Episode Transcript
[00:00:11] Hello, and welcome to another episode of deep in your practice. I am your host, Lauren Leduc, owner of True love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri. And today, can you smell the pumpkin spice in the air? Well, it's autumn. If you'Re in the northern hemisphere, it is autumn. We're deep into it at this point.
[00:00:33] If you live here in Kansas City, it is everyone's favorite season. People get so excited for this time of year, and for good reason.
[00:00:42] And today I wanted to talk about different supportive ayurvedic practices for autumn and different ways you can support this season change through your yoga practice as well. So we'll get into different lifestyle changes that you can make to support yourself best during this season. So what is AyurVeda? It's a holistic system of health from India, and it emphasizes the balance between the body, the mind, and the spirit through diet, lifestyle, and seasonal changes. And this is yoga's sister science as well. They're both part of the Vedas and I. It is a thousands of year old tradition, and it's all about supporting your health. So it is such a great complement to the practice of yoga. They go together so well. So autumn brings a few different changes in the weather, and these can affect our minds and bodies in different ways. So before I go into how it affects us, I'll talk a little bit about some of the principles behind Ayurveda. So, one of the biggest principles is this idea of the doshas. And doshas are constitutions. They're different qualities that act alone and oftentimes together within nature and within our own systems in different ways. So the first dosha is called vata, and this contains the air and space elements. And this is the most dominant dosha during the autumn season. So air and space, or ethereum. The next is called pitta, and this is mostly fire, but some water elements. So think summer. That's very, very pitta. And the third dasha. Pardon? The third dosha is called kapha, and kapha is earth and water elements. So we can think, like late winter, early spring, where things are a little bit heavy and moist.
[00:02:48] That is very much in kapha. So autumn is considered a vata season, and it contains qualities in Ayurveda of coolness, dryness and wind. And when we have an excess of these qualities within our systems, it can create a dominance of this vata dosha and can create an imbalance. So some of these imbalances that we'll see through the autumn season physically dry skin. Think of, like, needing to put on lotion all the time and drink lots of water. Joint pain can come with this change of season. I know the cooler weather often can wake up some joints. Maybe that felt a little bit better during the summer. Digestive issues can happen. Maybe an excess of gas, maybe constipation and insomnia can happen as well.
[00:03:45] And that leads us into different mental and emotional imbalances that can also happen. And in my opinion, they really, you know, for me, emotions, the body, they're not really any different from each other. But we do like to categorize things in this way, but it can manifest as anxiety, restlessness, scattered thoughts, and difficulty focusing. So think of, like, these winds that are kind of moving through us, and they're blowing leaves, and it's creating this sort of scattered, ungrounded feel when it's too dominant.
[00:04:18] And it's really important to balance these as best we can so that we feel more grounded, so that we feel more balanced, and so that we can maintain our health and well being throughout the season. So I'll go through a few different ways to balance it out. Ayurveda is really heavy into diet. And I will say, I am not an ayurvedic practitioner. Yes, I have studied ayurveda through my 500 hours yoga teacher training and just through my personal studies of it. I find it really fascinating.
[00:04:50] But just know that when I am offering these different shifts, I am not a doctor. I am not an ayurvedic doctor. So do what you will with them, but know that for many people, these things have been really helpful for a long, long time, so they could be worth trying. One is warming and grounding foods. So you might notice these are all things we kind of naturally do culturally through the season.
[00:05:18] Warm cooked foods like soups and stews, roasted root vegetables can help bring a little kapha energy in and combat that coolness and dryness. So you might find when the weather changes, you want to have. I made a joke about pumpkin spice, but something with pumpkin spice, you might want to, like, make chili and watch football game or something like that. Those are all things that are recommended through ayurveda. Also, warming spices that are recommended, such as ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, and cumin. And those can all aid digestion and create warmth in the body. So think of, like, all those yummy, warming spices that you like to put in food this time of year. There's a reason for it. They warm you up. It's what we naturally want, what we might want to avoid in our diets. And again, this is completely up to you, are cold and raw foods. So salads and smoothies, which is really hard for me. I live so much on salads and smoothies. But you might find that you naturally want to go toward the heavier, more cooked foods during this time that might feel more nourishing to you. And then, as always, staying hydrated is really important. And you might try more warming beverages like herbal teas or warm water with lemon to counteract some of the dryness of this season. So besides diet, there are some really nice lifestyle routines that you can try during this season who feel more warm and more balanced. One is called abhyanga, which is self massage. So you can use warm oil, nourish your skin and your body by using your hands. And there are different ayurvedic and guides and things that can give really specific instructions on how to do this. But you don't necessarily have to follow those to get the benefit. You can simply use warm oil, like sesame oil, for instance, to rub into your feet and to your whole body, really making sure to really like circle around each joints and pay attention to your joints. So your ankles, your knees, your hips, your elbows, your wrists, your shoulder joints, really