Rain, Rain, Go Away

I personally like rain, but after two weeks of nothing but gray skies and drizzle the weather is starting to get me down. Although yoga teaches us to be content regardless of outside influences, I think we all start feeling the lethargy inherent in endless days of rain. So how do we step out of the gloom when even the sun doesn't want to come out?  It's all about individual balance.  To get started, we should take a look at Ayurveda to better understand our change in energy. 

There are three doshas, or mind/body types, in Ayurveda; Vata (air), Pitta (fire/water), and Kapha (earth/water). (If you have some extra time you can take this quiz to find out what your dominant dosha is: http://www.whatsyourdosha.com/quiz/) Although everyone has a dominant dosha, they are constantly changing within you.  Ayurvedic medicine and treatments seek to balance all three for optimal health. The following is a simple breakdown of the energy of each dosha when it is out of balance:

Vata (air) - Flighty, anxious

Pitta (fire/water) - Irritable, prickly

Kapha (earth/water) - Lethargic, stubborn, prone to overeating 

With the sun hiding behind the clouds, and the weather lingering between warm and cold, most people will experience an imbalance in Kapha. Knowing this, there are simple things we can do to pick ourselves up and regain balance:

1. Get moving! Even though you really don't want to, get some exercise. Feel the burn as you enhance Pitta.

2. Drink lots of warm water infused with warming spices such as turmeric, dried ginger, and black pepper.

3. Go to bed early and get up early, before sunrise. 

There is a great website with recommendations for balancing all of the doshas.  I used it as a source for the above information and strongly recommend everyone read it! http://www.ayurbalance.com/exploreindex.htm

Hopefully this rain will let up soon and we can all get a little sunshine!