Groovy Lotus and Banyan: Spring Ayurvedic Guide and Lisa's "Real World" Tips

Ayurveda's Perspective on Spring 

Spring is a season characterized by warmth (or at least less cold), moisture, and a palpable softness. It is a season revered for its gentle, nurturing presence. Spring embodies the heaviness of increased moisture, and it tends to feel slower than, say, summer or fall.These are just a few of the characteristics that align spring with kapha dosha. In fact, the Sanskrit word kapha means “that which flourishes in water,” and what season is more defined by the presence of water than spring? Clearly, the spring season and kapha dosha have a great deal in common.Ayurveda teaches us that like increases like. So by its very nature, springtime tends to increase kapha. And when we consider that by winter’s end, a bit of kapha accumulation is somewhat inevitable for most of us, spring has the potential to add insult to injury in the kapha department.But just as spring melts the lingering ice and snow, it liquefies accumulated kapha (ideally, so that it can be eliminated from the body). This process can either be a revitalizing event, or it can trigger a number of health challenges.A seasonal routine is actually one of our best tools for minimizing spring’s kapha-aggravating potential while supporting the elimination of any accumulated excess.With a seasonal diet and lifestyle that invites a little extra lightness, sharpness, dryness, and heat into our lives, we can support our physiology in its natural process of springtime renewal and revitalization.But remember that the entire point of an Ayurvedic seasonal routine is to align ourselves with the dynamic rhythms of the natural world. Mother Nature moves in a fluid and organic way, and spring is a season of transition, so a springtime routine is not intended to be rigid or static.Your local spring climate may, at first, fluctuate between wintery weather and warmer, wetter conditions—meaning that any given day could aggravate kapha, vata, or both. Then, as the season progresses and the weather heats up, you may find yourself needing to balance kapha, pitta, or a combination of the two.Obviously, these patterns vary depending on where you live. Whatever the nuances of your local climate, you can respond to the qualities that are showing up by sprinkling in some appropriate recommendations for balancing vata in winter and balancing pitta in summer, when necessary. Adapting your spring routine on a day-to-day basis like this is a beautiful way to honor the subtle variations within the season.

General Ayurvedic Tips for Spring Wellness

The following information is meant to introduce you to the principles at the heart of a springtime routine. It will also provide you with the foundational tools required to begin to piece together a routine of your own.It may be helpful to familiarize yourself with the common manifestations of kapha imbalance so that you can address them quickly if they do arise. And, if you know your constitution, you can further refine your springtime routine to more specifically support your body type. After you’ve read the general information that follows, click on your Ayurvedic body type (links below) for further considerations specific to your constitution.(  https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/ayurvedic-living/living-ayurveda/seasonal-guides/spring-guide/)

HABITS FOR A GREAT SPRING:

These habits help balance mucus production, regulate moisture levels, and serve to open the channels of elimination so critical for purification.

• You can start your day with a light breakfast of fresh fruit or tea.
• Lunches and dinners of light, cooked grains, steamed vegetables, and legumes are often perfect choices.
• Drink room temperature, warm, or hot beverages. You might even consider sipping on some warm water with a dab of honey throughout the day.
• Structure your diet around eating lots of fresh (but not necessarily raw) vegetables and a variety of legumes. These foods tend to be astringent and often somewhat bitter.
• Many also benefit from eating lots of bitter greens, cabbage family vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.), and spicy foods like green chilies.
• Eaten in moderation, freshwater fish, tofu, and poached or hardboiled eggs are also appropriate during the spring season.
• Spring Recipees by Joyful Belly https://www.joyfulbelly.com/Ayurveda/recipes/season/Spring