Applying Ayurvedic Science:

Applying Ayurvedic Wisdom to Yoga, Meditation, and Daily Life

Understanding Ayurveda, especially the interplay of the Doshas and Gunas, allows you to align your lifestyle, yoga practice, and meditation with nature’s rhythms. Each Dosha—Vata, Pitta, and Kapha—has qualities that fluctuate depending on the time of day, season, and your stage of life. Becoming aware of these shifts helps break habitual patterns and opens the door to deeper balance and vitality.

Breaking Habits through Awareness:

We often fall into unconscious routines around diet, sleep, movement, and even our yoga practice. Ayurveda teaches us that healing begins with awareness. Only by observing how our energy, mood, and physical state change can we begin to create meaningful, supportive changes.

Personalized Guidance from Paige:

Paige gently helps individuals tune into their current state—asking about mood, energy, and any obstacles. What may feel like a simple check-in is actually a subtle assessment of your Dosha and Guna imbalances. From there, she crafts a personalized path of care. Over time, she integrates education and self-awareness practices, empowering you to make Ayurvedic choices on your own.

Yoga Practice by Dosha & Season:

Each Dosha corresponds with a season and requires different types of movement and meditation to stay balanced:

  • Kapha (Earth + Water):

    • Season: Late winter to early spring

    • Qualities: Heavy, slow, moist

    • Yoga Focus: Energizing, stimulating, dynamic flows that create warmth and circulation.

  • Pitta (Fire + Water):

    • Season: Summer

    • Qualities: Hot, sharp, intense

    • Yoga Focus: Cooling, grounding, non-competitive practices that calm the fire.

  • Vata (Air + Ether):

    • Season: Fall to early winter

    • Qualities: Dry, light, mobile

    • Yoga Focus: Slow, steady, grounding asanas that support stability and warmth.

Flexibility and Intention in Practice:

Although certain asanas are traditionally recommended for each Dosha, any pose can be adapted year-round. The key is how the pose is taught—its sequence, duration, and intention. A knowledgeable and experienced teacher can help you make modifications suited to your daily fluctuations, current life stage, and seasonal shifts.

Final Thoughts:

Integrating Ayurveda into your yoga and meditation creates a living, breathing practice that evolves with you. It’s not about rigid rules, but about living in tune with your unique nature and the world around you.

 

Ayurveda has 6 seasons even if you live in an area that doesn’t experience a large seasonal change: 

Early Winter Nov 15- Jan 15- Kapha

Winter Jan 15-March 15 - Vata

Spring March 15- May 15 Kapha

Summer May 15-July 15 - Pitta

Early Fall - July 15 - Sept 15 - Pitta

Fall Sept 15 - Nov 15 - Vata

Ayurveda also experiences “stages of life” that are reflected by a Dosha:

Ages 0-25: Kapha

Ages 25-50: Pitta

Ages 50-75: Pitta/Vata

Ages 75+: Vata

Other aspects are the stages reflected by the time of day:

6am-10am: Kapha

10am to 2pm: Pitta

2pm to 6pm: Vata

6pm to 10pm: Kapha

10pm to 2am: Pitta

2am to 6am: Vata

Kapha constitutions:

It is important that everyone keep active to ward off kapha-related conditions. Kaphas must especially keep warm and active to avoid kapha buildup (and hence colds, weight gain, sluggishness, depression etc). Vatas and Pittas should be ok with a Kapsha routine especially in the later winter/Springtime. Brisk walks are good, as are vigorous yoga as it helps clear out kappa. Getting more sleep in winter, especially if a Vata, who gets easily worn out and run down it is time to watch nature as it often starts in February from within to bloom again.

Examples of asanas for Kaphas:
Faster paced Sun Salutation, Camel pose, Boat, Headstand prep, handstand jumps/prep, warrior 3, half moon.  More moving positions and less time spent on resting positions.  Very uplifting and energetic. Pranayama – Bhastrika (breath of fire) and Alt. Nostril with breath retention – all to warm the body.

Pitta constitutions:

Pitta is hot and intense, so that needs to be balanced with things that are cool, light and floating. Pittas will suffer the most during summer; as much as they enjoy the season. Pitta is made up of the elements of Fire and Water though.  So don’t forget it has water.  Too much heat will unbalance as much as too much water. The most important thing is to find the middle ground to cool down.  Need mild or gentle cooling movement; such as swimming and walking through a cool forest or sitting by the water, lake or ocean (Great for Vata as well during this season – Mind Vata). If you do yoga it doesn’t mean just do gentle yoga though but you may want to explore it more regular in the summer.  Often Pitta types have to be “tricked” into the challenge of slowing down, holding and maintaining; allowing them to air out the body with their body and breath.  So the focus is on expanding and opening.

Examples of asanas for Pittas:
Slower paced sun salutation, modified up-dog (knees down); plant to forearm plank – not held long.  Down dog only held for shorter breaths – not building heat.  Fish pose or supported fish pose.  Twists, leg-lift pose (standing or laying down).  Cobra and frog pose.  Pigeon and lizard – both held longer to setting down.  Legs against the wall.  Pranayama – Shitali breaths, Yoga Nidra for visualization of the calm and coolness of places such as the mountains, lakes, grass.  Mantra sounds are cooling as well.

Vata constitutions: “Mind Vata” always as it is the leader of the elements.  

Vata is dry from wind as well as finishing a hot summer.  Instead of burning the fire out – it is important to start to slow down.  Listen to the foods of fall that are based on being grown from the earth.  This is a time of grounding and the asana focus should be this way as well.  Not just physically – but looking and observing down or out; instead of up.

In the fall and early winter (vata season), it is best to eat warm, nourishing foods to help balance the excess vata present in our external environment. Without vata reducing foods during the fall and early winter, we are likely to experience vata imbalances such as systemic dryness, scattered thoughts, fatigue or anxiety.

Examples of asanas for Vatas:

Slow moving sun salutation, plank, grounded focus on lunges, cat/cow, warriors, tree pose, and other standing postures.  Lotus, child, bridge posture.  Supported shoulder-stand and plow.  Half hero and half frog.  Gentle Kapalbhati breaths and Alternate Nostril breath.