Ritucharya: Eating and Living by the Seasons in Ayurveda

What Ritucharya Actually Means

Ritucharya is Ayurveda's seasonal regimen: the traditional guidance on how to change diet, sleep, exercise and daily habits as the seasons turn. The word joins two Sanskrit terms, ritu (season) and charya (routine or regimen). Rather than one routine for the whole year, the classical texts set out a different one for each of six seasons.

This guide follows a published review of the classical regimen, Thakkar, Chaudhari and Sarkar's "Ritucharya: Answer to the lifestyle disorders" (Ayu, 2011). Everything below about what each season calls for is traditional Ayurvedic teaching as that review summarizes it. It describes a way of living that the tradition considers balancing, not a medical treatment, and it isn't a substitute for care from your doctor.

The classical texts divide the year into six ritus: Shishira (winter), Vasanta (spring), Grishma (summer), Varsha (monsoon), Sharat (autumn) and Hemanta (late autumn). The review notes that "as Ayurveda has its origin in India, the above seasonal changes are observed predominantly in Indian subcontinent." The Bay Area has no monsoon, so applying the calendar here means interpreting it, a point we come back to below.

The Six Ritus and Their Dosha Patterns

According to the review, each ritu lasts about two months and brings its own pattern of dosha accumulation (deposition), aggravation (vitiation) and settling (pacification), along with a traditional reading of digestive strength (agni):

• Shishira (winter, mid-January to mid-March): Cold, with cold wind. Kapha is deposited, while agni "remains in a higher state."
• Vasanta (spring, mid-March to mid-May): Kapha becomes vitiated and agni is described as low (manda). Easily digestible food is advised.
• Grishma (summer, mid-May to mid-July): Intense heat. Vata is deposited, vitiated Kapha is pacified, strength is lower and agni is mild.
• Varsha (monsoon, mid-July to mid-September): Strength is lower again, Vata becomes vitiated, Pitta is deposited, and agni "also gets vitiated."
• Sharat (autumn, mid-September to mid-November): Vitiated Vata is pacified, Pitta becomes vitiated, and "activity of Agni increases."
• Hemanta (late autumn, mid-November to mid-January): Cold winds begin. Strength is at its highest, vitiated Pitta is pacified, and "activity of Agni is increased."

Notice that the tradition does not tie a dosha to a season in a simple one-to-one way. Each dosha builds up in one season, is aggravated in the next, and settles in a third, which is why the dietary advice changes every two months.

In the classical scheme, Sharat (autumn) is when Pitta that built up during the rains becomes aggravated, so light, sweet and bitter foods are advised.

Eating by the Season: What the Texts Advise

Diet is the most concrete part of ritucharya. The review summarizes the classical diet guidance for each season:

• Shishira: foods with a predominantly sour taste; cereals and pulses, new rice, corn, ginger, garlic, and milk and milk products. Light and cold foods are to be avoided.
• Vasanta: easily digestible foods such as old barley, wheat and rice, lentils and mung, with bitter, pungent and astringent tastes and honey. Cold, heavy, sour and sweet foods, new grains, curd and cold drinks are not preferred.
• Grishma: foods that are light to digest and sweet, unctuous, cold and liquid, such as rice and lentils; "drinking plenty of water and other liquids," including buttermilk and fruit juices. Salty, pungent, sour and warm foods are to be avoided, and alcoholic preparations are prohibited.
• Varsha: sour, salty and unctuous foods; old barley, rice and wheat; soups; and boiled or medicated water. Heavy, hard-to-digest foods and excessive liquids are to be avoided.
• Sharat: sweet and bitter foods that are light to digest and cold, chosen to pacify Pitta, such as wheat, green gram, sugar candy and honey. Fats, oils and curds are among the foods to avoid.
• Hemanta: unctuous, sweet, sour and salty foods, including new rice, green gram, milk products and sesame. Light, cold and dry foods and cold drinks are to be avoided.

Some of these lists reflect the foods of ancient India, and a few items (meat soups, fermented drinks) won't suit everyone's diet. The pattern is what most people take from them: warmer, richer food in the cold ritus, when the tradition describes digestion as strong, and lighter, cooler, more liquid food in the heat. If you have a medical condition, food allergies or a prescribed diet, that guidance comes first.

The tradition does address the changeover. Classical texts call the last seven days of one season and the first seven days of the next ritusandhi, the transition between seasons, and advise tapering the old season's regimen while taking up the new one "in a gradual, phased manner" (Ashtanga Hridaya, Sutra Sthana 3/58, as summarized by Charaka Samhita Online). That is traditional guidance, not a tested schedule; in practice it can simply mean swapping a few foods at a time rather than overhauling your pantry at once.

Daily Routine and Bodywork Through the Ritus

Ritucharya also covers sleep, exercise and oil massage. As the review summarizes the texts:

• Sleep: day sleep is "strictly contraindicated" in Vasanta, described as helpful in Grishma, and to be avoided in Varsha and Hemanta.
• Exercise: one "may do exercise" in Vasanta; in Grishma "excessive exercise or hardwork is to be avoided"; in Varsha exercise and hard work are prohibited; in Hemanta exercise is recommended.
• Oil and bodywork: massage with oil is listed for Shishira, "rubbing the body with oil properly after bath" for Varsha, and body and head massage for Hemanta. For Grishma the texts suggest cool places, light clothing and "applying sandal wood and other aromatic pastes over the body."
• Warmth: in the cold ritus the texts recommend warm water, sunlight and warm clothing, and avoiding cold wind.

Abhyanga, the traditional full-body warm-oil massage, is the obvious bridge between these seasonal routines and a professional treatment; our Abhyanga mini guide explains what it involves.

Ritucharya's food guidance changes every two months, following the six classical seasons rather than four.

Bringing Ritucharya Into a Bay Area Routine

Because the classical calendar describes Indian seasons, anyone using it elsewhere has to interpret it. One way to do that is to look at the qualities of the weather you actually have (cold or hot, dry or damp) and borrow the guidance of the classical season whose qualities match, rather than following the dates literally. On a cold, windy Palo Alto evening, for example, that might mean the warm food, warm water and oil massage the texts give for the cold ritus. That is an interpretation of the tradition, not something the classical texts or research have tested for this climate.

A practical way to start: pick the season you're in and change one habit, such as warm tea instead of a cold drink on a cold day, or lighter meals in a heat wave, and see whether you like it. If you're curious which dosha is said to dominate your own constitution, our guide to understanding your dosha explains the idea.

At Shanti Dhara Wellness in Palo Alto, the menu's Abhyanga Body Treatment is a warm herbal oil massage: 75 minutes for $228 or 90 minutes for $268. The two-hour Combo Package ($358) is the treatment the menu describes as "tailored to your Dosha type and chakra balance." If you'd like the season taken into account in any other treatment, ask the studio when you book.

FAQ: Ritucharya and the Seasons

What is ritucharya in Ayurveda?

Ritucharya is the Ayurvedic seasonal regimen: traditional guidance on adjusting diet, sleep, exercise and daily routine according to the season. The word combines ritu (season) and charya (regimen). The classical texts describe six seasons, each with its own pattern of dosha accumulation, aggravation or settling.