Balancing Vata Dosha

In Ayurveda, when a dosha is increased (imbalanced), the person will crave foods and habits that will keep increasing that dosha. Meaning, they will crave the completely wrong things!

Vata people talk a lot, move a lot, do a lot, lose focus, forget things, skip details, are creative, are dramatic and moody, love to be spontaneous, and are naturally bubbly. But, when vata people drink a lot of coffee, skip meals yet eat candy as a food group, drink lots of diet Coke or carbonated beverages with ice, it means “Vata imbalance.” Why? Because a balanced vata would not crave those things.

The most common vices for vata are: icy and/or carbonated beverages, coffee, candy, fake sugars, and gum.

In addition, anxiety, racing thoughts, insomnia, extra cardio (because they are worried about weight gain), constipation, and dramatic changes in mood are all common and often arrive together. It’s all too much movement, too much activity, too much cold.

On the contrary, a balanced vata craves: warm food and drinks, a whole foods diet, early bed and early rise, craves a scheduled routine and downtime.

When vatas follow what balances them, their positive qualities will majorly outshine the qualities they need to work on. If there was a bubbly, dramatic, unfocused person in front of me, and they grabbed a cup of herbal tea while enjoying their morning oatmeal, I would guess that they are much closer to their original balance.