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February 2009

Health Routine for the winter season (November to February):

Following a ritucharya or a seasonal routine helps counteract the effects of the doshas accumulating in each season. During the winter you can balance Vata by keeping a regular routine and eating oily, heavy, warm foods which counteract light, changeable, cold Vata dosha.

Here are some suggestions that you can follow to balance the qualities of Vata and increase strength in winter.

Diet:

• Emphasize warm foods and liquids and sweet foods such as milk, cream, wheat products, rice, sweet and ripe fruits. Favor raw sugar (in moderation) as your sweetener.
• Favor sour foods (e.g., lemons), salty foods, and heavy foods with healthy oils.
• Eat less of the following: astringent or dry foods (beans, broccoli, cauliflower, apples and pears); bitter foods (romaine lettuce, endive, spinach, and other leafy greens); pungent foods ( chilli peppers or cayenne); cold food and drinks; any food with light, dry, rough qualities. Cooking the dry vegetables such as broccoli in ghee, or mixing them with foods of a sweetener or more unctuous nature, allows you to eat them in moderate quantities.
• Emphasize these spices: cardamom, cumin ginger, cinnamon, salt, cloves, saffron, and small quantities of black pepper.
• Milk is ideal for balancing Vata, especially when it is warm. To make milk easier to digest, avoid drinking it with a full meal. Milk is also more digestible if you add a slice of ginger and bring it to boil before drinking it.

Daily Routine:

• Start you day with a warm, luxurious Ayurvedic oil massage.
• Get lots of rest and go to bed extra early.
• Keep warm and avoid drafts.
• Maintain a regular schedule.
• Use a humidifier to avoid winter dryness.
• Exercise moderately. Use indoor equipment if it is too cold outside.
• Drink plenty of warm liquids, such as Vata tea, throughout the day.

Because doshas are constantly fluctuating with the seasons, seasonal checkups are recommended to prevent impurities from building up. That way the diet, daily routine, and your home health care program can constantly be adjusted to eliminate imbalances that have built up from the previous season, and to address your own unique constitution and circumstances. You can also receive an extensive program of purification treatments to cleanse the entire body of toxins at the end of each season.

By following a seasonal diet and routine and by undertaking Maharishi Rejuvenation therapy on a seasonal basis throughout life, you can delay the aging process, promote longevity and youthfulness and ensure optimum use of the senses.

For a complete listing of health tips order Dr. Reddy’s books.

© Samhita Productions 2009