Transition seasons are difficult for me. One leaf falls, and my stomach sinks.
Winter is coming.
Of course it is.
Last year, I read that winter isn’t really winter; winter is a mindset.
So the other day I took my mindset to the basement and found my velvet comforter, and put it on my bed.
And I found my body oil and put it out on the bathroom counter.
And my soup book is now in the kitchen. Turnips, potatoes, and carrots are on the grocery list.
And heavy socks. (Not on the grocery list, but pushed to the front of the sock drawer.)
I haven’t brought up the sweaters yet, but they’re next.
Some people love this time of year. It’s their favorite, they say.
They say, “I love fall!” and they mean it. And I believe them because fall can be beautiful. No question. Especially where I live, where there are a variety of deciduous trees that turn all the colors.
It’s not fall that’s the problem, it’s the going from lots of light to very little light that’s the problem. It’s negotiating the turn; it’s the getting used to it that I find hard.
The winter-to-spring turn is difficult in another way: it lasts so damn long. The groundhog says six weeks, but those are the longest six weeks of the year. But at least at the end there’s more light.
But once the transition is over, I settle into it. Thanks to Ayurveda. And that’s really why I’m talking about fall, and death, and making the transition.
Because before I studied Ayurveda and discovered my dosha and what seasons I tend to go out of balance and how to fix those imbalances, I suffered.
“Why am I always sick at Christmas?”
“Why does this eczema hit me every February?”
“What’s going on with my appetite, and why am I eating cookies all the time?”
It’s because I’m a Vata and I go out of balance in the winter, but now I know how to prep so I don’t get sick or itch or eat all the cookies. I now operate like an enlightened squirrel stowing away oil, and soup, and socks, so I can ride out the winter without the icks.
I can sweater up. I can fire up the ole crock pot. I can slather my body in oil. I can switch from salad to soup.
I can turn on the fireplace and dream into deep books. I can write all morning in the dark before the late-rising sun. I can feed the grateful, over-wintering birds. I can even walk my insane corgis, who prefer temps in the 20s.
Ayurvedic principles are so common sense, so easy, so intuitive. The trouble is, we’ve lost touch with our animal selves and our basic intuition. Instead, we scroll all night and eat UPFs and are divorced from nature.
So if you suffer the transitions like I do, I’d recommend you take this Ayurveda Dosha test and find out if you’re a Vata, a Pitta, or a Kapha. Then you’ll know what season you tend to go out of balance and how to correct it.
I like John Douillard. I like his test. It’s this one:
https://lifespa.com/body-type-quiz-dosha-ayurveda/
Later this month, I’m running an Intro to Ayurveda workshop at my studio, but unless you live nearby, you won’t be able to attend because it’s live only.
But you can still find a lot of good remedies online, especially, as I said, on John Douillard’s website.
Commit to becoming an enlightened squirrel this September, and good luck making the turn!
Inspiration Location 