Ritu Charaya

Ritu means season and Charya means regimen. Ritucharya is ancient Ayurvedic practice which consists of disciplined lifestyle and ayurvedic diet routine to be followed during different seasons to cope up with bodily and mental impacts caused by seasonal changes.It is mentioned in Ayurveda – “yat pinde, tat brahmande” that is to say – whatever there is in the environment is also there in human body. Our ancestors were aware of astronomy and keenly observed the changes in seasons with respect to sun, moon, stars, winds and rainfall. Hence, ritucharya is one of the ways to stay tuned or in sync with ever-changing nature and being healthy at the same time.

Classification of Seasons :
The year according to Ayurveda is divided into two periods Ayana (solstice) depending on the direction of movement of sun that is  Uttarayana (northern solstice) and Dakshinayana (southern solstice). Since two months make one ritu, we have six ritus or seasons i.e. –

Shishira – late winter
Vasanta – spring
Grishma – summer in uttarayan
Varsha – rains (monsoon)
Sharad – autumn
Hemanta – early winter (late autumn) in Dakshinayana

There occurs certain seasonal changes in the dosha’s (software of our body – vata, pitta, kapha).

There are mainly three changes –
Chaya – accumulation of deranged doshas in its main site
Prakopa – accumulation of deranged doshas in other main seats in the body
Prasaman – dosha’s coming back to normalcy after derangement

State of strength

In the beginning of Visarga Kala and ending of Adana Kala, i.e. during Varsha and Grishma, weakness occurs;
In the middle of solstices, i.e. during Sharata and Vasanta, strength remains in moderate grade;
In the end of Visarga Kala and in the beginning of Adana Kala i.e. during Hemanta and Shishira, maximum strength is seen.

Uttarayana
It indicates northward movement of thee sun. in this period the sun & wind are powerful. It is called as summer solstice. During Uttarayana the seasonal changes in Indian subcontinent is from Shishira to Vasanta to Grishma i.e. Mid Jan to Mid July when warmness and dryness in weather increases. It brings increase in bitter, astringent and pungent taste. It is also called Adana Kala.

Dakshinayana
It indicates movement of sun in southern hemisphere. It is tilt of southern hemisphere of the earth away from the sun causing the increase in immunity or strength due to seasonal effect gradually during Dakshinayana. Moon, wind, rain and clouds having cool properties are dominant than the sun having hot properties. The earth becomes cool due to the clouds, rain and cold winds. These cool properties cause the dominance of unctuous tastes like sour, salty and sweet in the environment during Varsha, Sharad and Hemant Ritu i.e. Mid-July to Mid Jan. It is also called Visarga kala.

Recommended habits and regimen for each Ritu