Winter Blues to Spring Forward
Feeling a little slow, sluggish, heavy, or cloudy? Is getting out of bed a process that involves hitting the snooze button a few more times than usual? It’s completely normal. The past few months, we have been replenishing the earth and water elements with us—hibernating a bit more, basking in the indoors, and eating rich foods. Ahhh…the joys of Fall and Winter. Now, we are transitioning into Spring, the time for re-birth. During this time, earth and water predominate the air, bringing with it their heavy, wet, and cold qualities. In combination with all the earth and water energy we accumulated during the past season, we are now overflowing in it. What was nourishing us last season, is now weighing us down.
Some of us, especially those with more kapha qualities, can feel like we are swimming in sludge. Trying to move through and beyond the heavy, moist, wet, cloudy, mucous-y substance. Like the seed attempting to sprout and pop-up through the soil, for a little sunshine. We too need to pop-up and utilize all the energy we acquired in the Fall and Winter and let it be our fuel during the Spring season. It’s not an overnight process. Just as nature transitions, we too have to transition mentally, emotionally and physically to bloom and feel the sun’s heat.
Here are 5 tips to help transition from the Winter blues to Spring forward:
#1 Rise & Breathe: try to get yourself out of bed by 6 am. After 6 is when the elements of earth and water become even more prominent making it challenging to wake-up. Once you are up, take some deep breaths. Practice alternative nostril breathing, pranayama. This will help restore fluidity within the entire body—releasing tension, clearing the mind and revitalizing stagnant energy.
#2 Take a Morning Walk: if you can go on a walk between 6-10 am even for 10 minutes, you begin to ignite the opposite qualities that are predominate in the air. By generating movement, when the air is stagnate, is a good way to generate balance. Remember like attracts like and opposites decrease.
#3 Shower yourself with Aroma Therapy: engage your sense of smell and activate! The nose is the pathway to the brain. In engaging the sense of smell, we can trigger an emotional response. If you enjoy energizing scents like, peppermint, lemon, orange, rosemary, eucalyptus, and/or bergamot, create your own energizing and invigorating Spring shower gel. A few drops of of essential oil is all you need to add a little pep in your step.
#4 Eat Lighter & Greener Meals: this time of the year is when digestion begins to slows down. To give it a boost, give the body a break by eating lighter foods like more bitter greens. Bitter greens are also naturally detoxifying and help the body naturally remove toxins and excess water. Incorporate some greens into every meal starting from your first meal to your last—it does a body good.
#5 Spice it up!: if there is a season to spice it up, its Spring. Spices are not only a great flavor booster, but they have medicinal value. They are also a great source of vitamins and minerals. Add a little extra dash of warming spices can help prevent colds, ignite the digestive fire, reduce excess water from the body, and move out the sludge! This is the season to add a little extra sprinkle of ginger, cayenne, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, cumin, fenugreek, garlic, and turmeric.
The mantra for Spring...“let’s move!”. Move our bodies, our mind, and move out any undigested foods to keep us healthy throughout Spring.