The quiet nature of the winter can feel at times heavy, lethargic and, well, blah. Per my understanding, in reality every season has the potential to either exalt or quench your sense of well-being. You know, we co-create with the Divine.
Winter holds the perfect medicine for the fast-paced mobility of the summer, fall, and December.
That said, in Ayurvedic theory, winter holds the perfect medicine for the fast-paced mobility of the summer, fall and December. This is a time to go into your inner world of energy, hold space there, build vision, reflect and extend outwardly from there.
According to Ayurveda, winter is the season when the digestive fire is the strongest. That was a bit shocking when I heard it first since digestion is associated with fire and winter is, ahmm, cold?! Plus my Kapha (earth/water) constitution feels somewhat sluggish in winter. So after a few years of playing with my winter habits, diet and researching the theory behind that theory (yep, I’m a Ayurveda nerd), this is what I have for you.
In winter your body needs more fuel (1) to stay warm and (2) to build healthy building blocks (kapha!) in the cold months. So the whole summer body is built in winter got some resonance here. The cold weather also pushes the fire that keeps you alive toward your core where your digestion takes place.
Your body craves, needs and wants a nutritive diet at this time of the year and it can handle large quantities of food. For me, this also means giving more time in between my large meals…most days that’s only one large meal in winter and two very light ones. In the last few years that’s what they’re calling intermittent fasting, but it’s a 5000 years knowledge AND it doesn’t work for everyone; the point here is deep listening to YOUR body’s needs. I’m not going to tell you what or when to eat, you’ll find that yourself, but I’m going to give you the best guideline for whatever is going on this winter with you,
Focus on eating warm, cooked, slightly oily, well-spiced foods! Yum!
