As the seasons change, even mildly, our bodies, minds, and energies shift with it. We will naturally have a different relationship to our yoga practice throughout these changes. We can honor these shifts in our environments and in our bodies and navigate them more mindfully to support a more consistent practice. So how can we change our yoga practice with the changing seasons? Step one is understanding a bit about how we respond to seasonal shifts, then we can know how to find balance.
Brief Basics of Ayurveda
Ayurveda translates into the “science of life” and is a sister school of yoga. It is ancient India’s science of medicine in the most holistic way and uses various methods of keeping the body and mind healthy and well. Ayurveda features three doshas, and our bodies and our environment tend to gravitate towards one (sometimes two) of the three predominantly.
Pitta dosha individuals are naturally heated (physically and mentally). They tend towards a medium, athletic build and are often of average height. When pitta is out of balance one can be quick to temper, burn out easily, and often even sweat profusely when exercising.
Vata dosha individuals tend to be on the dry side. They are often either very tall or very short and can find it hard to gain weight. When vata dosha is imbalanced, individuals can be prone to high anxiety, often on the go, or struggle with brittle bones, nails, and hair. They rarely sweat, even when warm.
Those with a kapha dosha predominance often move quite slowly. They tend to be more full-bodied with large eyes and thick hair. When kapha is imbalanced, these people can struggle with depression and lethargy.
Yoga Practice During Kapha Season
When the weather turns cold, we may find it more challenging to roll ourselves out of our warm and cozy bed and make our way to the mat. Don’t worry, this is perfectly natural. Think about kapha energy like mud–a blend between water and earth. It’s difficult to move through. In order to balance this, we need to find a way to warm ourselves up. Taking those extra sun salutations or even practicing in a heated space might just do the trick. Warming the body with breathing practices like kapalbhati or bhastrika can be helpful in kick-starting some energy flow in the body. Even exploring or developing a chanting practice before your asana practice can help elevate and move the energy around. Another easy way to find balance is by drinking warm lemon water first thing in the morning or drinking warm ginger tea. Like water turning to ice, things in the winter months tend to turn stagnant. Succumbing to that muddy, slow energy can enhance your potential for depression and cause you to lose the progress you’ve gained through earlier months. On a physical level, you may find your digestive system moves slower and your tissue and joints may become stiff. That’s why making sure you’re balancing that cold weather with warm, active movement will help to keep you motivated and moving all the way into spring.
Yoga Practice During Vata Season
Dry seasons, like fall, can make us feel ungrounded and, like a leaf on the street, prone to fly away with any shift in the winds. This is all that vata energy at its highest. Those of us who are already prone to more vata ways will really need to focus on staying grounded during these months. Routine and consistency are ideal in maintaining this groundedness. Cultivating a repetitive-style practice (like Ashtanga vinyasa) or even a more calming practice like yin or restorative can be beneficial. It’s common during this time to lose that consistency and find ourselves flitting from one thing to the next, practicing one full week then getting distracted and not practicing the next, or letting the mind wander aimlessly during practice. Remember, the body and mind want to flow with the shifting winds when in this vata state. If we go too far with this, we could find ourselves dealing with anxiety or emboldening our potential manic sides. On a physical level, our skin may dry out and our joints may become more sensitive. We need structure and support. If you usually practice at home, maybe explore your local yoga community to get even more grounded in your environment. Making sure you’re staying extra hydrated can be a simple way to balance out or even turning a humidifier on.
Yoga Practice During Pitta Season
The middle of summer can weigh us down with stifling, oppressive heat, especially with the new record-breaking extremes brought about by climate change. How do we honor our yoga practice during the summer months? By keeping it cool–literally and figuratively. When it’s 100 degrees outside, it may not be the best idea to turn the heat up in your practice too. Maybe skip the hot yoga class and put the heater away. When the body is constantly battling heat, our pitta side is amplified. If that pitta is tipped too far to one side, it could cause fatigue, anger, and irritation. On a physical level, we may find our microbiome disturbed (affecting our skin health) and, in the worst case, heighten the potential for heat exhaustion or heat stroke. So making sure our asana practice is done either in a cooler environment or even simply toning the intensity of our practice down can help prevent this. Other ways we can keep our practice and lifestyle cool during these hot months is by drinking ice cold water, keeping things light-hearted and humorous, and avoiding postures and breathing practices that amplify the heat and heart rate (like kapalbhati, warrior 3, and by taking fewer sun salutations). So, how do you balance your yoga practice in the summer? Easy peasy–just keep it cool!
Studying Change
Our yoga practice is really just a study in change and how we connect with it and ride the waves with grace. As we study the changes in our environment and its effects on us, we can find health and balance through these methods that have been practiced for thousands of years. Whether it's hot, cold, wet, or dry outside, may your practice continue to evolve and flourish through the changing seasons.
Amy is an E-RYT 500 and has been teaching yoga since 2014. She has dedicated the past 10+ years of her life to cultivating and sharing the knowledge and practice of yoga with others. She currently lives in South Florida leading teacher trainings, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and reading fantasy books.