Ayurveda Doshas and Holi
Holi, the festival of colors, food, and lots of excitement. The excitement of Holi and its happiness and energy will be wiped out if you have a dosha imbalance. There are three types of doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Each dosha plays a different role in our body.
During Holi, it’s important to balance all doshas. Many things, like colors, environment, weather, and social activities, can affect your doshas. Here, we are going to discuss Vata dosha, which is one of the prominent ones. It’s important to balance this dosha to maintain the other two doshas.
What is Vata Dosha?
According to Ayurveda, Vata dosha carries an important role in managing cold, dryness, roughness, light, and digestion. This can also be linked to mobility, adaptability, and creativity. It controls the nervous system and the function of the body and mind. Vata controls the function of our body and mind and helps in breathing, blood circulation, and keeping control over digestion and actions controlled by the brain.
Reasons That Can Affect Vata During Holi:
- Weather condition: Although the weather during Holi is dry and windy, and Vata dosha in our body also gets affected by cold, dryness, and many more, it’s common for Vata to get affected due to this environment. This is the time when winter ends and spring starts. It’s the time when dryness in the wind goes higher that affects the Vata balance.
- Use of colors: Holi is the festival of colors. Colors that are used during this time are full of chemicals that affect our skin and hair. Although Vata is related to skin, it makes skin drier, itchier, and more sensitive.
- Improper diet: During Holi, there are varieties of food that have been made. We consume foods that are spicy, dry, and full of fat. Because of richness, they can affect our Vata balance, which can lead to constipation, indigestion, bloating, and many more.
- Excess movements: Vata controls the movements, and during Holi, because of engaging in different activities, the movement increases, which affects the Vata dosha.
- Pollution: Because of many things, the environment during Holi gets polluted, which creates irritation in the skin and also affects our respiratory health.
Health Issues Caused by Vata Imbalance During Holi:
Many factors can aggravate Vata dosha during Holi.
- Dry Skin: Holi colors can cause the skin to become more sensitive and cause itching, irritation, rashes, and many more issues.
- Digestive issue: Foods made during Holi can affect digestion and cause digestive issues like constipation, indigestion, bloating, and many more. Vata regulates the digestive system, which gets affected and disturbs the system because of these problems.
- Dehydration: Colors used during Holi can make the environment dry and rough. Colors absorb moisture and bring dryness. This causes the dosha’s imbalance.
- Weight loss: Vata controls the digestive system. Due to disturbance, the food gets tougher to digest and causes regular hunger, which leads to weight loss.
Ways to Get Rid of Vata Dosha and Stay Safe
There are many ways to control the Vata balance and well-being. Being connected to air and space when Vata gets uncontrolled leads to dryness, anxiety, indigestion, and movement.
There are many ways to control Vata doshas:
1. Use Natural Colors
Use natural color in place of chemically mixed color. Because these chemical colors can harm your skin, respiratory system, and overall health. Natural colors like homemade colors can protect your skin from damage.
2. By Being Hydrated
During Holi, the environment goes dry, and in this condition, it’s important to drink plenty of water to keep Vata controlled and manage the body’s system perfectly.
3. Avoiding Excess Use of Unhealthy Food
Vata dosha is affected by unhealthy eating. By controlling the overeating of fried, sweet items, and many more and taking warm and light foods.
4. Avoid a Dosha Aggravating Environment
The cold and dry environment can aggravate the Vata dosha. So try to avoid being damp or using water or using harmful chemical colors.
5. Protect Your Skin and Hair
To keep Vata dosha balanced during Holi, it’s important to avoid staying away from the things that can affect the dosha. For this, you should protect your skin from harmful chemicals. For this, you can use moisturizer or oil and put a deep coat on the skin over the body. So that you can manage your Vata doshas.
6. Avoid Excess Movements
Vata also controls the movement and circulation in our body. It gets disturbed due to fun activity, excitement, access movement, and physical activity that can affect the Vata dosha and disturb your enjoyment.
7. Avoid Cold Drinks and Foods
Vata dosha can be aggravated by cold drinks and food because it controls cold and dryness. You can have hot food or drinks instead of cold ones.
Conclusion
Holi is a festival full of colors, excitement, activity, and fun. During this festival, the doshas generally get disturbed. Vata is connected to air and space. Being connected to this can promote both the other doshas of the body. It also leads to stability and nourishment. Vata-pacifying terms can lead to calming the doshas.
It is the time when you should take care of your face, skin, diet, and activity, too, to control your Vata so that you can enjoy this festival to the fullest. It is the celebration of harmony and the colors of life. So, it’s important to calibrate it safely and healthily.