Diet and lifestyle to follow as per Ayurveda in Rainy Season ( Varsha Ritucharya)

Rainy season plays an important role in our life as it provides for water and food plus it is the most romantic season, brings in cool and soothing feel after the torturous summer heat. But along with these it brings many other things with it. So let’s see the rainy season through the eyes of ayurveda.

Importance of Ritucharya & Aahar (Food)

Diwali is the biggest festival for all of us. The fireworks, laddu’s, yummy snacks all add taste to our joy. But there is one thing that most of us hate is the morning “Abhyanga” where we have to get up early , massage our body with oil, and apply  ‘ubtan’ (Mixture of skin cleansing herbal powders) and  then take bath. Most of us wonder why is this important to wake up so early in the ‘vacation’ & in the winters just to have bath? Our parents & grand parents tell us that it’s a ritual which we have to follow anyway & so we do it. But still the question remains unanswered.

Six Tastes For Health - Shadrasa Aahar

There is a phrase saying, “A way to one’s heart is through the stomach”, which means good food can make anyone happy. Ayurveda emphasized on the concept of complete aahar and describe how it deeply affects the health of our body and mind. 
But what is meant by good food? There are numerous definitions of good food when it comes to the point of health for e.g. oil free foods, fibre-rich foods & many more. But when it comes to the point of satisfaction & contentment, whatever the food is made up of, if its tastes well, we tend to eat food in large quantity.
The taste, good or bad in the food articles comes from the “Rasa” of the ingredients present in that food.
In Sanskrit “Rasana” is the word for tongue which means the organ which creates sense of taste or Rasa’s. Ayurveda has described this concept of Rasa along with their functions and ill effects on body & mind if they are taken beyond a certain limit.
Ayurveda also mentions the various food articles which contains the specific Rasa. So let’s see the details about Rasa.

Aahar - Do’s & Don’ts-The Golden Rules

It is said that, “Eat to live, don’t live to eat”. For healthy body and mind , aahar is one of the most essential element. Hence we must be  aware of what and how we eat.

In our pervious articles we have seen that how eating habits affect our body and mind deeply & can cause long lasting ill effects and leading  cause of major diseases.

“Prevention is always better than cure” is the mantra Ayurveda believes in.So Ayurveda stated the concept of “Matrahara”*(http://www.ayurbeej.in/2016/02/aahar-diet-through-eyes-of-ayurveda.html), 8 rules which must be considered when having food (Ashtau-vidhi-ahar-visheshaytana) before 5000 years ago.
But still there are many small mistakes we do in our day to day life which can later spell trouble if continued for long.
Here are some golden rules which are easy to follow & can help us a lot for not to get ill.

Ama - The Root Cause of All illnesses

These days our body and mind are affected by all types of toxins, which includes environmental, emotional, physiological factors. If a person is not eating according to his appetite or consumes incompatible foods knowingly or unknowingly or time of having lunch or dinner are irregular and coupled with other factor may lead to a stressed, overburdened stomach and which may over time impacts the natural capacity of digestion. Hence food if not digested in proper manner leads to production of “Ama”