Lean on Ayurveda

Ep 23 - An Introvert’s Ayurvedic Guide to the End of the Year

• Vytaute Liutkeviciute • Episode 23

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Feeling the pull to slow down while the world speeds up? 

In this episode, I share how introverts and sensitive souls can navigate the end-of-year season with more peace, groundedness, and intention — using Ayurveda’s timeless tools for nourishment & rest.

As the year begins to wind down, the world around us tends to speed up — parties, deadlines, and a swirl of activity pulling us outward. Yet, nature — and often our inner world — call for stillness, reflection, and warmth.

In this episode, we explore the paradox of being an introvert (or simply a sensitive soul) in an extroverted season, and how Ayurveda invites us to meet this threshold with grace, nourishment, and truthfulness.

You’ll learn:
🌙 Why this time of year naturally calls for inward reflection — and how to honor that pull
🔥 What Ayurveda recommends for the winter season (nourishment, coziness, intimacy, and truthfulness)
🪞How to work with Vata energy and reverse the momentum of anxiety or overactivity
💬 The importance of saying truthful “yeses” — and peaceful “nos”
💗 How to create sacred pauses and design a more harmonious, heart-led season
💌 Why solitude and depth might be your greatest sources of connection

Whether you identify as an introvert, an empath, or simply someone craving more peace at the end of the year — this episode will help you soften into the wisdom of the season.


Work with me this Season:

I’m offering two ways to receive Ayurvedic support this winter:

  1. 🌿 Holiday Support Sessions — Single 1:1 sessions to help you feel grounded, clear, and centered through the holiday season. Available only through November and December.
    👉 Book your Holiday Support Session

  2. ✨ Awaken Your Health (12-Week Journey) — My signature Ayurvedic mentorship program designed to help you understand your body, align your daily rhythm, and finally feel better.
    👉 Book a Free Consult for Awaken Your Health

Follow along on Instagram: @leanonayurveda

Learn more about my work: https://leanonayurveda.com/

Subscribe to my newsletter: receive seasonal reflections, ayurvedic practices, recipes and free resources to bring balance into your daily life.

Book a 1:1 ayurvedic consultation: learn how to use food, rhythm and ritual to support your unique constitution.

If this episode resonates, please share it and rate the podcast - it helps more people discover the art of ayurveda as a support system for modern living!

SPEAKER_00:

Hi and welcome to the Lenan Ayurveda Podcast. Here we explore how the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda can help us gain a deeper understanding of our body and open the gateway to finally feeling better.

SPEAKER_01:

