According to Ayurveda, spring is a great time of year for cleansing. Spring season, or Kapha season, roughly runs from late February through May. As the winter begins to melt the earth and expose the muddy and moist soil, we gear up for a new cycle of sprouting and growth. This transitional time has our bodies more receptive to change, making it an ideal time to cleanse and incorporate more change.
In addition, during the winter season, we are typically enjoying a Kapha increasing diet and lifestyle (heavy foods, less activity, etc), so, when spring arrives and Kapha's energy is at its peak, we can quickly accumulate ama and become imbalanced. Sluggishness, mental fog, allergies, excess mucus, and water retention are common imbalances.
Cleansing helps us clear our channels of doshic build up, ama (toxins), and energetic blockages while providing a reset to our digestive and immune systems so we can feel our best: lighter, brighter, clearer and more energized.
An Ayurvedic spring cleanse may be appropriate to keep your system clean and prevent any of these imbalances.
How to Cleanse In the Spring
If you’re interested in a spring cleanse, check out our Ayurvedic Cleansing Guide for more information about cleansing. You can also follow our at-home 7-day Ayurvedic Cleanse, which details the diet and lifestyle recommendations for a cleanse.
Tips to Optimize Your Spring Cleanse
If you’re cleansing in the springtime, it’s important to be aware of the prevailing Vata and Kapha doshas. As Vata season ends and Kapha season begins, you’ll want to incorporate the following Kapha balancing tips into your daily routine during the heart of your cleanse:
- Wake before the sunrise and drink a glass of warm lemon water with a pinch of Bamboo Salts to stimulate your organs and bowels
- Follow an ayurvedic cleansing diet of warm, well-cooked and well-spiced meals that align with a kapha diet. This means including seasonal kapha foods that are warm, dry, light, rough, and fiery foods and incorporating more astringent, bitter, and pungent tastes (while minimizing sweet, sour, and salty foods).
- Perform dry bushing and kapha-reducing practices to move stagnant lymph and remove toxic buildup in the body
- Do some spring cleaning of your physical spaces