According to Ayurveda, Vata dosha is the aspect of Nature's intelligence responsible for movement, both in Nature and in our physiology.

Vata season, which is characterised by cold, windy weather, runs in the UK from mid-September until around Christmas. During this period, Vata is more prominent in Nature so we tend to accumulate more Vata in our physiology.

You may notice symptoms of Vata imbalance, or increased or aggravated Vata. Your mind may become more distractable, over-busy. Emotionally you could worry more about things. You may have problems with sleeping - either difficulty getting off to sleep, or waking in the middle of the night.

Physically you may begin to feel the cold more, and feel more sensitivity to everything.

You might have more wind in your stomach, and if you are prone to constipation it may be a time when there is more irregularity in bowel movements. Or, if you have irritable bowel you may find that this is playing you up more.

You might, perhaps, be feeling a bit more stiff in the joints, or some aching. If you are prone to back ache or neck ache, these are usually aggravated at this time too.

Vata season is a time when you have to take care of your own Vata by looking at areas of life where you as an individual generate more Vata.

For example, if you do a lot of traveling normally, try and cut back on this during Vata season and do only what you really have to.

Try not to go to bed late, which is a problem many suffer from in this society, as this causes increasing Vata as well.

Try not to be overworked in general. It is probably not a good time for most people to take on a major project, although Vata when it is balanced has the effect of making you feel lively and enthusiastic. One wouldn't want to curb these tendencies, you just have to be careful not to drift into the area where Vata is disturbed.

Have a diet which helps to settle Vata. Stick to warm, soothing cooked food. If your digestion or elimination suffers a bit, take moist foods - more soups, more milky puddings - and maybe a little extra ghee or oil in the diet as long as your digestion is strong enough.

Taking either fresh fruit or stewed fruit in the morning is good; particularly stewed fruits such as figs, prunes, apricots or raisins.

Use the Vata aromas around the house. Have some nice, settling fragrant smells in the house. Most sweet floral aromas are Vata-reducing.

The other thing that is particularly useful at this time is to do a sesame oil massage in the morning on a regular basis.

The change of season is a good time to do Maharishi Panchakarma rejuvenation therapy to balance Vata and remove toxins from all parts of the body.

If you suffer from constipation, it may be good to take some Triphala with Rose in the evening. Triphala is a renowned Ayurvedic preparation for balancing elimination and for gentle internal cleansing and can be taken regularly over long periods.

The Maharishi Ayurveda preparation MA 218 with ashwagandha and asparagus root is a good general preparation to have in Vata season because it balances all five Vatas.

However, Vata-balancing supplements may have to be prescribed more specifically, depending on which Vata is aggravated in which area of the body, and for this a Maharishi Ayurveda health consultation is recommended.

The change of season is always a good time to come and find out from an Ayurvedic physician what is out of balance..

It's important during this season in particular to keep to the routines: to eat at the same time, eat at the middle of the day, go to bed early, get up early.

When the clocks change in October we are effectively going to bed an hour later, so it's good to take a couple of weeks to make that hour's change gradually, and not suddenly move your whole routine forward an hour. This change in time increases the Vata-aggravating effect of the Vata season.

During the winter months it is even more important to keep to the 10 o'clock bed time if you don't want to disturb the doshas.

It's always important to exercise regularly, in moderation to about half your capacity. For people who have Vata disturbance it's good to do this exercise during the Kapha times of the day, between 6 and 10 in the morning, 6 to 8 in the evening.