Hello and welcome to episode 23. My name is Vitote, I'm your host, and today I am really excited to talk to you about a topic that is incredibly relevant for myself as well as quite a number of people in my community whom I know to be introverts. And this episode is going to be all about how to navigate this end-of-the-year season as an introvert. But before we dive in, a little note for you. So these are single focus sessions for when you want to feel more grounded and clear heading into the end of the year, which we know can be a very challenging season for many reasons, especially if you're an introvert. But extroverts can apply too. And whether that means you know easing your digestion or protecting your rest or you know navigating travel or complicated holiday family dynamics that seem to repeat year after year, or simply finding your center in the swirl of all of your commitments and to-dos. So if this speaks to you, you can book your spot through the link in the show notes. Again, these are single sessions which I don't normally offer. Usually I work with people you know in the format of a journey where we see each other for uh about 12 weeks. So this is a special offering, and it can also be a great way to test the ground if you are considering embarking on a longer Ayurvedic journey, you know, because here you get to experience Ayurveda at work in one session. So if the software speaks to you, you can book it through the show notes, uh, through the link in the show notes. And um, as I said, this is only for November and December. Alright, let's begin. We're in this threshold between seasons right now, between the hot and the cold season, and in the northern hemisphere, nature is turning inward, right? So I'm recording this mid-November, almost mid-November. So you know the leaves have definitely fallen, the roots are deepening, the light is fading, and there's this energy of reflection that's settling in. So spiritual reflection is definitely on the menu, and um, you know, various traditions um across northern hemisphere um during this time or around this time, a calling in practices that honor the ancestors and invite more inner reflection. Um in the region where I come from, you know, the Baltic region, there is um there's definitely the presence of evergreen decorations like spruce and pine, and these are all reminders of the eternal life, right? That evergreen, that continuity amidst stillness. And you know, these practices that remind us of the inner light that we carry are also very present and have been historically present. So this is the time uh when in the northern hemisphere, you know, many traditions will have festivals and traditions that are there to remind us of the inner luminosity by increasing the outer luminosity, by lighting candles, by lighting lamps, by you know building a fire, by having the family sit around the fire or around the hearth. Um, and um in the Baltic region, for example, there is a tradition of burning a eulog, which symbolizes the burning up of all the misfortune in the village where it's practiced. So there is this momentum that um is coming through tradition that recognizes that things are stilling down, they're quieting down, and it's time for us to do the same while remembering the luminosity that we carry, but also remembering that it is wise to surrender to that stillness sometimes, right? And and the paradox nowadays um that I see is that the way our human human world is today, it's during this time that it's really speeding up, this end of the year, right? Because we have all of these external commitments that are suddenly picking up pace, like end-of-the-year deadlines, wrapping up of projects, end of the year goals that we haven't had time to implement, and now it's the you know the like the last run towards it. Then there's the social dimension of parties and dinners and family gatherings, and there is a lot of sound, there is a lot of sparkle, and there is a lot of things to do, right? So there is that conflicting requirement for us, right, that the society is imposing upon us. But yet, if you listen closely, your body, your breath, and your spirit, they are likely whispering something else that has been true for human beings for millennia. Right? Something like slow down, come inside, be still. Right? And I believe that this is the paradox that many introverts and you know sensitive people might feel really strongly this time of year. Um I definitely do um feel that pull inward when the world insists that we turn outward and speed up. So let's turn for a moment towards what the tradition of Ayurveda advises us to do, how how the tradition of Ayurveda advises that we meet this season. And if we were to look at the ancient texts, what we would see is that this is the season that human beings in the northern hemisphere who are experiencing winter are advised to eat richer foods. There is that focus on the nourishment piece during this time of year because this is the time of year when we're also genetically programmed to digest richer foods, right? So um our acne, our digestive fire, starts to grow stronger, right? So that we can metabolize um, you know, things that contain more fat in them that will favor our survival during the cold winter months. So this is the time when Ayurveda would say, you know, really look at how you can increase your nourishment, right? This is also the time that Ayurvada advises us to double down on the coziness and warmth. So the text actually says, like, wear warm clothing, put on extra blankets, wrap your body up in a pleasant texture like silk. So there's definitely that um a vocation of comfort, all things warmth and comfort, you know, taking warm baths, that's also in the texts, as you know, a great practice to do during the winter times. Another thing that is talked about is the practice of via vaya, which means engaging in amorous activity. So, you know, these darker, colder months that call us towards more inner uh orientation and also towards more indoor living, coupled with the fact that this is when our digestive fire is stronger, and our bodies actually have more strength in them as the digestive fire is stronger, because there is an oiliness that is building up because of the nourishing foods that we're eating and absorbing, ideally. This is when you know we as human beings would have like the best material to pass on to the next generation, right? So this is the time to engage in more intimate activity, which is so nicely paired with the coziness of the season. When it comes to you know caring for the body in the season, I already mentioned you know the nourishing foods and the keeping warm, but there are also aspects like um maintaining a physical regimen, right? Because whenever we have um when when we're cultivating a stronger agni that needs to go hand in hand with supporting that metabolism through physical activity, and so this is the time of year when