Spring Cleansing

It’s springtime, the rain is soaking the earth with water, and the soil is becoming saturated and moist.
Kapha has elements of earth and water at work. At the same time, the atmosphere is heating the northern hemisphere as it grows with more and more sunlight. The beginning of the pitta season is what we call summertime. Elements of pitta are fire and water. Even in the northern cities, where it generally feels chilly, heat is there on subtle levels. When you walk out the door with a light jacket on, your upper arms warm up to prompt you to lighten. Springtime is cool, breezy, rainy, and sometimes warm. In some places, it goes into summer faster than others, but in general, let’s focus on the normality of spring.

When we look at what is happening outside and our natural response to having gone through a winter season, whether you are in Hawaii, where I live, or in Maine, where my son lives, we all have some form of winter. It makes us feel like being at home more and retreating inward.

Spring, on the other hand, begs us to get out. Naturally, we begin to feel like shedding. We garden, rake the dead leaves and wood, and pull up the weeds that have already sprouted. We look for those sunny days to put our hair up, roll our sleeves up, and throw the stacks of old magazines out. It becomes time to make room for the new.

It is the same with our bodies. We must slough off the dead skin and allow the channels to open so that the toxins have a place to move out. We sometimes experience itching all of a sudden. When the dead skin begins to shed energy, it wants to move. This is kapha dosha wanting to move; it is not an element of kapha, so it begins to get clogged up in the sebaceous glands and urges us to scratch. We want to move more as a result. Even though January is often a time that people make new goals to get to the gym or get out and diet, it’s not ideal. It’s a great time to make those intentions, but it doesn’t always work. The energy is usually slow-going and heavier due to the cold, maybe frozen, and wet climate.

Springtime is the most natural time of the year to cleanse. We must cleanse not only our homes, known as “spring cleaning,” but also our bodies, inside and out. A lot of people naturally begin to feel like fasting or eating less. Then, it is a great time to plan a cleansing diet and avoid heavy foods to allow the energy to lighten. Toxic buildup in the body begins to move out. First, we must start with the outer layers of the skin to be opened up and stimulate the nerve endings to communicate to the body that it’s time to slough off the old.

One way to begin is with skin brushing before we shower. The channels of the skin open to allow for the movement of toxins. It also stimulates the nerve endings, giving the skin some energy. Ayurveda recognizes that the body has 13 main channels (srotas) in which the doshas, vata, pitta, and kapha move along in these physical and energetic channels (nadis) and are responsible for a vast majority of our bodily functions.

Ayurveda has a systematic way of cleansing the body and mind. Yoga, meditation, walking, and what Ayurveda calls Pancha Karma (five actions) are how we can clean the mind, body, and soul.

If you would like to know more about how to customize your personal cleanse for spring and get your body back in action for a summer full of fun outdoors, swimming, hiking, cycling, or just walking, contact Annapurna for a free introductory consultation: https://appointmentthing.com/annapurnadarcydelyle/introductory-consultation.
You can find out your body constitution, also known as Prakriti, and how you can learn to balance the prakriti, according to your imbalances, also known as vikruti.

Kapha Aggravating Foods:

Annapurna is available to guide you through and help you to heal your imbalances in body, mind, and soul. Please click Here to schedule your Free! Introductory Consultation.