha samyoga)

• Astmaya means "improper," indriya means "sense organs," artha is "the objects of the senses" and samyoga means "to combine" or "to link."
• Asatmendriyartha samyoga refers to improper contact of the senses with their objects, and results in an over stimulation or deficiency of sensory activity.
• This harms the body- mind, which requires moderation and harmony internally and externally for healthy functioning.
  
  

3) Seasonal variations (parinama or kala)

• The external environment can trigger disease by unbalancing the body through unnatural or extreme variations in temperature, rainfall or wind.
• Excessive or atiyoga of parinama is extraordinary or unexpected climatic conditions, such as excessive heat in summer or cold in winter.
• Deficient/hina-yoga: seasonal conditions include very mild temperature variations are not experienced.
• Incorrect/mithya-yoga parinama occurs when conditions are opposite to the normal season, such as being cold in summer or warm in winter.
• Parinama or kala also refers more generally to the effects of time, and natural physical transformation that occur over time. For example, seasonal influences on the dosas, and the disorders associated with specific phases of life and aging are all in this category.