perhaps a more strenuous physical activity, depending on your dosha, um can be of more benefit. Um, then other things that are mentioned in the texts are um you know exposure to sunlight whenever the sunlight is available, right? That is an important part of self-care during the season, as well as anointing and oiling our bodies, right? So um this is what you know Ayurveda taking into account the rhythm of nature, the the pulsations of the season, um, this is what it's inviting us to do: enjoying the comfort, the warmth, and human connection. And all of this I bet sounds lovely for almost everyone, and especially for introverts. Um, I myself, um, you know, I I as much as I love summer and summer months and all of the adventure that it brings, I always feel like a very subtle sense of relief and comfort when I start to notice the first uh signs of fall, and that's because I know that this more inward-oriented um rhythm is going to become more available for me, and after you know, a summer of travel and adventure and and adapting to different rhythms, that is what um I feel like a calling towards as the fall comes, right? And so this idea of comfort, warmth, and deeper connection is something that is only available to us when we can contain what in Ayurveda would be called high vata, right? So um this is the season when Vata, this energy that governs transportation and movement in our bodies, movement of substances, movement of air, movement of um our life force, and of our thoughts in our mind, uh this is the season when this energy pattern can become a little bit exacerbated, it becomes elevated, and if we don't tend to it, then that movement can become erratic. So if it becomes erratic in the lower half of our bodies, we might become constipated. If it becomes erratic in our extremities, we will have poor circulation. If it becomes erratic in our mind, we will become highly anxious and stressed, right? So these are all examples in Ayurveda of vitiated vata, and we need to be working with that vata energy during this time, and working with it always takes a little bit of courage because when it once it picks up momentum, and especially when it picks up momentum in the mind, it can be um you know it takes a bit of effort to reverse that spiral to say, actually, I'm going to pause, I'm going to mother myself and do the thing that is supportive for me, that will help me feel you know more comfortable, more warm, more connected. Right? And it might be as simple as putting your phone away for a few hours, or walking barefoot on a wooden floor, or sitting in quiet for, you know, 30 breaths or so, or doing some restorative yoga instead of continuing to engage with that high Vata momentum that might be pulling us further in the direction that is the opposite direction of you know comfort, warmth, and connection. And it's rather taking us towards more depletion, cold, and dispersion. And this requires, you know, engaging with vata patterns really requires that um ability to be truthful with ourselves, right? So um living truthfully and becoming honest about our own capacity and what's working for us and what's not working for us is part of what Ayurveda calls achara rasayana, which is behavioral nourishment. Essentially, it's behavioral conduct that leads to longevity, that leads to a long and healthy life. And being truthful is one of the first things that is talked about in acharyana, right? And this is not meant to say only telling the truth to others, but above all, being truthful to yourself, right? This is what I can hold right now. This is what's truly supportive for me in this season. So before saying yes this season as an introvert, whether it's an invitation, a favor, another project, you can pause and ask, am I saying yes because it's true, because it's the right thing to do, or am I saying yes because it would be impolite to decline? Right? Because every yes is a no to something else. For me, this was um a very important thing to realize in my life and in my, you know, in my scheduling, the way I plan my work, the way I plan my social life, my interactions, choosing consciously which door you want to open. Because each time you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else. So this is something you can keep in mind for each engagement. What are you saying yes to? And what as a result, what possibilities are falling off, right? So it might be helpful if you are in this season feeling a little stretched with your commitments, right? And um you keep on getting opportunities for more commitments, whether it's work-related or you know, socially related, what does saying yes to a commitment imply for your desire for more solitude, quietude, some alone time, maybe some comfort, maybe for some inner reflection. And in order to create a more intentional experience of the season, and in order to be able to answer these questions for ourselves, what we need to do, as the Vedic tradition teaches us, is the creation of a sacred pause. My yoga teacher used this metaphor a while ago and um it really stuck with me, and it's the metaphor of a door being a threshold, right? And when we approach a door that we want to walk through, there is always a pause. We always stop, we knock, right? Um or ring ring a doorbell, we wait for an answer. There is an intention there to take a breather just for a moment and see if somebody will let us in, right? Uh we don't just like barge in uh running, right? And the door is that threshold which we are at at the moment as well, in between the hot season and the cold season. And so each threshold is an opportunity for us to create that um that little moment of reflection, and this can take on any shape or form that is calling you, right? So it doesn't need to be like a grand ritual, right? Although if you can if if you're feeling called for grand ritual, that's that's great. Um, for example, my Ayurveda teacher recently did a workshop on designing a holiday season that is rooted in your heart space, right? And that reflects the wishes of your heart space, and that was a beautiful ritual which included um included movement and included meditation and journaling and a discussion. Um, so it can absolutely be like a beautiful bigger ritual that you do in a group or on your on your own, but it can also be like really simple things like lighting a candle on Sunday evening and taking your journal out. It can be, you know, you playing beautiful music that is evocative for you of comfort, of warmth, and of connection, whether that's a connection to your lover, your partner, or your kids, or or the divine, or or to nature, right? Um it it can be um, you know, that sacred boss can also be part of your like morning practice. If you have a spiritual practice, like a morning prayer that you do, or uh a morning meditation, you can absolutely include that in a practice that you already have, or a mid-afternoon practice, um, when we have this window