Hemanta (Mid- November to Mid-January) and Shishira (Mid-January to Mid-March) Rtucharya
Daily regimens :
In the morning one should adopt to practices like abhyanga (oil application to the body), followed by vyayama (exercises), Mardana (massage), Udwartana (powder massage), and snana (bath).
Vyayama can be done till one’s maximum strength because during these seasons body will have maximum endurance power. One should make use of this strength and good digestive power and enhance the body’s vitality.
Dietary modifications:
In the early winter and winter seasons, digestive fire will be powerful and hence one should consume food that is rich, heavy, and predominantly sweet, sour and salty tastes so that the powerful digestive fire will be digesting the food and will not lead to depletion of body tissues.
Foods that are heavy to digest like black gram, wheat, freshly harvested cornand other grains, milk and dairy products, sugarcane juice, honey, edible oils and fats should be consumed as per the digestive capacity.
One should cover themselves with silk clothes, wool, jute and should dress heavy and warm in order to protect the body from extreme cold temperature.
Application of pastes like Saffron, Agarwood is advisable due to their property of maintaining body heat.
To be avoided:
Foods and drinks that aggrevate Vata dosha, which are easily digestible, insufficient food, foods predominantly of pungent, bitter, astringent tastes and diluted buttermilk should be avoided.
Exposure to dew/snow, cold breeze, day sleep should be avoided.
The physical strength is at the best during early winter and winter seasons.
Dosha influence :
Vata gets aggrevated during these seasons.
Hence one should resort to practices that are favourable to the seasonal changes and hence counteracting the effects of dosha imbalance and thereby leading a healthy lifestyle synchronised with nature.
REGIMEN OF SPRING SEASON (VASANTA RTUCHARYA)
Mid March to Mid May
Kapha which has undergone an increase during the winter season will now get liquefied due to the heat of the Sun.
This leads to a diminishing of the digestive fire (Agni) and will give rise to many diseases. Hence Kapha should be controlled.
Dietary modifications
Food that are easily digestible, that which is dry and moisture and foods that mitigate kapha like pungent, astringent, bitter tastes should be used to control the aggrevated kapha and to increase the digestive fire in the body.
One should consume old barley, preparations like fermented grape juice with honey, water boiled with nutgrass. Always boiled water should be used for drinking.
Lifestyle modifications
Massaging the body with dry powders(udwartana), exercises, inhalation of medicinal smoke (dhumapana), mouth gargling (gandusha), anjana (collyrium), application of pates of Garwood and sandalwood in the body should be practiced.
The person should spend mid-day in forests in the company of friends, storytelling, and pleasant games, with plenty of water reservoirs around, listening to the chirping of birds and enjoying the fragrances of sweet-smelling flowers.
To be avoided
Avoid foods that are heavy to digest, oil, milk, and dairy products, and foods that are predominantly salt, sour, sweet, and fatty in nature.