Spring has sprung and the kapha season has shown its bright, fresh face. Happy spring equinox and welcome to the beginning of longer days, warmer weather, and all of the signs of rebirth and freshness! Spring is the official transition season between winter and summer, just like Fall is the transitional season between summer and winter. This season will push us out of our hibernation modes, wake us up, and bring new life to the world around us and within us.
To keep us grounded, according to Ayurveda, it’s important that we balance out and work with the qualities of kapha (the dosha composed of earth and water). We tend to cultivate higher levels of vata and lower levels of kapha in winter. We feel colder, more mentally oriented than physically oriented, we’re slower to move, sleepier and hungrier than other seasons. Now that the weather/season has changed to mostly kapha, we’re encouraged to leave behind some of the ultra-cozy qualities of winter and make room for lightness this spring.
Kapha Season
Kapha is the energy that forms the body’s structure, like bones, muscles, tendons, etc. and is an earthy-watery combination that acts as a glue to hold the cells and components of the body together. It lubricates, moisturizes, structures, and maintains us on our path to wellbeing.
To be in balance with the kapha-nature of this time, we want to focus on our foundations, the structure of our lives so that we can feel grounded and safe in order to have fun. It’s a great time to reflect on what you’ve been spending your time and energy on, and asking if it’s all still relevant and applicable to what makes you happy and what you desire going forward. It’s a wonderful time of the year to shift around habits, physical clutter, and/or relationships so that you can create an even more solid and joyful foundation for your life.
1. Spring Cleaning
With all this fresh, cleansing spring energy in the air, this is the perfect time to embrace spring cleaning! Take note of cleaning your body, your mind, your emotions, your energy, and your home.
Take a look around you at what is old and not needed. What are you holding onto that you no longer need? What old beliefs and emotional ties hold you back? Can you make better nutritional choices to maintain optimal health?
Feel as though you are starting anew as you simply let go of things that you no longer need, and move into the season with a fresh, clean perspective.
2. Renew
If you don’t feel that the year has quite brought you all that you had hoped for, this can be a great start to renew and revise. Where had you hoped to be by March? What hasn’t quite gone to plan, and what can you do to bring change so you can move forward?
Where in your life do you feel stagnant? What can you do to make shifts that aren’t serving you in your life?
See this as a brand new spring, filled with new beginnings that are just bursting with abundance and life to help you move forward towards where you want to be.
3. Set Intentions
As the whole world around you is filled with fertile energy and growth, you can tune into this energy to help you to grow your ideas, hopes, and dreams. There is great power in intention, and remember that whatever you give your attention to will grow — so see your intention like the planting of a seed.
Decide what you want the spring season to bring for you and then set some intentions to help you get there. Create 3-5 affirmations and repeat them daily — make sure that they are in the present tense and only contain the positive outcome that you wish to see happen.
4. Find Balance in Lifestyle and Diet
Eating more stimulating foods during this season (think astringent, bitter, and pungent tastes) is a great idea, and cooking more with these spices will support digestion throughout the spring: turmeric, ginger, black pepper, asafoetida, cayenne pepper, and mustard seeds.
Eating lighter foods in small amounts more often is a great way to keep the body balanced; that means salads, warm salads or sautéed greens, cooked seasonal vegetables with spices and light oil/ghee, smoothies, soups, broths, and vegetables and light grains (like buckwheat) are all excellent meal choices. Really heavy dense foods might make us feel sluggish, stuck or unmotivated, so be wary of eating a lot of food at once or foods that are heavy and rich (dairy, meats, large meals).
Keeping your meals and your schedule simple, light, and delightful will support you a lot during this time!
Day and night are of equal length on the equinox, so this is a great time to take a life review and make sure that you are as “in balance” as nature is.
How is your work/home life balance? Do you give too much energy away to people that are never there when you need the support in return? Do you allow yourself enough time out for you? Do you prioritize your needs as much as you do the needs of others?
This is a great opportunity to take an honest look at all areas in your life and find as much balance as you can, so you can blossom and grow into a happier, healthier, and more balanced you.
5. Explore Outward Expansion
Kapha responds well to lightness, warmth, and dryness, so making plenty of time to do activities that warm you up emotionally and physically (and don’t leave you feeling damp or moist for extended periods of time) is really important. That means if you love swimming or surfing by all means, please enjoy those activities and let them bring you joy, but maybe be mindful of how many hours you spend in the water and how quickly you get dry after you’re done.
Just as nature is coming out of hibernation and shaking off winter, so are we. With the lighter mornings and evenings, start to move more, whether that is a yoga practice or just getting out into nature for a walk.
Use this time to tune deeply into yourself and enjoy this sense of awakening. It’s time to come out of your winter hibernation and shine your light; no more hiding away or playing small — it’s time to be, and believe in, who you are.
So just as you awaken the physical and start to feel a sense of freedom and expansion in the inner you, it’s time to burst back into life and spring into the season with your arms and heart wide open.
Overall, we encourage everyone to welcome spring with open-arms! To embrace the qualities of lightness, joy, regeneration, and growth! If you need extra support this season, check out our offerings or reach out with specific questions and needs. We’re here to support you!