Living like a Vata

Are you a predominantly a Vata dosha? Discover Ayurvedic meditation, movement and diet recommendations to start living a life more aligned with your Ayurvedic characteristics. Working with your dosha, rather than against it, is the first and the most important step on the journey to finding your glow.

Meditation for Vata

As a Vata, you might love the idea of meditation but struggle to stay still in one place, both physically and mentally. Your mind is like the wind, ever-changing, so first and foremost, you’ll need something to hold your focus in place.

Seek out a teacher or class. One-to-one instruction from a teacher will give you a strong focus and with that, rather than going it alone, you will thrive.

Adopt a humming mantra. As a dosha governed by sound, Vatas are best suited to forms of meditation with a mantra. Introduce ‘Oms’ to a Vedic or Transcendental Meditation practice, or a slow, gentle or even silent hum in the mind to centre your attention.

Movement for Vata

Vatas love to move. Restless twiddling, tapping and fidgeting are likely your daily habits, yet building a regular exercise practice presents an entirely new challenge.

Light, swift and fast-paced, Vatas thrive on short bursts of energy. Endurance isn’t usually where your strengths lie, so why not work with this, rather than against it? Allow yourself the freedom to relinquish the long-distance runs and bench-press gym sessions, instead opting for something livelier.

Track sports. Running, sprinting, hurdling, jumping – anything that requires explosive bursts of energy is tailor-made for Vata. Squash, badminton and table tennis, too.

Ballet or gymnastics. Gymnastic forms of yoga also suit graceful, poised and agile Vata perfectly.

Trampolining. A form of movement with the bonus of helping stimulate the lymphatic system, boosting immune health.

Gentle jogging. Resisting the urge to pick up the pace, move mindfully, breathe deeply and become aware of your movement and surroundings.

Yin yoga. Try a slow, restorative yoga practice to soothe your mind and body.

Eating like a Vata

Vatas are characterised by coldness and dryness, so their diet is focused on boosting warmth. Chilling your system will only cause or accentuate an imbalance, so use these three simple tips as your guide to nurture digestive harmony and holistic health.

1. Eat routinely. As much as possible, create a calm and relaxed atmosphere to sit down and eat in – avoid skipping meals and standing, walking or working whilst eating.

2. Prioritise a warming diet. Keep it highly nourishing but avoid cold, raw foods like salads. Instead, work with sour, salty and sweet flavours.

3. Help from herbs and spices. You’ll really benefit from herbs and spices with warming and sweetening properties. Use herbs, and spices like caraway, cardamom, cloves, cumin, ginger, mustard seeds, nutmeg and fennel seeds in your cooking.