before the vata hours of the day, right? So the afternoon hours according to the Ayurveda clock are ruled by Vata Dosha, and those are the hours when we can feel a little bit more scattered, we can feel a little bit more like vulnerable in terms of our energy resource, and so creating that sacred pause before that time in whatever format that is available for you, that is inspiring for you, can be a wonderful way to bring you towards more of that comfort, warmth, and connection. As an introvert, another thing that you might want to consider, especially during the season, but I think that can be helpful in general overall, is um looking for depth over quantity, and I think we naturally look for that, we naturally find more comfort in that. But um for me, what this looks like in this season is applying that to my social connections, and so the way that um I try to go about them this time of year is thinking how can I connect intentionally with one person, right? Whether it's this week or or today, um, or in whatever time frame that um works for you, and but like really connect and really listen and like really see them, really give them that attention. And yes, it will, if I'm saying yes to uh a deeper connection with one person at this point in time, it means that I might be saying no to connecting to all these other people who may have reached out, all these other friends that also want connection in this moment. But if I am familiar with my capacities, um that might be the right answer for me, and then you know, in in a few days, maybe I can cultivate another connection that feels nourishing, and so that means that sometimes I have friends messages that I don't reply to for a long time, and um I try to cultivate relationships that are true relationships with people who genuinely care about me and they know the way I function, but when I reply to them, I will put my heart and soul into the message, and my soul will smile at them, and um I no longer feel guilt that you know I don't provide instant replies anymore because I know that when I do I have this true intention to connect deeply, right? And I find cultivating these types of relationships in my life very nourishing and very grounding, right? So, yes, if I'm um saying yes to one deeper connection on a given day, it means that others will either have to wait or others might fall off with time, but I am okay with that because I know that the laws of the universe don't work in a way that I get to say yes to everything, I don't get to say yes to everything because I don't have the inner resource to tend to everything, and this is one of the most helpful thoughts that I've been cultivating to um kind of remedy this fear of missing out that I think many of us have. And I find that this thought pattern has really helped me find peace in these moments when I feel like there are all these opportunities and there are all these different paths that I can follow, yet I need to direct my actions, right? And I need to keep my energy, which means I can. Do a limited number of things. Right? And there is peace in that. So, in general, when you say yes to depth, in most cases, you'll say no to dispersion. Right? And when you say yes to dispersion, in most cases, you'll say no to depth. Finally, I want to say a couple of words on solitude. Um, because as an introvert and as Scorpio rising, um, I'm definitely somebody who needs to have um my share of solitude. That is how I replenish my energy, that is a need that I have. And solitude for most people, especially if you're a householder with a family, it doesn't just happen, especially if you're a mom with kids, right? It has to be claimed, and this is something that we get to cultivate and protect, right? So um, whether it's you know an early morning moment before the house wakes up, or whether it's um one evening a week that you reserve for your silence, right? Instead of watching Netflix, you communicate to your partner like, hey, um I feel like having some reflection time today, or whatever format is available and doable for you, the point is to ask for it without guilt and not as a luxury, but as a nourishment. How can you ask for that time and schedule that time from the place of knowing, really knowing that this is the right thing for you? And what is giving this need of yours, this need for solitude, what what is giving it a voice feel like? That's a very interesting thing to reflect on. And to wrap up this episode, I wanted to leave you with two quotes that I feel are so telling of this season that I find incredibly beautiful and inspiring as an introvert. Darkness is not emptiness, it is fertility. It is where baby grows, where the seed cracks, where the mystery germinates. This quote is by Carly Ray Baudry, and the second one is by one of my favorite poets, Rumi, silence is the language of God. All else is poor translation. And I feel like these two quotes honoring the darkness and honoring the silence beautifully encapsulate the magic of this season that you know gets to be dark and more silent, and there is incredible merit and incredible gain to be had if we really tap into the fertility of darkness and into silence as the language of God. So this season, my invitation to you is to have the courage to listen. If you hear the call, this inner voice calling you towards more comfort, towards more inner orientation, towards more connection, more deeper connection, whether that's to your partner, to your friend, to your child, to yourself, or to the divine. My wish for you is that you find the courage to create that sacred pause that will allow you to break from this outwardly pull that you know we might experience at the end of the year, that um outwardly constructed pull and will allow you to drop into a more grounded inner and connected space so that you can have a season of warmth, comfort, and connection. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, I invite you to subscribe to this podcast so that you don't miss future episodes. Um, I'd love for you to share this episode with a friend that might enjoy it. You can share it on social media as well, and you can tag me at leanonairvada. And as I mentioned at the beginning of the episode, if you want to create more steadiness and joy this winter, I am offering two ways to work together this season. So I already mentioned the single holiday support sessions, um, which you can book through the link in the show notes, and then my usual offer uh of 12 weeks called Awaken Your Health, which is an Ayurvedic journey that we take together, is also available. And for that, you can book a free call where we will have a chat for half an hour about you and about your challenges, uh, and we'll get to know each other a little bit and we'll see if this program is the right fit for you. I wish you a beautiful second half of November, and I look forward to connecting with you in a couple of weeks. Have a beautiful day.