SPRING is known as the season of growth, renewal, and regeneration. It brings an opportunity to renew and awaken from within. Days are filled with more light, the promise of warmth and green sprouts abound to signal the shift from Winter hibernation to Spring uprising. Ayurvedic medicine aligns with these natural cycles of health and vitality.
In Ayurveda, the Spring season marks the perfect in-between hot, and cold; sun, moon, light, and dark. Spring lands just after the coldest time of the year and before we enter the greatest heat of the year. Thus it is truly the middle of two extremes. Nature restores itself with balance and equanimity, a cue for us to follow.
Just as the snow will begin melting off the mountain to fill the rivers and fertilize the soil, our body is also shedding the Winter layers and preparing for Summer. Now is the perfect time to strengthen your digestive system, boost your metabolic rate, melt away stagnation, and celebrate a Spring rebirth.
According to Ayurveda, Spring can predominate in Kapha Dosha. This means that the atmosphere, and environment have the same gunas (qualities) as Kapha Dosha, during this juncture. Thus the liquid, wet, cool (not cold), dense, and sticky begin to take over. For example, nature is shifting toward cool mornings and evenings instead of freezing. The ground is moist, and dew is present in the morning dawn, a Spring blessing. The ground goes from frozen to muddy, yielding sticky, and green life all around. Everything is lush and dense.
If it is happening out there, our bodies undergo similar actions. Therefore, Ayurveda, a causal science of healing with opposites, advises we properly burn, melt, dry, and move the inner Spring flow to avoid imbalance and feeling unwell. Most are familiar with Spring allergies, congestion, sinus infection, runny nose, and excess mucous, they are the outcome of excess Kapha Dosha in the body. A sign of imbalance. This is nature’s way of melting away the inner “snow” of the body. Just as the mountain snow is melting into the rivers making the rivers flow along with increased rains, our bodies follow suit much the same way.
Here’s a simple way to understand and apply this Ayurvedic wisdom
> Liquid and sticky is balanced with dry, rough, and scraping qualities (like honey, Bhastrika pranayama, and dry brushing)
> Dense and heavy will be offset with light, clearing qualities. This can be accomplished by eating more vegetables and fruits, decreasing dairy and meat intake, rising early, and getting moving.
> Cool and damp are countered with hot, active, and pungent by activating more cardiovascular activities, adding black pepper, and enjoying Surya Namaskar.
When these qualities are balanced look forward to a time of renewal and clarity during the Spring Season.
Therefore, some of our favorite all-around effective Ayurvedic practices to follow for Spring are:
>> Get up early before 6 AM. Ideally, it’s best to get moving as early as possible. The early morning brings pure, light, and tranquil energy to absorb and take in for optimum morning routine.
>> Pranayama – breath exercises support inner health and well-being. Just like you want to get your heart moving via cardiovascular exercise, we also need to clear the pranic channels for optimal flow. For spring we highly recommend Bhastrika, bellow’s breath, and pranayama. LINK HERE to our Pranayama YouTub Channel.
>>Favor foods that are simply lighter and less dense. Generally, this is a good time to eat baked vegetables and grains. Minimize meat and animal products for more leafy greens and lentils.
>>Get Moving! Cardiovascular and strength exercises help keep blood, lymph, adipose, and muscle tissue strong but not too heavy. This is the best time of year to boost your practices and challenge your limits!
>>For Ayurvedic body care, we highly recommend – Garshana (dry brushing). A quick and easy daily routine that can be done in 3 to 5 minutes before the shower and will help shed excess layers off the skin!
Overall Spring is an excellent time to reset the internal and external layers and clocks.
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