This is the time of the dark days, where it feels best to stay inside and go deep inside of ourselves to nurture and nourish what we want to blossom in the Spring. We need to take the time to stoke our own inner fire, both literally and figuratively.

In Ayurveda, this is known as Kapha season. Kapha is associated with the qualities of earth -- heavy, solid, moist/damp, cold. If you have a Kapha-dominant dosha, you are most likely very uncomfortable in the winter months -- you easily get chilled and the dampness affects your joints and the darkness affects your mood. All of us get moody, actually, and feel sluggish, especially when the weather is quite cold and the sky is dark. It has been a remarkably mild winter season here in New England, but we still have our days and it's good to be consistently aware of how you are feeling and using adjustments in diet and lifestyle to create a deeper sense of well-being.

Using food is our first line of defense against the winter blues -- cut out most if not all raw foods/vegetables: they are harder too digest and they are cold, dry, rough. Think about this from a common sense standpoint -- the qualities of the food you eat will manifest that same feeling or "weather" inside of you. Raw foods are much more appropriate for the summer months when the body craves coolness and relief from the heat outside.

Soups, stews and cooked whole grains and vegetables are great, nurturing winter dishes. It's the perfect time of year for Kitchari (the ancient basmati rice dish), especially as we head into Spring.

Warm or mildly hot (in temperature) beverages are ideal at this time of year -- and in general, you want to avoid ice and cold drinks in all seasons as they douse the "agni" or digestive fire.

Warming spices are very good in Kapha season -- especially ginger, cumin, cloves and cinnamon. A cup of warm milk with cinnamon is a great tonic before bed; it will promote a more restful sleep.

Abhyanga or self-massage with oil can be a great addition to your daily routine, any time of year. In the winter, run hot water in your sink and let your oil applicator bottle sit in it for a time -- you will then have warm oil to soothe the skin and joints. Any massage is great for circulation and moving lymph.

The dosha associated with the Fall season is Vata. The qualities of this dosha are dry, rough, cold.

The harvest is drawing to a close, the wind is beginning to pick-up and the trees are drying out. Their leaves will soon be changing color which is due to that process of losing moisture. Finally, the leaves will turn brown, shrivel up completely and fall off of the trees.

Notice how busy everything gets in September -- school starts again, everyone is back from vacations and working hard. We are blowing around with busy-ness from activity to activity. We may feel more uncomfortable and irritable physically and emotionally due to dry sinuses and dust and other irritants picked up by the breezes. The skin will start to become more dry -- so will the eyes. And when the autumn chill comes, we'll be needing some warmth and comfort in all areas of our lives.

Here are a few things you can try to stay grounded, calm and warm as the season changes:

Take walks and connect with the natural world.

Start or continue a meditation practice for a short time, twice a day (morning and evening)

Try using a neti pot with a couple drops of nasya oil in the water -- this will lubricate and cleanse your nasal passages.

Stick to warm, cooked foods and beverages -- stay away from cold salads, raw foods and beverages. Soups are great at this time of year.

Cut back on or quit your caffeine intake -- caffeine badly aggravates Vata and add to your chaotic feelings.

As we work our way into the heat of the summer months, here are some basic tips you can use to stay cool:

If you are a Pitta-dominant person, the summer will aggravate you more than any other season, especially if there is extreme heat and humidity. Too much heat will make you angry, irritable and difficult to be with. Do what you can to cool yourself down on all fronts.

This is the best time of year for raw foods -- cold salads with vegetables. Still use the best quality organics as possible.

Drink cool or room temperature water and beverages and avoid extremes (nothing too cold). There are always exceptions of course -- if you've just played sports in the hot sun, then your body heat is high so ice and cold are fine!! I am talking about in all of the moments when you are not physically exerting yourself.

Even in the hot summer, our stomach and intestines need heat to breakdown and digest food. Downing a tall glass of iced tea with lots of ice will douse that inner digestive fire -- especially if you drink it WHILE eating a meal.

Along those lines, drink any large quantities between meals when you have no food in your system. During meals, just take sips. This will also aid your digestion.



Every time you consume large quantities of a cold liquid, your digestive system has to work that much HARDER to warm itself up and breakdown food. This extra energy needed will actually create more heat in the body. Think about what happens when you push on the gas pedal too much as you are trying to start your car -- the engine gets flooded! There is no spark to start the car.

In the human body, repeating this habit over and over again ends up causing indigestion and eventually acid reflux and finally ulcers and more serious conditions, like colitis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. You wash away enzymes and good bacteria while dousing the fire -- and it leaves your "engine" unable to run properly! And this causes a great deal of discomfort.

Practicing these two awarenesses and habits alone will make a difference!!