Nutrition
What to Do This Winter According to Ayurveda
Optimise your winter routine with Ayurvedic wisdom for better well-being. Discover tips on diet, yoga, and lifestyle adjustments to thrive during this cold season.
![](https://media.ur.life/uploads/29_12_23_Ur_Life_BlogImage.jpg)
Every season can bring forth new challenges for your immunity and well-being. This is why many relish the heat of the summer, while others struggle with it. Many can spend winter being outdoors 24/7, while others avoid it by staying indoors in the warmth. For many, winter is a season of hibernation. It is a time to relax, rejuvenate and prepare for the next season.
In Ayurveda, living in harmony with nature is key to a healthy life. Changing your diet and lifestyle according to the seasons is important. Understanding your own intrinsic nature and how it changes with each season helps you make healthy choices and align your diet and lifestyle accordingly. This keeps your immune system optimised and digestion and energy levels in check.
According to Ayurveda, understanding nature helps you understand your own constitution, made of three energies called doshas: Vata, for movement, Pitta, for digestion, and Kapha, for stability. These energies come from elements found in nature like Earth, Fire, Water, Air, and Ether, present in both body and mind.
Related story: Seasonal Flu 101: Everything You Need To Know
Ayurveda follows a seasonal living system, Ritucharya, meaning seasonal regimen. This helps your body and mind adapt to different seasons, maintaining balance. Ayurveda divides the year into Uttarayana (northern solstice) and Dakshinayana (southern solstice), each having three seasons. Winter, spring, and summer are in Uttarayana, while monsoon, autumn, and late autumn are in Dakshinayana. Each season has different elements and energies, and an imbalance in the same can cause illnesses.
Need all your wellness solutions in one place? A whole new world awaits just a click away.
Reduce Vata Dosha with Food in Winter
Winter boosts the body's digestive power, needing more fuel to stay warm. The cold weather ignites this digestion deep within, making us crave heartier, more nutritious meals and often eating more. According to Ayurveda, in winter, Vata dosha tends to increase. Vata is associated with qualities like dryness, coldness, and movement, which can be aggravated during the winter season, potentially causing imbalances like dry skin, joint stiffness, or digestive issues.
An ideal winter diet aims to balance without upsetting the body's energies and comes naturally to many. However, it is still important to learn about the best winter foods so you can incorporate them into your daily diet.
- Opt for easily digestible foods in winter to boost your immunity. Therefore, avoid processed, chemically produced, canned, or frozen foods as they can disrupt digestion and weaken the immune system.
- Practise Abhyanga— a practice of applying sesame oil to your body everyday should be a triple lined part of your schedule.
- Choose warm, lightly cooked, less oily, and less spicy foods in winter. According to Ayurveda, there are six tastes: sweet, salty, pungent, sour, bitter, and astringent. Favour sweet, sour, and salty tastes over bitter, astringent, and pungent for a balanced winter diet.
- Cook at home using light oils like ghee or olive oil and avoid deep-fried foods as it induces warmth in the body and aids digestion.
- Opt for warm meals and room-temperature drinks to maintain a healthy digestive system and body warmth.
- Tea aids digestion, especially after meals. Consume tea to keep your body warm internally, especially herbal green tea and ginger and licorice tea.
- Consume plenty of warm veggies such as heat-producing veggies like radish, onion, carrot, and spinach with ghee or oil and spices like garlic, ginger, black pepper, and chilli are good for winter to balance the cold environment.
- Cooked grains like oatmeal, barley, rice and cornmeal can be consumed for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Steamed vegetables, whole-wheat breads and mushy soups are also ideal.
- Legumes are good for Kapha and consuming it with ghee reduces Vata effects.
- Eggs, chicken, and turkey are good options for winter.
- While winter is not meant for dairy products, a cup of hot milk with turmeric and nutmeg can be added to your winter diet as it aids sleep.
- Jaggery and sesame seeds are also beneficial to beat the cold climate.
Related Story: 5 Healthy Rice Substitutes at UR.Life Cafe
Foods to Incorporate In Your Winter Diet
Legumes
- Toor dal
- Moong dal
- Urad dal
- Brown lentils
- Tempeh
- Tofu
Vegetables
- Mushrooms
- Potatoes
- Ginger and garlic
- Pumpkin
- Tomatoes
- Turnips
- Corn
- Carrots
- Avocadoes
- Eggplant
- Brussel Sprouts
- Beetroot
Fruits
- Cooked apples
- Bananas
- Berries
- Mangoes
- Oranges
- Papayas
- Apricots
- Watermelon
- Dates
- Plums
Exercises for Winter Season
Winter slows things down, making us feel heavy and stagnant. To overcome this and to feel fresh and rejuvenated, it is important to incorporate yoga into your daily winter routine. Yoga helps stimulate the body during the winter season and helps to acclimatise the body to survive the cold. Follow these yoga tips to benefit your body from the same:
Focus on heat-building movements
During winter, we tend to feel more comfortable while practising relaxed movements. However, to beat and balance out the cold weather, it is imperative to practise heat-producing movements. Start with Surya Namaskar and practise Vinyasa, Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Bound Angle Pose), Balasana (Child's Pose), Sucirandhrasana (Eye of the Needle Pose), Anjaneyasana (Low Lunge), Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Forward Bend) or Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (Pigeon Pose) to generate warmth
Practice in the active hours
Energy levels keep fluctuating during the day. Practice yoga when energy is higher, ideally from 6 AM to 10 AM or 6 PM to 10 PM. These hours are considered as most conducive for practising yoga.
Related story: Healthy Weight Loss: Eat This To Burn More Fat
Perform leg-heavy postures
Include squats, lunges, and warrior poses to strengthen your legs. More power in your legs means that you feel more positive and emotionally stable. This is because as per Ayurveda, the legs are considered the foundation of the body, supporting stability and grounding. Strengthening them through exercises to enhance this foundation, fostering a sense of stability that positively influences emotional well-being and mental equilibrium.
Need all your wellness solutions in one place? A whole new world awaits just a click away.
Looking for an exclusive and unique experience, expert staff, and unparalleled member services? Come join us at URLife Studios! We offer a comprehensive range of wellness services that promote optimum well-being. We are a trusted source for unique holistic health and pregnancy care workshops. Our physiotherapists design customised rehab programs based on health conditions.
At UR.Life Studios, we offer a complete multi-disciplined approach to fitness and well-being. The URLife Studio is a luxe wellness oasis, combining sleek modern design, lavish amenities, state-of-the-art equipment and personalised wellness programs.
- Yoga
- Kickboxing
- Pool and Bollywood aerobics
- Pregnancy care workshops
- Customised physiotherapy
- Spa
- Garden Cafe
- Women’s wellness program
EXPLORE MORE
Don’t have the time for breakfast? Here are 3 healthy smoothies to the rescue, perfect for a fast and wholesome start to your day.
Cholesterol can be managed through nutrition. Know the dietary changes recommended by experts to manage cholesterol.
Some of the breakfast claims might actually be worth believing. We separate breakfast facts from breakfast fiction below.
Unlike traditional methods that may suggest including protein in just one or two meals, protein pacing suggests consuming protein-rich foods at regular intervals. Keep reading to know more about this approach.