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VATA:

Air & Ether

* The Movement of Life Force/Prana

* dry, cold and light qualities

* Keyword is CHANGE; GOVERNS MOVEMENT, Hummingbird Archetype

* Tendency to Anxiety, Fear and Worry when out of balance

* Correlates with Autumn and Winter Season & Elder Years

* The Most Sensitive Constitutional Type

* Creative, Inspired, Quick, Variable Appetite, Irregular habits

Catabolic type- Tendency to thin or underweight, with small wirey muscles, dry or rough skin
S/he may forget to eat, or eat like a bird, running on prana-life force energy or adrenaline
Imbalanced Vata produces adrenal fatigue, nervous exhaustion, insomnia, constipation, dry skin depletion and aging

FOOD REMEDIES FOR COLD & DRY (VATA)

  • Vata reducing or pacifying diet emphasis wet, (salty, sour) warm (pungent) and heavy (sweet) food qualities

  • Needs Warm, Nourishing, Unctuous (oily) hydrating and grounding foods

  • Salty (hydrating), Sweet (building) tastes support Vata

VATA NEEDS TO EAT 3- 4 REGULAR MEALS PER DAY. DON’T SKIP A PROTEIN BREAKFAST

  • Use plenty of good oils and healthy fats, including ghee, bone broth and organic pasture raised poultry and free-range meats.

  • Pour 1 -2 Tbls. raw, healthy EFA’s on top of food to keep your joints and tissues lubricated. Eat nuts and seeds raw, soaked and sprouted is best.

  • Build flora with probiotics and pre-biotic foods like yogurt or buttermilk, or add 1 -2 Tbls. fermented vegetables like sauerkraut.

  • Vata benefits from good quality milk taken warm (never cold), with tri-doshic or warming spices like ginger and cinnamon to nourish the intestinal lining and buffer sensitive nerves.

  • Demulcent and adaptogenic herbs like licorice and ashwaganda, chamomile tea, aloe vera juice, marshmallow root, dashamula (10 Root formula), ginger root, and the carminative (gas reducing), digestive herbs like cumin, coriander, fennel.

Most Unbalancing Food Choices for COLD:

  • Eating all raw food

  • Lack of protein

  • Ice cream, iced drinks

  • Cream cheese, bread

  • Stimulants, too much caffeine

  • Forgetting to eat, irregular meals

Most Unbalancing Food Choices for DRY: 

  • Binges on munchy, crunchy chips, crackers

  • Too much fermented or raw food

Mantra for Vata Dosha: 
Stay hydrated, stay nourished, breathe into your belly and meditate for grounding to release anxiety and promote calmness