Vata

We have been studying with an Ayurveda practitioner in the Advanced Herbalism class,  and I'm beginning to see the world in terms of Vata, Pitta and Kapha a little bit. This week, Vata really came up and introduced itself.

The weather: It has been COLD. I was talking to a girl who just graduated from Syracuse last May, and she thinks its cold! I was dog and house sitting for a friend over the last week and a half, so being forced to go outside several times a day put me in close contact with the temperatures and the wind and the dryness. Oh the dryness.

It snowed a little at the beginning of the week, and by morning it was all gone. I don't think the temperatures made it to 20 degrees, and it got very windy. The snow evaporated into the dry air! It didn't blow away, there were no drifts or piles. And it stayed DRY.

My self: I started with the back of my right hand drying out, that's completely common. Then my cuticles. Then I got a rash/dry area at the base of my tail bone. I started paying attention- that area's directly opposite my digestion! Well, the next day (TMI alert!) came the gas and bloat, which is extremely UNcommon, and it lasted for 2 days.

Now we're at the end of the week, and I have my morning off. I was super sluggish and lethargic, not tired but not motivated or inspired at all. Man-in-my-life mentioned he was concerned about my iron intake, and that got me thinking- all that intestinal upset, the dry and windy conditions that mimicked outside so well, would also cause poor absorption of what I was eating. I actually had some ground beef this week, iron should have been good, but I was such a mess who knows!

Enter kichari. I made a pot that day, and my breakfast oats with yogurt for the next day, and kept on with tea. It had cinnamon and echinacea among other things. so it felt great to drink. And I rested. Hey, here I was dog sitting with cable and a gas fireplace. Why not indulge! I felt MUCH better by the next day, still down mentally but ok energy-wise. I've also been having intense dreams that are like movies close to or up to when I wake.

People: All week I noticed my pilates clients doing silly things, especially when I asked them to do something with their right or left hand. Many more people than usual had to pause and really think about which side to use. I teach a private mat pilates class to a group of friends, and in the 3+ years I have been with them I don't think they have EVER been so chatty. I've also seen more and unusual cramping- feet, shins, calves, hips.

So, from the Characteristics of Each Dosha handout we have, I find:

• qualities- light, dry, rough, cold, mobile
• appetite- variable
• dreams- nightmares, daydreams
• physical disorders- gas/bloating, constipation, spasms, ticks
• psychological qualities- alert, talkative
• psychological disorders- anxious, lonely, insecure, changes quickly, extreme behavior

I see more clearly now how the extremely cold, dry, windy, vata weather we had, which is unusual here in southeast PA, aggravated the vata qualities in myself and many others. Vata's season is winter, which means it's a naturally aggravating time for vata, so increasing the intensity of the vata weather pushed us over the top, to a place of unusual discomfort. Also of note, just a few days before this deep freeze began the temps were in the 50s, and are forecasted to rise there again after it breaks. These swings don't allow for any acclimation, either, which is also aggravating!