Kapha Season

When the elements of Earth and Water dominate

Yes, my friends, it’s that time of year again. When (according to Ayurveda) we transition from Vata Season to Kapha Season sometime in late winter. There is no date on the calendar to indicate when it begins, so we must be aware of Mother Nature’s subtle (or sometimes not-so-subtle) shifts in her elements.

When I saw the weather forecast for today, I thought it would be the perfect day to share this post.

Full disclosure: I have copied some of this article from years past, tweaking it here and there.

Changes in the weather usually involve a lot of back-and-forth, but eventually, we get better at knowing when we’ve fully arrived in Kapha Season.

If you’re new to my newsletter and unfamiliar with Ayurveda, this would be a good place to start.

Reading up on Vata will be more applicable to those living in the Southern Hemisphere.

I have always lived in places with four distinct seasons, where it’s much easier to know when the Ayurvedic calendar shifts. If you're in the Northern Hemisphere but in a warmer climate, you will likely still feel a change, just not as pronounced as those of us who experience more distinct seasons.

Typically, Vata season lasts through early winter. In February or March (late winter), the Kapha season rolls in and stays throughout the spring.

In the Northeastern US, where I live, you know it’s here when you feel the dryness of Vata begin to wane and the dampness of Kapha take its place. Wet snow will give way to cold rain or vice versa.

This is a much better indicator than a set date. Think bone-chilling dampness, rain, snow, and slush. Even when the sun is shining brightly, you can still feel the dampness in the air.

We have had snow on the ground all winter—a lot of it—and cold temperatures with dry snow — easy shoveling. It has been a typical Vata Season because the Vata dosha is cold and dry.

By now, you probably know how much I love winter, and I'm sad it will soon end. It’s been a perfect season for skating, sledding, and snowshoeing in the woods. But I will be a good sport and let the people who love spring and summer have their slice of weather happiness. :)

Never too old for sledding down the hill!

This time of year can also be a challenge for many people, so I wanted to drop in and write about why that might be from an Ayurvedic point of view. If you find yourself feeling unusually sluggish, there’s a reason.

Cold, damp, and heavy are a few qualities associated with Kapha dosha and, therefore, with Kapha Season.

Ayurveda doesn't put exact dates on the seasons because changeability is one of its principles, and the weather is unpredictable.

To truly live an Ayurvedic lifestyle, we should try to stay in tune with Nature on a daily basis.

Ayurveda teaches that the transition between seasons is perilous for our health, and we must be particularly vigilant as our bodies adjust to the changing climate.

My body has always been sensitive to fluctuations in the weather, so I’m pretty aware of when seasons start to shift.

If you begin to pay attention, you will notice that more people get sick during seasonal transitions. The world likes to blame it on viruses and such, but Ayurveda would likely disagree.

For those of us with a lot of Vata dosha in our constitution, this time of year usually comes as a welcome relief as Vata Season ends. Personally, I dread this transition because I don’t like humidity at any time of year, and I get a little panicky coming out of my winter hibernation. 🐻

Anxiety might start to wane a bit (Vata rules the nervous system) as the air and space elements give way to the Kapha elements of earth and water.

But those who are Kapha-types or someone experiencing a Kapha imbalance (this can happen no matter what your constitution is) may find themselves feeling lethargic, congested, and oftentimes depressed.

Water is Kapha’s primary element. Earth is secondary.

It's no surprise that someone with a lot of Kapha in their constitution will often complain of feeling "stuck in the mud,” - especially at this time of year. The more we pay attention to the influence of the particular dosha that dominates the day, season, or time of life, the more successful we become at achieving balance.

In New Hampshire, spring is literally called Mud Season, and driving the dirt roads can be challenging.

In the eastern chakra system, Kapha is associated with the first chakra (Muladhara, the root—the earth element) located at the base of the spine/genital region.

Also, the second chakra (Swadhisthana, the sacral—the water element) is located below the navel, where the reproductive organs lie.

Kapha is Mother Earth personified - sturdy, grounded, solid, and reliable.

Kapha’s association with the 2nd chakra/water element accounts for the strong sexuality and sensuality that Kapha types embody.

Qualities of Kapha dosha are cold, damp, smooth, oily, soft, slow, steady, dense, and heavy.

Its tastes are sweet, salty, and sour, so the tastes that help to balance Kapha are bitter, astringent, and pungent.

Kapha is our body mass, structure, and fluids, which make up our muscles, fat, and bones.

It is mainly seated in the chest but also in the throat, sinuses, nose, head, mouth, stomach, joints, cytoplasm, and plasma, and especially in bodily secretions, such as mucus.

The mucus of Kapha protects precious tissue in the body, but as it accumulates, it needs to be expelled, or it can lead to disease.

Roughly 10% of diseases are caused by Kapha imbalances (60% by Vata, 30% by Pitta), but stagnation and/or accumulation of mucus in the body is often the culprit.

This is why many people have colds and stomach bugs in late winter and spring. Eating a heavy, fat, Vata-pacifying diet throughout the fall and early winter can lead to sluggish digestion and result in mucus buildup in the stomach, especially for Kapha types.

When Kapha season arrives, Kapha people often feel the need to vomit. In fact, treatment in Ayurveda’s panchakarma for Kapha imbalances is known as vamana - therapeutic vomiting. (No, thank you!)