making sure that you're getting the warming effect there. There are also pranayama or breathing practices that can really help, like Nadi shodhana, which is alternate nostril breathing. That's just a great balancing, like, all around breath that can work in any season. But I really love Ujjayi breath as well. So it's an inhale through the nose and an exhale out the nose, but you create a soft whisper in the back of the throat, so it sounds kind of like an ocean wave or maybe darth Vader. It sounds like that creates a warming sensation through the back of the throat and can also create a warming sensation throughout the whole body. There are other breaths that heat us up, such as kapalabhati or breath of fire, but those can also create a little bit more like fuzziness or spaciousness through the mind. And sometimes we want to focus a little more on grounding in this season. So I think Ujjayi is absolutely perfect. And if you go to yoga, we cue ujjai through almost every class. So continue your yoga practice. It's a great way to find some balance through this season. Another important thing is to avoid overstimulation, so intense, fast paced workouts aren't really recommended at this time. I'd say a more mindful hatha or vinyasa practice would be recommended walking outside is an awesome thing to do this time of year. Strength training is wonderful, but you might avoid things that are a little bit more, like, bombastic than that. And besides workouts, you might think about how much information you're taking in on a daily basis. Is your system being overloaded with information? It's an opportunity, maybe to slow down a little bit and to invite in a little more space and to be very mindful. And when you're mindful, it grounds you to the present moment. And that's always important, I think. But it's especially important during this season where we could use a little more grounding. There are a few more seasonal rituals that can be really helpful. You might light candles that smell really good. You might use essential oils, such as vettiver or lavender or frankincense. You might create a little bit more cozy spaces at home to align with the slower and introspective nature of autumn. So again, these are things oftentimes that we feel compelled to do, either culturally or just naturally, to make our spaces a little more cozy. We might be lighting fires, lighting candles, having really nice smells through the house, all those wonderful things that come with autumn. There's this concept of hygge, and it's like comfort. And I think that when I. The air gets colder, we want to seek more of that grounded coziness. Autumn's also a time of transition and letting go so we can watch the trees change their leaf colors and then shed their leaves. And it reminds us to embrace this change within ourselves. So it might be a really good time to clean out your closet, to get rid of excess things so that you can settle in as it gets colder without all of the clutter. You might also think of, emotionally or energetically, what you're ready to let go of in your life and take some time to journal over that and maybe see if the journaling comes with any action steps that can be taken to physically release whatever it is that is making you heavy. Ayurveda recommends different herbs for different seasons. There are so many herbs that can support our health, so I'll share some of those with you. There are vata pacifying herbs such as ashwagandha, licorice triphala. They support digestion and immunity during autumn. I love all of those. I really, really love an egyptian licorice tea. It is like one of my all time faves at nighttime to kind of start to slow things down a little bit. And also anything with adaptogens. I mentioned ashwagandha, but there are other adaptogens. I'm not an expert on them, so I'll let you do your own research. But they can help manage your stress and keep the body in balance as the season changes. And I'll just add there beyond ayurveda, there are ways to support anxiety and feelings of overwhelm, whether that's through traditional therapy or maybe pharmacological help. And just know that however you're supporting yourself, whether or not it's quote unquote natural, is a okay as long as you are supporting yourself, right? So if you are doing that, just pat yourself on the back for showing yourself love through whatever means that is most aligned with with your needs. So again, it's autumn. We can use ayurvedic practices like diet and lifestyle and mindfulness to help create more balance through our systems. I really encourage you to embrace the slower pace of this season. It can be really tempting to ramp things up because the holidays are just around the corner. It's almost Halloween, and then boom, boom, boom. We've got Thanksgiving and Christmas and whatever traditions you celebrate, it can really go by fast and it can create more stress than what is called for at this time of year. So try to slow down. Go at your own pace. It's okay to say no to things sometimes and to really tune into what you're needing. So whether or not you're following this, these specific practices, I think the invitation to go inward and to really consider what you're needing is such a beautiful act of self love and self reflection. I'll also add that I teach a vinyasa flow class every Sunday at 1030 at True Love Yoga in Kansas City. It's offered both in person and online. You can join live online or you can sign up and we'll send you the recording and you can do it in your own time. But all of my practices this year have been built on the principles of ayurveda. So my classes right now are all about, yes, they're going to get you moving because it's vinyasa, but they're about warming and grounding through the practice. So they're built specifically to be really appropriate for the season, to be balancing, and to hopefully give you optimal energy for this autumn season. So I'll put the website in the show notes if you want to come and join for class, I'd love to see you in there. If not, we have lots of other classes and wonderful teachers and different styles of yoga that we offer, but do know that that is my focus for this year. And I'd love to support you in your ayurvedic journey. So happy autumn. Thank you so much for joining me today. Om Shanti Panti Shanti. Om. Peace, peace, peace. Thanks all.
