I think I can confidently start this post by saying, every woman has experienced these “everyday symptoms” and either tries to fix them by popping some pills or accepts them as a part of life and moves on. Ayurveda has definite answers to these everyday problems we face.
Simple wholesome ingredients that can easily be ground up at home and can be a sure remedy for annoying Vata imbalances.
What Is Vata?
According to Ayurveda, the literal translation of vata is ‘wind’. The proper flow of wind (which is movement) is crucial in keeping the human body in balance and contented. It governs all the movements of our mind and body. Everything, from big to small movements, inside our bodies, is governed by the king of doshas – Vata! The blinking of my eyes as I write this post is also a “vata” movement.
It’s called the King of Doshas because when vata gets imbalanced it brings down with it the pitta and kapha doshas too. Here is an article I wrote on how to recognize and remedy common vata imbalances.1
In my own life, being a pitta-kapha2 dominant person, I had really not experienced major vata imbalances up until recently. Since last year I have been working at balancing my vata dosha, looking back now I think it was drinking lots of green smoothies and not including enough fat in my diet that triggered the imbalance in my body constitution.
Let me tell you it’s a totally different ball game when vata gets out of whack! First of all, it takes time to balance this dosha, technically you are balancing all the three doshas when vata gets out of balance so it takes time, patience and more importantly need to be attentive to what your body is trying to say.
The first thing I did was, I stopped having smoothies on a daily basis and replaced it with freshly homemade green juices (1 small cup). I also added more healthy fats and oils in my diet. Believe me, when your vata is imbalanced your body loves the fat and oils you give and amazingly you digest them well and not put on weight but feel energetic and lively!
Ayurvedic Home Remedies To Balance Vata Dosha
Ayurvedic home remedies – churna and tea worked like a miracle for me to balance my vata dosha. I will share about the churna now, the tea recipe which I call ‘Ayurvedic Vata Tea’ will be shared in my next post.
Churna in Sanskrit means ‘powder of spices/herbs’. Ayurvedic texts talk a lot about various churnas to keep our bodies balanced and healthy. You can also feel free to call this spice powder as garam masala which helps to balance the vata dosha because of the specific spices used.
I make this churna in small batches and use it often in all my root veggie dishes and in soups as well. This spice powder has a robust deep flavor which perks up the dish and it tastes extra yummy when your vata is imbalanced. The specific spices used in this churna balance the vata dosha, I go in detail about the energetics of spices and their effects on our body constitution in my Ayurvedic webinars/workshops.
Vata Churna Recipe
The ingredients below are for one cup (approximate) of spice powder that you can store in a glass jar and it will stay fresh for up to a month.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Fennel seeds
- 2 tbsp Cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp Coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp Jaggery powder
- 1 tsp Carom seeds (optional)
- 1 tsp Asafoetida powder
- 1 tsp Dry ginger powder
- Black mineral salt (to taste)
Directions
- Directly powder all the ingredients.
OR - For a deeper flavor, first, roast all ingredients except jaggery, ginger powder, and salt.
- Then powder them in a blender
Buying good quality natural spices is equally important as having the right spices for your dosha. Sadly, most of the spices especially cinnamon and turmeric, we get in grocery stores are either adulterated or have additives in them.
Salt rasa (taste) is important to balance the vata dosha. You can use any high mineral salt (not the plain white table salt) like celtic or himalayan salt. According to Ayurveda black salt (rich in sulphur) works wonders in balancing vata dosha so I like to use that. I must tell you black salt is an acquired taste and you can get it at Asian grocery stores.
Here are some dishes you can make using this churna – Pumpkin Quinoa Paratha3, Spinach-Mung Detox Soup4, Nourishing Quinoa-Beet Soup5, Sauteed Avocados6.
Ayurveda tells us the first 1/3rd of our life is ruled by the kapha dosha, the second 1/3rd of our life is ruled by the pitta dosha and the last 1/3rd of our life is ruled by the king dosha – vata. If you are in your mid 40’s and early 50’s you will start seeing the vata dominance in your life and as mentioned earlier it’s crucial to keep this dosha in balance.
Balanced vata phase is filled with beautiful cherished memories fueled with a creative and deeply spiritual mind. This can be one of the best phases in one’s life. How we choose to live our lifestyle determines the quality of our lives. I want my lifestyle to be the reflection of choices I made to enliven me not to enslave me.
Wishing you all a happy healthy vata balance!
References