Lungs and sinuses also become congested, and the lymphatic system can become sluggish.

Kapha season is a time for cleansing and eating more detoxifying foods.

Beets, bitter greens, apples, pomegranates, millet, buckwheat, aduki beans, ghee, and most spices are all good choices for eliminating excess Kapha.

Childhood is the Kapha time of life (birth to age 18), and it's the reason children have so many upper respiratory illnesses that they seem to be forever producing mucus!

Some tips for a Kapha-pacifying diet can be found here. Just don't be too rigid in trying to follow them. Instead, look for foods on the list that you like and eat lots of them.

Common sense should tell you that forcing yourself to eat anything that doesn't appeal to you will not have a positive and healing effect.

Even those without much Kapha in our constitution can benefit from an Ayurvedic cleanse in the spring and by eating seasonal foods.

Mother Nature, in all her wisdom, provides precisely the right foods we need each season. By eating local foods grown by our farmers, we will be living Ayurvedically.

When reading the lists below, remember that we all have the three doshas in us, but most of us have more of one or two doshas that dominate our constitution. Therefore, some of us will relate to these traits a lot, some a bit, and some almost not at all.

Physical traits of Kapha-types:

• Large in stature, with sturdy bones

• Cool, moist skin

• Large, strong teeth

• Strong sense of taste and smell

• Eyes are usually large, warm, and almost liquid in appearance

• Thick, shiny hair

• Strong, clear nails

• Steady appetite

• Deep sleeper

• Strong stamina

Traits of a balanced Kapha-type:

• Warm and compassionate

• Nurturing (Gives the best hugs!)

• Loving, loyal, and kind

• Excellent partners and parents

• Strong, sturdy, and steady

• Grounded

• Even-tempered

• Hard-working

• Patient

Traits of an out-of-balance Kapha-type:

• Depressed

• Attached to the material world (potential for hoarding) and to others

• Possessive and greedy

• Lethargic (too much of the earth element)

• Weight gain /water retention (too much of the water element)

• Laziness

• Unforgiving and stuck in the past. Kaphas have memories like elephants!

• Passivity

• Unable or unwilling to change

• Health problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure

• A buildup of mucus (spring colds and allergies are common)

What Kapha-types need to do to stay balanced and healthy: (Note - please don't be overwhelmed! Pick one or two of the following to focus on)

• Exercise daily (especially in the early morning)

• Get up and get moving, preferably before sunrise, and don’t take afternoon naps. Sleeping during Kapha times of day (6-10) results in sluggishness, and a Kapha-type will lack motivation for the rest of the day. Because the water element is so strong in Kapha types, they need to keep moving, or they will stagnate like an obstructed river.

• De-clutter to lighten their load physically, mentally, and emotionally

• Sip hot herbal/spiced teas instead of drinking too much water. Kapha-types tend to retain water. Avoid cold beverages altogether.

• Reduce foods that are cold, heavy, and oily. Stay away from sweet, sour, and salty, and instead, add foods that are light, dry, warm, pungent, bitter, and astringent.

• Reduce mucus-producing foods such as dairy, wheat, and oats.

• Avoid heavy meats and fried foods

• Keep warm and dry, especially during the cold, damp Kapha season.

• A good Kapha-pacifying daily routine: Up before sunrise, meditation and morning workout, light breakfast at 8:00 a.m. Healthy lunch (biggest meal of the day) 12:30-1:00 p.m. and a light supper at 5:00-6:00 p.m. Bedtime between 10-11 p.m. Kaphas don't need as much sleep as the other doshas (they tend to sleep too much), but a regular bedtime and restorative sleep are beneficial.

• Kaphas can fast more easily than the other doshas, and it will help jumpstart their sluggish metabolism. They should avoid eating past 6:00 p.m., 7:00 at the latest. This will give them a mini fast each evening. The word breakfast means just that - break - fast.

• Add spices to food to spark digestion. Be careful with salt intake and avoid table salt altogether.

• Raw honey is a good sweetener for reducing Kapha. During the Kapha season, buy local raw honey to help with springtime allergies. Just don’t heat it.

Kapha types make excellent teachers, healers, chefs, or any profession involving nurturing.

They are physically hard workers because of their incredible stamina.

I doubt there’s a person reading this article who doesn’t know and love a Kapha-type.

If you have a Kapha in your life and want to support them during this challenging season, encourage them to move (Vatas are good at this!), motivate, fire them up, and help them organize and clear the clutter from their mental, emotional, and physical world (Pittas are good at this!).

These are perfect ways to show your love for a Kapha, and they will return that love with the best warm hug you’ve ever had!

If you’re unsure of your Ayurvedic constitution, click HERE to take a simple quiz.

I share about Ayurveda because, more than anything else, it has helped me heal over the past two decades. I have been a student of it for many years. I try to keep my writing digestible (no pun intended!) and easy to understand. But like many other systems of health, Ayurveda can often seem dogmatic.

I don’t live a perfectly Ayurvedic lifestyle and find many food recommendations too restrictive.

It may or may not be your cup of tea.

So, take this or leave it. Get to know what your body needs at this time in your life. This is one of the reasons that Ayurveda resonates with me. It’s not a one-size-fits-all health theory being preached. It literally means “the knowledge of life” and focuses on our unique constitutions.

Much Love,
Barbara

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