Welcome to spring! This is the season of rebirth, renewal, and growth. As the days get warmer, the snow melts creating more moisture in the atmosphere. Our bodies mirror this spring energy and want to release any accumulated cold and dampness, so we may experience a spring cold, congestion, running nose, or allergies. To help your body rid itself of this stagnant, toxic energy, follow these tips.
Choose Lighter Foods
Include green leafy vegetables and bitter greens, such as dandelion, kale, arugula, collard, and broccoli into your diet. Basmati rice, quinoa, barley, rye, and buckwheat are good choices for grains, and mung beans, lentils, black beans, white beans, and kidney beans for legumes. For fruits, try apples, pears, pomegranates, and berries. Cooked fruit is easier to digest; see my recipes for sautéed apples and baked pears. Keep animal protein light, so fish or poultry is best. Be sure to cook with lots of herbs and spices. Warm, pungent, and astringent spices will help dry up excess mucus, so use cayenne, black pepper, ginger, turmeric, or mustard seed. Sour foods, such as lemons or limes, are good now – after waking up in the morning, make a tea with hot water and lemon or lime juice. This helps the body rid excess fats from the liver and blood. Avoid heavy foods, such as wheat, red meat, sweets, and dairy (but yogurt and soft cheeses are fine), because heavy foods are difficult to digest and they increase mucus in the body. If you own any pets, they are probably shedding right now. Well, that’s what we’re doing; but we’re shedding stagnant, toxic energy and weight.
Get Moving
Get moving to increase circulation, as well as lymphatic circulation. Unlike the circulatory system, the lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump, so it relies on us moving to get the lymph flowing. Exercise in the morning, preferably between 6:00 am and 10:00 am. Limber up and open the joints with yoga, as well as asanas that open the chest - bow pose, cobra pose, and camel pose to name a few. Cardio is also important, so walk, run, hike, or bike.
Dry Brush and Self-Massage
Dry brushing, aka Garshana, will increase circulation as well as lymph circulation; see my article Dry Brushing – To Perk You Up. Oil massage, aka Abhyanga, will keep your skin supple and improve overall skin health, warm you up, and promote lymphatic drainage. Oil is used because it penetrates through the layers of the skin better than lotion. To perform Abhyanga, follow these directions:
1. Choose a high-quality oil that’s appropriate for your dosha (constitution):
Vata – Vata skin tends to be dry, thin, delicate and ages faster than the other two skin types. When out of balance, Vata skin can be dry, rough, and flaky. Use Sesame Oil or Sunflower Oil.
Pitta – Pitta skin is prone to discoloration, freckles, moles, pimples, rashes, eruptions, and hyper-pigmentation from prolonged sun exposure. Try Coconut Oil or Sunflower Oil.
Kapha – Kapha skin is beautiful and creamy, and it ages slower than the other two types; but when imbalanced, it’s prone to a dull complexion. Use Sesame Oil or Almond Oil.
If you have combination skin, then choose an oil from both types and blend them. For example, I have a combination of Kapha and Pitta, so I use a combination of Sesame Oil and Coconut Oil.
2. Warm up about 1/2 cup of your oil. You can pour it into a bottle, then place it in a pan with water; bring the water to a boil for a few minutes. Check the oil on your forearm (like a baby's bottle) to be sure it's not too hot.
3. Place a towel on the bathroom floor.
4. Massage the oil into your body from head down to the feet. Use long strokes on your muscles and circular strokes on your joints. Massage your abdomen in a clockwise direction. Massage your feet, including the toes and the soles.
5. Relax for about 10 minutes to allow the skin to absorb the oil.
6. Remove excess oil with a towel.
7. Step into a hot shower and allow the hot water to open your pores. Don’t use soap except in a few private areas of your body, like the armpits, etc.
8. Step out of the shower and pat yourself dry. There probably won’t be any need for lotion.
Take care and enjoy the season!
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Photo by Boris Smokrovic on Unsplash