Vata Dosha and You: Finding your Balance

Sometimes life can throw you for a loop. Stress from work, school, relationships and even the food we eat may be responsible for creating imbalances in our lives. Paying close attention to the state of your vata dosha is a great way to assess and restore personal imbalances. While it may not be easy to spot these imbalances, it can be even harder to take steps towards correcting them, but we’re here to help!

Vata Dosha? What’s that?

Glad you asked!

Vata is one of three main constitutional types of Ayurveda. Vata is the main force which controls the body and it’s movements. This means that Vata governs anything from blood circulation to hormones to muscle movement and even emotional stability.  All significant aspects of who we are and how we act!

3 reasons you should care if your Vata Dosha is balanced

There are countless reasons why it’s important to keep your vata dosha balanced, but here are a few main ones:

Maintain a calm state of mind. Having a proper vata balance allows you to maintain focus and  productively handle stress in your life.

Pain management. Most pain in the body is a result of an imbalanced vata dosha. Maintaining balance of the vata not only helps you hurt less, but it can resolve a variety of different physical ailments.

Emotional stability. We all know that emotions can be a beast all their own. That’s part of why paying attention to the needs of your vata dosha is so important! An overall sense of self-awareness goes a long way in creating emotional stability that can be applied to all areas of life.

Signs that Your Vata Dosha may Need Attention

Now you know what vata dosha is and a few reasons why it’s important to maintain its balance. You may now be wondering if your vata dosha needs some fine tuning.

To help you figure out if your vata is suffering, we have provided a list of things that could contribute to a vata imbalance:

• Lack of sleep, inability to sleep or a disruptive sleep cycle
• Too much talking
• Too much travel
• Too much swimming or water activity
• Exposure to cold and/or windy conditions
• Improper nutrition, eating large quantities of food at night or skipping meals
• Irregular digestion
• Frequently working under pressure
• Emotional imbalances due to stress, anxiety or worries

So you have a vata imbalance. Now what?

If you found yourself reading through the list above and realizing that your vata may not be functioning at its fullest potential, fear not! Recognizing the fact that your vata dosha is imbalanced is the first step toward correcting it.

To assist you on your way to becoming a happier, healthier you, here are some tips we’ve compiled to help correct your vata dosha imbalance and maintain your new-found vata balance,

1. Stay Warm and Calm

Making sure you have a warm, cozy place to curl up and relax will do wonders for your vata. Whether it is a warm bed, a hot bath, or a steam room, ensuring that your body is warm and comfortable will help to naturally correct vata imbalances. Massages with warm oils and stones are one of the best way to treat vata imbalances. Surround yourself with warm colors, soothing music and sweet aromas.

2. Proper Nourishment

Food is vital in creating vata imbalances as well as resolving them. Pay close attention to what you eat. Avoid foods that are cold, frozen, dried. Large beans or other gas producing foods should also be avoided. Be cautious around flavors that are bitter or pungent. Foods that are served hot are great for correcting imbalances. Additionally, flavors that are sweet, sour, or salty work well to correct imbalances. Drinking ginger tea and making sure your body is getting the right amount of healthy fats and oils can help fix imbalances.

3. Meditation and Activity

Meditation calms the mind, ease stresses and helps builds a relationship with yourself. Practicing meditation, in addition to eating well and staying warm and comfortable, is a central way to correct vata imbalances. Engaging in light exercises that promote balance and flexibility in another way to help your vata. Yoga, walks, short hikes and dance are a few examples of activities that promote a healthy vata balance.

Make the changes. Correct the imbalance.

By identifying a vata imbalance and following the steps above, you should start feeling changes in your body. Correcting a vata dosha imbalance will allow you to experience more energy, focus and emotional stability while preventing disease and minimizing pain in the body. Your overall health will improve as you work to resolve your vata imbalance.