In this episode of “5 Minutes,” Dr. Robert Svoboda explores the seasonal transitions from spring into summer and autumn into winter, and explains their importance from an Ayurvedic perspective.

In earlier discussions, I addressed the transitions from winter into spring and from summer into autumn. These are more dramatic seasonal changes because winter into spring is a movement from cold to warm, and summer into autumn is a movement from hot to cool. These changes are easy to notice.

The two seasonal transitions I want to talk about today are the less dramatic ones: spring into summer and autumn into winter. These are really intensifications rather than obvious changes.

I am speaking mainly about the four seasons of the temperate regions. In the subtropics and the tropics, there are really three seasons. In Ayurveda, we speak of six seasons, but these can generally be understood as cold, warm, and wet. I find it easier to explain them using the four-season model, which can then be adapted to the three-season model.

The transition from spring into summer is an intensification. During winter you are cold, in spring you gradually become warmer, and by summer the heat has become fully established. The same happens from autumn into winter. You become cooler and cooler until the cold of winter arrives.

Unlike the transitions from winter into spring and summer into autumn, these changes are less obvious. Because they happen gradually, it is easier to overlook them. Yet they are extremely important because they are the periods when chaya, or accumulation, takes place.

In Ayurveda, it is said that the Kapha accumulated during winter becomes Kapha disease in the spring. During spring, Kapha is resolved, either because you consciously reduce it or because illness forces the body to do so.

At the same time, while spring is progressing, Pitta is accumulating. If you do not pay attention to Pitta during spring, you are more likely to experience a Pitta disorder during the summer.

Then summer moves into autumn. Vata becomes more active, while Pitta settles down. As you focus on managing Vata, it is easy to overlook the fact that winter is approaching and Kapha is beginning to accumulate once again.

So during autumn, while paying attention to Vata, it is equally important to notice the gradual accumulation of Kapha.

It is very important during spring to pay attention to the accumulation of Pitta, and during autumn to pay attention to the accumulation of Kapha.

If you do this, it becomes much easier to maintain your health without having to deal with unnecessary health crises. As Ayurveda teaches, always bring the doshas under control while they are still in the stage of accumulation.

Even though these seasonal changes are less obvious, please pay careful attention to them.