Ayurvedic Guide to Winter

Welcome to my Ayurveda & Yoga blog! I’m Evangeline and I’m an RMT and holistic health coach. I started my blog during covid to stay connected to my clients and share my love of cooking healthy, AYURVEDIC INSPIRED meals. All recipes here are prepared by me and eaten by my family and friends, and easy to make.
Ayurvedic cooking is a conscious approach to preparing and cooking tasty, nutritious, balanced meals using spices and herbs, and taking into consideration the external conditions- the season, time of day, and how you are feeling and the state of your health.

Updated: January 17, 2023

In Ayurveda, the ancient science of health and longevity, winter is viewed as a time of deep nourishment and sustenance. As animals hibernate in the winter, we too retreat, and gravitate towards deep comfort with warm meals, plenty of rest, and energy conservation.

Winter is viewed mostly as a vata season, or marut dominant, governed by the elements of space and air. The five fundamental elements of nature viewed in Ayurveda are space, air, fire, water earth. The five elements come from the cosmos play out in us at the 3 doshas—vata, pitta, kapha. Add another layer to cosmic existence and we have vibrational energy that comes from the sun and moon, and these are the components of prana which enters inside us, via the adiphathi marma point, giving us life. Nature is a wonder isn’t she? And through the language of Ayurveda, we can lean into her mysterious ways.

Prana is described in the Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda (SVA) lineage as the vibrational energy that the sun and moon and emit. The moon emits a vibrational energy called soma, and the sun emits the vibrational energy called agni. What allows for these two energies to flow and move is called marut. Thus, prana comprises of three components: soma, agni, marut. Soma is governed by earth and water elements. Agni is governed by fire and water elements and marut, by space and air elements. Prana makes everything on earth grow— people, plants, animals.

Depending on how the sun and moon are positioned and where you live, the yin/yang energy they emit— the cool (moon) and hot (sun) creates seasonal patterns. So when the sun is in a direction providing less sun exposure to the northern hemisphere the temperatures are cooler, and where I am in Canada right now it is quite cold!

Because the knowledge of Ayurveda is so aligned with nature winter is characteristically cool, cold, rough, dry, and irregular, with some more moisture towards the end of winter, as we near spring, and thawing begins. Therefore, with these elements governing this time of year, we can expect to experience in our body and mind:

1. Dry or rougher skin

2. Nasal drip

3. Irregular appetite and digestion

4. Joint pain

5. Fatigue, insomnia - needing more sleep

6. Restlessness, anxiety, worry, forgetfulness

Craving Sweets in the Winter?

Digestion is stronger in cold weather. This has to do with how the channels of the body respond during winter. Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda recognizes that macro and micro channels of the body shrink during winter because it’s cold out, which creates less agni or fire/heat inside us- just like outside. This in turn makes our bodies work harder to stay warm, much like a heater working harder to warm up your place in the winter. Because your body is working harder and burning more calories, you will feel like eating more, perhaps gravitating towards heavier meals, eating more often or wanting sweets. In SVA, this is looked as your metabolic fire being “trapped” due to shrunken channels, and so digestion and metabolism is stronger. This equates to your body being able to digest and metabolize rich and heavier foods, and at a faster rate. The shrinking of our micro and macro channels due to cold and wind creates dryness and impairs circulation. Think of a garden hose left out in the winter- it will get cold and dry and will shrink. This dryness can also cause dry or rough skin because the internal nourishment of tissues is slowed down due to impaired circulation, and exacerbated by a cold external environment.

Satisfy Your Taste Buds

Nutritious food is imperative, or else you can over indulge on empty calorie foods because remember your digestion is stronger in the winter, trying to keep warm. So this goes without saying, but needs emphasis during winter, it’s very important to eat wholesome, nutrient dense foods. Having all six tastes daily will prevent cravings. The six tastes, identified in Ayurveda, are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent. The first three tastes, sweet, sour and salty, pacify vata dosha. Pungent, bitter, astringent pacify kapha dosha. Sweet, bitter, astringent pacify pitta dosha.

