You might still feel a bit of summer in the air… But it is time to change seasons. The days are getting shorter, the nights longer. Fall is officially here.

According to Ayurveda, fall and early winter is Vata season. Vata is composed of ether, air and space. Its frequency is movement, wind, decomposition, and dryness. It’s cold, light, dry and subtle.

When you think about change, you want to think about Vata. Because Vata IS the driving force of change in the body and the mind.

Fall is when we’re meant to slow down and go inward. Look around – it’s what nature is doing.

Slowing down is hard. It’s not something we can do easily in our hectic modern world. More than ever, we’re always in a rush. Life demands make us hurry and constantly jump from one task to another. Things are left unfinished and they remain on our to do list. And pretty soon, your list of things to do feels overwhelming.

Being “stressed out” in the modern world affects us all. From an Ayurvedic perspective, stress, anxiety and overwhelm IS the manifestation of excess Vata.  Some people call it Vata deranged! 

When you’re Vata deranged you may experience problems with digestion, dry skin, dry sinuses, joint pain and head and chest colds. You move too fast. You try to do too much. And eventually, it all catches up with you.

Here are Seven Signs that You’re Vata Deranged!

You may be experiencing…

1. You’re stressed out and anxious. You feel frazzled and inexplicably exhausted – like you’ve run out of gas. Your nervous system is shot. The littlest thing stresses you out. You’re irritable and quick to anger because you’re stretched so thin.

2. You have cracking joints. They crack when you exercise or yoga. When you get up from your desk, your lower back is crazy stiff. Your joints crack when you wake up and get out of bed. That’s not a sign that your bones are aligning! It means your body’s dry on a very deep level. You might even be constipated, you’re so dry.

3. You feel fearful, worried, guilty, scared, anxious and chronically indecisive. You can’t decide what you should eat. You can’t decide if you should do this or do that. Your mind is starting to take you to dark places and you’re not taking care of yourself as well as you could. Your emotions are getting the better of you – and there’s a frantic energy you can’t seem to shake.

4. You feel dizzy and lightheaded. Your blood pressure is low – maybe you’re even anemic. Your blood is thin and dry and it’s easy for you to feel cold to the bone. You keep brushing it off like it’s no big deal. (But I’m here to tell you that it IS a big deal! And there is something you can do about it!)

5. You have a hard time being in your body. You leave your body when you meditate or when you have sex. Meditation is hard for you because your mind won’t stop THINKING. It’s hard for you to sit still. You have speed trapped in your tissues and you struggle to feel grounded, focused and stable.

6. You drink plenty of water, but you pee it out as fast as you drink it. Your tissue is like a desert floor – it can’t absorb all the water you give it. So it’s more like a flash flood when you hydrate – and most of the water spills over as run off. You get leg and food cramps because you don’t have enough minerals supporting your tissues.

7. You’ve been gaining weight around your mid-section. Not your butt, not your thighs, not your arms. Only around your waist – like an unwanted spare tire. In Ayurveda, we call that adrenal weight. When you’re always on the go, your adrenals try to keep up for you. But when they get tired… they let you know by building up fat stores around your waist.

Regardless of your Dosha, it’s crucial that you respond to the call to change when it comes. ESPECIALLY when the message you’re getting is an SOS from Vata central.

When you align your eating and your body care practices to the overarching element of the season, you’re bound to feel better, be more grounded and get Vata to come down in a big way.

Here’s Seven Things You Can Do About It!

1. Focus on wet, warm, grounding foods. Like soups, stews and broths. Like heavy winter squashes and cooked root vegetables. Eat them every day. Every meal if you can! Here’s an example: Baked or roasted root vegetables (sweet), served with a Tablespoon of raw sauerkraut (sour), good quality mineral-rich salt (salty) and ghee (lubricating).
2. Rub sesame oil all over your body and your scalp. Do it in the morning, before you get dressed and when you can give yourself some time to just be quiet. Or apply it before you go to bed at night. This is the practice of Abhyanga or self-massage. You might also place a hot water bottle on your abdomen before and after oiling up.
3. Drink warm water and hot teas throughout the day. Add Vata-reducing herbs like ginger, mint, cinnamon, cardamom, basil and licorice root. Feel free to add some milk and maple syrup. Let yourself have the taste of sweet in a really clean and powerful way.
4. Read instead of watching TV or your computer at night. The less screen time you can manage, the less Vata energy you’ll run.
5. Put a drop of Vetiver essential oil on the crown of your head. Vetiver is an incredibly strong root. It happens to smell amazing! When you apply it to your crown chakra, you help “seal” your upward moving energy and prevent yourself from “losing your mind.”
6. Read one of my recent, previous blog posts that will help you have a smoother transition into fall.
7. The most powerful thing you can do? Get Ayurveda into your body and don’t let it go! Join my free Facebook group Ayurveda Every day With Talya for tons of Ayurvedic recipes, guidance, free masterclasses and more.

P.S. If you’re ready to step into living Ayurveda on a deep level. If you’re wondering where you should start… now is the time to join my Vata-reducing Fall Cleanse Course: The RAD Cleanse Fall Release!

The RAD Cleanse is your best place to get Ayurveda into your bones, reduce Vata, and make lasting positive changes in your body, mind and spirit. Go here to learn more and register. Doors close Tuesday, 10/16 at midnight PST.