Balancing Vata

Vata is the first dosha to address for our physical health. Vata is the principle of movement and the energetic force within nature that animates, brings life and movement, and transports all other elements throughout our body. It's main site physiologically is in the colon where it governs absorption and elimination, and put simply, the sufficient removal of waste has prime impact on our health and inner harmony; like emptying a rubbish bin and not letting it overflow back into the systems of our body. Balancing Vata is key for us all!

The master form of Vata is Prana, the very breath of life that causes us to be alive, breathing, and moving. The strength of Prana is aliveness, adaptability, lightness, lack of stagnancy.

Excess Vata is reflected by too much movement in all its forms, erratic movement, depletion, and ungroundedness. "Flighty" is a word that comes to mind. Dryness is a key sign of excess movement, like a constant dessicating wind with cold, bitter, astringent qualities that dries and wears away and wears out. It may move until it wears out, never choosing a moderate, steady rhythm that enables healthy transformation and stabilisation.

For inner well-being, our Jyotish chart reflects Vata in the planet Saturn, and often with Mercury, and the lunar node Rahu. Saturn represents earthly limitation and boundary, and the effort we must make to do what is needed in life. This inevitably brings feelings of grief. Rahu represents strong desire and compulsion to develop a capacity or area of life within us, and this can bring confusion, anxiety, and unsteadiness. Mercury represents our intellect and the ability to gather facts, directly observe, and desire to communicate. Mercury likes to be neutral and sociable and when we meet with disapproval or lack of being seen and heard, this also brings grief. Too much information gathering can also create ungroundedness with contemplating too many ideas and opinions. What these aspects of our nature have in common are qualities of bitterness, coldness, dryness, erratic movement, and excessive movement. All the qualities of Vata. The Moon is also swift in her movement and our flow of feeling can also unground us if we don't digest our feelings and thoughts effectively.

I also experience that when we have a lot of Jupiter in our nature, i.e. broad awareness and a heart for life at large, the busyness of our thought and feeling to seek solutions and bring broad awareness and kindness can make us be "too much in our head" and not be grounded in our body and breath. Jupiter is related to the element of space, akash, and hearing. Too much Jupiter can impact the next element of air which is Vata. If we have our Sun and Mars in Jupiter signs, Sattvic Pitta, we will have the dual impact of heat and air which will dry us out internally if we don't express our inner fire out of ourselves in constructive ways.

These are some things to consider with Vata, and balance with steadiness, routine, warmth, moisture, and healthy sweetness.