The Six Tastes:

1. Sweet - madhur

2. Sour - amla

3. Salty - lavan

4. Pungent- katu

5. Bitter- tikt

6. Astringent- kashai

Check out the next Winter Workshop. Some of the topics we will learn and experience include:

1. How supporting your digestive system is imperative as it is the driving force behind maintaining weight, having sound sleep and feeling good.

2. How to spot your health imbalances by understanding the Ayurvedic doshas: vata, pitta, kapha, before they manifest into more complicated symptoms.

3. The 2 golden rules you need to do to age with health, resilience and build immunity, but doesn’t get the attention it deserves in the mainstream.

4. Breathwork, movement, relaxation with warm ups, yoga and meditation.

5. An Ayurvedic Cooking Class in Class 2. We "walk the talk” on and off the mat.

5. Simple breathing techniques to replenish and maintain your energy throughout the day, and sound sleep at night.

Recommendations for the Winter Season:

• Keep a steady routine- early bedtime, wake by sunrise, meals on time and not delaying them

• Massage with oil regularly. Keep warm, leave oil on fro 20 minutes then have a warm bath or shower afterwards. Self-massage prevents and relieves muscle and joint stiffness, helps remove impurities, stimulates all of the organs of the body and builds resistance to stress and disease. Use sesame oil or grapeseed oil or a combination of both if sesame oil is too heating for you, or almond oil. Avoid coconut in winter because it is too cooling- a “shitala” fruit.

• Have warm baths in the winter time with ingredients such as soapnut, rose petals, lavender, amla, neem, ylang ylang.

• Exercise daily, enough to make you sweat, like brisk walking or vigorous yoga.

• Sip alkaline spring water throughout the day.

• Keep skin moisturized with natural ingredients such as jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, sesame oil, amla, ashwagandha, arjuna, turmeric, manjistha, neem, rosemary, rose, jasmine, ylang ylang, lavender.

• Keep lips moisturized and prevent dryness in nose and ears with oil and around the eyes.

• Keep skin clean with natural ingredients such as soapnut, aloe vera, jojoba oil, witch hazel, turmeric, manjistha, neem, rosemary, lavender.

• Eat fresh, nutrient dense foods, get lots of rest with early bed time. Immune boosting foods should be fresh, organic, easy to digest and wholesome, such as vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, whole grains, organic milk and yogurt, soft cheeses, ghee and olive oil, and if you’re not vegetarian, fish, chicken, turkey, lamb, goat. 
Warm, home-cooked, unctuous foods are ideal, as long as they are cooked with good oils such as ghee or olive oil. Coconut oil has the quality of heaviness. Avoid deep-fried foods. Add channel opening spices to your cooking like black pepper, cumin, ginger, clove, cardamom, turmeric, nutmeg. Sip warm herbal teas. Avoid dousing your digestive fire with ice cold drinks, sodas and raw, cold foods as it will decrease your immunity.

• Keep meal times consistent. Avoid eating late in the night.

• Avoid the following: staying up late, working at night and sleeping during the day, eating at irregular times, skipping meals. These can all affect your digestion and the body’s natural rhythms. Keep immunity high by following an Ayurvedic daily routine with bed by 10pm and be up by sunrise.

• Winter is the best time to take rasayanas- herbs that nourish, support, improve and strengthen the body and mind like ashwagandha, brahmi, amla, guduchi, haritaki, guggulu. Amla has 60x more Vitamin C than any other citrus fruit. Chyawanprash formula, whose primary ingredient is the amla berry along with other herbs, and ghee as a base with raw sugar and honey is the best formula for the wintertime. It can be consumed on a regular basis.


• Do a face and sinus steam to help fight off infection with herbs such as boswellia, neem, pushkarmool and essential oils like eucalyptus and camphor leaf. Click here to read my blog on Herbal sinus steaming.

• Have marma therapy or do self-marma to unblock energy channels.

• Have regular relaxation time.

• Avoid prolonged skin exposure and wear a toque or hat to cover your head.

References

Vaidya R. K. Mishra- Personal Notes from Shaka Vansiya Ayurveda Courses, Practicum, Conferences and Lectures 2003-2015