Spring Cleanse
Ancient Ayurvedic text teaches us about Ritucharya; seasonal acts or rituals that support the health and vitality of the human body. Have you ever felt like you were preparing for hibernation before winter? It is common to have a desire for heavier and more frequent meals, to wish to stay in more than go out, and to feel more like resting than other times of year. This is because nature is helping you in supporting the ideal environment for health in the winter time, otherwise known as the vata season. While some people are recommended to work against these desires in certain cases and depending on their doshic make-up, it is nevertheless normal to experience such feelings.
Spring, on the other hand, often finds us wanting to shed and clean. Spring Cleaning is a very real and very common practice. The desire to let go of the clutter that is getting in the way of our desire to get back out into the world, to experience the warmth of the season, and to renew goals and desires is another sign from nature and, if you pay close attention to her, you will find other little gifts that she provides to help us achieve vitality, health and joy. Spring time offers foods that are purifying to the body (different from the root vegetables that keep us warm and grounded in the fall and winter). Have you ever noticed how some of our lettuces are the first to become available in early spring? This is natures way of urging us to purify and cleanse the body!
As we prepare to shed the clutter of winter and step out of hibernation, we could be easily compared to a flower. The flower itself, you see, disappears in the cold of winter. Her roots remain strong in places we cannot see while her stems, branches, leaves and flowers shrink, change and sometimes even die. This is much like human nature and the cycles we experience in our personal growth.
Whats more, during spring equinox when the sun changes, so do the microbes in the soil, attaching themselves to the roots, leaves, stems, and flowers of the foods we eat, therefore serving different purposes within the body. As the plant reaches towards the sun, her available nourishment changes. The most purifying parts of the plants become available to us as food in the spring (kapha time). In the summer (pitta time), her fruits show up to soothe and cool the body. And in the winter, the roots are abundant to ground and warm us, requiring they be cooked for proper digestion when our ability to digest is least adequate. It is a beautiful and perfect system, nature.
One of the ways we can honor the bodies ability to not only prevent disease, but to self-heal, is to align them with nature as often as possible. Eating with the seasons, spending time in nature, connecting with the five elements, getting adequate sleep and cleansing at the change of seasons are some of the most simple ways to keep our circadian rhythms aligned and our bodies in their most optimal state.
Ancient Vedic text, Caraka Samhita, states that “changing your diet and lifestyle with the seasons will give you physical strength (bala) and digestive power (agni), as well as balance your doshas (vata, pitta, kapha).” We all know that digestive health is essential as modern medicine is discovering what Ayurveda has been teaching for thousands of years - health begins in the gut.
As we emerge from winter, the vata season, we experience an accumulation of the cold and dry qualities offered by the season. We’re also heading into Kapha season, where an accumulation of moist congestion is very normal. A spring cleanse allows us to provide moisture and warmth to the body while also preparing it for the accumulation season, spring/kapha time.
Ayurvedic cleanse provides relief to the digestive system with a simple diet, seasonally appropriate teas and warm drinks, attention to the liver and lymph, and support of a healthy gut microbiome. As we adjust our diet, let go of practices that are out of our immediate service seasonally, and create a sense of renewal in the body, we provide vital space and energy to achieve our goals, align with our deepest sense of purpose, and connect to nature in ways that support healthy hormones, prevention of illness, and relief from aging.
Ayurvedic cleanse is about more than changing the foods we eat and trying to get the toxins out of the body. It goes deeper than that because, as a holistic medicine, our spiritual, emotional, mental and physical states are all aligned in some of the most obvious ways but, also, in some of the most subtle ways. When we set aside sacred time to honor the body during the change of the seasons, we are giving space for transformation to take place on all levels. The power of digestion must be managed and maintained on every level to allow us to properly digest food, experiences, and feelings. Without a proper digestive fire and transformative power within the body, we literally lose our ability to tap into our “gut intuition.” Cleanse is about more than how the body looks and feels and includes the deepest and most honorable and sacred parts of ourselves.
In honor of ritucharya and our commitment to lifelong health, OMA will be hosting another seasonal cleanse around the Spring Equinox. These community cleanses are a beautiful way to connect to community while nourishing the body, mind and soul . You can read about our upcoming Spring Community Cleanse here.
It would be my honor to guide you through this sacred seasonal ritual.
