Try an Ayurvedic Diet for Vata to Reduce Anxiety Naturally

Space cadet. Peter Panish. Wanderlust. Creative maven. Airy-fairy unicorn-type. Imaginative. Innovator. Pioneer. Change-agent. Um, and a bit spacey?

If you connect with any of these things, you may be a Vata type. 

Ayurveda, the ancient medical system of India, talks about three distinct body-types: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These are called "doshas." If you don’t know which one you are, you can take the quiz here.

Air, a main Vata element, drives electrical impulses. When there is too much air in the body and mind, we feel unhinged. Many Vata women experience acute or chronic anxiety and often don’t understand why. Following an Ayurvedic diet for Vata types, reduces anxiety, and is a time-tested, safe and effective approach for any women struggling with anxiety symptoms.

Common anxiety symptoms in women:

  • Restless mind and body

  • Inability to each much

  • Irregular sleep cycles

  • Irregular periods

  • Excitability

  • Lethargy and weakness

Reduce Anxiety Naturally with an Ayurvedic Diet for Vata Types

About Vata Dosha

The principle of movement and propulsion

  • Vata is air and space energy. Air and space are cold, dry and rough.

  • Vata is in charge of transporting fluids, discharging secretions and eliminating waste materials.

  • Vata governs the mind and the senses. Vata is the bioelectric force behind a balanced nervous system and mind.

  • On the emotional plane, the main Vata imbalances are fear and anxiety. When Vata is out of balance, a person will feel unstable and disconnected to people and the earth.

  • One of Vata’s greatest gifts is their easy connection to cosmic love and spirituality.  

Reduce Anxiety Naturally with Ayurvedic Diet for Vata Type

Five Things Only a Vata Woman Will Understand

  1. It’s so hard for me to put on weight, but when I do, why does it go to the wrong places?

  2. I know i’m so creative and talented …… but …. sometimes I get so anxious I don’t even want to show up to work or life or anything!

  3. I love cannabis. I love cannabis. I love cannabis.

  4. It’s SO COLD please turn up the heat!  

  5. Wait, what’d you say?

Vata Characteristics & Personality:

  • Does everything quickly

  • Enthusiastic, excitable, vivacious

  • Imaginative, creative and sensitive 

Vata Body-Type:

  • Endomorphic (lean slender body with slight muscular development)

Vatas in Balance:

  • Are enthusiastic about life

  • Long to create/do something new all the time

  • Are social and love to connect with others

Vatas Out of Balance are:

  • Flighty and unfocused

  • Anxious

  • Constipated or gassy

Common Vata Symptoms:

  • Irregular or scanty periods

  • Dry skin, brittle hair and nails

  • Poor circulation and cold extremities

It’s Super Vata to:

  • Love excitement and constant change

  • Digest food well one day and poor the next

  • Go to sleep at different times of the night, skip meals, and keep irregular habits

The Unbelievably Easy Way To Reduce Anxiety Naturally With Ayurveda

An anxiety-reducing plan for Vata focuses on food and lifestyle therapy. Foods and practices that are heavy, warm and grounding reduce Vata, and turn the dial down on anxiety.

Do Daily:

  1. Enjoy warm cooked foods like soups and stews with lots of root vegetables; Steer clear of too many raw veggies and salads.

  2. Oil your skin daily. If it feels good, you’re doing it right. Daily oil massage will nourish your nervous system. Use sesame oil.

  3. Sleep in the same bed, at the same time, and stick to a simple ten minute morning ritual of your choice. The key is to do it every day at around the same time.

  4. Stick to warm environments. Scarf up, wear socks and gloves when brisk/cold. Take warm baths often. 

Reduce or Stop:

  1. Drinking alcohol, and cannabis or tobacco smoking (there is plenty of evidence-based research showing each increase anxiety)

  2. Any travel that’s not absolutely necessary

  3. Sleeping in any bed other than your own bed or keeping irregular bedtimes

The Ultimate Ayurvedic Diet for Vata Dosha: Plus an Amazing Breakfast Recipe

Best Beverages

  • Warm water, chamomile tea, ginger tea. Avoid alcohol, caffeinated beverages and soft drinks

  • If you bloat, add 1 tsp of cumin, coriander and fennel to a liter of hot water and sip on that all day.

Best Spices

  • Cardamom

  • Cumin

  • Ginger

Best Herbs (Fresh or Dried)

  • Ashwagandha

  • Chamomile

  • Oatstraw

Best Fats

  • Ghee

  • Sesame

  • Avocado

 
 

The Daily Meal Plan for Vata Dosha

Breakfast

Don’t skip it. Ease your digestion into the day with stewed apples (see recipe below). 

Lunch

Don’t skip it. Shoot for having lunch at the same time every day. Eat generously.

Lunch ideas:

  • Roast chicken with sweet potatoes with kale and ginger

  • Quinoa with mixed vegetables

  • Sweet potato with kale and ginger

Dinner

Enjoy a warm (not raw) dinner. Enjoy soups and stews.

Dinner ideas:

  • Butternut squash soup

  • Red lentil dahl

  • Risotto with cauliflower, asparagus, and ginger

Cinnamon Poached Apples with Toasted Walnuts Recipe

Ingredients:

3 cups of water

1/2 cinnamon stick or 1 tsp cinnamon

1 inch fresh ginger, thinly sliced

2 apples, peeled, cored, and halved

2 tbsp of chopped toasted walnuts

Directions

Step 1

Bring water, cinnamon, and ginger to a boil in a medium-sized pot.

Step 2

Add apples, cover with lid; simmer until tender, 8 minutes.

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Try an Ayurvedic Diet for Pitta Types to Solve Stomach Issues, Plus a Spinach Pancake Recipe