Monsoon (Varsha) is a delightful season lasting from mid-July to mid-September, bringing vivid changes not only in nature but also in the body. In Monsoon, the temperature and humidity are perfect conditions for germs to thrive, increasing the risk of various infections like common cold or cough, typhoid, malaria, dengue, cholera, allergies, contamination, flu, skin rashes, indigestion, and many other diseases. Read on to know how you can stay healthy and safeguard yourself against these seasonal illnesses.
What does Ayurveda Say?
Ayurveda lays a lot of importance on staying as close to nature as possible to maintain good health and prevent diseases. During monsoon, Vata is aggravated, Pitta is accumulated and Kapha is pacified. This is the major cause of various diseases occurring during the rainy season. Ayurveda suggests a few very effective techniques to maintain a balance in all three doshas and stay in the prime of your health.
Dietary Changes:
Lack of resistance makes you vulnerable to sickness hence strengthening the immunity should be your prime objective. Making appropriate changes in your daily diet plan will keep you healthy during this season.
- Eat fresh home-cooked food and seasonal fruits like Jamun, Cherries, Litchi, Peach, Plum, Pomegranate, or Pears.
- Drinking boiled water will make your digestive system good.
- Include ghee, lentils, green gram, rice, and wheat in daily diet.
- Avoid stale, heavy foods, acidic, sour, and spicy foods.
- Drinking tea by adding some ginger, tulsi, or turmeric helps protect you from cold or sneezing.
- Avoid green leafy vegetables since the grime and dampness present in them makes them highly susceptible to germs.
- Having buttermilk is good during the monsoon since curd takes a longer time to digest.
Lifestyle Changes:
Consumption of a healthy diet only may not provide desired results unless it is supported by lifestyle beneficial for monsoon. The following are the tips for the important changes in the lifestyle of the rainy/monsoon season.
- Avoiding sleep in the daytime is good as sleep hampers digestion and slows down the metabolism.
- Make a schedule of your workout at home and do some light exercise or little yoga and stretching.
- Ensure your surroundings are clean and free from insects and mosquitoes.
- Avoid entering an air-conditioned room with wet hair and damp clothes.
- When you reach home wash your feet clean with normal water and apply some moisturizer to prevent rash and fungal growth.
- Pamper yourself with oil massage regularly and have a warm water bath, this helps to pacify Vata and leaves your skin soft and supple.
- Avoid walking in dirty, accumulated water and frequently getting wet in rains, however, if you get wet in rain then change into dry and clean clothes as soon as possible.
- Try Panchakarma. It is a season based therapy and is advocated especially during the monsoon. Treatments like Abhyanga (Massage therapy), Shastika Pinda Sweda (Steam therapy), Basti treatment for joint, knee joint pain, body ache and backache, help remove deep-rooted stress and illness-causing toxins from the body while balancing the doshas. These treatments always must begin with an initial consultation by an Ayurvedic Physician who can determine the individual’s Prakriti (constitutional type), the nature of the health problem (if any), and the appropriate degree of intensity of the prescribed therapies.
Useful ayurvedic herbs for Monsoon season:
- Ashwagandha, one of the best herbs in Ayurveda, provides horse-like health, vitality, and well being to humans. It has exceptional healing properties and aids prevention as well as heals multiple health problems. Major health benefits of ashwagandha include hormone balancing, inflammation reduction, stress-relieving, and restoring stamina lost by cold or cough during this season.
- Ginger or dried ginger powder works wonders for digestive problems and respiratory disorders which can be life-saving during the rainy season. Dry ginger cures gases improve appetite and digestive system whereas it is also used widely for cough and cold remedies as it manages phlegm effectively.
- There are a variety of Ayurvedic herbs such as Tulsi, Amla, Pippali, or Pudina that can nourish specific physiological systems and processes that can help prevent several monsoon-related ailments.
Take away:
The wisdom of Ayurveda not only helps us to enjoy the beauty of rains and nature but also to appreciate the beauty of enhanced wellbeing. Let us live in harmony with the qualities of the season and accept the benefits in its totality.
