Spring is the Kapha time of year, which means that the earth and water elements are taking over (otherwise known as the mud season).
In general, you’ll benefit most from the renewing nature of the spring if you develop some focused intentions for yourself. That said, it’s equally important to embrace the light-heartedness that springtime tends to inspire.
Spring is a natural time to socialize and to initiate (or rekindle) meaningful relationships—to enjoy our friends and loved ones. It is also a great time to play.
As winter recedes, you can gradually begin to rise earlier. For most people, waking by or before 6 a.m. during the spring months is ideal.
Many people notice a natural but distinct shift in their cravings as winter gives way to spring. The arrival of warmer weather often marks a decline in our desire for the heavy, substantive foods so essential during the winter months.
As the temperature shifts, you might begin to feel some shifts in your body: a desire for more exercise and time outside, and a craving for lighter meals rather than the dense soups, stews, and casseroles that nourish us in fall and winter. Your appetite may decrease, and you may find yourself craving fruit, fresh vegetables, and salads galore. Now is the time to replace heavy, oily, sour, and sweet foods with foods that are pungent, bitter, astringent, dry, and light.
This is your body’s way of telling you that it’s time for some spring cleaning. In fact, spring is a perfect time of year for a cleanse. Juice fasts with pomegranate or apple juice and mono diets are wonderfully supportive.
But even outside the confines of a structured dietary cleanse, you can support your body’s natural desire to purify and renew by favouring the pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes and by eating warm, light foods that are relatively easy to digest.
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.
- You can enhance your meals with the pungent flavour of onions, garlic, ginger, black pepper, chili pepper, small amounts of cayenne pepper, and an unlimited variety of herbs and spices.
Here are some ways to lighten up your diet this spring.
- Favour vegetables and small legumes, like red lentils and mung beans.
- Wean off meat, wheat, dairy, and sugar, which are all difficult to digest.
- When choosing grains, move away from heavy wheat and oatmeal for lighter options like millet, quinoa, and barley.
- Add lots of spices to your dishes, including black pepper, turmeric, ginger, garlic, cumin, and mustard seeds.
- Get outside and forage for fiddleheads, ramps, dandelions, and nettles. Be sure to consult a foraging guide.
Let your plate be as green as the fluorescent-green spring landscape.
FOODS FOR YOUR SPRING CLEANSE
Foods to cleanse your liver
In the spring your liver becomes congested with fats as your body starts a natural detox cycle. The best way to purge fat-soluble toxins and encourage weight loss is by flushing bile.
- Mild: Beetroot, Artichoke
- Medium: Grapefruit
- Strong: Lemon, Vinegar
- Strongest: Raw garlic
Beans for High Fibre:
Fibre traps fatty bile and prevents reabsorption, ensuring you get rid of toxins and excess fat. Beans offer a valuable, fibre food that also cleans your digestive tract.
- Easy to Digest: Green beans, Mung
- Medium To digestion: Chickpeas, Black beans, Adzuki
- Hard to digest: Pinto beans, Lentils, navy
Bitter Greens:
Bitter greens aid your liver cleanse and cleanse the Gi tract as well. Also, they provide vital nutrients to help revitalize your body after the long winter.
- Mild: Kale, Chard, Collards, Sprouts
- Medium: Asparagus
- Spicy: Arugula
- Strong: Dandelion, Fresh Parsley, Fresh Tarragon
Light Veggies:
- Mild: Cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli
- Strongest: Radish, Daikon Radish
Light Grains:
- Millet, Barley, Quinoa
Proteins:
- Light: Pumpkin seeds
- Medium: Fish, Poultry
Top Spices:
- Fenugreek – Great blood cleanser
- Turmeric, Fresh Ginger
- Raw chopped scallions – Strong vasodilator and diaphoretic that cleanses your skin
Cleansing Oils:
- Fresh, uncooked olive oil
YOGIC PRACTICES
Because Kapha is a predominant force in winter and spring, there are many similarities between appropriate winter and spring yoga practices, with a few important distinctions. As in winter, many people will enjoy an expansive and stimulating yoga practice that is faster-paced, heating, and guided by precision and muscular effort.
In the spring, the emphasis on cleansing the lungs and warming the kidneys increases. Keep the chest open and the heart space expanded and when you feel as though you’ve been in a pose long enough to feel challenged, take one more deep, steady breath before releasing the posture.
Forward bends, chest openers, and backward bends can be very supportive at this time, as can asanas like:
- Sun Salutation (Sūryanamaskāra)
- Warrior I (Vīrabhadrāsana I )
- Warrior II (Vīrabhadrāsana II )
- Reverse Warrior (viparīta Vīrabhadrāsana)
Poses that stretch, compress, stimulate, and cleanse the solar plexus can also be supportive, like:
- Cobra (Bhujaṅgāsana)
- Bow (Dhanurāsana)
- Side Plank (Vasiṣṭhāsana)
- Spinal rolls
- Leg lifts
- Supine twists like revolved abdomen variation (Jaṭhara parivartanāsana Variation)
Spring is also an excellent time to reap the benefits of pranayama. In fact, according to some teachers, pranayama alone can rid the body of impurities. Kapālabhāti (Skull Shining Breath) and Bhastrikā (Bellows Breath) will bring a sense of lightness to the mind and are both very cleansing practices—perfect for the spring season.
Close your yoga practice with a shorter śavāsana (Corpse Pose) and consider placing a bolster under your chest for increased benefit ( śavāsana with support)
Remember to always consult a trained yoga teacher to guide your practice as per your individual needs based on your constitution, health, and general ability.
