Spring – the King of Seasons!

Spring is the king of seasons— a time of sunshine and cheer, love and creativity. Mother Earth wakes up and causes new shoots to appear; energy begins to build; everything begins to bloom and colour returns.

The Spring Equinox is a time when day and night are of equal length – a time of balance before the light triumphs and the days get longer. It is a time of spiraling energies, a time for action.

We can also feel lethargic and dull during this transition – which is a bit of a paradox as so many of us are looking forward to the sunshine. But this is Kapha season whose quality is warm, moist and unctuous. So if this builds within the body, we tend to hold onto things like tension, toxins, and mucus.

Ayurvedic wisdom recognizes it as a time when the warmth of the approaching spring begins to melt the ice of winter. Not only outside – but also inside which is why we can pick up colds at this time – so it is important to keep moving and to detox.

Understanding the Qualities of Each Season

The winds of change are regularly upon us. The seasons consistently roll from one into another. Ayurveda recognises that this has a profound effect on our health and recommends many helpful suggestions for how we can adapt our lifestyle to stay balanced in each season.

Ayurveda makes this person specific; ie there is not just one lifestyle or diet that fits everybody. This is because Ayurveda perceives everybody as individuals with a unique constitutional makeup or Dosha. There is only one you!

You could try one of the many online Dosha type questionnaires to get an idea of your constitution – note this will not be as accurate as visiting an Ayurvedic doctor……….

Your constitution (dosha) and the seasons are intimately related. Your health is affected by the qualities of the climate you live in; your inner world is influenced by your outer environment. For example, when the air is damp, cold and wet it increases these qualities in your body. Hence the increase in mucus, catarrh and colds in winter.

Preparing for Change

The trick to staying healthy is to stay one step ahead by reducing the Dosha that will be imbalanced in the following season before it gets aggravated.

Follow a Pitta reducing diet in early spring before it gets aggravated in late spring with symptoms of spring fevers and hayfever.
Follow a Vata reducing diet in the summer before it gets aggravated in the autumn with patterns of dry skin, flare ups of dry eczema, dry coughs and cracked soles of the feet.
Follow a Kapha reducing diet in the winter before it gets aggravated in the spring with spring colds and allergies to tree pollen.

The central teaching of Ayurveda is that in order to optimise your health you must clear the accumulation of the Doshas from your system. Any increase in the Doshas can cause illness. The following tips may help you to stay healthy and balanced through these transitions……..

Kapha Season

Kapha season extends from frigid winter days, when the ground freezes solid, to mud-luscious early spring, when the snow melts, the sap rises, and the first tentative shoots break through the ground. These conditions disturb Kapha Dosha’s heavy, dense, wet, gooey, stable, cool qualities. To pacify Kapha during the early part of this season:

Switch up your diet – Turn to foods that are lighter, drier, pungent, and warming. As soon as they’re available, eat the first bounty of the season—sprouts, berries, dandelion and other spring greens—which naturally support this time of cleansing. And stick to three meals a day to avoid overindulging.
Get moving – Do things that get you up and out of the house—early. Get up before Kapha time (6 a.m. to 10 a.m.), and get in some exercise—bike riding, walking, or Yoga—before 10 a.m. This schedule will help you fend off seasonal weight gain.
Commit to a routine – Daily use of your tongue scraper, neti pot, will help with seasonal allergies and keep Kapha from building.

Pitta Season

Nature builds heat all through Pitta season until, at the start of autumn, the leaves on the trees turn bright orange, yellow, and red, as if they were living flames on each branch. These leaves are lighter in nature, only slightly moist, intense, hot, sharp, and focused on their goal of transformation—just like Pitta Dosha. We can enjoy the passion of the season without burning up by following this advice.

Cool down – A daily sip or two of aloe vera juice will douse your internal heat. Summer’s bounty offers plenty of ways to keep cool: cucumbers, mint, summer squash, zucchini, coconut juice, and mangos.
Avoid the heat of the day – Staying out of the sun during pitta time (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) helps keep your mental and emotional energy from overheating.
Make time to practice – Pitta types can become myopic and intense, so add a cooling breathing practice like sheetali pranayama to balance things out. Doing lateral yoga poses like janu shirshasana (head to knee pose) or utthita parshvakonasana (side angle pose) will dissipate the internal heat, and a rubdown with coconut oil will cool your skin.

Vata Season

Leaf-scuttling winds mark the start of vata season, which ayurveda characterizes as light, dry, rough, hard, mobile, irregular, cool—the very qualities we associate with late Autumn and early Winter. The weather turns cold, winds blow, and the earth becomes dry, hard, rough—maybe even a bit icy. Vata is the queen of change, so you’ll need to watch out for dry skin, irregular digestion, and the frenetic, unpredictable energy of this season can easily leave you depleted, overwhelmed, and distracted.

Stay away from raw, cold foods – Take extra care to keep your internal fire (agni) Eat warm, moist foods—think stews, soups, and root veggies—and save the salads and cold snacks for summer.
Warm up with hot drinks – Cozy up to a warm fire or snuggle up with a good book, a cup of chai or hot tea, and a warm blanket. Warm milk laced with ghee and honey is a perfect nighttime elixir.
Stick to a routine – Make sure you do agni sara every day (ask Debbie or Cath for more info if you are interested to add this to your routine), as well as schedule some alone time, restorative yoga, and meditation practices. Other daily ayurvedic practices — including abyhanga, oiling the body with warming sesame oil — will help you stay steady and feel comforted.