Spring is a great time to do a gentle Ayurvedic cleanse. A cleanse is an easy way to buffer your health and protect your well-being for the coming months and beyond.
Benefits of an Ayurvedic Spring Cleanse
- Supports the elimination of toxins from the body
- Increases energy and vitality
- Supports healthy weight management
- Relaxes the nervous system and calms the mind
- Helps reestablish one’s natural state of balance
- Promotes optimal health and well-being
Spring is a time for renewal and rejuvenation. As the weather warms up, it’s the perfect opportunity to take stock of your physical, mental, and emotional health and embark on a cleansing journey. Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of medicine, offers several practical and effective ways to detoxify and rejuvenate your body and mind during the spring season.
Mint is one of the most robust Spring herbs that offers gentle support to digestion when eaten or taken as a hot tea!
The Body Signals That It’s Cleanse Time!
The body’s systems are naturally orienting to the environment’s change. You may notice signs of this like:
- Perspiration that is smellier than usual.
- Craving lighter meals like salads and soups.
- You are more active and craving to be walking more, gardening, or recreating with friends.
- You may notice some bloating and this can be a sign that there is stagnant energy that needs clearing help to move out of the body.
- You may notice some fatigue in the joints, as the body begins eliminating toxins naturally, you may find they get stuck in the joints.
All of the above signs are indications that boosting your body with a natural cleanse may very well bring you into balance easily in the next 5 – 10 days.
Green smoothies including fresh Spring greens with herbs offers dynamic support and micronutrients as well as a clearing agent for the digestive system. Adding nurturing greens at this time of natural cleansing is well received in the body that is already calibrating toward cleansing.
Ayurvedic Tips to Spring Cleanse
Start with these ideas to get you going on a cleanse:
- Follow a healthy diet: Ayurveda emphasizes the importance of a healthy diet to maintain optimal health. During the spring season, focus on eating light, easy-to-digest foods such as soups, steamed vegetables, and whole grains. Include warming spices like ginger, black pepper, and cumin in your meals to aid digestion and boost metabolism.
- Practice yoga and pranayama: Yoga and pranayama (breathing exercises) are powerful tools to help you release toxins from your body and calm your mind. Include simple yoga poses such as twists, forward bends, and inversions in your daily practice to stimulate your digestive system and improve circulation. Practice pranayama techniques like Kapalbhati and Anulom Vilom to purify your respiratory system and enhance lung capacity.
- Detoxify with herbs: Ayurvedic herbs like Triphala, Guggulu, and Neem are known for their detoxifying properties. Triphala, a blend of three fruits, is a gentle and effective cleanser that helps regulate bowel movements and promotes healthy digestion. Guggulu helps reduce inflammation and remove toxins from the body, while Neem is a natural blood purifier that supports healthy liver function.
- Drink warm/hot water: Drinking warm/hot water first thing in the morning is an Ayurvedic ritual that helps detoxify the body and boost digestion. An addition of apple cider vinegar (ACV) or lemon can boost your metabolism during this cleansing time. Lemon is rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, and can help flush out toxins from the body and support immune function. Take care to add ACV or lemon only during a cleanse, especially if you find that you have very dry skin or hair, lemon can dry out the body’s system over time.
- Practice mindful living: Ayurveda emphasizes the importance of living in harmony with nature and cultivating mindfulness in all aspects of life. Practice mindful eating, meditation, and other stress-reducing techniques to promote balance and well-being during the spring season. This can be a great opportunity to journal your food experience and learn how your body’s unique language is speaking to you before/during/after mealtimes. Logging this can be beneficial to connecting deeply with your body during the Spring season and learning more about your own unique needs at this time.
Spring cleansing with Ayurveda is an effective way to rejuvenate your body, mind, and spirit. By following these simple Ayurvedic tips, you can help your body release toxins, improve digestion, and enhance overall health and vitality. The bonus is that you can also begin connecting with your body’s unique language and learn more about being your own healing advocate and acknowledging your body’s uniqueness!
Drinking a nourishing liquid in place of one meal can be a reset that is welcome in the body at this time of year.
Planning the Week
Taking the time to plan simple meals for the morning like wholesome grains (quinoa, rice, millet) and eating a small amount as a porridge can offer sustaining energy to get you to lunchtime. In Ayurveda. lunch is the most important meal of the day, and often considered the first meal, with breakfast being a small bit of food to break the evening fast. This can be a wonderful time to try these principles and allow the body to reset.
Dinner can be a liquid nourishing drink. Refrain from powdered protein mixes during a cleanse. Allow the body to reset and experience natural ingredients. Liquid nourishment allows for clearing the mucosa of the digestive system. Changing it up from drying citrus with nourishing greens and lettuces mixed with water can foster a dynamic infusion of micronutrients that move out toxins (ama, आम)) hat have built up in the body since the Fall.
Cleansing the body’s systems can foster a brighter experience in the body and help you to renew and rebuild the body’s tissues during the abundance that the seasons of Spring & Summer bring. Additions of support spices can restore the body’s digestion, building potent digestive fire (agni, अग्नि) that fosters nourishment of blood creation that will aid the rebuilding of the body’s tissues. In this way, cleansing is directly related to restoring vitality.
Please find files below to help you begin a Food Journaling experience during your cleanse, as well as seven smoothie recipes, and spice blends to keep you on track for fasting and nourishing the body with natural support of seasonal ingredients. This can offer rejuvenation to the digestive tract which will give an ease to shedding the natural layer of fat that our body is already doing.
Start today and experience the benefits of Ayurveda for yourself!
Downloads
Angela Rosoff is an Ayurvedic Digestive Health Counselor and yoga teacher. She counsels clients individually and in class settings. Explore her free offering about the Energetics of Foods & Drinks or reach out to her on Instagram @beautifyfaceyoga and learn more about cleansing this Spring!
Additionally, please consider attending this Spring Skin Wellness & Reset in the Bay Area on Saturday, April 29, 2023 from 3 – 5PM. In partnership with Surrasa Skin Care, this is going to be an amazing time to learn about the lifestyle practices of cleansing to support the skin.
If you want deeper support on your nourishing journey with cleansing and eating healthfully, I invite you to join my Facebook Group! We have a kind and caring community growing to support one another. Holding space for you and others on a path to holistic health, wellness, and beauty, you will discover content that is unique to this group and learn about products and services that are easy to access.
