During spring time, Navratri involves the worship of Goddess Durga in her nine forms. Fasting over the period of 'nine nights', is a discipline that enhances our intuition to connect more easily with the divine female energy.

Ayurveda utilizes fasting as a practice for maintaining and regaining health. Fasting is viewed as a conscious withdrawal of the 5 senses (not merely the sense of taste). An Ayurvedic fast involves eating a cleaner and lighter diet.

The majority of our food today lacks nourishment and the life-force, prana. We tend to indulge in mindless consumption and eat excessive amounts of low quality foods. This, in turn, impacts our digestive fire that suffers from toxic overload and reveals itself as cravings, mood swings, fatigue, brain-fog, anxiety, bad breath, coating on the tongue, body odor, and sluggishness.

Ayurveda recommends pausing to detox and reversing this trend, so our minds may experience clarity and our hearts feel gratitude.

Navratri guides us to consume pure and fresh wholesome foods that are easy to digest and that sustain our energy, leading us toward wise and mindful consumption. Some recommended foods are: lotus seeds, tapioca, seasonal squash, barnyard millet, buckwheat, amaranth, water chestnut, potato, rock salt, seasonal fruit, nuts, dried fruits, and dairy. Eating one or two small meals a day during the fasting period is sufficient and tailored for our constitution and current state of health/ vitality.